May 2012 Northern California edition

Education for Life, not Jobs

The Emerging Economy

That Bungalow in Chennai

IndiaCurrents

Where is the

Desi Jeremy Lin?

?

may 2012 • vol. 26 , no .2 • www.indiacurrents.com

Sports superstardom is still an elusive goal for Indian Americans. As the dreams of a new generation evolve, sports careers will not be benched for long.

Do You Work?

Soon after I had my twins, I actively sought the order and system of a day job, something that could mitigate the demands of relentless motherhood. Every morning it seemed to me like I was leaving a battlefront, at home, to enter a ceasefire zone, at work.

But, as my children’s lisped out utterances began to shape my world, the guilt of leaving them to someone else overtook my concentration and all I could do was long for them; my babies.

So, I quit my job.

Yet, before long, the insecurity of not being able to define myself by a monthly paycheck overwhelmed me and I was back to looking at cubicle possibilities.

Guilt and longing nuance the choices we make and, at any time, either the guilt or the longing reigns supreme. In my case, it became a recurring cycle.

When Hilary Rosen derided Ann Romney for never having worked a day in her life, it brought home to me that as a society we are used to devaluing our own choices. It is clear that neither the stay-at-home mom, nor the working mother has an edge over the other. Yet, insensitive comments are too often aimed at one or the other.

In 2008, Rosen remarked that “We hear things based upon a lifetime of slights and therefore we hear them differently often than

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Contributors: Jasbina Ahluwalia, Sudha Chandrasekaran, Madhumita Gupta, Praba Iyer, Vinod Janardhanan, Maya Jayapal, Gopi Kallayil, Joy Kapur, Shivam Khullar, Swapna Krishna, Vishak Menon, Rajesh Oza, Niraj Patel, Vidya Pradhan, Teed Rockwell, James Root, Sandip Roy, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan, Mani Subramani, Sweta Srivastava Vikram, Vivek Wadhwa, Fehmida Zakeer

Information provided is accurate as of the date of going to press; India Currents is not responsible for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed are those of individual authors. Advertising copy, logos, and artwork are the sole responsibility of individual advertisers, not of India Currents.

men do.” This was in response to the sexism that Hillary Clinton faced as an electoral candidate. Rosen’s recent dismissive comments are at odds with her earlier sentiments and add to the growing pile of judgmental rhetoric; a trademark of election years.

Many of you might recall Hillary Clinton’s remark in 1992, “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.” That Hillary remark resulted in the same media kerfuffle that this Hilary comment is creating. What is even more disconcerting is that the persons leveling these derisive statements at women are themselves women.

As a stay-at-home mother, I dreaded the question, “Do you work?” It never failed to undermine my value and contribution to the family unit. On the other hand, as a working mother, I am immediately put on the defensive by declarations on the sacrifices and responsibilities of motherhood.

We often make conflicted decisions, and there is no clear right or wrong in the choices that we make or the paths that we pick. So why the irresponsible commentary on the roles that define us?

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2 • india currents • may 2012

Northern California Edition

PERSPECTIVES 1 EDITORIAL: Do You Work? By Jaya Padmanabhan

Where is the Desi Jeremy Lin?

5 VOICES 8 FORUM: Should Obama Have Warned the Supreme Court?

Two opinions. By Rameysh Ramdas and Mani Subramani 10

ZEITGEIST: Education for Life, not Jobs. By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

18

TECHNOLOGY: Synchronicity: Intention to Manifestation.

By Gopi Kallayil

22

ELECTIONS 2012: Last Man Standing. By Vinod Janardhanan

28

DESI VOICES: Wind Beneath Our Wings. By Vishak Menon, Praba Iyer, Jaya Padmanabhan, Maya Jayapal

36

BUSINESS: Incentivizing Math and Science Education. By Vivek Wadhwa

38

COMMENTARY: Perils and Pleasures of Living Alone in India?

By Sandip Roy

54

TRAVEL: The Allure of Socrates’ Land. By Sweta Srivastava Vikram

70

OPINION: The Emerging Economy. By Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan

With Lin-sanity sweeping the nation, are ambitious Indian American parents looking at sports as more than an extra-curricular activity?

By Vidya Pradhan

102 REFLECTIONS: Silence—The Womb Of Creativity. By Joy Kapur

12

130 PERSPECTIVE: Today’s Gossip is Tomorrow’s Headline.

By Sudha Chandrasekaran 138

ON INGLISH: That Bungalow in Chennai. By Kalpana Mohan

144 THE LAST WORD BY SARITA SARVATE: Bhagavad Gita to the Rescue

LIFESTYLE 52 RECIPES: An Assimilated Cuisine. By Praba Iyer 68 RELATIONSHIP DIVA: First and Final Encounters. By Jasbina Ahluwalia 110 THE HEALTHY LIFE: Is Ghee Good For You? By Niraj “Raj” Patel 125 DEAR DOCTOR: Dating Woes. By Alzak Amlani

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Moyna Chitrakar and Samhita Arni collaborate on retelling the story of Ramayana from Sita’s point of view.

By Fehmida Zakeer

40

DEPARTMENTS 32 Ask a Lawyer 33 Visa Dates 139 Uncubed

44

BOOKS: Review of River of Smoke By Rajesh Oza

76

MUSIC: Chord Progressions are for Wimps. By Teed Rockwell

78

FILMS: Review of HouseFull 2, Agent Vinod, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Delhi in a Day. By Aniruddh Chawda, Madhumita Gupta and Sarita Sarvate

WHAT’S CURRENT 88 Cultural Calendar 103 Spiritual Calendar 126 Classifieds india currents • may 2012 • 3

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voices

Dressing Different

Thank you for writing such a wonderful article. (When in Rome?, April ’12) I respect your choice to wear Indian clothes to work, but I feel I have to be a “Roman when in Rome.” I am a second generation US born/ US raised Indian American from the NYC tri-state area. Despite my education (medical degree, Yale postdoc fellowship), I feel that there is a glass ceiling in the health care field for women of Indian descent. In order to climb the career ladder, my colleagues need to feel that they can relate to me. Wearing Indian ethnic clothes to work is not appropriate and will isolate me socially and professionally. I do not want to stand out in any way especially when it could jeopardize my career aspirations. Indian clothes are reserved for my personal life (family pujas, parties and functions and maybe a work party). Ultimately each person has to do what is best, but lets face it, would Indra Nooyi have become CEO of Pepsi if she had worn saris to work?

Leena, online

Have You Eaten?

I could totally relate to Ranjani Iyer Mohanty’s article. (The Food of Love, April ’12) Like her, whenever I called my mother in India, no matter what time it was, one of the first things she would ask me was whether I had eaten. On those rare occasions when I said no, she would worriedly ask me if I was ok.

Throughout my growing up years in India, one of the constants in my life was my mother’s delicious food. At the risk of sounding biased, I must say my mom was a fabulous cook, and few things pleased her more than my showing how much I appreciated her culinary skills—and I did this often. The rest of the world told her how much they admired her guts at learning to fly when she was barely out of her teens and going on to become India’s first female pilot. But to me, my mom was an awesome parent and an awesome cook.

Even as she lay dying in hospital two years ago, drifting in and out of coma for almost three weeks, a feeding tube running down her throat, she would ask me on those rare times when she was lucid if I had eaten. And once, she even asked me what I ate, and I responded: idli and sambhar. Was it my imagination, or did I see a satisfied smile light up her face?

Viji Sundaram, California.

Layered Fiction

This is such a brilliant story (Dhatura,

March ’12) with heart-touching imagery. It beautifully brings out the futility of war and the devastation that it can wreak. There seem to be so many shades of meaning to the retelling of this incident from the Ramayana. Most of us carry memories of a vile and menacing Soorpanaka. Monideepa’s story seems to want to set the gender imbalance right by looking at Soorpanaka sympathetically and humanizing her, rather than just labeling her a rakshasi and damning her because of her race. I could go on and on with trying to read meaning into this wonderful piece of narration but will stop with wishing the author all the best for her writing. Judging by the standard of this story, she should be doing very well in her chosen field.

Melanie, online

Of Monsters in Hallways

The Dharun Ravi case is also a testament of how the morals and values that we instill in our children must keep pace with the changes in our society. I agree with your editorial (Conscience Calls, April ’12) that it is no longer enough to teach our kids about truth and lies. It is equally important to teach them about social etiquette and privacy in the new age.

Shivam Khullar, online As a parent who has seen one child in college and is about to send yet another out, I know all too well the monsters–the social, emotional, and academic–that await our kids in those hallways. We merely hope and pray that the values we gave our kids–the principles, the morals, the ethics in work as well as in life–will kick in at the critical times.

Kalpana Mohan, California Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Dharun Ravi and turning it into a parental lesson.

It is indeed tragic that Tyler Clementi took his life. Blaming Dharun for this is wrong—just as it is wrong to “blame” social media sites for providing “unfettered” access for Dharun’s reprehensible actions.

Prakash Narayan, California

birth year along with Arundhati Roy, Barack Obama and I don’t know who else, and I’m discovering it ain’t so bad!

Lakshmi Jagannathan, online

An Untimely Death

I would like to bring the matter of my sister’s death to the notice of this community.

Vijaya L. Natarajan of Berkeley, California, died, allegedly, from an overdose of prescription medicine. Berkeley Police are investigating the events that led to her demise and are not ruling out homicide.

It is with great distress that I must add that my sister and her husband, Sridar K. Pootheri, had a troubled marriage. On several occasions he harassed, humiliated and assaulted her.

This indicates to me that her death was not suicide. Our ultimate goal is that whoever was responsible for my sister’s cruel death should be brought to justice. Please help.

L.N.Rajasekaran, 006 010 509 8812 email: rajasekaran@yahoo.co.in

Silvered Lining

Kudos on reaching this 25th anniversary milestone. It has been the our pleasure to see India Currents remain attuned to its readers’ pulse for all these years.

Dr. Sharvari Dixit, San Jose State University, Indian Diaspora Project I would like to congratulate India Currents on the 25th anniversary. The magazine has become a window to the nation by providing a platform to the arts, culture, business and political community. I enjoy reading the editorials, IC forum articles, insights on current events and recipes. Thank you for supporting the Indian diaspora and wishing you and the team many more years of success.

Asha Ramesh, Artistic Director Ragamalika School of Music, San Jose

A Mature Connection

Really appreciated the funny, candid article (Growing Older By the Golden Gate, March ’12). I admire your honesty, Kalpana. I could totally relate to everything you say, and I’m sure many other “hyphenated” Indian American women could, too.

I remember being thrilled when Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan gave me my first break at India Currents. Since I’m from Portland, OR, I haven’t enjoyed the long history that you’ve had with the magazine. But I do share your

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india currents • may 2012 • 5

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IC

forum

Should Obama Have Warned the Supreme Court that Overturning ObamaCare Amounts to Judicial Overreach?

Rameysh Ramdas

Mani Subramani

No, Obama should not have issued a public warning

Yes, Obama did the right thing by issuing a cautionary statement

resident Obama recently warned the Supreme Court against overturning his health care law—stating that such an action would be “unprecedented.” What is really unprecedented is a sitting President, regrettably, not only commenting on a matter before the court, but also attempting to influence the Supreme Court justices.

It may be good politics for a presidential candidate to rail against the highest court of the land, but it is a new low for a President to do so for political gains.

In their infinite wisdom, the Founding Fathers created the judiciary branch to be an independent court of last resort whose primary duty is to interpret and decide if the laws made by Congress or an act of a President are constitutional—a power known as judicial review. Since 1803, with the landmark ruling in the Marbury v. Madison case, the Supreme Court has asserted its power to interpret the United States Constitution and to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress. And in many instances since then, the Supreme Court has overturned even those laws passed by overwhelming majorities in Congress. According to Wikipedia, the Supreme Court has ruled that about 163 laws passed by Congress are unconstitutional to date. The Court should be guided by the key question of constitutionality regardless of whether a law is popular with the public or has the backing of a large majority in Congress. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life just so as to allow them the freedom to make judgments insulated from political compulsions or public pressure.

By issuing a public warning as he did, President Obama has also signaled to his supporters that it is acceptable to influence and threaten the Court. Promptly, Maureen Dowd in an opinion-editorial piece in The New York Times opined that the Supreme Court is “run by hacks dressed up in black robes” and went on to accuse the judges of playing politics. According to press reports, the Obama 2012 campaign is already strategizing to make the Supreme Court a center piece of the fall campaign, instead of honorably going to the voters with a strong track record of results to seek re-election for a second term.

We are not only a democracy but also a nation of laws under the Constitution. While I am all in support of the health care law, I believe it must still pass Supreme Court muster to be constitutional. It is unfortunate that our President, a former Constitutional Law teacher, conveniently ignores this requirement, and not only publicly admonishes the Court for doing its duty but also warns them to rule his way!

The President’s comments fly in the face of the oath that he took to “protect and defend the Constitution.” n

here are supreme courts that find themselves on the right side of history and ones on the wrong side. Through 5-4 decisions on major cases the Roberts’ court is tending towards the latter—a partisan panel that decides cases based on politics. According to US News, this court has four of the five most conservative justices since Franklin D. Roosevelt and even the so-called moderate on the court, Justice Kennedy, ranks #10 on the conservative scale. This data indicates that this is a radical right wing court. According to a recent Bloomberg survey, 75% believe the court will decide the Affordable Care Act based on politics, and not entirely on merit.

Perhaps President Obama was speaking on behalf of the 75% when he appealed to the court to prevent the ruling from being a 5-4 decision. In reminding the court of their power, and the fact that they are unelected, President Obama was simply rephrasing what Lincoln stated in his 1861 inaugural address, that not all political questions are reconciled once they are judged by the “eminent tribunal.”

This court has shown that it is a partisan operation by their blatant political activism. Justice Scalia went on a hunting trip with Dick Cheney three weeks after agreeing to take up a case concerning the Vice President’s energy task force. Justice Thomas and Dick Cheney have attended events organized by the ultraconservative Koch brothers “to review strategies for combating the multitude of public policies that threaten to destroy America as we know it.”

Justice Thomas and his wife have received over $700,000 from conservative groups which he failed to disclose to the IRS. Through such actions, this court has done enough to demean itself in the public eye and paint itself as a partisan entity. It is refreshing to hear the President reminding the court of the awesome power they have, and asking that they wield it without radical partisanship as they have done in the past.

During oral arguments on the health care law, Justice Scalia equated the health insurance mandate to forcing people to eat broccoli and joked that having to read the full healthcare law was tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment. Justice Thomas recently made a speech claiming he did not hear anything to change his mind during the three days of hearings. Perhaps he should have asked some questions to enhance his understanding!

For millions of Americans, this law can mean life or death. Is it too much to ask the justices to take the matter seriously? The President merely urged the court to speak in one voice while ruling on this important law that was supported by 60 senators and a majority of the house, and to prevent a tyranny of the minority. n

P

The Supreme Court has ruled that about 163 laws passed by Congress are unconstitutional to date.

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

8 • india currents • may 2012

T

During oral arguments on the health care law, Justice Scalia equated the health insurance mandate to forcing people to eat broccoli.

Mani Subramani works in the semi-conductor industry in Silicon Valley.

india currents • may 2012 • 9

IC

zeitgeist

Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

Education for Life, not Jobs

I

t’s May, and another batch of students has committed to the colleges where they will matriculate this fall.

Students applying to college this year have done so amidst the hypocritical politicking of would-be leaders. Rick Santorum (B.A., M.B.A., J.D.—though you wouldn’t know it) called President Obama “a snob” for suggesting that all Americans should have the right and opportunity to go to college. Mitt Romney (B.A., M.B.A., J.D.) told a working-class student in Ohio that he shouldn’t expect the government to help with his college debt; he should just choose a college with “a little lower price.”

Meanwhile, those who articulate the value of higher education typically do so on the grounds that Americans are falling behind in the study of math and science, that we are not producing enough engineers, and that we’ll only continue to be overtaken by China and India. Even President Obama, who supports higher education in the form of vocational schools, community colleges, and four-year degrees, argues for the significance of college in economic terms: “We all want those jobs of the future.”

Sure—we want young people to be qualified for the jobs of the future. But we also want them to inherit a future in which not only their work has value, but their lives are valued. We want young Americans of all ethnicities, races, genders, sexualities, classes, and religions to participate in the growth and flourishing of a country that recognizes their worth beyond their contributions to the GDP. We want IndianAmericans to counter our hyper-valuation as a “model minority” by allying with all those demeaned through contrast to our model.

W

e have to move beyond an instrumental concept of higher education in the defense of it. In the past few months, we have received reminder after reminder of the devaluation and precarity of the lives of Americans who do not fit the mold of Joe-the-plumber. Here’s some of what we’ve seen so far in 2012: January 10th: The Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction decreed Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican American Studies program unlawful under Arizona HB-2281. The bill is an attempt to purge the school curricula of all ethnic and racial identity studies.

February 12th: Just three years after assaulting Rihanna, Chris Brown performed at the Grammy Awards, where he was applauded by cheering fans. Numerous women tweeted during the show that Brown could “beat me any day,” “beat me up all he wants.” Meanwhile, the Violence Against Women Act languishes in Congress, where it is up for reauthorization and being opposed by Senate Republicans.

February 16th: The House Oversight Committee held a hearing about women’s access to contraception through employers and insurance companies but did not include a single woman on the panel.

When law student Sandra Fluke offered her testimony (via YouTube) about the financial and health challenges women face when not able to access contraception, Rush Limbaugh called her a “slut” and a “prostitute.”

February 18th: At the peak of the Lin-sanity over New York Knicks player, Jeremy Lin, ESPN referred to Lin as a “chink in the armor.” The Asian American Journalists Association, among others, had to point out to ESPN its flagrant and nonchalant use of a racial epithet.

10 • india currents • may 2012

February 26th: The Help rounded off the awards season with a Best Supporting Actress nod at the Academy Awards; it was also nominated for Best Picture. The Association of Black Women Historians has said that The Help reduces “racial injustice to individual acts of meanness” and “strip[s] black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.”

February 26th: Seventeen-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman, a “crime watch volunteer,” pleaded self-defense under the provisions of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law and, despite a national outcry, has still not been arrested at time of this writing.

March 8th: TLC canceled the show “All-American Muslim,” saying that it did not have sufficiently high ratings. Many speculate that the series was canceled because of the activism of conservative bloggers and anti-Islamic groups like the Florida Family Association, which called the representation of moderate Muslims “propaganda” and successfully encouraged advertisers like Lowe’s to pull support from the show.

March 16th: Dharun Ravi was found guilty of bias intimidation— a hate crime—in relation to the September 2010 suicide of his former roommate and fellow-Rutgers University freshman, Tyler Clementi, who Ravi had spied on with a webcam while Clementi was intimate with a boyfriend in their dorm room.

March 22nd: Deryl Dedmon, John Rice, and Dylan Butler pleaded guilty to the June 2011 murder of James Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi. Dedmon, Rice, Butler, and four other teenagers admitted that for months they had engaged in a series of deliberate assaults on drunk and homeless blacks.

W

hen politicians and pundits talk about higher education, they think in terms of return on investment, of international competition, of reproducing a class of Americans who can take on the labor required by our industries. As a graduate student instructor in the critical humanities and social sciences, I teach college students how to think deeply, how to ask questions of the world we live in, how to interrogate that which masquerades as “common sense,” and how to develop nuanced conceptions of their identities and lives in relation to those of others.

I

urge all students going to college this fall to take the opportunity to enroll in Ethnic Studies, Women’s Studies, Cultural Studies; take classes in feminism and Marxist theory, classes that will force you to engage with the discourses produced by the media, popular culture, contemporary literature, and politics. These are not only disciplines that must be defended against attacks by the likes of Arizona’s HB2281. They are also the spaces in which the next generation of voters and leaders will be trained to think critically about representations of race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity so that they can counter them when necessary. This is where we decide what kind of society we want to live in and learn to make it—not just be subject to it. n Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley.

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india currents • may 2012 • 11

Where is the Desi Jeremy Lin?

By Vidya Pradhan

I

ndian Americans have made inroads into many spheres of American life but success in mainstream sports has been limited. Traditionally, sports careers have rarely been on the possibilities list for desi students. After Jeremy Lin’s success, however, attitudes may be changing among parents and children. Education often supersedes sports activities in terms of priorities, but parents are beginning to realize that it is a delicate balance of opportunity, sacrifice, talent and compromise.

A

s Lin-sanity sweeps the nation, the phenomenon of the Harvard-educated Knicks player has caught the eye of many an ambitious Indian American parent.

Suddenly your child’s interest in playing tennis, soccer, or basketball is not just a transportation inconvenience and distraction from homework. It could be a ticket to the Ivy League and bona fide sports superstardom!

As a community, Indian Americans don’t have a cultural history of affinity with sports. The poor state of sports in India (with the exception of cricket) has given all of us heartburn at one time or another, especially as China, with similar population and developmental issues, has been so successful at producing world class athletes. In his article “Huff, Puff, Fall” for Tehelka magazine, journalist Suresh Menon rues that “Our poor standing in Olympic sports has little to do with genetics or nutrition or body structure or muscle fibre. We are not a sporting nation in the way Australia or South Africa or Canada is. [We] are part of a system that rewards mediocrity. The system is geared towards producing gracious losers, not aggressive winners.”

The lack of sports infrastructure and

Shikha and Neha Oberoi

support in India, and cricket’s monopoly on national attention and advertising revenue has meant that Indian immigrants to the United States arrive with little or no familiarity with American sports like football or basketball. That unfamiliarity, coupled with the drive towards economic success that brought many of us here, has not boded well for our participation in mainstream athletics.

Still, Indian Americans in sports merit a Wikipedia entry, with representation in a fairly diverse list of activities. Are these men and women the exceptions that prove the rule that desis couldn’t care less about sports? Or are they trailblazers for future generation of Indian Americans who grow up surrounded by the hype, excitement, and opportunities to excel in non-traditional careers?

Going It Solo

Nikhil Panu 12 • india currents • may 2012

Menon adds, “India’s best efforts have come in individual sports. No tennis federation or badminton association or chess federation can take the credit for the successes of men

like the Krishnans, the Amritrajs, the Leanders, the Padukones, and the Anands. They emerged from the strong, unbiased, focused organization that has not been given enough credit—the family.” His argument about the success of individual athletes and family-based sports dynasties seems to be borne out in the United States as well.

Shikha and Neha Uberoi are sisters who benefited from that kind of unconventional parenting. Shikha has been ranked as high as 122nd in the world in tennis singles and was the first Indian to reach the second round of a Grand Slam. At the 2004 US Tennis Open, Uberoi became the second ever Indian female player in the modern era to win a round at a main draw Grand Slam Tournament, defeating Japan's Saori Obata. Neha reached the highest singles ranking of her career on 29 January 2007, with a ranking of 196 and 110 in doubles.

When Shikha began learning tennis at the age of six, sister Neha, then three, tagged along. Both remember childhoods consumed by the sport. “When we started winning

competitions in our early teens,” recalls Neha, “we began thinking of tennis as a possible career.” Neha had considered pursuing a career as a neurosurgeon, but success in tennis made that dream fade away. “Tennis can be a very myopic world,” she says. “It is hours and hours of training from the time you are about 9 years old. All you can think about is how to get better.”

The sisters agree that they benefited from the unwavering support of their parents, especially their father Mahesh Uberoi. Says Neha, “My father saw that we were talented at a young age and made a lot of sacrifices to make sure we could play tennis. My parents have a very entrepreneurial and non-traditional approach to life. And I do consider myself very privileged that my family had the means to support us while we chased our dreams.”

Says father Mahesh, “It would be so boring if all the pebbles on the ground were round. A nation is judged to a large extent by how its athletes perform. It is so disheartening that Indian teams never make it to the Olympics.”

The decision to have his kids home-schooled while they practiced tennis for several hours each day was not particularly difficult. Of course, grades were never allowed to take a backseat.

Parul Panwar, mother of talented ice hockey player, Sahil Panwar, made the choice to put aside personal ambition for the sake of her child’s sports dream. Sahil is a member of the Blackhawks Squirt-A team—the top ranked in Norcal League—and recently got selected for

Photo Credit: Jeff Vinnick / Vancouver Canucks Manny Malhotra

travel all over the country to play in competitive tournaments.” She adds, “No Indian would spend three hours [a day] on hockey when the child could be studying, especially in the Bay Area.” The Panwars have cut down on their social interactions to a minimum because of lack of time.

“As much as I know, Indians spending these kinds of resources, dreaming that the kids will make it big in sports is not part of our culture. Our whole purpose in putting him in ice hockey was that we would rather he have a hockey stick in his hand than a cigarette when he is a teenager. Now he has made a name for himself. People know us as Sahil’s parents in the sporting community,” adds Panwar proudly.

Education, Education, Education

Photo Credit: A Creative Commons image

Jeremy Lin

the California BRICK-2002 State Team, one of the most prestigious hockey events available for players at the 10 and under age level.

“If you are not serious you don’t come on the ice,” says Panwar. “It is the most expensive, demanding, and fast contact sport. Parents have to be committed. We spend a lot of money and effort on training and travel for this sport. We

Both Shikha and Neha Uberoi are in the process of getting their degrees in Princeton, a fact that is surely gladdening the hearts of their parents. Says Mahesh with pride, “I would not trade that degree for a Grand Slam. This education will stay with them for life.”

Panwar is matter of fact about Sahil’s education, “Being a desi and living in Cupertino, studies are important. He loves hockey and he knows that he has to study to make it in hockey.

We’ve told him that if his grades go down, the hockey stops. But that means this child’s life is focused around hockey. He is an intelligent kid but he studies before practice, and after practice. He manages to get through school with good results. His teachers are happy,” she shrugs philosophically.

How does he cope with the volume of work? “He doesn’t do anything for leisure,” says Panwar, “No Wii, no DS. But he doesn’t want to. He gets bored. If he has some free time he might watch the NHL channel or work on his moves in the garage.”

Nikhil Panu, who plays varsity basketball and varsity tennis at Harker High School in San Jose, CA, is equally focused on academics.

His goal is to play college basketball but he acknowledges that “my number one priority

is to get a good education at a great academic institution which also has a decent basketball program.” Panu’s sister plays Division 1 tennis at Pepperdine University.

After Jeremy Lin’s successful straddle of education and sports, kids like Panu are optimistic about having it all. But both Brandon Chillar’s and Manny Malhotra’s career arcs suggest otherwise. Chillar, who is one of four athletes of Indian American origin to ever play in the National Football League (NFL), is currently a free agent, after playing for teams like the Green Bay Packers and the St. Louis Rams. He went to UCLA on a sports scholarship but left without graduating when he was called for NFL training. “I figured that college could wait, but the NFL wouldn’t,” he says. Malhotra, who plays for the Vancouver Canucks (see the IC article, “A League of their Own,” April 2008) also quit school to play for the National Hockey League (NHL). After his first year in the league, he ended up getting his high school diploma, but continuing education has been put on hold.

I asked him what his future plans were, since the career span of hockey players doesn’t typically extend beyond the age of 35 (Malhotra is 32).

“I believe in living in the moment,” he laughs, “I’d love to play till the wheels go off. They’re going to have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming.”

I ask Mahesh Uberoi if reducing the emphasis on studies might have made it easier for his girls to achieve higher levels of success in tennis. His answer is categorical and revealing.

“Let’s say they had won a grand slam. Then they would have wanted more. Where does it end? Finding that balance [between sports and education] is important. The world is way more than going around collecting wins. Their education will stay with them for life.”

Fear of Injury

While the overarching emphasis on education may be diverting kids from possible careers in sports, the fear of injury is surely another factor. When Meena Srinivasan’s highschooler Vivek broke several bones in his leg during football training, her worst fears about the game came true. She was watching him at a game when she heard a loud crash and realized three kids had gone down. “I didn’t quite realize the gravity of the situation.” When she reached the scene of the accident and saw the leg completely bent out of shape, she realized how serious it was. She held it together till she reached the hospital where he was taken and only then allowed herself to break down.

“It could have been much worse,” she says, in retrospect, speculating about brain damage.

Vivek’s father admits to feeling a sense of relief that the injuries, in effect, signaled the end of his football ambitions. “He is running track now,” says Srinivasan. “I don’t think football is the game for him.”

“I was very apprehensive about injuries,” says Rohini Mohan, whose son Pranav joined the football team in his freshman year at high india currents • may 2012 • 13

14 • india currents • may 2012

school. “I went to every single game to keep an eye on my child because I was so afraid he would get hurt. Home games, away games, I was there for every one of them.” Pranav switched to golf in the spring season.

“Hockey is a very physical sport,” says

Malhotra, whose sport is also known for a high level of “body contact” was also seriously hurt last year when a puck hit his eye in March 2011, requiring him to have surgery the same night. The injury kept him out of several games in the season and reignited a debate on mandatory visors for NHL players.

The risk of injury is not limited to team sports. Both Shikha and Neha Uberoi suffered injuries that proved to be setbacks to their career, Neha with a broken rib and Shikha with injuries to her rotator cuff. “The body tends to break down very easily,” admits Neha. “Knees, joints, these are the first to go.”

Exposure to the Sport

Sahil Panwar

Panwar. Though players of Sahil’s age don’t encounter full body contact, he did hurt himself in an on-rink accident last year. “He was on the ground for two minutes without being able to get up. At that moment, the thought that went through my head was, that’s it, no more ice hockey. But the coach put him back on ice and he was fine.” How does she deal with the fear? “It is scary, but two of my boys play hockey, so I’m used to it. Being Indian, I tell Sahil, if you see a rough battle, just let it go, don’t fight, but he does what he needs to do [to be successful],”she shrugs.

Injury also derailed Chillar’s career last year. Chillar tore his hamstring in July 2011.

Unfortunately, the NFL was on lockout at the time, which meant that the Packers could void Chillar’s contract without having to pay injury compensation. According to the NFL Nation blog on ESPN.com, Chillar told ESPNMilwaukee.com that he knew his Packers career was over the moment he heard his hamstring pop during a private workout and said he has “no hard feelings.” Chillar, who suffered several shoulder injuries and seven surgeries prior to the hamstring pop that derailed his career, says he rebounds well and is training to get back into the game that has caused him so much physical pain. His family understands; “I think they have become desensitized to it. After they realized that I do bounce back, they’ve been okay.” He adds, “You can’t think about injury while playing the game.

Injuries are part of the game, but I try not to let any negativity in while on the field.”

Coach Andrew Cotter of Moreau Catholic High School hypothesizes that it is lack of exposure that keeps the numbers of desis in sports down. “The kids who come try out for the team usually have a parent who is into the sport, or they have enjoyed watching games as kids.” His theory seems to be borne out by the career trajectories of sportsmen like Manny Malhotra, currently with the Vancouver Canucks NHL team. “Growing up in Canada, it is impossible to avoid [ice] hockey,” says Malhotra. He just drifted into playing the sport and realized it could be a vocation when he began excelling in it.

Parul Panwar agrees: “For the first two years Sahil was figure skating because we had no idea about ice hockey. Then one of my husband’s friends suggested we put Sahil in hockey. Once he started playing in Montreal we started hearing from people about how good he was and since then we have never looked back.” When the family moved from Canada to Cupertino for employment reasons, it seemed natural to continue in the sport. Adds Parul, “Sahil goes to a Cupertino school where 17-18 kids in his class are of Indian origin. When the teacher asked about their hopes for their future, every child wanted to be a doctor, engineer, etc. He was the only child who got up and said he wanted to be an NHL player. More than half the kids didn’t know what the NHL was.”

Coming from a sports oriented community, Sahil initially struggled to transition to his new environment because the other kids couldn’t relate to him being a “jock.” He is one of the “cool” guys now!

As a new generation gets more and more into mainstream American sports, perhaps it is only a matter of time before the numbers of desis in professional sports start reflecting that passion and interest. Says Malhotra, “The way the game is growing, you see it in a lot more communities. The interest in the game should pick up correspondingly.” Parul Panwar also talks about the growing interest in hockey in California, especially in the Los Angeles area.

Adds Cotter, “Indian American kids often come to me to discuss careers in sports that do not involve being on the field—kinesiology, sports medicine, sports law, these are some of the options they want to pursue that allow them

to stay connected with the game.”

Table tennis has lately been propelled into the national spotlight. Rajul Sheth, Director of Sports and Recreation at India Community Center (ICC) declared that his goal was “to have a player from ICC qualify for the 2012 Olympics.” At the final trials for the 2012 London Olympics, recently, three North American players qualified. All three players were trained and sponsored by ICC. “This is the most exciting day of my life,” enthused Sheth. The players are Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang and Timothy Wang. These young sports stars represent a new generation of players who follow their parents’ passion for the sport, having played table tennis in China and India before moving to the U.S.

Does Size Matter?

Chillar and Malhotra, who each have a Caucasian parent, are 6-foot, 200 lbs-plus individuals who are no slouches in the size department. At least two of Chillar’s desi predecessors in the NFL are of Punjabi origin like him. Sim Bhullar, the basketball player for the New Mexico State University who is considered to be the desi Jeremy Lin, has Punjabi origins and clocks in at 7 feet 5 inches.

Sahil Panwar is tall enough to play with kids two years older than him. “Sahil is big for his age,” says Parul. “That helps.” With hockey being a fairly physical sport, Sahil’s size relative to his peers is reassuring to his parents.

Nikhil Panu, who began playing basketball in elementary school, admits that his height was a big factor in his decision to join the game.

“I was taller than everyone else,” he says, “and that gave me a huge advantage initially.”

While height may have been the reason for Panu’s introduction to the sport, he is quick to point out that today he is just about the size of his peers, maybe a touch smaller. “My skills are what keep me on the team,” he says proudly, adding that the Harker basketball team, comprised mainly of Asians, tends to get underestimated by competitors all the time.

The Harker team has a 18-9 record this year.

“People are constantly surprised by our talent and the passion we bring to the game.”

Panu’s nonchalance about size is echoed by coach Cotter. “I don’t think Indian Americans are at any disadvantage physically,” he says emphatically. “We’ve got some very fluid and athletic kids in the Moreau basketball team who do just fine.”

Sports Franchises in India

The common perception that Indian Americans don’t measure up physically to their Western peers doesn’t appear to be shared by the organizers of the two most American sports—football and basketball.

The Elite Football League of India is an organization dedicated to the promotion of professional football in a country not exactly known for the girth and height of its people.

With the support and backing of athletes like india currents • may 2012 • 15

16 • india currents • may 2012

Chillar and football legend Kurt Warner, and Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg, the league is trying to piggyback on the success of cricket’s Indian Premier League. The league envisions a day when an all-Indian team can compete in the NHL. Teams like the Bangalore Warhawks and the Mumbai Gladiators have already been created, and the league is launching an all-out effort to “establish a grassroots educational project to incorporate the game of football in schools beginning at grade school level extending to universities which will feed the professional recruitment efforts.”

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has also targeted India for its global outreach efforts. After the success of China’s Yao Ming led to an explosion of interest in basketball in that country, there is intense interest in finding an Indian hopeful who can galvanize the Indian population’s attention to a sport that has thus far remained within the confines of college courts. According to a December 2010 article in the New York Times, India’s rapidly growing middle class and its disposable income are factors that Heidi Ueberroth, the president of NBA International, says make the country “ripe for new forms of entertainment.” Troy Justice, who runs the NBA Mahindra Challenge, a series of youth leagues and tournaments in five cities in India, believes the pool of talent is just waiting to be discovered. “Kids here have natural ability and talent but they are not given the opportunity to develop it.” As for finding

the Indian Yao Ming, Satnam Singh Bhamara could be the guy. The 7-foot-plus giant from a sleepy village in Punjab had a breakout performance in October 2011 at the FIBA Asia U16 Championship.

Attention from the West and exposure to top athletes may be just what is needed to revitalize Indian sport and create a new generation of Indian sportsmen. Meanwhile, as new desi generations grow up in the United States without the financial insecurities that motivated the career choices of their parents, and as the entrepreneurial spirit that brought many of us to this country finds expression in non-academic endeavors, the possibility that there will be many more desi sports stars doesn’t seem quite that remote. Young athletes like Nikhil Panu and Sahil Panwar are just a few manifestations of the passion and commitment we desis bring to whatever we set our minds to, and thanks to pioneers like Manny Malhotra, and Brandon Chillar, and yes, Jeremy Lin, professional sports may be a viable career alternative for our kids, with many more Panus, Panwars, and Uberois in the wings. If I was a gambling sort, I would bet on brown. n Vidya Pradhan is a freelance writer who hosts the weekly radio show Parent Talk on KZDG 1550 AM. She also runs the community blog Water, No Ice and was the editor of India Currents from June 2009 to February 2012.

Is This the Desi Jeremy Lin?

7

-foot-4 center Sim Bhullar is widely considered to be the next Asian basketball hope, now that Yao Ming is retiring from the Houston Rockets. Bhullar caught the eye of college recruiters with his 7-foot-11 wingspan. His unflinching attitude towards physical contact makes him a valuable commodity to teams, though his limited lateral skills leave other observers skeptical.

Bhullar was recruited for the New Mexico State University team. He is currently “redshirting,” i.e. taking the year off to work on his conditioning, and will join the basketball team as a freshman next year. Coach Marvin Menzies thinks Bhullar has potential as both a college player and a professional. “I see a huge upside for him in basketball,” he says. “I am very optimistic.” Bhullar’s critics contend that his extra-large frame and weight are a liability, but Menzies believes it is only a matter of Bhullar finding the weight where he is most comfortable. The New York Times carried an extensive article on this basketball hopeful in July 2011, speculating on the impact of Bhullar’s success on interest in basketball in the Indian and Indian American community.

Says Menzies, “He is the only Indian American athlete I have come across. But if he is representative of his community, I better start looking at Indian Americans more carefully!”

india currents • may 2012 • 17

IC

technology

Gopi Kallayil

Synchronicity: Intention to Manifestation Facilitating a virtual meeting between two Nobel Peace Laureates

S

mall is truly beautiful. A single email winged its way from the Dalai Lama’s office to my Google colleagues in India and then on to the United States followed

by Korea before landing finally in my inbox.

It expressed an interest that the Office of the Dalai Lama had in the product I am working on—Google+—and it started me noodling some ideas on a piece of paper. One of them was to put together The Dalai Lama with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a Google+ Hangout and allow thousands of people to view it live on the Internet. I told a few colleagues about this random and crazy idea and left it at that.

Five days later, a Googler from South Africa, Jonathan, called me at home at one in the morning. I had never met him before and yet he made the following request: “The Arch’s (Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s) birthday is coming up this Saturday and his friend the Dalai Lama was to be the main guest, delivering a talk on peace and compassion. He has applied for a visa but hasn’t been granted one yet, so the Arch’s office has asked if we could use technology to find a solution?”

Jonathan had found me pretty much at random by searching the internal directory and deciding based on pure intuition that I was the person to call. He apologized profusely for calling so late out of the blue, but I told him it was moments like this that make working at Google so truly special. Jonathan has since told me that my actual words in that conversation were: “Around here, the impossible takes one or two days. The miracles take a little longer—like maybe three.”

So, a mere seven days after I put my original intention down on paper, The Dalai Lama stepped in front of a Google+ Hangout window on a computer in his house in Dharamsala, India. Half a world away, Archbishop Desmond Tutu stepped in front of another Google+ Hangout window on a computer at The University of the Western Cape, in Cape Town, South Africa. He waved at his dear friend and spiritual brother and chuckled, “I can see you clearly.” The rest is now history.

Why those two independent requests, originating from the offices of two Nobel Peace Laureates 6,000 miles apart, ended up 18 • india currents • may 2012

The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu

Sometimes when you ask the universe, it opens a door and you must walk through it. in my inbox is a great mystery. What emerged from this is a marvelous event on a global scale, but the back story to my involvement is also mystical to me.

Thirteen years ago, I wrote a list of goals for my life that included a desire to meet the Dalai Lama in person. Over the years, things started coming together. I walked into the back of a bookstore and saw a poster announcing that he was speaking nearby the following week. I then heard him speak several times— almost by chance—in places as far apart as Sydney and San Francisco, and at Stanford University. But as I returned to the Google office from that talk, it struck me that I had not done much about my goal to meet him in person and did not know where to start.

Perhaps a good first step would be simply to ask someone?

The first person I ran into was Meng, a Google engineer with some affiliation with meditation research and projects that I know are of interest to the Dalai Lama. I told him that I wanted to meet the Dalai Lama in person. Deadpan, he replied, “Sure, that can be arranged, what are you doing two weeks from now? Can you be in Dharamsala in India? My friend Lama Tenzin is setting up a meeting for some others and I can ask him … ” Two weeks later I was on a plane to Dharamsala.

Sometimes when you ask the universe, it opens a door and you must walk through it.

Right up until a few hours before the meeting, I did not know if it would happen; I had not heard from Lama Tenzin, who was also traveling from the United States to Dharamsala and was out of contact. But this is exactly the kind of thing I am willing to travel 36 hours half way around the world for: just to show up and knock on a door in the hope that it might open.

After three days of hanging around the Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamsala, I received confirmation that he would meet me. I was fortunate to experience a 45-minute audience with His Holiness, during which he discussed a wide-ranging set of topics from compassion to human values to happiness to neuroplasticity and mental training. It will always be one of the most cherished memories of my life.

It was so moving and his humanity so touching that when I said good-bye there were tears in my eyes. He gave me a “Katta” (a white cloth with Tibetan chants inscribed) as a blessing that I brought back with me and hung above my desk so that it would rain blessings on the entire Google+ team.

It worked.

The Dalai Lama with the author

Zooming forward to October 5, 2011, the morning after my phone call from Jonathan in South Africa, I sat discussing a possible solution with Loren, the Product Manager for Google+ Hangouts, in our usual place under the Katta. Five hours later, Loren was on a

33-hour journey to South Africa. What was remarkable, I found out later, was that Loren had never before traveled outside the country.

He got a passport just a few months earlier, thinking it may be a good idea to start traveling internationally. A dozen of us from Google in four different countries around the world swung into action—we had just 60 hours to make it happen.

As Jonathan described it, “It wasn’t even a full day since the initial discussion with the Archbishop’s office and the project plan was in place. Googlers were moving around the globe to make this happen. Dan from the Stockholm office was traveling to join Loren in Cape Town. In New Delhi, Guneet Singh had mobilized the India team, and Ashish had driven 12 hours across India to the Dalai Lama’s house in the Himalayas. The velocity of this team was astonishing. I was already getting a strong sense of what is possible when a group of passionate Googlers put their minds to something.”

The best part for me was seeing how these were just two old friends who really wanted to spend a birthday together. We allowed them to reminisce about old times, poke fun at each other, and share a good hearty laugh. Directly after the event, I spoke to the Archbishop and with great emotion in his voice he looked at me said, “Thank you so much for making this happen; it was so very special to me.”

Similarly, in India my colleague Ashish relayed to us: “In my very brief chat with The Dalai Lama, I found him really pleased to see his friend over the hangout. For me, the Google moment was when he bowed down and said, ‘Thank you very much for all your help.’ I felt really great and proud to be representing Google there.”

Leading up to the event was high pressure for everyone as unexpected problems cropped up. There was a power failure 15 minutes before the Hangout, after which a South African Secret Service Agent was dispatched to guard the site’s switchboard. As it happened, the main undersea Internet cable to South Africa was cut just 20 minutes after the event had finished.

But the Hangout itself was flawless. From their offices, living rooms, and bedrooms, thousands of people on Google+ watched this historic dialogue unfold live. The previous thirteen Dalai Lama’s had hardly traveled beyond Tibet. And now here was the 14th Dalai Lama chatting with Desmond Tutu, and it felt like it was happening in your house.

In a mere seven days, a crazy idea I put on a piece of paper had transformed itself from intention to manifestation. It makes me think: what else might be achieved? n Gopi Kallayil works for Google, but the opinions expressed here are his own and not Google’s. Highlights of the Dalai Lama-Archbishop Desmond Tutu Hangout can be watched at http://youtu.be/97bZu-tXLq4

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IC

elections 2012

Vinod Janardhanan

Last Man Standing An action packed 2012 Republican primary season

I

t has been an unusually fractious race for the 2012 Republican Party nominee.

While former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is the presumptive nominee, his nomination wasn’t a foregone conclusion till Rick Santorum conceded the race in early April.

This primary season merits a Hollywood screenplay, rife as it was with a mix of avarice, lust, as well as edge-of-your-seat twists and turns. Televised debates, asides, chance remarks, and Super PAC-funded advertising blitzkriegs littered the airwaves adding to the drama and entertainment of the race.

The exit of some of the candidates in the pre-primary stage exposed attitudes within the party and among the Tea Party-led, evangelical Christian-dominated, conservative base with regard to gender and race equality.

This was evident in the case of Michele Bachmann, the only woman in the fray and Herman Cain, the only Black candidate. While Bachmann bowed out after finding she could not muster enough support, Cain was ousted over well-timed revelations of his extra-marital affairs. “Sanctity of marriage” held up as an ideal by the conservatives, however, did not seem to apply to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose second and third marriages would have been described as “extra-marital affairs” had he been contesting some years ago.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum—a Catholic—garnered support among the evangelical Christian vote bank in deep southern states, by positioning himself as the “real” social and religious conservative.

Santorum provided the toughest challenge to Romney, whose Mormon religious background came under attack during the initial months of the campaign.

The Republican race shone the light on Obama’s policies, questioning and commenting on issues ranging from energy to healthcare reforms. Let’s consider what the candidates had to say on a few key platforms.

Energy

While blaming the Obama administration for soaring gas prices, Republican candidates have generally favored petroleum resources over sustainable solutions for energy security. Perry’s famous “oops” moment on 22 • india currents • may 2012

While Obama wants to make college-going affordable and even penalize colleges that hike fees by reducing federal aid, Republicans favor less government interference and more market intervention.

TV came when he forgot the name of one of the three federal agencies he would kill if elected president. That body was the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Romney, Santorum and Gingrich supported the Keystone pipeline and argued that the project, aimed at bringing tar sand oil from Alberta, Canada to Texas oil refineries via pipelines through environmentally sensitive areas, would create jobs. Critics of the project said that the jobs were going to be temporary, and the environment damage permanent.

Foreign Policy

Republican candidates opposed troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan. In an attempt to appeal, perhaps, to the military industrial complex, the candidates aired opinions to the effect that the United States should continue to engage abroad militarily in order to maintain its global pre-eminence.

When Israel protested Iran’s alleged move to weaponize its nuclear program, Romney expressed his support for Israel and slammed Iran, while Santorum went to the extent of stating that he would bomb Iran.

Gingrich’s controversial remarks on foreign policy issues earned the sobriquet “Newtisms.” In his re-interpretation of history and international affairs, he described Palestinians as “an invented people.”

Education

Even as America’s student loan debt soared past $1 trillion to overtake credit card debt, Democrats and Republicans are promoting radically different visions on edu-

cation. While Obama wants to make collegegoing affordable and even penalize colleges that hike fees by reducing federal aid, Republicans favor less government interference and more market intervention.

A vocal supporter of for-profit colleges, Romney as governor tried to slash higher education funding as a way to find $150 million to bridge Massachusetts’ $3 billion budget deficit. That plan was defeated by state legislature. Romney has said that if elected, he would veto the DREAM Act, which seeks to provide citizenship to children of illegal immigrants that would have helped them get a good education.

Santorum in his campaign attacked the “secularization and liberal indoctrination” of colleges as against Judeo-Christian values.

He prefers to home-school his children, and wants all parents to have the choice of where to send their children, as they are the “real consumers” of education. Gingrich has said that he’d like to radically reduce the mandate of the Department of Education to “research and data collection” and cut out all federal regulations on education.

Healthcare

While healthcare reform could have been a great opportunity for Romney to criticize Obama, he is not likely to address that issue, irrespective of the Supreme Court’s June verdict on the affordable healthcare bill. Part of Obama’s legislation was modeled on Romney’s own healthcare plan for Massachusetts.

I

n a Time magazine article, Joe Klein explained that “the real damage this year was not caused by the candidates; it came from a segment of the Republican electorate, which all too often celebrated ignorance and bigotry and displayed a disturbing appetite for nihilism.” Politics is not merely fodder for entertainment. There is a civic and patriotic responsibility that we must keep foremost as we move into the process of electing our next President. n Vinod Janardhanan is a writer-researcher and communications professional with global news and inter-governmental organizations. His research interests intersect at global politics, mass media and the South Asian diaspora.

india currents • may 2012 • 23

24 • india currents • may 2012

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IC

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Vishak Menon, Praba Iyer, Jaya Padmanabhan, Maya Jayapal

Wind Beneath Our Wings A Mother’s Day tribute

Reflection

O

n Mother’s Day this year, like the Mother’s Days of the past seven years, I am reminded of a woman who was once the guiding light of my life. My mother passed away on April 29, 2005, leaving my father, brother, sister, and me with little to hold on to but the memories. At the time I did not understand the significance of what had occurred and how could I? At the age of nine I was much more concerned with getting up for Saturday cartoons than I was about her frequent visits to the Stanford University Medical Center. I tried to act as if nothing was happening. But before I knew it, the walls of my life had come crashing down. On that day, a part of my childhood passed on along with her. Her cooking. Her hugs and smiles. Our late night watching of the Food Network together.

It would never be the same again.

With time the wounds healed. Friends, family, uncles and aunties came and went and sometimes it was hard to know who to trust.

Thanks to the love and care of the kind hearted individuals close to our family, we were able to keep it together. It was hard on my father. Even today it is hard. He has endured things that no man ever should so early in his lifetime. Often times I was unsure what was going to happen.

The move back to India always loomed over the heads of my siblings and me. As a whole I experienced a major loss of faith. I wondered, if there was a God how could he let this happen?

How could he take my mother from me? But on the days we did pray, in the dark as I stared into the lamp light, my thoughts always moved to her.

When I was in 6th grade, my father decided to remarry. A new woman? How could he ever think to replace my mother? She had brought with her a son whom she loved dearly, as any mother would. Although she and I did get along, it quickly became evident that she could never love us as much as she loved him and this led to problems. Fights. Arguments. Shouting.

Before I knew it they were on a plane back to India. Just another woman in and out of my life.

More time passed. I am now 16 years old, a junior at Mission San Jose High School. I am 28 • india currents • may 2012

studying hard and enjoying the high school experience. All around me are friends who support and share my likes and interests. But only my closest companions know why there is no Mrs. Menon to greet them every time they come over.

This year I became a staff writer for the school newspaper, The Smoke Signal, and began to express my thoughts on paper. The thought had crossed my mind before to write about my mother, but it just never happened.

I was scared. Scared that I wouldn’t remember enough. Ashamed that I had forgotten the woman who raised me.

I was wrong.

I will never forget.

My mother would be proud of who I am today, a strong, intelligent, hardworking individual with integrity. I know that I will never see her again on this Earth. I know that no woman will ever take her place. But on this Mother’s Day, I have come to terms with these facts, and I am okay with it. Somewhere my Amma is looking down at me with her infectious smile. And someday we will meet again and I will smile right back. n Vishak Menon is a junior at Mission San Jose High School.

My Greatest Strength

O

n a clear California morning, I sat down with a cup of tea in a home I’d recently moved into, wondering if my mom would have liked the house. For the past several years, mom was a part of every major decision we had made. She would have said, “It’s very spacious, like our tharavadu (ancestral) house, I like it.” Being with her, I had learnt to read between the lines at a very early age. Like the word “spacious” meant “do you really need this big space? You will have to clean it. It’s more work for you.”

During my teenage years in India, I discovered her dream, during our daily walks to the market, “I would have been a writer,” she once admitted, in her faint soft voice.

These walks were therapeutic for both of us.

We debated authors and politics and discussed general knowledge, family history, movies, while carrying bags of fresh vegetables and groceries. I learnt that her favorite flower was the rose, she really enjoyed playing chess, Humphrey Bogart was the second most handsome man after my dad, and even back then, her views on life were too liberal for her society to handle. She was a minimalist, in words and in her personal needs.

We were polar opposites. She was the epitome of silence, I was the chatterbox,

india currents • may 2012 • 29

constantly questioning her and she always had answers. She would say, “I want you to be different from me. I do not want you to be tied down by society’s strings. I want you to be free and be able to speak your mind.” She was subtle and simple, I was brash and blunt. She was extremely organized and clean, and I lived for the moment. But we did share a few things in common, our love for reading, cooking, nature and, yes, our stubbornness.

When she decided to live with me, I was impressed at how very quickly mom adapted to life in America. The clean roads made her smile.

She felt Americans have the biggest of hearts and yet couldn’t grasp why they would settle for the blandest of foods. Her favorite hangout was the Farmer’s Market. She loved Julia Roberts.

She religiously watched Oprah and General Hospital. Once hearing a neighbor complain about the bank she said, “He just needs to step out of this country, he will appreciate this system so much more.”

Mom came back after one of her India vacations, seeing all the places she wanted to see and meeting every relative she wanted to meet and hinting to them that it was her last trip back. Ten days after she got back to California, she had a stroke. During one of our many ER visits, she said, “ I have my one way ticket here, all I need to do is wait for my train and I hope it is much sooner than later”. Mom never feared death. In fact she welcomed it.

She said, “Once you have become a burden to your loved ones and a burden to society, it’s not worth the time left, society needs to help people like me, who have had a good run, and are ready to retire from life with a happy face.”

My son asked me who the strongest person I knew was; I said “Your Thathi (grandma).” My

relationship with mom was clean, simple and honest. It had no expectations, no restrictions and was extremely freeing. I guess that’s why it is harder to let go. I have learnt to accept this state of mind. It is a journey that all of us, who have loved so deeply, will have to endure.

As time goes by, I will go about my life, with the same spirit and energy as ever, but with her 30 • india currents • may 2012

memories framed to my heart and her voice recorded in my soul. n Praba Iyer blogs about cooking at rocketbites. com

This One’s For You

A

forgotten memory came to me recently as I waved goodbye to my daughter. She was headed for a weeklong jaunt away from my vigilance. It was a memory that had to be dusted free of cobwebs, yet inexplicably it retained its original emotional shading. I remember standing clutching my mother’s hand tightly, painfully, as she was preparing to hand me over to the Dormitory Supervisor at Bishop Westcott in Ranchi. I was four years old and I remember my mother’s eyes being abnormally swollen. That night was the first night I spent apart from her, and as time went by and numerous such separations occurred I accumulated these memories and buried them under the detritus of a childhood spent in boarding schools.

My mother and I grew up in completely different worlds. She grew up in ManKombu, a place I’ve only encountered in her childhood memories. During my youth, I seemed as alien to her as she seemed to me, with my father attempting to bridge the gap between us. Now, as I settle into maturity, and with my father long gone, the gap between my mother and me no longer seems as deep as I had once imagined.

For one, she is as avid a reader as I am and as passionate about music as I’d like to be. She is a Sudoku maniac, alive with interest in local politics, impatient with religious fanatics and more broadminded than many of my peers.

In a few short years, after moving to the US, she reconstructed her reality in a manner that made sense to her; creatively, resourcefully.

So when once the fire department personnel arrived after the fire alarm had triggered, my mother explained to them in broken English and in thorough detail how she had forgotten to turn the exhaust on when she was cooking dal for the sambhar. I have no idea what the fire department employees understood from what was said that day, but we still haven’t received the bill, so I assume all is forgiven.

On another occasion, when she was alone at home, the police arrived and threatened to take our obnoxious pet away for barking too much.

She stood her ground fiercely and wrested the mutt from their clutches. They were no match for her.

Throughout my childhood, numerous well-meaning aunts, uncles and cousins have declared very categorically, “you’re not as close to your parents because you never grew up with them.” Indeed, the last part is true, my brother and I didn’t grow up at home, or in our parents’ company, spending just three out of twelve months with them. However, I felt then as I do now, it’s not the frequency but the intensity of a relationship that really matters, and it is

my parents’ love that sustained me through those long months apart. It was an affection compacted by the brevity of our interactions and yet lengthened by the longing for our moments together.

Don’t be under any illusions that it is always sunny in our multigenerational home. We fight, we bicker, we quarrel, we argue and we criticize.

But at the end of the day I know that my mother is there, just a shout away, watching out for me, caring about what I ate for lunch, urging me to slow down once in a while.

“I have a riddle for you,” my mother said, one recent morning, as I was packing lunch boxes, preparing breakfast and prepping for dinner, before heading to work. “Not now, Amma,” I said impatiently but relented when I saw her face. “Name two things that cannot be turned or taken back,” she asked. I gave it a perfunctory mental glance before I saw her waiting look. “What?” I asked. “Time and the spoken word. Isn’t it true?” she asked excitedly.

“Words, once uttered, the chollu can never be retracted,” she added.

These are my spoken words for you, Amma.

Thank you. n Jaya Padmanabhan is an award winning writer.

Things My Mother Taught Me

M

y mother died in 1997 on May 17, six days after Mothers’ Day. I remember being caught in a paroxysm of grief and asking my oldest daughter, “Will I ever get over this?” We Indians do not celebrate Mothers’ Day, yet the proximity of the two dates makes it difficult for me not to think of her this month, every year.

Memories of her crowd my mind … of running up and down the veranda in our bungalow in Machlipatnam, while she fed me balls of rice with a triangle of pappadam stuck on one side to emulate a kuruvi (sparrow); her cool hands on my forehead soothing a fever; her hands holding me while I went through labor pains; of teaching me to make dosas with a dollop of butter in the center, smoothing the batter evenly in concentric circles on the griddle.

One memory stands out; the pain in her voice when she told me how at 19, while still in her final year at college, her marriage was “fixed.” She only had a year left to finish college. Her father, who was actually a progressive man for his time, decided arbitrarily, as parents sometimes do, that she did not need that degree. But she only married a year later, and always regretted that she hadn’t completed the course, “ ... and I would have been able to say that I, too, am a college graduate.” But she just stayed home that year. Meanwhile, her two older sisters graduated; her oldest sister received a Masters in English Literature and her other sister became a doctor, much loved and revered. She voiced her feelings to her mother, but they were overlooked. It was an injustice

she never forgot. So she lived vicariously through her children, helping us with our homework, encouraging us, supporting whatever we wanted. She let us take part in dramatics, sports, run for office at college, anything she thought would give us an advantage or build our confidence. She taught herself Hindi when it was introduced into our school and instructed my younger siblings. She would have made a wonderful teacher.

Years later, when my six-year old daughter was grappling with multiplication problems and my husband gave up in despair, my mother came to our rescue. She asked for two weeks. I sent my daughter to her in Chennai and by the end of that fortnight, my daughter was chirping away, her multiplication tables firmly in place.

My mother also taught herself chess so she could play with my brother. She was highly competitive and hated to lose. In our riotous games of rummy, her delight when the loser had to bray like a donkey was infectious. She could on occasion, be obstinate when playing the board games she loved. I remember a vehement argument during a game of Scrabble about the existence of the word “dood” as the past tense of “do.” She sulked throughout the game when I emphatically said she could not use it.

In her mid-thirties she hitched up her sari, tucked it around her waist, donned a pair of tennis shoes and attacked the tennis courts.

And won a district championship! According to my brother who went on to become a university cricket player himself, she understood the nuances of cricket and tennis better than my father could. Often, when they watched a match she would yell “viddhi” (idiot) when a player did not do what she thought they ought to.

We understood that education was important. When my future father-in-law wanted me to marry his son three months before my final exams at university, my mother lobbied for a later date; but my father wavered.

So she suggested that I write to my husbandto-be, who, fortunately for me, understood my wish. He told his extremely stubborn father that he could not get a leave of absence (a bare-faced lie); our wedding was postponed and I got my Masters degree!

Three years ago when I turned 67, and she would have turned 87 (we share a birthday), I passed a written exam for which I’d worked hard for two years. The subject and qualification matters little—it was a test of faith; and I passed, the oldest in my class.

When I received the e-mail from my examiner in Australia, I thought to myself, “This is for you Amma, and for all the women who are denied their right to study. I celebrate your life.” n Maya Jayapal describes herself as a writer, a teacher, a counselor and a dreamer. She is a regular contributor to Deccan Herald, The Hindu and various other magazines. This article was first published in TalkingCranes.com.

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india currents • may 2012 • 31

I C ask a lawyer

James Root

Haunted by the Past Is there help for the hopeless immigrant?

M

any people currently in the United States could obtain lawful status if it were not for previous unhappy encounters with immigration. Too often people enter the country with lawful status but the twist and turns of life can upset that status.

Once an immigration problem occurs, things can seem forever hopeless without the chance for legal relief. But this is not always true.

Let’s say you entered with a visa, met a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, fell in love and impulsively married. Your new spouse petitioned for your immigration papers. Neither of you had financial records, any family connections, and the cultural differences between you became irreconcilable.

You withdrew the petition and moved on. Or you obtained a conditional green card, then divorced before the two years required to remove the conditions of residency were up and so you never filed to remove the condition. Or maybe you filed for asylum, legalization or an employment-based petition and never heard

32 • india currents • may 2012

from the appropriate office.

Years later you remarry or find stable employment with a potential petitioning employer. You have children, settle down and are living happily ever after—except for the nagging feeling that your immigration status is questionable.

Your new spouse or employer is eager to file a petition on your behalf. But when your new attorney requests a copy of your file, they discover that you have a final removal order or fraud determination. You realize that not only do you not have immigration status, but you might be permanently barred from obtaining status ever! Your worry turns to fear and the question you’d like to avoid asking haunts you: What will happen if you are forever separated from your loved ones and the land you think of as your home?

Don’t give up: there is hope. Often these barriers are not as permanent as you may think. A prior marriage fraud determination may be challenged. A final order of removal

can be reopened, and sometimes other seemingly hopeless immigration problems can be solved with the help of a good attorney.

Our office has successfully handled cases that seemed insoluble, discovering previously unnoticed relief was available for persons alleged to be inadmissible or removable due to fraud. We have, for example, obtained stays of removal for people who needed more time to get relief, even while the case was before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the person was in detention.

When your immigration problems seem hopeless, don’t despair and don’t lose sleep.

Instead, seek the advice of an experienced immigration attorney. Sometimes a good attorney with a fresh perspective and the creativity to try “out of the box” solutions can make all the difference.n James Root is the principal attorney at Root Law Group in Los Angeles. Email info@ rootlaw.com.

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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.

May 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 May 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.

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Vivek Wadhwa

Incentivizing Math and Science Education U.S. competitiveness hinges on motivating more students into tech education

E

ver since Craig Barrett retired as Intel’s CEO, he has made it his life’s mission to improve U.S. competitiveness. He believes that the way to do this is to teach more math and science. And he believes we need to graduate more Ph.D.s in science and engineering.

I wholeheartedly support improvements in education and know the value that math and science skills provide. But the problems I see in U.S. competitiveness aren’t related to the numbers of engineering Ph.D.s or scientists that we graduate. American companies are shifting R&D abroad because it makes economic sense for them to be near growth markets, and they can hire talented workers at a lower cost. It isn’t about deficiencies in American workers or a weakness of U.S. math and science education.

We are graduating enough Ph.D.s in science and engineering. The problem is that the majority of these graduates are foreign nationals (who are now increasingly returning home). American’s don’t consider it worthwhile to complete advanced science and engineering degrees because it doesn’t make financial sense for them to do so. Research by Harvard economist Richard Freeman showed that because salaries for scientists and engineers are lower than for other professions, the investment that students have to make in higher degrees isn’t cost-justified. Doctoral graduate students typically spend seven to eight years earning a Ph.D., during which time they are paid stipends. These stipends are usually less than what a bachelor’s degreeholder makes. Some students never make up for this financial loss. Foreign students typically have fewer opportunities and see a U.S. education as their ticket to the U.S. job market and citizenship. Hence, 60% of U.S. engineering Ph.D. graduates are foreigners.

Today, few young Ph.D.s can get started on the career for which their graduate education purportedly trained them, namely, as faculty members in academic research institutions. Instead, scores of thousands of them spend the years after they earn their doctorates toiling in low-paying, dead-end postdoctoral “training” appointments (called postdocs) in the laboratories of professors, where they ostensibly hone skills they would need to start labs of their own when they become professors. In fact, however, only about 25 percent of those earning American science 36 • india currents • may 2012

Ph.D.s will ever land a faculty job that enables them to apply for the competitive grants that support academic research. And even fewer—15 percent by some estimates—will get a post at the kind of research university where the nation’s significant scientific work takes place.

So, if we create incentives for American children to study math and science and to complete advanced degrees, the magic will happen. In addition to math and science, we should teach our children about world culture, geography, and global markets. In the era of globalization, these subjects are equally important. And while we fix the incentives for Americans, let’s do all we can to keep the best foreign students who come to the United States to study, here, so they are competing on our side.

I wholeheartedly agree that we need to improve K-12 education and I agree about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. The question is, how do you motivate American children to enter fields like science and engineering that are harder than others to learn, don’t provide the economic rewards, and aren’t considered “cool?” We can’t force our children to do Ph.D.s in math.

When American children choose to study science or engineering, their friends call them geeks or nerds—they are made to feel inferior.

Their Indian and Chinese counterparts are held in high regard by society and end up at the top of the social ladder. Indian and Chinese engineers and scientists are often national heroes. Here, our kids idolize football players and rock stars.

We can’t also just tell our children that the nation’s competitiveness and standard of living depends on them making sacrifice and completing advanced degrees in math and science. They won’t care. We should definitely improve the K-12 education system. Our corporations should also invest in workforce development, provide tax breaks for research, and we should fix our university research system.

The problem of American children not being motivated to become scientists and engineers is very real. My top students at the Masters of Engineering Management Program at Duke University still vie for highpaying investment banking jobs; they don’t become engineers. It is the same with our

How do you motivate American children to enter fields like science and engineering that are harder than others to learn, don’t provide the economic rewards, and aren’t considered “cool?”

top Ph.D.s in math; they become quants at investment banks. Their talents end up being used by investment banks to find new ways of bilking the financial system.

We need to create excitement about science and engineering at the national level and motivate our best and brightest to become engineers and scientists. And we need to make it worthwhile financially for them to help our country stay competitive and to solve the problems facing our planet. This is as much a marketing problem as it is an investment problem. n Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. You can follow him on Twitter at @ vwadhwa and find his research at www.wadhwa.com. Originally published in TechCrunch.

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commentary

Sandip Roy

Perils and Pleasures of Living Alone in India

“J

ust come back any time with madam to approve the kitchen design,” the beaming modular kitchen consultant told me.

I explained patiently, again, that there was no madam available and that I would be approving my own modular kitchen, cabinet colours and all.

He nodded and said, “But we can wait few days if needed for madam.”

When it finally dawned on him that there was no madam at all, he was aghast. I don’t know what shocked him more—that a man might approve a kitchen design, or that I lived alone or that a man who lived alone wanted a kitchen.

Living solo

A recent story in The Guardian about the global rise in living solo says while countries like Sweden have the most number of singletons (47%), the countries where single person households are growing the fastest are Brazil, China and India.

Apparently that statistic has not percolated its way down to the kitchen design store at our furniture mall in Kolkata.

Living solo has usually been regarded as something profoundly abnormal, especially in a culture where a parent’s job is not done until the children are “settled,” ergo married.

We like to think we were designed to live communally even if it’s in shared misery. Our saas-bahu television soaps with their feuding extended families hammer that point home endlessly. Living solo carries with it the pathos of abandonment—the lonely widow sitting alone in front of a flickering television watching those soaps of great bickering families, her own children long gone to America and Australia, leaving her easy prey for robbers and thieves.

But as Eric Klinenberg, the author of Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, points out, “Living alone, and being alone are hardly the same, yet the two are routinely conflated.”

In fact, who is truly more alone here?

The couple sitting across each other at the dinner table, completely wordless, each engrossed in their own BlackBerry or the single

38 • india currents • may 2012

Photo Credit: A Creative Commons image

person, alone at home, juggling four chats on Facebook and MSN messenger?

Klinenberg spells out all the reasons why so many more of us are living on our own today. More of us can afford it. We have better internet. But most importantly we are viewing it not as a sign that we are losers but as “an investment in the self.” “Today, young solitaires actively reframe living alone as a mark of distinction and success,” he writes. This is the natural progression of what Emile Durkheim, the late 19th century sociologist, called the “cult of the individual” which was marked by the transition from the tight-knit rural community to a more anonymous urban one.

When I first moved to America as a graduate student, I could not wait to live alone. It signified freedom, independence, and a sense of my own space—something I’d never known in India. The feeling of liberation of a town where no one knew your name was utterly enthralling. Not having to answer to where you were going and when you were coming back (even to a roommate) was exhilarating. Of course it also meant no more hot meals ready when you came home exhausted, bathrooms that didn’t clean themselves, and laundry that kept piling up in the corner.

Yet as a society, the West is still geared towards singletons. In the United States you can do almost everything online. Dishwashers and vacuum cleaners are commonplace. You are apt to be far more isolated if you don’t drive rather than if you live alone.

How alone is alone?

In India, first, you have to rejigger the very definition of living alone. My uncle, a bach-

elor, lived alone after my grandmother died.

In our family lore, he was always held up as the cautionary tale of what happens if you do not get married. The fact is he lived “alone” with a cook and a maid and a mixed breed dog, not to mention the washerwoman next door whose children ran around the house all day and his electrician friend from across the street who visited every day. It is also a fact that he outsourced the management of the household to my mother who took hisaab every day from the cook about how much oil he had bought and how much fish.

If you do try to live truly alone in India, society seems to actively conspire to thwart you.

The postman doesn’t deliver anything anymore. Everything from magazines to bills to checks comes by courier. Make that a wide assortment of couriers. Unless someone is around to sign for you, nothing will ever reach you. Unless someone is at home, nothing will get repaired, nothing will get painted.

The doorbell rings all day long and it always tolls for thee. There’s the cable guy, the electric meter check guy, the water filter guy, the inverter battery servicing guy, the furniture delivery guy, the ironing guy and the

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you-are-screwed-if-you-miss-him gas cylinder delivery guy. “Sir, I am standing outside your door and ringing the bell for a long time,” says the air conditioning service man plaintively.

“But I am in a temple in Chidambaram,” I tell him. “I told you to call before you came.” “ I know. But there is no one else at home, sir, to let me in?” he asks.

Even the traffic signals are against single living. “Please cross the road carefully. Remember someone is waiting for you at home,” intones a mournful female voice all day long in various languages at the traffic light near my apartment. As if one should immediately fling oneself into the path of an oncoming minibus if one was going home to an empty apartment.

Perhaps the only thing that is singletonfriendly are our sabzi markets. You can still buy a few potatoes, a handful of onions, loose spices, two eggs and even a single cigarette.

You don’t need to get a shrink-wrapped value pack of a dozen apples and watch them slowly molder in your refrigerator.

Do you cook?

But the biggest hurdle to living on your own is that we are a culture that actually thrives on this sense of dependency. We need this sense of interdependency to function, to feel alive. In a country of a billion-plus, we both crave to get away and at the same time are addicted to the warmth of a human body. An Indian friend who broke up with his partner in America said he could not bear the thought of coming home to a dark house. He put out an ad for a roommate not because he needed the money but because he needed someone, anyone to be there.

That could be spouse, roommate, mother or maid. Anytime I talk about living alone, the first amazed question is always the same. “But what do you do about food? Do you cook?”

Yes, I do when I need to. But it’s also true that try as I might, I am only a part-time soloist. I spend a chunk of the week at my mother and sister’s place because it’s incomprehensible that after years abroad on my own I’d now live in the same city as the family and still not physically be with the family. When I come back after three days, it’s almost the same as when I came back after a year abroad.

American friends would tell me that living with someone was such hard work, so much adjustment, all that divvying up of kitchen cabinets and bathroom shelves. But it’s really not half as tough as trying to live alone in India. Now that you have to really work hard at. n

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books

Fehmida Zakeer

A Feminist Ramayana Samhita Arni uses patua artist Moyna Chitrakar’s vibrant illustrations to tell the story of Ramayana from Sita’s point of view SITA’S RAMAYANA adapted by Samhita Arni illustrated by Moyna Chitrakar. Groundwood Books, 2011. 152 pages.$24.95.

S

ita’s Ramayana, as the name suggests, is a version of the epic told from the point of view of the hapless princess. Author Samhita Arni begins her story with a heavily pregnant Sita walking into the forest with bruises on her feet and tears in her eyes. The inhabitants of the forest, the leaves, flowers, creepers, and animals wake up from their long sleep at the intrusion. They wonder what this beautiful maiden, dressed in silks and ornaments, is doing in their world and start questioning her. In response, Sita recounts her story and the horrified forest creatures pledge to protect her and make her stay as comfortable and secure as they can.

Arni not only relates the Ramayana from Sita’s point of view but also touches upon Sita’s response to the plight of other women she meets during the time she is abducted and confined. The age-old messages of right and wrong, compassion, love, loyalty come across in vivid detail along with subtle references to the terrible price extracted by conflicts on women and children, whether they are on the winning or the losing side.

Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar’s illustrations in earthy hues depict Sita’s agony, hope, and horror though her journey from abduction to rescue to public trial.

The colorful art form of Patua is native to West Bengal and combines storytelling, performance, and art. Stories are depicted frame by frame through paintings done with vegetable and mineral dyes on handmade paper pasted on cloth. Traditionally, Patua artists travel from village to village with their scrolls narrating stories from epics and mythologies.

Moyna Chitrakar has more than 30 years experience in this art form that she learnt from her mother. Her paintings in rich red, mustard, olive, muted blue earthen colours lend support to Arni’s precise prose ensuring an engrossing read.

Arni’s interest in mythology and retelling epics began early. Her retelling of the Mahabharata was published when she was only twelve. It has since then been translated and published in German, Italian, French, Portugese, Spanish, Catalan and Greek. The 40 • india currents • may 2012

The events after Lanka falls

Mahabharata—A Child’s View, written and illustrated by her, was named Book of the Month by the German Academy for Youth Literature and Media in 1999. It won the Elsa Morante Literary Award from the Department of Culture of Campania, Italy (2004) and was chosen as one of the Best Published Books of 2004 by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

Arni has a double major in Religion and Film from Mount Holyoke College in the United States, and has lived in Pakistan, Thailand, and Italy among other countries. She is now working on a thriller set in Ayodhya which is again based on the Ramayana.

Here she talks about the experience of giving a feminist perspective to the Ramayana, her interest in mythology, and her forthcoming novel.

Tell us about the process that went into telling the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective; did you look into different versions of the Ramayana found in different parts of Asia?

Moyna’s images came first and they are the primary narrative. The text is secondary

and was written after the images—the images are so powerful that the text is just meant to frame, give a context when needed. It was a collaborative process—the result of many back and forth conversations—and included, besides Moyna and me, editor V. Geeta and publisher Gita Wolf, and the supremely talented Jonathan Yamakami, a Japanese-Brazilian designer who did the layout. It was not always easy, but it was a wonderful, thoughtprovoking experience.

Yes, there were times where I introduced characters from other versions, like Trijatha from Kamban’s Ramayana, to add nuance to the story. But I’ve tried to stay true, as much as possible, to Moyna’s conception/retelling as expressed in the artwork. The different, panAsian, polymorphic versions of the Ramayana have been the major inspiration.

What triggered your interest in the Ramayana, particularly about telling the story from Sita’s perspective?

I was researching the Ramayana for my other (forthcoming) book, which is a speculative-fiction thriller centred on Sita, but set in contemporary times. I had not really engaged

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with the Ramayana as a child. The Sita that we are most familiar with today, the demure and chaste one, is not the kind of ideal that girls like me, growing up with feminist mothers and encouraged to pursue what we want, can identify with.

So when I ran into my old publisher Gita Wolf, we started talking about my other book and the Ramayana, and Gita mentioned that she wanted to do another book with Moyna, a Patua artist who had a very feminist, very Sita-centric version of the Ramayana. Now the Patuas are very interesting—they are a mix of Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims and they exist outside the caste system. They’ve been retelling the Ramayana for as long as they’ve existed, I guess, and since it’s an oral and visual storytelling medium, with each artist-storyteller the retelling is different. I was fascinated with this.

Was any part more difficult than the rest, and how did you get around it? What is your favorite part in the book?

The difficult bit was retelling the war, because Sita never saw it, she was imprisoned in a garden in Ravana’s palace. We had to take a call—do we find another character who sees the war firsthand, or do we stay with Sita? I felt it was more powerful to stay with Sita, to create this sense of fear and anticipation, of not knowing.

But to relate the major events of the war, I had to find a character who would tell this to Sita, and I found the perfect character in Trijatha, a Rakshasi. She is Sita’s jailor, who in the Kambharamayana is a seer gifted with foresight and prophetic abilities. And because she’s from Lanka, she has a different take on the war, which was interesting to explore.

Favorite bits—Moyna’s illustrations! I love the one we begin with—Sita in the forest, crying, surrounded by plants with faces.

And the one where Hanuman jumps across the sea—there’s just sea … and it’s a wonderful way of expressing distance.

Apart from Sita, who do you empathize with the most?

In the Ramayana, many of the female characters are interesting. I find Trijatha interesting, she has a prophetic vision that foretells the destruction of Lanka, and her father Vibhishana switches sides and joins Ram, but Trijatha seems to feel that it is her dharma to remain in Lanka and that is such an interesting choice. Tara, Vali and Sugriva’s wife, is also interesting; she critiques the idea of dharma and points out how women lose out when men pursue their dharma.

Tell us a little about The Mahabharata—A Child’s View. How did it come about?

I came back from Pakistan at the age of eight, after having lived there for three years, and I think, in retrospect, I found in the Mahabharata a sort of allegory/analogy/echo of the India-Pakistan situation, two sides of a family quarrelling over property/inheritance.

I had nothing to do since it was summer 42 • india currents • may 2012

Hanuman jum

ping across th

e sea

holidays, and since I loved the epic so much, someone in my family suggested that I busy myself with retelling the story.

I didn’t have many friends in school in India at first (I told everyone I had come from Karachi, and this around the time of Babri Masjid so tensions were running high, and I was sort of ostracized), so I continued writing and illustrating the Mahabharata. I guess it was therapeutic. My mother kept the manuscript together (I would write and draw on anything, greeting cards, backs of other people’s letters), and showed it to a publisher, Gita Wolf, who offered to publish it.

You have retold and interpreted both of the great Hindu epics. Have you had any instances of people reacting in an unfavorable way?

So far people have been very positive. I can only hope that it stays that way, knock on wood.

Do you take care to ensure that you don’t deviate too much from the original in order not to offend religious sensibilities.

Yes, very much so. I don’t intend, I don’t want in any way to offend religious sensibilities, but I want to engage with the questions and concepts the Ramayana asks and puts out. It’s also a beautiful literary tradition, in all its various forms, and I think to keep the epics and traditions alive one must retell these stories, so that they continue to be relevant to our lives.

Give us an idea about your forthcoming novel?

Sita (tentative title) is a “speculativefiction-feminist-thriller,” which explores the end of the Ramayana and the consequences of the war in Lanka. In a world that resembles ours, Ram rules over “Ayodhya Shining.” But even in this prosperous, perfect kingdom, darkness lurks. A journalist realizes that there are always two sides to history when she meets Kaikeyi, Ram’s stepmother and former queen of Ayodhya. Kaikeyi voices the one question that Ayodhyans are afraid to ask—where is Sita, Ram’s absent wife, whose abduction trig-

Samhita Arni

gered the Lankan war? And so the journalist begins to search for Ayodhya’s missing queen, to ask questions that reveal the “other” side of Ayodhya Shining, and meets both the victors and the defeated from the Lankan war. Soon, her investigation attracts the notice of the “Washerman,” the head of Ayodhya’s powerful intelligence agency. She is forced to flee to Lanka and Mithila to elude the Washerman and find the one person who has the power to answer her questions, to tell it like it really was—Sita.

It’s being published by Zubaan, hopefully next year. If anyone’s interested, an excerpt was published a while back in Caravan magazine, and there’s a link to the online version on my website www.samarni.com. n Note: For another feminist perspective on the Ramayana, check out the animated movie Sita Sings the Blues (2008), by Nina Paley.

Fehmida Zakeer is based in India. Her work has come out in various national and international publications including Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Garden, Prevention, Azizah, Herbs for Health, Ritz magazine, and others.

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india currents • may 2012 • 43

Rajesh C. Oza

Lost in a Smoke of Hypocrisy RIVER OF SMOKE by Amitav Ghosh. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. 522 pages.

S

ome four years ago, India Currents’ review of Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies ended with a description of a character and a hypothesis: “And there is Benjamin Burnham, a living embodiment of the British East India Company, whose character reminds us that all great literary works have contemporary relevance. In condescending to Zachary and the Raja, Burnham uses the Orwellian doublethink of imperialism: “The war, when it comes, will not be for opium. It will be for a principle: for freedom—for the freedom of trade and for the freedom of the Chinese people.” To transform Mr. Burnham into President Bush, simply substitute “oil” for “opium,” “freedom of elections” for “freedom of trade,” and “Iraqi” for “Chinese.”

Burnham’s words not only echo present political realities, but also foreshadow subsequent novels in the Ibis trilogy.

The hypothesis in 2008 was less about the idea of a second novel (Ghosh had publicly signaled this intent), but rather that Volume 2 would locate its focus on the Anglo-Chinese Opium Wars. For this review of the second installment in the trilogy—A River of Smoke —let us begin with the hypothetical before proceeding to the hypocritical.

What if Mexico was the most potent economic force the world had ever seen?

What if part of that power stemmed from the illegal transport of drugs into the United States? And, what if the traffickers of drugs smugly justified the smuggling, addiction, and human ruin by boldly proclaiming, “We are merely exercising the God-given right to Free Trade. After all, what good is NAFTA if we can’t bring our ‘agricultural products’ to El Norte?”

You could imagine the uproar up north in America: “How dare the Mexicans push their drugs on our children? And how dare they flaunt our laws? How can people who have sworn allegiance to the Pope behave in such an un-Christian manner?”

Too fabulous you say? Just something that fable-writers and novelists dream up? Perhaps while reading River of Smoke, you might suspend knowledge that you are reading fiction.

Unlike Sea of Poppies, which read like a highflying and sea-faring hallucinogenic dream, River of Smoke is more of a nightmare ground-

44 • india currents • may 2012

ed in the muddy realities of opium-dealing capitalists living unsavory lives in Canton, China. Told with great acuity and with what must have been pain-staking research, this second installment has the voice of an insider—or rather voices of insiders—because Ghosh again privileges multiple points of view over a singular protagonist. The novel weaves together independent stories, creating the feeling of different, but connected, memoirs of a fascinating period of time.

T

he primary characters’ connections to the compelling friends from Sea of Poppies are loose and at times feel somewhat forced.

An all-too-brief first chapter opens this novel through the insightful eyes of Deeti, who does not return in subsequent pages. The link is made to the earlier work which also opened with Deeti’s vision, but it is a tenuous link.

The good news is that readers new to the trilogy need not have an emotional attachment to the people populating Sea of Poppies; of course, for those—like this reader—who were enthralled by the adventures of Deeti, Kalua, Serang Ali, Paulette Lambert, Jodu, Raja Neel Ratan Halder, Ah Fatt, Baboo Nobokrishna Panda, James Doughty, and Benjamin Burnham in Volume 1, the author’s loose-tight distancing technique can be off-putting. It would be as if after her engaging debut novel, J. K. Rowling decided to continue the Harry Potter series by de-emphasizing Harry, Hermione, and Ron in favor of going deeper with Ginny Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, and Dobby.

Artistically, this may be a way of stretching one’s literary muscles, but from a reader’s point of view, identity with cherished characters is lost.

In this topsy-turvy novel, Ghosh disappoints with the one-sided epistolary relationship between Robin Chinnery, an insouciant painter in search of love, and Paulette Lambert, an orphan who is in search of a rare, perhaps nonexistent, flower called “The Golden Camellia.” The descriptive letters from Robin to Paulette serve to establish the setting and explain the narrative, but don’t have a substantial story within themselves; as such, it becomes a case of telling rather than showing. One never quite cares whether Robin will find his special Friend or whether Paulette will find her special Flower. And Robin’s incessant re-creation of Paulette’s name into a variant of Puggly (Pugglagola, Marquise de

Unlike Sea of Poppies, which read like a high-flying and sea-faring hallucinogenic dream, River of Smoke is more of a nightmare grounded in the muddy realities of opium-dealing capitalists living unsavory lives in Canton, China.

Puggladour, Pugglecita, Puggla’zelle, Principessa Puggliogne, Ranee of Pugglipur, and on and on) will have many readers screaming, “Enough with the silly pet names.”

To be fair, there are other characters who are more compelling than Robin and Paulette.

Ghosh’s creation of the fey Seth Bahramji

Naurozji Modi is a piece of exhilarating and transformative writing. This Parsi trader from Bombay is the owner of the Anahita, a ship hat carries opium from India to China. But more than the illegal haul, the Anahita carries Bahram’s dreams of a complete life. It enables him to shuttle between Bombay, where he timidly lives in the household of his powerful in-laws, and Canton, where he lives as he wants to as the leader of the Indian community. “In Canton, stripped of the multiple wrappings of home, family, community, obligation, and decorum, Bahram had experienced the emergence of a new persona, one that had been previously dormant within him: he had become Barry Moddie, a man who was confident, forceful, gregarious, hospitable, boisterous and enormously successful. But when he made the journey back to Bombay, this other self would go back into its wrappings; Barry would become Bahram again, a quietly devoted husband, living uncomplainingly with the constraints of a large joint family.” This self-made man enables us to observe the growing larger conflict. Just as the British had to choose between power and principle in their imperial quests, Bahram is asked, “Who will you choose, Mr. Moddie? Will you choose the light or the darkness, Ahura Mazda or Ahriman?”

As alive as the conflict between good and evil is, the collective story is slow in picking up speed. All narratives must have a tension that keeps the reader asking, “What’s gonna happen next?” This tension keeps the pages turning. Because River of Smoke gradually builds its conflict, the impatient reader may not wait until page 400 when Ghosh teases, “But still the predicted gale held stiff: the next few days brought instead confusing and apparently directionless cross-winds.” Sadly, such readers will miss the character development, chrestomathic dialogue, and hyperdescriptive language that propels this novel.

Two pages later, the hammer falls on the opium-trading foreigners with a proclamation by the historically important Chinese Imperial Commissioner, His Excellency Lin Zexu: “Are you foreigners grateful for the favours shown you by the Emperor? You must then respect our laws and in seeking profit for yourselves you must not do harm to others. How does it happen then that you bring opium to our central land, chousing people out of their substance and involving their very lives in destruction?” After this proclamation (and the evocative use of the word “chousing”), the novel speeds down a river of smoke to its tragic conclusion. Like the hypocrisy of the British, Bahram’s self-centered choice foretells a future that is now history. n While not always moved to distant shores by the novels he reads, RCO consistently appreciates the seemingly opium-fueled creative energy required by authors of these dream states. india currents • may 2012 • 45

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50 • india currents • may 2012

india currents • may 2012 • 51

IC

recipes

Praba Iyer

An Assimilated Cuisine

M

y grand mom was a great story teller.

She would narrate her childhood stories under the moonlight, on hot summer evenings in Chennai. Along with the stories, she fed us balls of rice mixed with molakuttal (vegetable stew with fresh coconut), appalam and pickle. This was the highlight of the evening for my brother, our neighborhood kids, and I. Gobbling it up quickly, we would eagerly wait for more stories.

I learnt from my grandmother that my community had migrated from the state of Tamil Nadu to Kerala, and settled in an area called Palakkad, and its surrounding villages.

My ancestors had moved there upon the invitation of the rulers of Travancore, to teach Vedic scriptures and to take care of the temples.

Eventually they became land owners, restaurateurs and farmers. They brought with them a rich heritage and culinary skills. They assimilated and integrated themselves in their new land, following a ritualistic life, with great importance given to spirituality, education and learning. Their language was a blend of

Tamil, Malayalam and Sanskrit. It represented their past mixed in with their present.

The Giving Tree

Life was simple and self sufficient for them back then. My parents grew up surrounded by coconut palms and paddy fields.

The vegetables were from their own backyard: fruits from their groves, rice from their fields, and milk from their cows. Coconuts were in abundance, and my grand mom would always tell us “Give unconditionally, like a coconut tree, whose every part is used and serves a useful purpose.”

Just like the language, the food became an amalgamation of known and honed culinary knowledge, which merged into the existing local cuisine and ingredients. Palakkad cuisine is unique and different. It is the soul food of Palakkad Iyers all over the world.

Origins of Palakkad Cuisine

Palakkad cuisine has its origins in Ayurveda. It was originally conceived as a sattvic

vegetarian diet, pure and devoid of onions and garlic, something quite hard for us to imagine in this day and age. Sattvic foods have fresh vegetables, sprouts, nuts, milk, and fruits. They are easy to digest, give nourishment and energize the mind and body.

As time went by, many Palakkad Iyers moved to Bombay and other states and cities across India, as well as globally. The cuisine has evolved from its basic sattvic roots.

But no matter where we are, Palakkad Iyers share the same love for our molakuttal, avial (vegetables in a yogurt and fresh coconut stew), puli inji (tamarind and ginger sauce), thayir pachadi (spiced yogurt with vegetables), mampazha pulisseri (ripe mangoes in a warm yogurt and coconut sauce), and mezhukku peratti (stir fried raw plantains with coconut and green chillies). n Praba Iyer teaches custom cooking classes around the SF Bay Area. She also blogs about cooking at rocketbites.com

Vegetable Molakuttal

(Beans, yam, chinese potatoes, peas, carrots and soy beans in a coconut and cumin stew) This recipe is a vegetable version.

There is another version made with leafy green vegetables like spinach, drumstick leaves and cabbage.

Ingredients ½ cup toor dal (split red gram) 3 cups vegetables (yam, winter melon, drumsticks, beans, carrots, potatoes, peas) 1 tsp turmeric ½ tsp cayenne pepper To grind ½ cup grated fresh coconut 1 tsp cumin seeds To season 1 tsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp urad dal (split black gram) Few curry leaves Wash and cook the toor dal with water in a pressure cooker for approximately three whistles. Chop the vegetables into cubes and cook them with turmeric, salt, cayenne in a cup of water.

Grind fresh coconut with cumin to a smooth paste with one tablespoon of water. Add the cooked toor dal and coconut 52 • india currents • may 2012

mixture to the cooked vegetables and ½ cup of water. Let it come to a boil on low heat. Add the curry leaves.

Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter and then add the urad dal. Gently mix till the urad dal is golden in color and transfer it to the stew mixture. Check the salt to taste. Serve hot with rice and pickle.

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travel

Sweta Srivastava Vikram

The Allure of Socrates’ Land T

here are many accounts that tell us that Greek and Indian cultures have influenced each other, be it the mythological beliefs, worship of many Gods, or superstitions; there are many similarities between the two cultures. Both Hindi and Greek languages have their roots in Indo-European languages. Both the nations made incredible contributions to the field of mathematics.

While India’s Aryabhatta invented the number zero, the Pythagoras Theorem was born out of Greece. Studies show that the Greek philosopher, Plato, was influenced by Indian philosophy. So it wasn’t difficult to pick Greece as a travel destination.

I had once been to Greece many years ago, with my parents. Nevertheless, the immense fascination for Greek mythology and philosophy persuaded me to revisit this ancient land and explore the similarities between India and Alexander the Great’s nation.

We flew directly from Israel into Greece, in the wee hours of the morning. Unlike Tel Aviv airport, Athens was calm, friendly, and zen-like. To a history loving, philosophy craving, culture analyzing, mythological story seeking, yoga-meditation devotee like me, the energy at Athens airport felt right.

We got to our hotel a little before 10 a.m. too early for check in; however, the hotel staff graciously checked us in and gave us a nonsmoking room with a balcony. Our hotel was within five to ten minutes walking distance from all the must-see sights: Acropolis, Plaka, Syntagma Square, The Temple of Zeus, and the National Gardens.

As soon as the receptionist found out we were of Indian ancestry, he started to discuss Bollywood with me. He showed off a few dance moves, proclaimed his love for Indian actresses, and confessed that his wife and daughter never missed any Hindi movies.

Just as we headed out of the hotel, the manager’s eyes fell on my husband’s camera, the size of a telescope. In an animated tone she said, “Be careful. Christmas and New Year are good for pickpockets in Athens. Tourists are like Santa Claus to them.” I was partly amused and partly bewildered by the lady’s declaration. She continued, “But these people aren't criminals. They just take your stuff and you don’t even feel it.” Of course, I contemplated telling her about the “chor-pockets” that every Indian girl is taught to create just to con the conmen.

54 • india currents • may 2012

Photo Credit: Anudit Vikram

Architectural Diversity

We visited the Acropolis, the most famous site in all of Athens, almost every day. It’s a large hill in the center of the city containing a cluster of ancient ruins. The view from atop the hill was magnificent, especially during sunset. The Acropolis Museum, a modern, up-to-date building at the foot of the Acropolis, houses important ancient Greek statues and much more. Near the entrance, the floor is all glass, which allows visitors to see the buried remains inside.

Aside from the Acropolis, we walked to The Temple of the Olympian Zeus, also known as the Temple of Zeus Olympios. What was once the largest temple in Greece, today only has 15 columns that remain standing.

The National Gardens or Vassilikos Kipos (formerly known as the Royal Gardens), a peaceful, green15.5 hectares in the center of Athens, was like a sanctuary. I went there to write poetry. The National Gardens is located directly behind the Greek Parliament building (The Old Palace). And it isn’t too far from Panathenaiko or Kalimarmaro Olympic Sta-

A view of Athens

dium of the 1896 Olympic Games—another historically significant place.

Generously Garnished

The first night we went out to dinner in the Plaka area, one of the oldest, chic neighborhoods of Athens located at the base of the hill topped by the Acropolis. It was a two minute walk from our hotel. One could tell that the continuity of the Greek and Indian civilizations could be attributed to their ability to adapt to invaders and their ideas. We ordered saganaki, fried Graviera cheese, as an appetizer. It was heavenly and tasted like shallow fried paneer pakoda. We then ordered a Greek salad and clay-baked chicken pasta— the best I have ever eaten. It took time to cook the food, but it was fresh. For dessert, the manager served us semolina pudding. Though shaped in the form of a cube, it tasted nothing different from the suji halwaa Indians make.

It came garnished with lots of nuts.

Over the days, our meals comprised of more saganaki and delicious tzatziki—cucumber and yoghurt sauce—with Greek pita bread as appetizers; salad, gyros, stews, fresh fish, often

accompanied by live music and definitely tasteful wine. Spanakopita (spinach pie) or tiropita (cheese pie) along with cappuccino (hot chocolate for my husband) became our favorite lunch. And Greek yoghurt with their fruit toppings, our on-the-go snack. Greeks eat yoghurt like Indians—at any hour of the day with the choicest garnish: fruits, honey, sugar, nuts, or just plain. We liked light lunches and lavish dinners. We tried different restaurants in Piraeus, Plaka, and Syntagma Square. I don’t enjoy red meat, but my husband fell in love with all the lamb entrees in Greece. They were fresh, light, and served in small-portions.

At our hotel, desserts were always laid out in the main reception area. Kourabiedes—a christmas cookie made with butter, flour, and crushed roasted almonds, and then dusted with powdered sugar tasted a bit like shakkar padhe while loukoumades, honey puffs, reminded me of gulab jamuns, at least in appearance.

It was invigorating meeting people with a generous attitude. We liked the folks at the hotel so much that we canceled the rest of our travel plans within Greece and stayed put in Athens.

A Shopping Mecca

The Plaka is lined with restaurants, cafes, jewelry stores, and souvenir shops. And just like busy markets in India, storeowners and restaurant managers called out to tourists, offering them bargain values like wine or dessert on the house. While my husband was quoted high prices in Euros, I always got the “real price 25 Euros. But for you, I make five Euros.” I felt gratified. Even the Greeks could sense an Indian woman’s bargaining power.

My mother had told me that embroidered pieces and handicrafts in Greece were unparalleled. She wasn’t exaggerating. Most of the tablecloths and cushion covers looked like they were made in India—the handicrafts are

Photo Credit: Anudit Vikram

Square, the main square in Athens. It is in front of the parliament building and boasts stores & nice restaurants. Like Times Square in New York City, Syntagma Square is where many people like to welcome the New Year on December 31.

An Admirable Outlook

Photo Credit: Anudit Vikram

Socrates’ Prison

another thing that is common between the two old countries.

I hunted and looked for the great philosopher, Socrates’ bust at souvenir stores, but it was sold out at most places. Romina, one of the storeowners, said, “You can buy Alexander the Great’s bust instead.” I looked at her, “No way. He plundered India.” We both laughed.

It was refreshing to know that politically incorrect humor wasn’t judged in Greece. We continued to discuss how our countries were politically united by foreign conquerors.

Althought, I am not into jewelry, I wanted to pick up some sterling silver jewelry—something symbolic of Greek mythology, especially Athena. Romina showed me serpent rings.

Like in Hindu mythology, Greeks, too, consider snakes sacred.

Five star hotels surround Syntagma

Syntagma Square

Despite their terrible economy and debt crisis, we never feared for our personal safety in Athens. With money stashed safely inside our “chor pockets,” we frequently went on hikes and long walks. Storeowners often left their businesses unattended to chat with tourists and friendly neighbors. I met many people in Athens, locals who believed that ultimately it would all work out. Despite being disenchanted with their government and having had to move to other countries in search of opportunities, no one seemed scared or crazy—be it the people at the marina in Piraeus—the main port of Athens and the biggest port in Greece—cleaning their boats, eating fresh seafood, to the small deli owner in Syntagma Square, to the mom and pop souvenir stores in the Plaka. Opinionated, sure. But not in a threatening sort of way.

That said, I sensed callousness when it came to preserving their own history. In spite of the push to promote tourism in Greece to increase revenues, most government run places, including museums, closed at 2 p.m.

Many historical sites looked neglected. We chanced upon Socrates’ prison, where there were hardly any signs leading to the place. It was hidden behind trees and accompanied by a small descriptive board. As if the great philosopher and his controversial end had ceased to matter. Coincidentally, during the summer of 2011, I visited Nalanda, India— home to one of the oldest universities in the world—for some research work. I cringed at the decrepit state of the place. Is it that the government in both India and Greece take their monuments and artifacts for granted?

Ever since we have returned, people have been asking me, “What was it like being in Greece, especially during the financial crisis?

How were the people there?” I say to them, “It was like being in India during bad times—the Greek people show remarkable resilience and an admirable optimistic attitude.”

For the Indian in us, it was gratifying to be in a country that’s been as important to human civilization as India. Reading about places dating back to B.C. is one thing; experiencing it in person was indescribable. I guess old world has its unique charm. I can’t wait to be back! n Sweta Srivastava Vikram (www.swetavikram. com) is an award-winning author of six chapbooks of poetry and one novel. Her nonfiction book, Mouth full, will be published in October 2012. Sweta lives in New York City with her husband. india currents • may 2012 • 55

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india currents • may 2012 • 67

I C relationship diva

Jasbina Ahluwalia

First and Final Encounters Q

I seem to be spending a lot of time on first dates, many of which don't go anywhere.

I’m frustrated because it seems as though either the kind of guys I keep meeting are really just not worth my time, or in those cases where I see potential I don’t hear from the guy again. Any suggestions?

A

I’m sorry to hear of your frustration. As a matchmaker and dating coach to selective and commitment-minded men and women with limited free time, I can appreciate your concern. I encourage you to continue being the kind of woman who recognizes the worth of her precious time.

That said, I’m concerned that your frustration may be detracting from your investment of time and energies in the dating process. Let’s optimize the time you’re investing in dating, beginning with your approach.

I find that commitment-minded singles who understandably don't want to waste time sometimes have a tendency to approach a first date with the goal of immediately determin-

68 • india currents • may 2012

ing then and there if their date definitively has what it takes be their future spouse. This “fast-forward” approach can be counterproductive for a couple reasons.

First, such an approach lends itself to posing rapid-fire questions to one’s date, creating an almost “business or interview-like” exchange rather than an organically unfolding, playful interchange. This “fast-forward” approach is more likely to lead to feelings of pressure rather than a promising connection and chemistry.

Secondly, this approach reveals an unrealistic expectation with respect to the dating process, thereby enhancing the probability of disappointment, given that the vast majority of first dates statistically do not evolve into long-term relationships.

So what is a more productive approach?

Dating tends to be most fruitful when viewed as an adventure. Approach each date as an opportunity to discover something life-enhancing. Be open to the possibility that you may discover things about your date, or experience

a level of connection, which could lead you to believe in the potential for friendship and possibly a sustained relationship.

Even if you don’t see romantic potential, don’t shut-down and write the date off as a complete waste of time. Instead, challenge yourself to make valuable discoveries during the date. Perhaps you may discover a great new avenue to meet quality singles. Perhaps learning about your date’s interests, passions, or mindset may come in handy in interactions with other guys. Perhaps you may discover more about what’s important to you in a relationship. The dating process involves selfdiscovery as well as discovery of the people you date. 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.

travel

india currents • may 2012 • 69

IC

opinion

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan

The Emerging Economy Is good-will a by-product of a flailing economy?

I

was standing in a long line at the movie theater the other day, clearly looking restless and unhappy as my film was about to start in a minute. The woman in front of me turned around and offered me her spot in the line. She said that she was early for her show.

It may have been a random act of kindness, but I’ve been noticing them more often these days.

We’ve all heard that the economy is in shambles, gas prices are high, construction companies are on their knees in most parts of the country, kids are graduating from college and moving back home with poor employment prospects—the litany of financial woes are endless. But the other side of this story doesn’t seem to get told: There is another economy emerging, an interpersonal economy of thoughtful gestures and care.

I came across this line from Professor Yolanda Pierce of the Princeton Theological Seminary in a recent blog: “I think that if there is anything good that can come out of a recession, it is to refocus our attention on those things that are truly important and valuable.” Her words resonated with my own thinking. These difficult days have resulted in more community involvement. I am certain of it. Strangers extending hands of friendship. Libraries full, with books being read and exchanged. I’ve noticed more couples and families in my city’s downtown, walking and window shopping, enjoying our shared public space. More are having picnics in the park, and we seem to have realized that the stalls at the local farmer’s market are as good for flavorful food as a fancy restaurant.

My athletic neighbor whose job search took longer than he’d hoped honed his cooking skills and traded recipes and samples across the fence when he was a stay-at-home dad. I enjoyed his amazing barbeques while his kids expanded their palates on my Indian food experiments. It was heart-warming to see him strap both the girls to the family’s three-wheel stroller and cheerfully jog his way to meet daily fitness goals.

Despite the economy, community donors and many local companies are continuing to give, keeping critical social programs running although budgets are tight. Local foundations are stressing collaboration and innovative grant-making, like Step-Up Silicon Valley, 70 • india currents • may 2012

Perhaps it takes financial uncertainties to refocus our energies and attention on building lasting relationships with families and friends. a coalition of non-profits working together to address poverty in the Bay Area. The San Jose Mercury News reported that, for the past few years, Silicon Valley Realtors have provided seniors and home bound residents free help with their household tasks. This is especially helpful for individuals with disabilities whose families live far away. The group cleverly call themselves RSVP (Realtor Service Volunteer Program). Isn’t it wonderful that those most in need can respond if they please to an invitation for assistance? Businesses are asking, “Can we do better?” My local Starbucks is offering free coffee to customers who fill out pledge cards to give five hours of time to volunteering. Neighbors are planting more in their gardens and sharing more of their produce. I woke up this morning to a basket of mandarin oranges at my front door.

Perhaps it takes financial uncertainties to refocus our energies and attention on building lasting relationships with families and friends. So now that we have focused anew, we must continue to harness these energies even in “good” economic times. Let’s become more resourceful in our spending and use creativity and generosity in our engagement with others. And let’s direct the uncertainty of available (and viable) career paths to open up new possibilities for service. Imagine: We no longer restrict carpools to school drops or soccer practice. Our summer street “progressive” dinners became spontaneous monthly meals with simple courses in each home, in casual dress, with children and pets—no need to limit ourselves to sit-down dinners with table cloths and cloth napkins, the formality of which often limit meaningful conversation and catching up. Without a second thought, we share our garden produce or dinner with the most recent widow or widower in the

neighborhood. We revive and embrace those simpler days of children bringing friends around for Scrabble games or charades, and some even letting mum dust off those old embarrassing home videos for entertainment.

Post after post of pictures on Facebook after the spate of recent galas—American India Foundation (AIF), Indians for Collective Action (ICA) and more recently South Asian Heart Center (SAHC)—show us that we can come together as a community if there is enough of a rallying call for support.

So here’s my two cents worth. How can we do better even when times are better? Let’s use our forced simpler life now to live simply always. Uncertainties are allowing many of us to take chances and risk new jobs, to dream different dreams, perhaps, and set new priorities. We’ve all read the human interest stories about former engineers teaching third-grade math classes, or honor students turning down interviews for five-figure salaries and electing to Teach for America instead. Earlier this year, Nipun Mehta of Charity Focus, one of the recipients of ICA’s service award, moved his extraordinary volunteer group to Service Space to reflect the group’s growth from charity to service. Charity Focus has garnered the attention of Diane Sawyer and the Huffington Post and, recently, Nipun spoke at the United Nations. As he smilingly said, the group’s goal is to “create [its own] karma.”

Business gurus say that entrepreneurs who survive during a downturn will end up “lean and super efficient with less competition.”

I think that’s a mantra that all of us can embrace in our homes as well, but beyond becoming “lean and super efficient” we can extend the reach of our care, consideration, and commitment to many more around us, and carry our newfound creativity into all future ventures. Then, for sure, this gray economic cloud will have a silver community lining. n Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan is the author of two children’s books, A Pie Surprise and Other Stories (Mango Books, 2011) and Around the World You Wander (Solstice Publishing, 2010), as well as a grant writing consultant and voice-over artist. Shobha has recently completed a translation of a Hindi storybook and is working on a book of children’s poetry. Visit www.shobhatharoorsrinivasan.com

The Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy has been invited to perform at the 34th San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, June 23 & June 24

Come see our Bharatanatyam dance performance at Yerba Buena’s Novellus Theater June 23 (3 pm, 8 pm) & June 24 (3 pm) Performers include: Shreelata Suresh, Sonali Vepa Aatresh, Savita Pillai, Bindu Nair, Ambika Gopalan, Nisha Balaraman, Sameeha Rau, Chandini Ramesh, Pujitha Anur, Saatchi Bhalla.

This year's Festival presents over 30 dance companies representing cultures from all around the world. For tickets and a full line-up of performance schedule, descriptions and details, visit www.sfethnicdancefestival.org

For more information about the Vishwa Shanthi Dance academy, visit www.shreelatasuresh.com india currents • may 2012 • 71

72 • india currents • may 2012

india currents • may 2012 • 73

Sunday, May 6, 2012 - DOUBLE HEADER CONCERT Venue: Center for Performing Arts - Menlo-Atherton High School 555 Middlefield Rd., Atherton, CA 94027 2:00 pm - Vocal concert

5:00 pm - Violin concert

Sri. Sandeep Narayan - Vocal Sri. Mysore V. Srikanth - Violin Sri. Neyveli B. Venkatesh - Mridangam

Sri. R.K. Shriramkumar Sri. K. Arunprakash - Mridangam Sri. B. S. Purushotham - Kanjira

Sunday, May 13, 2012 - DOUBLE HEADER CONCERT Venue: Center for Performing Arts - Menlo-Atherton High School 555 Middlefield Rd., Atherton, CA 94027 2:00 pm - Vocal concert

Sri. R. Suryaprakash - Vocal Sri. Nagai Sriram - Violin Sri. Tanjore Murugabhoopathy - Mridangam 5:00 pm Strings Attached - Featuring: Sri. R. Kumaresh - Violin & Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh - Veena Sri. Neyveli Narayanan - Mridangam Sri. Trichy Krishnaswami - Ghatam Friday, May 18, 2012 - 7:00 pm Sri. S. Saketharaman - Vocal

Sri. S. Varadarajan - Violin Sri. Neyveli B. Venkatesh - Mridangam Venue: ICC (India Community Center) 525 Los Coches St, Milpitas, CA 95035

Monday, May 28, 2012 - 3:30 pm Smt. Vishakha Hari - Harikatha (music discourse) Sri. Balaji Ananthakrishnan - Violin Sri. S. J. Arun Ganesh - Mridangam

Our Fall 2012 Concerts Include: Sep. 9 - Dr. Mysore Manjunath & Party - Violin Duet Sep. 21 Sri. Sanjay Subrahmanyan - Vocal Oct 7 - Sammilan Folk Fusion / Sri. Shashank Subramanyam & Party - Flute Nov. 11 Kum. Alarmel Valli - Bharathanatyam

Venue: ICC (India Community Center) 525 Los Coches St, Milpitas, CA 95035 Date: TBA Smt. Gayathri Girish - Vocal

For all concert timings and venue please visit http://www.southindiafinearts.org/

Date: TBA Mala Ramadorai - Vocal

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

74 • india currents • may 2012

music

Vocal Music Classes

By DR

MOUSOOMI BANERJI

(disciple of late Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan)

Habib Khan Sitar, Vocal

&

* Teacher of repute and artiste having numerous stage and TV shows. * Elementary lessons for beginners in Indian Classical Music (Hindusthani style) and Light Classical Music - including bhajan, ghazal, etc.

Tabla Lessons

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* Special lessons in Bangla Gaan - (Bengali) ClassesseIn, San Jo Puraatani, Tappa, Nazrulgeeti, Sunnyvale ra Atulprosad, Raagprodhan, etc. & Santa Cla mousumi_999@yahoo.com Contact: (408) 799-1102 • (408) 823-3918 mousumi.banerji@gmail.com

Sangeetaanjali Inst. of Music PE (A Non Profit Public Benefit Corporation) Rigorous Classical Indian Music Lessons

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R F New Vocal Teacher, Sri Saugata Banerjee O declared a ‘Pandit’ by his Guru, Pdt. Jasraj-ji R • All Levels: Hindusthani Vocal/Tabla/Sitar/Flute/Guitar M • Totally Dedicated Distinguished Music Faculty A • Visiting Eminent musicians of India N • Performances of Students C • Concerts of Distinguished Artists (Local/Visiting) 510-651-9149 • Email: contact@Sangeetaanjali.org E S www.sangeetaanjali.org

Upcoming Events

Sangeetaanjali Kaksha, 39701 Logan Dr., Fremont, CA Admission Free: You May Reserve Seats by Email Friday, May 18, 2012 at 8:30 pm 1) Tabla Solo: Subhajyoti Guha of Kolkata Harmonium: Vijay Ghaskadvi

2) Sarod Recital: Bruce Hamm

disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahib Tabla Accompaniment: Subhajyoti Guha

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E-mail: Bansijeff@aol.com india currents • may 2012 • 75

IC

music

Teed Rockwell

Chord Progressions are for Wimps A very personal musical manifesto

I

used to see music as a hierarchy determined by harmonic complexity. When you were jamming in Joe’s garage as a teenager, you played on one chord because nobody knew any songs. You got good enough to play in front of people when you could play the simple chord progressions of the radio hits. You got good enough to play for other musicians when you could improvise on jazz standards that changed keys several times.

John Coltrane’s Giant Steps was the Holy Grail for jazz improvisers, because it changed keys every two beats. Isn’t going back to one chord like going back to Joe’s garage? That’s arguably true in America and Europe, but in India those values are reversed. The simplest music—kirtan, folk music, filmi tunes—often have chord progressions, but serious classical music never does. In India, chord progressions really are for wimps, and this is one reason why classical music is much more vital today in India than in the West.

Western classical music followed the trajectory from one chord to the multiple harmonic modulations of Wagner and Schoenberg, and then hit a dead end. American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein worried about this in his televised lectures, and repeatedly asked “where can we possibly go from here?” For me, Indian music pro-

76 • india currents • may 2012

Photo credit: Creative Commons Image: Whologwhy

I

recently made a decision which sounded pretty crazy in the context of my former life as a Jazz/Rock musician who dreamed about writing symphonies. I intend to follow in the footsteps of the Indian classical masters, and play ragas on one chord for the rest of my life. There are admittedly some Monty Python-like qualifiers on this quixotic commitment. (As in when I say none, I mean a certain negligible number.) When I play with didgeridu master Stephen Kent, we play in several different keys to take advantage of the different tone colors of his various didges. Still, Stephen and I are only playing in one key at a time, so I think I sneak under the wire for that one. What I have given up are the complex chords of jazz composers like Duke Ellington and Brazilian composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim. This would have been unthinkable for me once, but today chord progressions actually get in the way of making the best music I can possibly make.

vided the best answer. If nothing more can be done with harmonic modulation, then stay on one chord and don’t modulate at all. This was the solution eventually hit upon by western classical minimalists like Phillip Glass. Their music is worth listening to, but we shouldn’t pretend that it is as rich and profound as the best Indian classical music. This is not surprising, as Glass and his colleagues have only been playing on one chord for a few decades, and Indian musicians have been using this framework for centuries. If this is where western music should be going, than those of us in the West have got to follow the Indian musicians. That’s why I play ragas, rather than jazz or symphonies.

P

laying on one chord also protects me from the information overload of the modern cyberworld. When Mathew Montfort coined the term “World Fusion” for his group Ancient Future, he envisioned music from everywhere combined in a single style. World Fusion music is thus rather like the Spanish dish paella, which contains in a single meal everything you could possibly be hungry for: chicken, steak, fish, ham, sausage, shellfish, corn, peas, rice etc. Montfort is a better paella chef than I could ever be, with a rare gift that enables him to harmoniously combine music from Peru, Vietnam, India and China

into a single album. However, having paella every night is not that different from having anything else every night. Consequently, I decided to give our listeners a break from paella, and make curry instead. There are many different kinds of curries, but that variety takes place within certain borders. Limiting myself to ragas played against drones keeps me within similar borders, and paradoxically gives me expressive opportunities that are not available to music that uses chord progressions.

For one thing, the level of intonation possible within a single chord has a rich sweet quality that westerners gave up when they adopted the well-tempered twelve-tone scale. Like almost all westerners, I was raised to hear that scale as “in tune.” I probably would still be playing in the well-tempered scale if it weren’t for hours of practicing with the iPad app called itabla pro, which contains a sampled drone in perfect Indian intonation. These days if I try to play with western chordal music, I have to readjust my touch to play in the well-tempered scale again. Frankly, I’m less and less inclined to make that adjustment. The improvisational freedom of playing against only a drone gets lost when you add a chord progression. If your solo is dividing the rhythm cycle into two measures of seven and two of nine, and the chord progression is marking four measures of 4/4, what you are

H

ow can one work within these limits and still be creative? My strategy is to use only Indian ingredients, but combine them in new ways. My favorite new ingredient is the film music of A.R. Rahman. Is that really an Indian ingredient, you may ask? Rahman has a degree in symphonic composition from Oxford, and uses chord progressions all the time. Doesn’t that make him a wimp, by my standards? Well, aesthetic faith, unlike some religious faiths, doesn’t require universal forced conversion. I remain committed to the spirit of the drone, but if Rahman feels called to write very good Barry Manilow-style pop tunes, it’s certainly not my place to restrain his muse. My professional interest in Rahman, however, is limited to those tunes which start with classical ragas and transform them into pop tunes. My goal is to transform them back into ragas, in hopes of creating a bridge between Indian classical and popular music.

This can be challenging at times, because Rahman often deliberately wounds the raga during the middle part of the melody. Do I cover up this wound, or use it to create a new raga? Rahman also occasionally writes songs like Taal Se Taal, which combines two ragas (Bhairavi and Kirwani). Then there are songs like Ishq Bina, which combines so many eastern and western elements that it sounds like a Barry Manilow raga. It does have a few chord changes, which I ignore, but I do permit myself to harmonize the melody with thirds and sixths. Hey, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar play harmonies sometimes, so as Indians have done for centuries, I break my own rules if it feels right to do so. That doesn’t mean I can throw the rules out. It just means I break them only rarely, and feel guilty about it when I do.

As a word-wallah, I could easily write articles “proving” that aesthetic standards are a matter of taste. However, as a performing musician, I have to be certain that chord progressions are for wimps, that tube guitar amplifiers sound better than solid state, and that velveeta cheese is objectively inferior to real cheddar. The last is admittedly not a musical fact, but it is as objectively certain as the other two. If God ever did an A/B taste test on the two cheeses, he would unquestionably agree with me, and the same goes for the two musical issues. Really. If you’re not crazy enough to believe things as silly as that, you’ll never be able to make aesthetic decisions. n Teed Rockwell has studied Indian classical music with Ali Akbar Khan and other great musicians. He is the first person to play Hindustani music on the Touchstyle Fretboard.

music

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going to get is chaotic mush. I know, because I tried, back in the days when I was doing fusion music. The result was lousy paella, but going back to the drone transforms the same solo into good curry.

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india currents • may 2012 • 77

IC

films

Aniruddh Chawda

Property Boom HOUSEFULL 2. Director: Sajid Khan. Players: Akshay Kumar, Asin, John Abraham, Mithun Chakraborty, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shreyas Talpade, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Boman Irani, Shazahn Padamsee, Zaine Khan. Music: Sajid-Wajid.

Theatrical Release (EROS).

dition to being married to Salman Khan’s brother Arbaaz Khan, Arora’s biggest artistic success has been an amazing run with what is known as “item numbers.” Beginning with the on-the-moving-train jig with “Chaiyyan Chaiyyan” from Dil Se, Arora followed up with “Munni Badnam Hui” from Dabangg. In Houseful 2, Arora does encores with “Anarkali Disco Chali.”

Choreographed by dance-master Saroj

Abraham, Deshmukh, Talpade) reunite for match making mischief involving their girlfriends (Asin, Fernandez, Padamsee, Khan) and opposed by their girlfriends’ rich dads (Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Irani). All of them converge on one big mansion—where mayhem promptly ensues—to sort out the mess.

Set in an international playboy’s playing field, which ranges from London to Bangkok, there are lush locales for holding resort parties, conniving fathers who will only settle for the richest son-in-law while at the same time trying to outdo each other on the size of their homes in the ’hood. Lest one goes looking for any allegories related to the global real estate bust, be warned that, at least according to Housefull 2’s world view, the property boom never lost its charm and to buy big, bigger, biggest would still be the name of the game.

Malaika Arora is a decent dancer. In ad78 • india currents • may 2012

A RetroMetro Agent!

AGENT VINOD. Director: Sriram Raghavan.

Players: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Ravi Kishan, Prem Chopra, Ram Kapoor, Adil Hussain. Music: Pritam. Theatrical release: Illuminati Films.

I

t is rare that a second installment—for this is truly not a sequel to anything—of formula filmmaking gets much credit.

Even though Housefull (2010) had an amazing box office haul, it felt like an exercise in shallow, lascivious debauchery. For the record, Housefull 2 still has a shallow, lascivious debauched underpinning. However, Housefull 2 offers much better staging, slightly better acting, and good music.

With such a huge cast, led by Kumar and Chakraborty, one would think that there would be constant elbowing going on. Not so.

Four former college buddies (Kumar,

Madhumita Gupta

E

Khan, who is also director Sajid Khan’s sister, “Anarkali” is a party number with Sameer’s innocuous lyrics that make it, both, pedestrian and evocative, all underlined by a dance groove that is pure guilty pleasure. Housefull 2’s entire soundtrack rests on singers Mamta Sharma and Sukhwinder celebrating Anarkali leaving her lover Salim and heading to the dance club. With this Anarkali, resistance is a losing battle.

Akshay Kumar has a knack for comedy— and the script provides good fodder for slapstick, something Kumar can do well under the right circumstances (Singh is Kinng, Heyy Babyy). Kumar matches brawns with Abraham, which makes for decent onscreen rivalry, as do real life brothers Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor who inflect their onscreen stepbrother jealousies with humor and vigor. The best histrionics kudos goes to Chakraborty, who displays great screen presence and can chew up the scenery with one side-ways doubting glance.

Producer Sajid Nadiadwala, under his Nadiadwala Grandson banner, has done extremely well by banking on Akhsay Kumar and filmmaker Sajid Khan. This pairing did well at the box office with Heyy Babyy and the first Housefull. Third time is now the biggest charm. Within a week of release, Housefull 2 has grossed Indian Rs. 1 billion (approx $20 million). In additiona to being the second biggest opening of 2012—after Agneepath— Houseful 2 also elevates Akshay Kumar to the company of Aamir Khan (3 Idiots), Shahrukh Khan (Ra One), Salman Khan (Bodyguard), Ajay Devgn (Golmaal 3) and Hrithik Roshan (Agneepath) as the handful of Hindi actors who have opened at a global $20 million. No brain, no shame is the slogan for Housefull 2. n Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.

xpectations were high from Sriram Raghavan, the director who gave us the slick and gripping Ek Haseena Thi and the edge-of-the-seat Johnny Gaddaar.

Both the films had tight scripts with satisfactory twists and turns and gratifying climaxes.

Agent Vinod scores on twists and turns but lets the viewer down on a well-crafted plot which could well have made AV a classic among spy thrillers.

The story is typically cliched and involves a nuclear bomb hurtling across the world, which Agent Vinod must intercept and disable before it can harm his country. The rest is all padding—which is stylish, full of references to old Bollywood hits and racy enough to keep you in your seats. The treatment is so slick, and the film so neat that questions occur much later!

With bated breath, we, along with Agent Vinod, follow the nuclear suitcase bomb as it changes hands with bewildering speed among baddies all over the world. Our desi Bond streaks across Russia, Morocco, Latvia, Pakistan and does the needful only after crisscrossing half the world, meeting a beautiful Dr. Iram Parveen Khan aka Ruby (Kapoor) who could be a baddie or a goodie and dispensing with a dozen or so other more clearcut villains in the process. And, of course, Delhi is saved.

The film can very well be called a tribute to old spy-thrillers starting with the title itself, as the original Agent Vinod first hit the screen in 1977, giving the small time actor, Mahendra Sandhu the single hit of his entire career.

Here, in one particular scene, Vinod (Khan) gives his name as Mahendra Sandhu.

india currents • may 2012 • 79

There are overt references to Amar Akbar Anthony, Baazigar, the original Bond himself with a lady emerging from the ocean in a bikini, a la Ursula Andress, the larger than life stylized villains like Ram Kapoor as the Hagrid-like Russian, Prem Chopra in resplendent kaftans complete with a pet camel, the menacing Adil Hussain as Colonel and Gulshan Grover in white, the “mujra” in the villain’s den—all spell 70s—the golden era of kitsch! One does wish that there were fewer villains in the movie, so that the average viewer could focus on the traveling bomb.

Khan excels as the dashing secret-agent with his funny-bone intact. It is a marvel what a long way he has come from his slightly feminine looks in the beginning of his career to this macho man who thinks nothing of bashing up an army of armed goons bare-handed and making it look credible. One particularly funny scene has him breaking into a ridiculous jig when he discovers that he’s being watched through a hidden camera!

Kapoor looks lovely and thankfully, no longer her size-zero self. Hers is the character which keeps the viewers guessing till the very end. She wiffles and waffles from one side to the other changing her expressions with a chameleon-like swiftness from sly to lost and keeps the smart agent and us on our toes as to her true identity and allegiance. A word for the host of supporting stars—Ram Kapoor, Adil Hussain as Colonel and the veteran Prem Chopra are excellent and remind you of the good old days of “Mogambo khush hua” and “Shakal”—the black as devil villains with no shades of grey.

The background music complements the movie and its moods well but the noisy soundtracks by Pritam leave a lot to be desired, which unintentionally though, is also a throwback to one of the worst phases of Hindi films as far as music was concerned.

At the same time, the treatment of the movie is super slick with superb chase sequences, great action, wry comedy and wonderful cinematography by Muraleedharan which brings alive the heat and dust of Afghanistan, the beauty of Riga and the hustle-bustle of Connaught Place in New Delhi.

And finally we doff our hats to Raghavan, not only does he tell the story—or what there is of it —well, and extracts credible performances, but also manages to pour the old wine of spies-villains-dens et al into a shiny new bottle of slickness worthy of a Hollywood thriller.

All in all, Agent Vinod, who, very well might be said to be doubling as travel agent Vinod—if you look at the number of countries the movie has been shot in—is definitely worth a watch. n EQ: B Madhumita Gupta is a freelance writer and teacher 80 • india currents • may 2012

Sarita Sarvate

Beware! The British are Coming. Again!

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL. Director: John Madden. Players: Judi Dench, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Tena Desae, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup with Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith. Theatrical release: Fox Searchlight.

T

he premise of the film is quite simple; a group of elderly English citizens go to India and discover happiness. The ensemble cast includes such acclaimed actors as Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Tom Wilkinson.

However, the film aims for as much complexity in imagery as Air India’s Maharaja once did. There is the young hotel manager, played by Dev Patel, of Slumdog Millionaire fame. His motto, “Everything will work out in the end, and if it has not worked out, it is not the end,” symbolizes the essence of the Indian persona, yet, the director makes him into a caricature.

There is the untouchable servant who preposterously serves food to Maggie Smith.

Then there is the stereotypical Indian mother, who forbids marriage between the young lovers, Dev Patel and Tena Desae. This film has layer upon layer of contrived situations and empty promises.

The theme could have been realistic, heart-wrenching, and comical. Old age, after all, is shunned in the West. No wonder then that the aged English arrive at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to live and receive medical care at a fraction of the cost at home.

There are moments of lucidity in the movie, as when the hotel proprietor (Patel) quips that there are many countries where old people are not liked, creating business opportunities for young people like him. Or when Celia Imrie jokes, “I am single by choice, just not my choice.” At each such juncture, the viewer eagerly wants the movie to dive underneath the surface. Instead, the film hands us pat, syrupy solutions to the characters’ dilemmas.

Photo Credit: Ishika Mohan

Photo Credit: Ishika Mohan

Predictably, at the end of the movie, the elderly Englishmen and women come to the rescue of the hapless young Indian protagonist, who cannot manage his own hotel.

Contrast such English wishful thinking with the reality that today India is producing a highly skilled set of young workers.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel exposes colonial attitudes still entrenched in the British subconscious. Dark colonials blend into the scenery. The Indian protagonist is totally marginalized and subservient Indian characters are caricatured.

At the end, the senior citizens predictably find love, prosperity, and contentment, of course, their rewards for tolerating the heat and dust of India. The racist character played

by Maggie Smith is transformed; Oscar winner Judi Dench discovers romance. And the British get to rule India once again.

If only contemporary British life were so very simple. By the time Patel assumes the pose of the Air India Maharaja in the final scene, I wondered whether the British would ever see Indians as other than Peter Sellers’ bumbling idiot in The Party. If only prejudices were not on such blatant display. n

LATA’S S FLICK PICK

Kahaani  York ew N ndon Paris Lo    ar n Singh Tom Paa

Singh I Am Vinod Agent aan Azh

eepath Agn Breakers Jodi Gaya aal Love Ho Tere N Ekk Tu ur A Ek Main 

dance & music

KALANJALI Dances of India Establshed in 1975

Jayendra Kalakendra

CLASSES IN BHARATANATYAM

Artistic Director:

India's most ancient classical dance

Following traditional Kalakshetra syllabus - all levels TANUSREE SREEDHARAN

Suganda Sreenath

Bharatanatyam classes (Kalakshetra style, incl. Extensive Theory)

• San Jose

SACRAMENTO, LAFAYETTE, BERKELEY

• Fremont • Santa Clara

New classes are forming at all locations For details contact Suganda Iyer

www.sugandasreenath.com

Registration and Information:

(408) 270-9295

510-526-2183

Kalanjaliusa@aol.com

Email:

sugandaiyer@comcast.net

BharathaKala Kutiram

Director:

Srividya Eashwar

Artistic Director:

Jayanthi Sridharan

Classes offered in a combination of styles including Folk, Semi-Classical, and Fusion at various locations in Cupertino and San Jose.

offers Bharathanatyam Classes in North San Jose

CONTACT INFORMATION

Call: (408) 251-3438

408-246-3005 / 408-838-3079

Email: vidyasdance@gmail.com Web: www.xpressionsdancemusic.com

e-mail: bkkdanceschool@gmail.com

Raga Vani School of Music (www.ragavani.com)

Lalitha Venkataraman (Artistic Director) Presents

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Sarita Sarvate

India Currents is now available on the Kindle Follow us at twitter.com/indiacurrents Or find us at https://www.facebook.com/India Currents Online Extras: • • • • • • • •

Easy access to our current content and decade-old archives of diverse articles Special web-only articles and videos Digital issue of the magazine Interactive event listings Advertising access to a niche high-value segment of the community Comments highlighted on home page A full color experience RSS feeds and newsletter subscriptions

Most Popular April 2012 Articles Online: 1) When in Rome Matangi Rajamani 2) SO Much Ado About Curry Kalpana Mohan 3) The Great Indian Journey Preston Merchant 4) The Raj Prototype Anita Felicelli 5) 25 Years and Counting Letters from our Readers 6) Celebrating a Milestone Vandana Kumar 7) Conscience Calls Jaya Padmanabhan 8) The Food of Love Ranjani Iyer Mohanty 9) Hawaii—A Visual Feast Shivam Khullar 10)Indian Film Fest Celebrates 10 years Shyamal Randeria

82 • india currents • may 2012

Harken Back to Films of Yore DELHI IN A DAY. Director: Prashant Nair.

Players: Lee Williams, Lillete Dubey, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Victor Banerjee, Anjali Patil, Vidya Bhushan. Theatrical release: Nomad Productions.

D

elhi in a Day starts out with great flourish. The opening shot of Delhi’s skyline, reminiscent of the documentary James Ivory filmed in India’s capital back in 1964, perks our interest. The minarets and the brick buildings contrast with the poverty and the squalor. The sounds and the rhythms transport us so that we can practically smell India.

When the camera focuses on the ritzy, middle aged couple sleeping in the lap of luxury, I am hooked. The wife wakes up complaining of broken down air conditioning and I know that this is not a typical Bollywood film. The director, Prashant Nair, hits the right note of irony in these first few scenes. The husband swats a mosquito; his purpose is not to kill the insect, but rather to strategically fall into his wife’s arms.

When she subtly rejects his advances, I can sense that all is not well with this household.

The camera moves downstairs, where the servants are parodying their mistress, hinting at an Indian version of Downton Abbey. When we learn that a foreign visitor is expected, we expect the household to be shaken out of its comfort zone.

Lee Williams, as the visitor, turns out to be an odd casting choice. Perhaps he is a little too nice, a little too soft, a little too unreal.

With the entrance of Williams, the film takes on the tone of a parable. He is seen counting bills and the audience is left wondering if they are pounds or rupees. Soon, Williams discovers that his money has been stolen. The servants are, of course, the usual suspects.

What follows is a drama about class. Even as the poor servant Raghu is blamed for the theft and asked to return the money within twenty-four hours, we feel sorry for him and his niece Rohini, the young and beautiful Anjali Patil. We are offered a glimpse into the deprived lives of India’s underclass. After nearly a hundred years of film-making, Bollywood is finally returning to an exploration of flaws in India’s social structures. I say returning, because India’s film industry was started by Dadasaheb Phalke in Maharashtra and came of age in the 1930s with avant garde films like Achhoot Kanya(untouchable maiden) and V

Shantaram’s Kunku. Such ground breaking films, made in the wake of Gandhi’s call for social and political reform, shattered social dogma and paved the way for women’s education and liberation.

Alas, once Independence came, the need for self-examination evaporated. By the 1960s, the realistic movie with a message had all but disappeared, replaced by technicolor dance dramas. In the 70s, the new wave came, made a splash, and then petered out.

I anxiously awaited the moment of truth when the rich landlady would realize that the servants were not the culprits. For I already knew who had done it, long before the director got around to revealing it.

This is the main problem with Nair’s debut film; that at each stage, it is completely predictable. We never get so absorbed in the

narrative as to be unable to figure out what comes next. This predictability, along with the one dimensional characters, undermined an otherwise viewable film.

And yet, I was rooting for Rohini and her uncle, rooting for the servants, rooting for India’s underclass, to make a statement. What I longed for, however, was the missed opportunity for exploring the characters further. On several occasions, the elder patriarch in the household hinted at his unfulfilled longings, yet, that storyline was never developed. The character of the father, a left-leaning recluse and artist, hinted at another India, but again, his character was used more as a sounding board rather than as an integral part of the story. And the young adults in the household remained shadowy figures, serving as mere plot vehicles. Instead of concentrating on the whodunit aspect of the story, Nair would have been well-served to develop the rich characters we were introduced to.

Prashant Nair has proven his flair for camera and storytelling in Delhi in a Day, no small task for a novice. I hope he will develop his craft to make further explorations into social themes. n Sarita Sarvate writes commentaries for Pacific News Service and KQED. Visit www.saritasarvate.com

Director Srividya Eashwar presents

“Yatra - The Journey” 9th Annual Dance Showcase

Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 3:30 pm Yatra highlights the student’s journey with Unique, Vibrant and Award Winning Indian Folk, Semi-Classical and Fusion Dances Venue: Santa Clara Convention Center 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA Tickets: $20 and $25 www.sulekha.com

www.xpressionsdancemusic.com • (408) 246-3006 / (408) 838-3079

IN THE LOVING MEMORY OF LATE SHRI MADHAV TARE Shirdi Sai Temple cordially invites you to enjoy Tabla Solo by

Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri Ji Accompanying him on Sarangi

Pt. Pankaj Mishra Ji

INDIA CURRENTS GRAPHICS (408) 324-0488

To Begin With Group Tabla Performances This is a Free Event All Are Cordially Invited Venue: Shri Shirdi Sai Temple, 1221 California Cir., Milpitas, CA 95035 Saturday, May 12, 2012 • 1:00 pm onwards For more information please contact Satish (408) 792-7014

india currents • may 2012 • 83

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

NEW SHIVA MURUGAN TEMPLE PUJAS & FESTIVALS

Let us all join together and build a new Shiva Murugan Temple, the dream of all of us. Many of the Bay Artists are generously accepting to do Benefit programs for this auspicious effort.

Sun., June 3 - Visakam Celebration Bharathanatyam Jayanthi Shridharan & Students

“Congratulations for the Success and Service for 25 years of India Currents” SHIVA MURUGAN TEMPLE / SAIVA SIDDHANTA ASHRAM

Feb. 9, 2013 - Nirupama Vaidyanathan.

Indumathi Ganesh, Jeyanthi Sridharan, Anu Suresh, Harini Krishna, Shreelata Suresh, Hema Sista, Srikanth Chari, Aruna Krishna, Manasa Suresh & Lata Sriram

Other Artists have also accepted to do a program for the New temple.

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

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

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

May 5 - Guru Vishal Ramani & Students June 17 - Mythili Kumar & students.

Aug. 18 - Rohith Jayaraman Sept. 8 - Manasa & Friends Nov. 24 Suganda Srinath Dec. 1 - Meena Logan Dec. 15 - Preetha Shesadri PHOTO: VIGGY MOKKARALA

Sat., May 5 Mother’s Day Celebration Devotional Music Latha Sriram & Students

SHIVA MURUGAN TEMPLE www.shivamurugantemple.org

Concord Shiva Murugan Temple Fundraiser Event (Proceeds go towards temple construction)

shri krupa dance company & Guru Vishal Ramani proudly presents

“BHAKTI - The Perennial Stream”

Saturday, 5th May, 2012 • 4:00 pm

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

PHOTO: VIGGY MOKKARALA

McAfee Performing Arts Center 20300 Herriman Ave., Saratoga, CA

For Donations Contact Kausalya Hart : (510) 525-1793 Pushkala : (408) 505-8395 Sai : sai.majeti@gmail.com

84 • india currents • may 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 BENEFIT PROGRAM FOR THE NEW SHIVA MURUGAN TEMPLE

Natana Arpana Natya Arpana

an offering of dance by students of Abhinaya Dance Company Artistic Director Mythili Kumar

Sunday, June 17, 2012 - 4 pm Cubberly Theater, Palo Alto

Admission: By donation for Shiva Murugan Temple $12 single ticket / $10 each for 2 or more Contact: (408) 871-5959 Kausalya Hart : (510) 525-1793 www.abhinaya.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

PHOTO: VIGGY MOKKARALA

4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA

Natyalaya

KUCHIPUDI SCHOOL OF DANCE Presents

NATYANJALI By

NEHA KIDAMBI Daughter & Disciple of Smt.Jyothi Lakkaraju

INDIA CURRENTS GRAPHICS (408) 324-0488

Sunday, May 13 At 3:00 p.m Venue: Ohlone College, Jackson Theatre 43600 Mission Boulevard Fremont, CA 934539 Contact: Jyothi Lakkaraju jlakkaraju@yahoo.com • (408) 206-2058

Admission: Free to all india currents • may 2012 • 85

Celebrates its 30th anniversary in the service of Indian Classical Music with A series of concerts by leading performers throughout the year and a Grand Festival on October13 Come celebrate with us

Jayteerth Mevundi — Vocal

The Gundecha Brothers — Dhrupad — April 28

Indrajit Banerjee — Sitar, N. Radhakrishna Violin May 26

Sanhita Nandy — Vocal June 30

Anupama Bhagwat — Sitar August 25

Festival featuring Kalapini Komkali — Voocal, cal, and other artists yet to be announced

Mahendra Toke — Vocal Abhishekh Lahiri Sarod

Please check our website For event confirmations Tickets can be reserved at www.basantdmibahar.org Admission to non members $ 25 for most events

Samarth Nagarkar — Vocal

You can become a Basant Bahar member and attend all concerts and the festival free.

Various membership types available. Visit our website www.basantbahar.org for details 86 • india currents • may 2012

Dance Academy Presents

Bharatanatyam Arangetram of

Deepthisri Suresh disciple of Smt. Priya Ramadoss

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012, 3:00 PM

Mission City Center for Performing Arts (MCCPA) Adrian Wilcox High School 3250 Monroe Street, Santa Clara, CA 95051 For more details contact:

Priya Ramadoss Ph: (510) 396-2249 Email: pramadoss@gmail.com

india currents • may 2012 • 87

Edited by: Mona

Shah

List your event for FREE!

JUNE issue deadline: Sunday, May 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com/submit-event and fill out the Web form

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

special dates Buddha Purnima

May 5

Mother’s Day

May 13

Memorial Day

May 28 A tribute to Jagit Singh will be held on Sunday, Dec. 4 in Saratoga.

IC May

cultural calendar

2 Wednesday

Health Advisory Clinic. Free medical

consultation from various specialty doctors.

Ends Dec. 29. Organized by HCCC. 1-3 p.m.

Livermore Shiva Vishnu Temple Health Clinic, 1223 Arrowhead Ave Livermore CA 94550.

Free. (925) 449-6255. suman1218@yahoo. com. www.livermoretemple.org.

Michael Winterbottom’s Movie, “Trishna.” The movie convincingly and

lushly transports the Victorian tragic romance to modern-day India. A rural woman (Freida Pinto) first goes to work for a wealthy English businessman (Riz Ahmed) in Jaipur then becomes his lover in Mumbai. Organized by San Francisco International Film Festival.

6:30 p.m. Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 1881 Post St., San Francisco. $11 for SFFS members, $13 general, $12 senior/student/disabled. sffs. org.

88 • india currents • may 2012

Chocolate Krishna, a Tamil play, May 27

May

5 Saturday

Mothers Day Carnival. A special initiative to encourage children to volunteer and raise funds for a good cause. Carnival has shopping, spa treatments, makeovers, Mommy

and Me fashion show with prizes for best dressed Mom. Organized by Induz, DesiBazaar, SafariKid. 12-4 p.m. Safari Kid Union City Center, 4500 Cabello St., Union City.

Free. Mother and Me fashion show, participation fee, $20. (510) 875-5006, (510 823-3410. info@induz.org. www.induz.org.

IC

recommends

IC Celebrates 25th Anniversary

IC’s First Issue (April 1987)

IC’s 25th Anniversary Issue (April 2012)

aveen Chandra Gupta of San Francisco has died, leaving behind an unusual request in his will. As his friends struggle to honor his last wish with some suggesting that it be ignored, they learn a little about him, a little about themselves, and a lot about what it means for an Indian to die in America.

Keeping with its tradition of being “different,” India Currents (IC) magazine collaborates with local theater company Naatak, to present the premiere of “Death in San Francisco” in celebration of its 25th anniversary. “Death in San Francisco,” a play in English, is a dark comedy written and directed by Sujit Saraf, and performed

by Naatak.

Two community organizations, Naatak and Narika, deeply rooted in the community, are partners in this celebration. Naatak, a theater company founded to bring relevant, thought-provoking and responsible Indian drama to residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, have produced several cutting-edge plays over the years, including “Kamala” and one of the most controversial yet popular plays to come out of India, “Sakharam Binder.” Narika is a local nonprofit organization that empowers South Asian women to confront and overcome cycles of violence and exploitation.

Founded in 1987, IC quickly became a community resource, a mainstay in most Indian homes. IC began as a small blackand-white newsletter covering Indian cultural events in the SF Bay Area. Rooted in the classical arts of India, IC’s initial focus

was on dance and music events in the Bay Area. Interviews with notables in the music and dance world were the main focus of the publication.

In the years that followed, the magazine became a leading source of information pertinent and relevant to a fast growing South Asian diaspora. (Today IC is a two-edition print publication with over 125,000 readers, its arc following that of the community it serves). As the community grew so did the magazine’s editorial content. From featuring only events stories, IC evolved into telling stories of the growing diaspora. Our editors and writers tackled issues such as domestic violence, homophobia, interracial relationships, and assimilation vs. acculturation. The magazine emphasized courage and honesty in its editorial content, despite two death threats along the way.

This journalistic intrepidity has won several awards from South Asian Journalists Association, New California Media, New America Media, Best American Essays, as well as recognition from Arts Council of Santa Clara County and Utne Reader. Run by a small team of dedicated professionals, including an all-female publishing and edi-

N

torial staff, IC has adapted to a changing media landscape.

After 25 years, the voice of India Currents remains—a monthly reflection of life in California’s South Asian community, a printed product that has never lost its focus: the community it serves, remaining firmly connected with the information he or she needs most, consistently delivered.

We invite the community to meet the India Currents team—the faces and voices behind the magazine, past and present, at special receptions on all three days. Enjoy compliemntary pre-show h’ordeuvres and drinks as you mingle with the IC team.

On Friday, Sandy Close, Executive Director of New America Media and winner of the 2011 MacArthur “Genius Award,” will join us as the guest of honor.

On Saturday our Chief Guest is the Consul General of India, N. Parthasarathy.

Suhas Patil, Chairman Emeritus of Cirrus Logic, will join us as our Chief Guest on Sunday.

Proceeds from the shows will benefit Narika.n Friday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 9 at 6 p.m., and Sunday, June 10 at 5p.m.

VIP: $40 ($45 after May 27), General: $30 ($35 after May 27) Snacks and drinks will be served on all three days.

Tabard Theater Company, San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro St., San Jose. www.naatak.com/ic/, email: tickets@ naatak.com, Ashok: (408) 905-6831.

Death in San Francisco, the preminere, presented to celebrate IC’s 25th Anniversary india currents • may 2012 • 89

ell Blvd., Petaluma. $20, $10. (707) 792-5300. thesunflowercenter.org, www.indojazzmusic. com.

May

6 Sunday

Tagore Jayanti Celebration. A concert offering of Rabindrasangeet, the songs written

by Tagore. Bring a dish to share for a potluck luncheon following the concert. Organized

by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.12:30 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St. (at 3rd Ave.) San Francisco.

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

Shakti 2012. An interactive forum, with

dance performances, a beauty pageant, henna stalls, and clothing and jewelery.

Organized by Shakti. 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas . $20 (includes lunch). (408) 6875823. 2012shakti@gmail.com.

Hasya Kavi Sammelan. Humor filled reKuchipudi dance by Neha Kidambi, May 13

Book Reading and Discussion. Sudha

Balagopal reads and discusses her new book, “There are Seven Notes,” a collection of short stories set against the backdrop of Indian classical music, an attempt to fathom the distance between life and art. Organized by University Press Books and the 2430 Arts Alliance. 3-4:30 p.m. University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way (Between Telegraph and Dana) Berkeley.

Free. (510) 548-0585, (800) 676-8722. upb@ universitypressbooks.com, outreach@universitypressbooks.com.

Mother’s Day Banquet Award Ceremony.

Organized by Indian American Women Empowered. 6 p.m. Hyatt Place, 282 Almaden Blvd., San Jose. $50 VIP, $100 VVIP. (408) 8915324. contact@iweusa.org, ia_we@yahoo.com. www.iweusa.org.

citals. Organized by Uttar Pradesh Mandal of America. 2-5 p.m. My Royal Palac, 246 Serra Way, Milpitas. $20. (510) 396-2919.

Yaaron Ki Mehfil. Punkaj Udhas, in a live mehfil style ghazal concert. Organized by Instant Karma and Ajooba Events. 6:50 p.m.

San Jose Garden Hotel, 1740 N. 1st St., San Jose. $25, $39, $59. (408) 579-9426. desiclub. com/mehfil, www.sukela.com/mehfil.

MathEdge+ Problem Solving Contest.

Math contests of different levels for students grades K-8. Contests are less than an hour long. Awards and trophies will be given. Organized by Math Edge. Cupertino Site, 7250 Bark Lane, San Jose. Fee: $45 (one contest) / $80 (two contests). http://www.mathedge.org.

Double Header Concert. Vocal concert,

G.S. Sachdev and Swapan Chaudhuri in Concert. Classical Ragas with G.S. Sach-

dev, (bansuri), joined by Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla). Organized by California Institute of Integral Studies. 8 p.m. Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon St. San Francisco. $25, 35, 50, 65.

(415) 259-8629. sachdev@gssachdev.com. www. gssachdev.com.

Melodies of the Himalayas. Mindia Devi

(bansuri flute), Arshad Syed (santoor), Vikas Yenluri (tabla), with an invocation to the mystic poets of the east by Barbara Framm and art imagery from the work of James Muscar Pickel. Organized by Sunflower Center. 8 p.m.

Sunflower Community Center, 1435 N. McDow-

90 • india currents • may 2012

Ektava, May 27

Sandeep Narayan (vocal), Mysore Srikanth (violin), Neyveli Venkatesh (mridangam).

Violin concert, R.K. Shriramkumar, K. Arunprakash (mridamgam), B.S. Purushotham (kanjira). Organized by South India Fine Arts. 2 p.m and 5 p.m. Center for Performoing Arts, Menlo-Atherton School, 555 Middlefield Rd., Atherton. www.southindiafinearts.org.

May

8 Tuesday

Swami Chinmayananda Jayanthi Celebrations. Organized by Chinmaya

Mission San Jose. 7-9 p.m. Sandeepany San Jose, 1050 Park Ave., San Jose. Free. (408) 998-2793. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose.org.

May

11 Friday

Play Like A Lion. A movie about the

legacy of Ali Akbar Khan. The screening will be followed by Q&As with the filmmakers.

Organized by Santa Cruz Film Festival. 1:45 p.m. The Nickelodeon Theatre, 210 Lincoln St., Santa Cruz . $8 general, $6 students/ seniors. (831) 359-4888. info@santacruzfilmfestival.org, info@abuelaluna.com. www. santacruzfilmfestival.org, www.playlikealion. com.

May

12 Saturday

Grass Volleyball Tournament. Organized by Balaji Temple Volleyball Association (BTVA). 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Bishop Elementary School, 450 N Sunnyvale Ave., Sunnyvale.

Teams, $60 (Max 8), individuals, $10. (650) 861-1671, (408)505-1655, (408)506-5039. btva.tournament@gmail.com, sreekrish@ gmail.com. sites.google.com/site/balajitemplevolleyball/home.

T

Tabla and Bansuri Concert

wo of the masters of Indian music combine to present music at its purest; G.S. Sachev on bansuri and Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla, creating melody and rhythm, working together to create transcendent beauty.

G.S. Sachdev began playing the bansuri when he was 14, and has created a rare form of instant communication with audiences through his music. He has shied away from fusion, finding great pleasure within traditional pure classical Indian music.

Sachdev takes the listener with him on a highly personal and reflective journey that transcends all geographic boundaries of musical origin and style, and touches to the very core of universal musical expression.

With melody comes rhythm. Swapan Chaudhuri’s music is the spontaneous expression of his powerful emotions and G.S. Sachdev his deep knowledge of tabla.

Instinctively, music lovers respond with delight as Chaudhuri arranges time and sound into myriad, magnificent, multifaceted patterns. Swapan Chaudhuri started learning tabla at the age of five. He bases his style on the intensive training he received from his guru, the late Pandit Santosh Krishna Biswas of Calcutta.n

Swapan Chaudhuri

Tabla Solo by Swapan Chaudhri. In memory of late Madhav Tare. Accompanied

by Pankaj Mishra on sarangi.Organized by Tabla Niketan. 1-6:15 p.m. Shri Shirdi Sai Temple, 1221 California Cir., Mlpitas. Free.

(408) 792-7014. satish_tare@yahoo.com. www. tablaniketan.com.

A Panel Discussion. On the emergence of

a Hindu political voice in America. Panelists, Kumar Barve, Ro Khanna, Anu Natarajan, Ash Kalra, Anjali Lathi. Organized by Hindu American Foundation. 1:30-3:30 p.m. Fremont Hindu Temple, 3676 Delaware Drive, Fremont.

Free. pooja@hafsite.org.

Composers Day Program. Students of

Lalitha Venkataraman, Artistic Director of Raga Vani school of music perform. Organized by Raga Vani School of Music. 3:30 p.m. Chinmaya Mission, 10160 Clayton Road, San Jose. Free. info@ragavani.com.

“Nature” Bollywood Dance Event.

Performance by 80 students of Nrityabhakti Dance Academy, performing Bollywood classic songs with a classical touch. Organized

by Nrityabhakti Dance Academy. 5:30-8 p.m.

Visual and Performing Arts Center, 21250

Saturday, May 5, 8 p.m. Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon Street, San Francisco. $25, $35, $50, $65. (415) 392-4400.

Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupretino,. $10. (408) 666-7422. nrityabhakti@yahoo.com. www. nrityabhakti.com.

adorned with fine quality diamonds and precious colored gemstones. Organized by Donil Jewelery. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Hilton Hotel,

Mother’s Day Beauty Pageant. Moms showing off what they got. Best talent, best smile, best hair, competitions. Featured guests Alka Bhatnagar with Raj Sohal and Parmindar Guri. Organized by IND-TV and Meri Saheli. 6 p.m. X Studio, 372 Turquoise St., Milpitas . $20 Adult, $10 Children 12 and under. (408) 400-0629. merisaheliusa@gmail. com.

May

13 Sunday

Music Exams. Held bi-annually in the hopes of keeping Indian music traditions alive in the Bay Area. Organized by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal India. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, 7844 McClellan Road, Cupertino. (408) 792-7014. satish_ tare@yahoo.com. www.tablaniketan.com.

Diamond Jewlery Exhibition. Donil

Jewelers is exhibiting it’s collection of one of a kind designs in 18K yellow/white gold

Yatra, the Journey, May 20 india currents • may 2012 • 91

39900 Balentine Drive, Newark. Free. (408) 507-0979. doniljewelers@hotmail.com. www. doniljewelers.com.

Mona Shah

Public Lecture and Video Art. Bharati

Book reading Event S

udha Balagopal reads from her debut collection of short stories, There are Seven Notes. Although the stories are thematically connected by Indian classical music, each story is a distinct entity, with unique characters and situations. The seven stories in the book reveal the pervasiveness of classical music in Indian culture: an attempt once again to fathom the distance between life and art. The usual Karnatik ensemble consists of a singer, a violinist, a drum and a lute, although the combination can vary.

All of the music is based on a set of scales, or ragas, and each raga has seven notes, hence the title.

“It is pretty obvious from the title that music is integral to this book. I love music and I love writing. This collection is a marriage of the two,” says Balagopal. All seven stories in the collection are set against the backdrop of Karnatik music. “Most people want to know if I am a musician. That I am not, but I am a writer and I hope I have expressed my fondness for music through the stories.”

Each story is a distinct entity, with unique characters and situations. Some stories are set in India, others straddle continents. For example, the first story, Singing Lessons, is set entirely in India while the second story moves with the protagonist from India to the United States.

Sudha Balagopal 92 • india currents • may 2012

Kansara will show a moving piece of video art called “Grandma, Gautam and Ghalib” created by her son, an artist working through the media of photography and video art. She witnessed the power of the immortal music and poetry of the Muslim Indian poet Mirza Ghalib to transcend the mists of dementia.

Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St. (at 3rd Ave.) San Francisco. Free will donation. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. www.culturalintegrationfellowship.org.

Natyanjali. A kuchipudi dance performance by Neha Kidambi. Student of Jyothi Lakkaraju, Artistic Director of Natyalaya, a kuchipudi school of dance. 3 p.m. Ohlone College, Jackson theater, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont. Free. (408) 206-2058. Jlakkaraju@ yahoo.com.

Speed Math Contest. Math contests of

different levels for students grades K-8. Organized by Math Edge. Cupertino Site, 7250 Bark Lane, San Jose. http://www.mathedge.org.

Double Header Concert. Vocal concert “It is not necessary to know Karnatik music to enjoy the stories,” says Balagopal who hopes the issues and characters stay in the readers’ minds long after the stories have been read. The first story, Singing Lessons, tells the tale of eight year old Hamsa, a reluctant classical music student. She must suffer through her vocal lessons to satisfy the cultural aspirations of her family. Priya’s Pursuit, on the other hand, is set in the United States. It reveals the norms and traditions of an extended Indian family and the burdens and benefits of the same family bonds. The collection is capped by the story which inspired the title There are Seven Notes, which examines the tortured feelings of a professional musician who suffers a breakdown in the middle of a concert and steps away from the performance arena to re-assess his life. Most of the stories involve the passing down of Indian culture from one generation to the next.

While the issues the seven stories confront are serious, they are painted with both bitter-sweet moments and touching humor —with characters that, hopefully, will stay in the readers’ minds long after the stories have been read.n May 5, 3 p.m. University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 548-0585 (800) 676-8722. outreach@universitypressbooks.com.

by R. Suryaprakash (vocal), Nagai Driram (violin), Tanjore Murugabhoopathy (mridangam). Strings Attached concert featuring R. Kumaresh (violin), jayanthi Kumaresh (veena), Neyveli Narayan (mridamgam), Trichy Krishnaswami (ghatam). Organized

Saatchi Bhalla’s Bharatnatyam Arangetram, May 26

Shelly Woods

From Bollywood Indies to Hollywood Blockbusters

B Miss Representation, documentary screening, May 20

by South India Fine Arts. 2 p.m and 5 p.m.

Center for Performing Arts, Menlo-Atherton School, 555 Middlefield Rd., Atherton. www. southindiafinearts.org.

May

14 Monday

Become a Trained Music Teacher. If you love to sing, and enjoy teaching children and help keep music in our schools. Organized by Music for Minors. 12-1 p.m. 883 N Shoreline Blvd., C120 Mountain View. (650) 237-9130. nayna@mfm.org. www.mfm.org.

Play Like A Lion. A movie about the

legacy of Ali Akbar Khan. The screening will be followed by Q&As with the filmmakers.

Organized by Santa Cruz Film Festival. 8:30 p.m. The Nickelodeon Theatre, 210 Lincoln St. Santa Cruz . $8 general, $6 students/ seniors. (831) 359-4888. info@santacruzfilmfestival.org, info@abuelaluna.com. www. santacruzfilmfestival.org, www.playlikealion. com.

May

18 Friday

Cosmik Casbah. Tribal Fest afterparty.

Friday night features Cheb i Sabbah, and Beatbox Guitar from Brooklyn NY with Pete List showcasing his Beatbox Baaji. DJ Amar hosts a mix of live acts and dance performances. Ends May 19. Organized by Electric Vardo. 9:30 p.m. Hopmonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $20 at the door. $18 advance. (415) 259-8629. info@electricvardo. com. cosmikcasbah.wordpress.com.

Karnatik Music Concert. Vocal concert featuring S. Sanketharaman (vocal), S. Varadarajan (violin), Neyveli Venkatesh (mridangam). Violin concert, R.K. Shriramkumar, K. Arunprakash (mridangam), B.S. Purushotham (kanjira). Organized by South India Fine Arts. 7 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. www. southindiafinearts.org.

ay Area native Rashmi Rustagi appears in her first major film the upcoming blockbuster “The Avengers.” Based on the ever-popular comic book series first published in 1963, “The Avengers” assembles Earth’s mightiest superheroes to save the world from disaster where Rustagi plays the only Indian woman in Kolkata where Bruce Banner aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) tames his temper by saving her family.

Born in Lucknow, Rustagi is fluent in Hindi, Urdu and English. This afforded Mark Ruffalo the opportunity for Rustagi to dialogue with him in Hindi. Rustagi reflects, “Working with Ruffalo was so enjoyable. I developed an admiration for his commitment to learning Hindi, which allowed his performance to not only, be accurate, but captivating. I was impressed with how down-to-earth he was and how he endeared himself to the cast members in the scene.”

Rustagi continues, “If I was blind-folded and brought to the production set in Arizona, I’d think I was in Kolkata because Joss Whedon did a fantastic job depicting the congested, chicken and livestock bred streets of Kolkata.” Rustagi’s acting roles

May

19 Saturday

Music Exams. Held bi-annually in the hopes of keeping Indian music traditions alive in the Bay Area. Ends May 20. Organized by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal India. 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, 7844 McClellan Road, Cupertino.

(408) 792-7014. satish_tare@yahoo.com. www.tablaniketan.com.

Himalayan Fair 2012. A Berkeley tradition since 1983, the Himalayan Fair celebrates the artistic, cultural and spiritual aspects of life in the mountain cultures of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Burma, Pakistan and Mongolia. Live music and dance performances by Chaksam-pa, Karma Moffett, Dance Identity, Jyoti Kala Mandir, Riffat Sultana, Dholrhythms, Ancient Future and more to come.

Authentic Himalayan food, art, jewelry, clothing, antiques, crafts, children’s activities, travel information and more highlight this 29th annual family friendly outdoor bazaar.

Ends May 20. Organized by Himalayan Fair 2012 Committee. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Live Oak Park, 1300 Shattuck AVe, Berkeley. Admission is Free, but for every $5 donated to the Fair you will receive a chance to win one of our many

Backlot photo of Rashmi Rustagi and Mark Ruffalo

include Bollywood films “Compromise,” “Under One Sun,” and “It’s a Mismatch” with Bollywood actors Anupam Kher and Boman Irani.

Not limited to the silver screen, Rustagi is also a San Francisco Theater Works actor (Baby Taj), producer, writer and cook. She shares her recipes in her food blog Rashmi’s Recipes www.RashmisRecipes.com.n “The Avengers” opens May 4. raffle prizes. (510) 869-3995. director@himalayanfair.net. himalayanfair.net.

May

20 Sunday

Documentary Screening. Miss Representation, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Exploring how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions in America and challenges the media’s limiting and often disparaging portrayals of women, which make it difficult for the average girl to see herself as powerful. Organized by India Community Center, Indian Business and Professional Women and Dawn. 11:30 a.m.

India Community Center, 525 Los Coches Str. Milipitas. $5 for adults and free for students (with ID) and seniors. info@ibpw.net.

Yatra, The Journey. Dance showcase, choreographed by Srividya Eashwar. Features folk, semi-classical and fusion dance. Organized by Xpressions. 3:30 p.m. Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Pkwy., Santa Clara. General, $20, reserved seating, $25. (408) 246-3005, (408)

india currents • may 2012 • 93

Michelle Baird

SanKritiLaya Cultivates Musicians

S

anKritiLaya started organically in 2008, nestled within the homes of music lovers. “It all started with artists staying with us while they were on tour.

We met several artists who couldn’t make it on their own on a tour in the United States,” explains Viji Mani, Treasurer of SanKritiLaya. Mani and her husband, Mahalingam Mani, SanKritiLaya’s President, began exploring ways to help Indian musicians arrange tour logistics, book shows, and develop publicity. “We weren’t into hosting concerts locally. We thought we would just be tour sponsors. But we found some trouble placing artists with local organizations.”

It was at that juncture that Mani and her husband developed the model that drives their non-profit today. “We wanted to focus on up-and-coming artists. But how could we make that viable?” asks Mani.

The answer was to develop a concert series that focuses on both famous and up-andcoming musicians. Concerts are scheduled in twos, with a famous artist headlining one concert to attract crowds and another concert featuring promising musicians bolstered by well-known musical accompanists. Ticket holders get the benefit of both, experiencing musicians they know and love as well as watching high-caliber artists they’re unfamiliar with. The model has taken root. Starting in 2011, SanKritiLaya had their first full year of operation.

“We go the extra mile to host all the artists we can bring” adds Mani. And the crowds have been showing their support.

“Our main thanks goes to Jayashree

Vidushi Amritha Murali 94 • india currents • may 2012

Indrajit Banerjee

Varadarajan. She was our main supporter and instrumental in getting our membership. She’s one who quietly goes behind the scenes supporting what we do.” With Varadarajan’s support, SanKritiLaya blossomed to 250 members last year and anticipates continued growth in membership this year. “It is all spread by word of mouth. We started by recommending upcoming artists.

And then the artists started calling us.” For the spring season of 2012, SanKritiLaya has a special set of concerts scheduled for the end of May and the beginning of June.

On May 26th, SanKritiLaya is co-hosting an instrumental jugalbandhi with Basant Bahar featuring Indrajit Banerjee on sitar, Vidwan Neyveli S. Radhakrishna on double violin, Subrata Bhattacharya on tabla and Somnath Roy on ghatam. Mani explains, “This is a unique program that has never been done before.” Banerjee is a famous Hindustani sitarist within the Maihar gharana. Known for his thoughtful and imaginative compositions, Banerjee is also appreciated for the sweetness of his playing. For the first time in the United States, Banerjee is playing with Radhakrishna. “Radhakrishna custom made the double violin himself. It’s like the Siamese twins of violins.” A classically trained violinist, Radhakrishna worked for five years with a violin maker in Concord, California, to create an entirely unique double violin. His instrument includes ten strings spread across a treble and bass portion and is played with a combination of violin and cello bows. The resulting sound covers the range of violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Banerjee on sitar and Radhakrishna on a double violin promises to be a novel and electrifying performance. Mani agrees, “We do this because we love this art and we want others to be able to hear this.”

On June 3rd, SanKritiLaya is hosting the vocalist Amritha Murali, a “fabulous person

as well as a great artist,” according to Mani, with Dr. Hemalatha on violin and J. Vaidhyanathan on mridangam. “She’s an incredibly promising artist. In the next ten years she will be at the same level as the other artists we feature, given the exposure. Bringing her here and featuring her in our season satisfies our mission.” Murali is currently studying with P. S. Narayanaswamy and has received an abundance of awards, including “Isai Chudar” from Kartik Fine Arts, “Yuva Kala Bharathi” from Bharat Kalachar, as well as an All India Radio National Competition Prize.

Celebrated for aesthetic appeal of her voice, she’s also appreciated for her adherence to classical values.

“I grew up with art and am passionate about it. My husband and I, with Mani Subramaniyan, of SanKritiLaya, are like-minded individuals. We don’t mind putting time out of our lives to do this.” The heart and passion Mani brings to SanKritiLaya is palpable as well as contagious. SanKritiLaya is run entirely by volunteers, and all proceeds are directed back to the artists the organization supports. “We’re passionate about every single artist we support. And we encourage others to come to our concerts and support our artists as well” concludes Mani.n May 26, 5:30 p.m. Instrumental - north/south jugalbandhi Vidwan Indrajit Banerjee (sitar), Vidwan Neyveli S. Radhakrishna (double violin) June 3, 4 p.m. Vidushi Amritha Murali, Vidushi Dr. Hemalatha(violin), Vidwan J. Vaidhyanathan (mridangam.)

Jain Temple, 722 S. Main Street, Milpitas. www.sankritilaya.org. Tickets: $25, $20.

Neyveli S. Radhakrishna

india currents • may 2012 • 95

96 • india currents • may 2012

of Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy, will be presenting her first solo dance performance. Organized by Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy. 4:30 p.m. De Anza College Visual and Performing Arts Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino . Free. (408) 6442536. saatchisarangetram@gmail.com. www. shreelatasuresh.com.

Jugalbandhi. Indrajit Banerjee (sitar) and

N Radhakrishnan (voilin).The duo is accompanied by Subrata Bhattacharya and Somnath Roy. Organized by Basant Bahar. 5-7 p.m. Jain Temple, 722, S Main St., Milpitas.

Free for Basant Bahar members. $25 for non members. (408) 531-1101, (408) 390-7094. basantbahar.org.

May

27 Sunday

Chocolate Krishan Play. A play in Tamil.

Veena Suhasrabuddhe performs at Badrikashrama, June 3

838-3079. vidyasdance@gmail.com. www.xpressionsdancemusic.com.

Desi Singles Party. Join the creative and innovative style of meeting someone in a friendly environment that encourages good conversation and connections. Organized by Kamna’s Parties.

6:30-10:45 p.m. Sakoon Restaurant, 357 Castro St. Mountain View. $50 Boys, $25 Girls. (650) 515-9961. kamna@kamnasparties.com. desisingles.kamnasparties.com.

May

26 Saturday

Bollywood Popular Movie Songs of Sixties. Based on Hindustani classical Ragas. Orga-

Organized by Ayyappa Samaaj and Bay Area Tamil Manram. 4 p.m. Centerville Community Center, 3355 Country Drive, Fremont. $15, $25, $50, $100. http://www.bayareatamilmanram.org/eng/CrazyMohanTix.html.

Ektava. Sixteen children from some of the

poorest parts of India perform a 90-minute dance dram, emboding a message of love and peace, with powerful, emotional pieces that bring Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.’s messages to life on stage.

Organized by Manav Sadhna. 6-8 p.m.

Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall # 4800, 2456 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. Free. (419) 2979210. ekatvasf@gmail.com. ekatvazellerbach. eventbrite.com.

May

28 Monday

Dinner with Crazy Mohan. Tamil actor entertains at a dinner. Organized by Ayyappa Samaaj and Bay Area Tamil Manram.

7 p.m. Centerville Community Center, 3355 Country Drive, Fremont. $30, adult; $15, child. http://www.bayareatamilmanram.org/ eng/CrazyMohanTix.html.

Music Discourse by Vishakha Hari.

Balaji Ananthakrishnan (violin), S.J Arun Ganesh (mridangam). Organized by South India Fine Arts. 3:30 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. www. southindiafinearts.org.

June

1 Friday

Amjad Ali Khan in Concert. Sarod maestro, in residence at the Stanford Department of Music this spring to teach Indian Classical Music: A Way of Life, performs.

Organized by Stanford University. 8 p.m.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium, 471 Lagunita Drive., Stanford. General $42-38, $15 for Stanford students. (650) 725-2787. www. stanfordtickets.org.

June

2 Saturday

Badrikashrama 28th Anniversary Celebration. Cultural program with skit by

Balasamskara Kendra, Anuradha Sridhar

nized by Sangeet Dhwani. 1:30-5 p.m. Milpitas Library Auditorium, 160 North Main St., Milpitas. Free. 4(08) 733-7442. pradjoshi@gmail.com. htp://www.sangeetdhwani.wordpress.com.

Karnatik Vocal Arangetram. Mekala

Neelakantan, student of Latha Sriram, Artistic Director of Sri Lalitha Gana Vidyalaya. Accompanied by Lakshmi Balasubramanya (violin), and Ravindra Bharati Sridharan (mridangam).

3:30 p.m. Dougherty Valley Performing Arts, 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon. Free.

Karnatik Music Vocal Arangetram. Sam-

path Radhakrishna, student of Rama Thyagarajan, Artistic Director of Satguru Vidyalaya.

Accompanied by Delhi P. Sunder (violin), Rajan (mridangam), Neyveli R. Narayanan (kanjira) and Ganesh Ramanarayanan. Organized by Satguru Vidyalaya. 4 p.m. Performing Arts Center, Woodside High School, 199 Churchill Ave, Woodside. Free. s_radha@yahoo.com.

Bharatnatyam Arangetram. Saatchi Bhalla, student of Shreelata Suresh, Artistic Director

Ramayana, a play, June 10

india currents • may 2012 • 97

Riz Merchant

TiECon 2012

G

et ready to Connect-Innovate-Prosper! TiEcon 2012, marks its 18th year as “The World’s Largest Conference for Entrepreneurs” and has been convening since 1994. This annual meet serves to facilitate the networking of entrepreneurial eco-system, not only in the Silicon Valley, but also globally. The conference, that spans two days, includes panels that address topics which are current and relevant to entrepreneurs.

TiEcon is organized by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), which celebrates two decades since its inception in 1992 and is inclusive of all demographics. TiE is also an acronym for Talent, Ideas and Enterprise. This certainly describes the attributes of the populace that its annual conference attracts, which made Silicon Valley a thriving hot-bed of industry and has bred successful entrepreneurs with vision and passion.

TiEcon provides a meeting ground for entrepreneurs and professionals, who get an opportunity to network, forge ties (pun unintended) with other like-minded individuals and are exposed to the growing trends in businesses.

“TiE’s charter is to foster entrepreneurship”, says R. Paul Singh, Marketing Chair for TiEcon 2012 and a TiE Board Member.

“Entrepreneurship and innovation are really complementary. We hope to create that spark and with some great keynotes, inspire the entrepreneur in everyone to innovate.”

Keynote speakers are luminaries selected

by TiE’s Keynote Committee, for not only being innovative but also inspirational and out-of the box thinkers with a recognized name. Eminent and august, each is an icon in his own industry with a list of accomplishments so great that it is humbling.

Here is a list of keynote speakers slated to speak at this year’s conference.

• Sam Pitroda: An inventor, thinker, policymaker, Pitroda is currently Adviser to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, charged with the task of providing a plan for creating digital infrastructure in India. He is also the Chairman of the National Innovation Council (NInC) which is working on several initiatives to boost innovation performance in the country.

• Deepak Chopra: As the founder of the Chopra Foundation, Senior Scientist in The Gallup Organization and author of New York Times best-sellers, Deepak Chopra needs no introduction. This spiritual guru’s contribu98 • india currents • may 2012

Speakers: Calos Dominguez(Top, L), Deepak Chopra(Top, R), Sam Pitroda (Bottom, L), Anant Agarwal (Bottom, L)

tions to mind-body medicine have gained him national and international fame. He has authored over sixty books, 19 of which are on the New York Times bestsellers list.

• Anant Agarwal: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at M.I.T., Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Guinness World Record holder for the largest microphone array based on Raw, his accomplishments do not end there. He is also founder of Tilera Corporation, Virtual Machine Works and author of the textbook “Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits”.

•Carlos Dominguez: In his talk at TiEcon, “New World, New Rules - Surviving, Leading & Thriving in Our New World,” Senior Vice President at Cisco and publisher of The Tech Nowist Daily, Carlos Dominguez will examine how we can leverage the present while preparing for the future and share survival tips for all entrepreneurs.

This year, TiEcon will also have breakthrough thinkers in addition to the keynote speakers. Jai Rawat, charter member and Convener of TiEcon explains, “Breakthrough thinkers are meant to jolt the audience out of their comfort-zone. They talk about research work that may sound like science fiction but is actually being carried out.”

In addition to talks by these stellar speakers, TiEcon has panels which will focus on emerging trends and issues that are relevant to today’s market and has set up tracks for addressing hot topics such as Cloud, Mobile,

Social Media, Life Sciences/Healthcare and Energy and Cleantech.

When asked if TiE has added anything new to this year’s conference, Kiran Malhotra, Executive Director at TiE, says, “We will have a TiE Student Track for the next generation of entrepreneurs. In the last three years we added many new things which we are perfecting this year, such as TiE50, Mentor Connect, Startup Connect, and the TiEcon Innovation Expo which will feature over 120 companies showcasing their latest and greatest technologies and products.”

TiEcon’s Entrepreneur Track will examine what it takes to be an entrepreneur, to how to create a micro- and multi-national and build leadership teams which are crucial to the success of start-ups and the Women’s Forum Panel will address the challenges faced by women as entrepreneurs.

“TiEcon always strives to be inspirational, relevant and forward–looking,” says Vish Mishra, current President of TiE. “We believe that TiEcon is the only conference in the world to inspire, educate, prepare and fund the entrepreneurs in opportunity areas.”n Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19.

2-day pass $295 (members), $395 (nonmembers) Santa Clara Convention Center, 5101 Great America Pkwy,. Santa Clara www.tiecon.org.

india currents • may 2012 • 99

June

9 Saturday

Tridevi. A thematic program celebrating

female trinity, presented by kuchipudi dance teachers Samidha Satyam, Himabindu Challa, Madhuri Kishore and Sunita Pendekanti.

Organized by Yuva Bharati. 4-6:30 p.m.

Mission Center for Performing Arts, 3250 Monroe St., Santa Clara. General:$10, free for Yuva Bharati members. (650) 565-8859, (408) 248-3301. yuva_bharati@yahoo.com. www. yuvabharati.org.

India Currents 25th Anniversary. Join in celebrating India Currents 25th Anniversary. The premiere of a dark comedy, “Death in San Francisco,” a play by Naatak.

Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres and drinks.

Organized by India Currents magazine. 6 p.m. The Tabard Theatre Company, 29 N San Pedro St., San Jose. VIP: $35, general: $30.

(408) 324-0488. www.Indiacurrents.com.

June Sampath Radhakrishna, vocal arangetram, May 26

(violin) and Sriram Brahmanandam (mridangam). Odissi dance by Nataraj School of dance. Bhajan concert with Vivek Datar (harmonium), Satish Tare (tabla), Prasad Bhandarkar (bansuri), Abhijet Tare (manjira).

Organized by Badrikashrama. 10 a.m. Badrikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro.

(510) 278-2444. www.badrikasharma.org.

June

10 Sunday

Ramayana, A Play. A cast of 200 students perform with traditional costumes. Dancing, live music, and special effects. Organized

by Mount Madonna School. 2 p.m. Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. $35 adults, $25 (18 and under). (408) 847-2717. school@mountmadonna.org, leighann.clifton@mountmadonna.org. www.

MountMadonnaSchool.org/Ramayana.

India Currents 25th Anniversary. Join in

3 Sunday

Bharatnatyam Arangetram. Deepthisri

Suresh, student of Sristi dance Academy. 3 p.m. Mission City Center of Performing Arts.

Adrian Wilcox High School, 3250 Monroe Street, Santa Clara. Free. (510) 396-2249.

Bhajans by Rita Sahai. Followed by aarti

and mahaprasad. Organized by Badrikashrama. 10 a.m. Badrikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. (510) 278-2444. www. badrikasharma.org.

June

8 Friday

India Currents 25th Anniversary. Join in celebrating India Currents 25th Anniversary.

The premiere of a dark comedy, “Death in San Francisco,” a play by Naatak. Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres and drinks. Organized by India Currents magazine. 7:30 p.m.

The Tabard Theatre Company, 29 N San Pedro St., San Jose. VIP: $35, general: $30. (408) 324-0488. www.Indiacurrents.com.

Amjad Ali Khan concert, June 1 100 • india currents • may 2012

Mekala Neelakantan, vocal arangetram, May 26

celebrating India Currents 25th Anniversary.

The premiere of a dark comedy, “Death in San Francisco,” a play by Naatak. Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres and drinks. Organized by India Currents magazine. 5 p.m. The Tabard Theatre Company, 29 N San Pedro St., San Jose. VIP: $35, general: $30. (408) 3240488. www.Indiacurrents.com.

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

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

Thursday, May 3, 2012 At 6.00 pm Praodsham Shiva Sri Rudra Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa

Saturday, May 5, 2012 12 Noon Navagraha Homa / Sri Saneeswara Graha Homa continued with Navagraha Abhisheka / Sri Saneeswara Graha Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 2.00 pm Chithra Pournami Chithraguptha Pooja Narasimha Jayanthi, Pournami Vratha Sri Sathyanarayana Swami Pooja/Vratha. All are welcome to participate with family.

At 4.00 pm Sri Venkateswara Abhisheka continued with Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Chanting Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Wednesday, May 9, 2012

• www.vvgc.org or siliconvalleyhindutemple.com

At 5.00 pm Sri Sankata Hara Chathurthi Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Homa/Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 At 5.30 pm Shiva Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 6.30 pm Vaisakha Masa Poorvabadra Nakshatra Sri Hanuman Jayanthi Aarathi and Manthra Pushpa continued with Sri Hanuman Chalisa Wednesday, May 17, 2012 At 5.00 pm Shiva Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 6.00 pm Guru Peyarchi transition to Rishabha Raasi Gurupeyarchi Homa and Special Archana Aarati and Manthra Pushpa

Friday, May 18, 2012 At 5.00 pm Sri Bhuwaneswari Abhisheka/Sri Lalitha Devi continued with Pardosham Shiva Sri Rudra Abhisheka, continued with Sri Lalitha Sahasra Nama Chanting Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Sunday, May 20, 2012 At 4. 00 pm Kritika Vratha Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Abhisheka, Sri Shiva Abhisheka At 5.15 pm Sri Kandha Sashti Kavasam Chanting Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Saturday, May 26, 2012 - Sukla Sashti At 8.30 pm Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Sahasra Nama Archana Monday, May 28, 2012 - Memorial Day Weekend Timing

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)

india currents • may 2012 • 101

IC

reflections

Joy Kapur

Silence—The Womb of Creativity

T

“

he only person you can depend for the rest of your life is you yourself, your inner-self.”

—Upanishad.

Most people underestimate the power of silence and associate it with ignorance or aloofness. Perhaps it is the most misunderstood faculty or the state of mind.

Silence provides a chance to reflect and introspect. There is this perfect word in Sanskrit called: mannan, which means to reflect and to understand through introspection, so that a better perspective can be comprehended objectively. Silence is the tool that opens your consciousness to the ultimate truth or inner reality, beyond the confusion of the world of senses.

Adi Shankara wrote in Vivekachudamani, “Vedas speak the inner world, which cannot be perceived by the mind, intellect or the sense organs.”

Those who are trapped in the mundane matters of survival are at the mercy of 90,000 thoughts that bombard their minds everyday. Meditating properly requires you to be able silence your conscience mind. You have to let go of all conscious thoughts such as worry, fear, anxiety, stress, anger, and any other negative thoughts that may enter your mind.

It may come as a surprise to many that this silence, the life changing transformation, originates from within; and is linked to the “beyond.” The mind or intellect cannot fathom or grasp the subtleties of this inner silence. It is this silence that has the most profound effect on our body, mind and the external world we live in and prosper. This silence is nothing but the silence of the heart, the silence of the Infinite, which is always around us.

“Tune into yourself everything is within,” a great philosopher once said.

Everything that emanates from within is a message from beyond or from the inner world. Intuition of divine essence flows from within.

In order to access your inner self, silence is a very valuable tool that can sharpen your mind and intellect. Keeping the mind away from distracting thoughts, silence aids in the process of concentration and focus. For beginners, observing a few minutes of silence three times day can do wonders for the inner creative juices to start flowing. In that state of silence,

102 • india currents • may 2012

you are connected to your higher self. You have to shut off from all outer activities and mental chatter and keep the windows of the soul open and in tune with your higher self.

•It is ideal to sit in a comfortable position for at least three minutes three times a day.

•Seek out a solitary place or corner where you live. Sit cross-legged or in a comfortable position wearing loose clothes. Let your body completely relax and become aware of any movement of the body or the mind.

•Close your eyes and focus your gaze or your awareness between your eyebrows, called the ajna chakra.

•Become aware of the inhaling and exhaling of breath through both the nostrils.

Deep breathing slows down the heart rate, relaxes the muscles to help you have comfortable experience and tune into your higher self faster.

In that stillness you may hear the whispers of intuition. No need to analyze or use the mind to intellectualize or resort to mental manipulations of any kind.

In that silent state of mind, you can listen to your own heartbeats, experience the state of harmony, a sense of deep relaxation, and become one with that Infinite source of knowledge and power. It brings out and cleanses any old layers of mental, emotional and religious baggage or any blockages of stress and discomfort. In that silence, as Buddha says “to question not and to answer not.”

When the inner silence becomes free from the spirit of questioning, it opens up new

vistas of opportunities, new spiritual insights, imbued with your own essence, uniquely your own, you never knew you had.

When you are deep into that silence, just for a few seconds, see, hear, smell… in your heart what it is that you want from life. Feel as if it would already be yours.

In that silence, you let the higher power flow through you and awaken you to the gifts of the universe. Many aspirants feel energized, heal themselves, reach a balanced state of mind, think with lot more clarity and experience enhanced states of creativity, peace and abundance.

It is a well known fact that most of the renowned artists, musicians, poets and authors seek out solitary places, away from the worldly noise, to compose their works as they consciously seek out silence which helps them to ignite the spark of creativity, and discover the deep secrets by the creative outflow of inner intelligence by the inner illuminator.

Some talk of experiencing new awakening in those silent catalytic moments, the moments of transformation, to know the real from the unreal, to be showered with grace by an unseen force, without their trying. They feel the divine ecstasy, the harmonious alignment of body, mind and soul, and sip the divine nectar of this mystical union.n Jagmohan “Joy” Kapur is a published poet, lyricist, intuitive guide, and Quantum Manifestation coach. He is the author of four books, including, “This is no Secret’ and “The Divine Perfume of Love.”

IC May

spirituality and health

1 Tuesday

Paramhansa Yogananda: Walking in the Footsteps of the Master. Studying

Yogananda’s salient characteristics, these 30 defining features of the Master gives a road map for self-transformation. Ends May 29.

7:30-9 p.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. $15. (650) 323-3363. www. anandapaloalto.org.

May

2 Wednesday

Gentle Chair Yoga. Yoga for seniors and

physically challenged. Organized by Badarikashrama. 6-7 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. $20.00 donation.

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

May

3 Thursday

Pradosha Siva Puja. 7-8:30 p.m. Sri Maha Kaleshwar Mandir. 2344A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara. (408) 800-7852. www.srimahakalmandir.com.

May

4 Friday

Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Birthday Celebration. Clear unwanted things (anarthas)

from the heart on the path to spiritual advancement. Organized by ISKCON of Silicon Valley. 5-9 p.m. 951 S Bascom Ave., San Jose .Free. (949) 981-4976. deepakc108@ gmail.com. virtualtemple.org.

Home Satsang. Discourses on Sat Darshanam. Organized by Chinmaya Mission San Jose. 8-9 p.m. Ruparel Residence, 20668 Seaton Ave., Saratoga. Free. (408) 867-9550. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose.org.

May

5 Saturday

Mystical Teaching of the Bible for Yogis. Curious about the different inter-

pretations of the Bible? Gain familiarity with the Bible and a broader education for inspiration and understanding. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. $30. (650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

Aradhana of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. Lunch will be served. 11 a.m.-2

p.m. Jain Temple, Milpitas, 722 South Main

New Balaji Temple Opening, May 30—June 3

St., Milpitas. Free. (510) 656-2752. sunita_ parasuraman@yahoo.com.

Group Singing of Sri Sundarakaanda Ramayana. Followed by aarti and mahaprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama. 2:305:30 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama. org.

Chitra Purnima. Lecture on concept of

Devi and Shiva, by visiting guru T.S. Shanmuga Sivachariar. 5 p.m. Sri Maha Kaleshwar Mandir. 2344A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara.

(408) 800-7852. www.srimahakalmandir.com.

Navagraha Homa. Noon. Sri Lakshmi Ga-

napathi Temple. 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose.

(408) 226-3600. www.vvgc.org. www.siliconvalleyhindutemple.com.

May

6 Sunday

Buddha Poornima. Full moon puja in honor of Buddha, Sri Satyanarayana Swami.

Puja and katha, group worship of Lord Satyanarayana, followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave.,San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama. org. india currents • may 2012 • 103

Kaleshwar Mandir. 2344A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara. (408) 800-7852. www.srimahakalmandir.com.

May

18 Friday

Home Group Study of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Organized by Chinmaya Mission

San Jose. 8-9 p.m. Rao Residence, 22314 Cupertino Road, Cupertino. Free. (408) 8630595. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www. chinmaya-sanjose.org.

Nama Chanting and Manthra Pushpa.

5 p.m. Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Temple. 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose. (408) 226-3600. www.vvgc.org. www.siliconvalleyhindutemple. com.

May

Swami Sukhabodhananda’s Gita talk, May 24

19 Saturday

Mataki Choki. Group singing of Divine Satyanarayana Swami Puja and Kirtan.

Vedic group worship of Sri Satyanarayana on poornima. Followed by aarti and mahaprasad.

Organized by Badarikashrama. 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave.,San Leandro. free. to sponsor call the ashrama.

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

Chitra Purnima. Lecture on the relevance of rituals in the present century, by visiting guru T.S. Shanmuga Sivachariar. 5 p.m. Sri Maha Kaleshwar Mandir. 2344A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara. (408) 800-7852. www.srimahakalmandir.com.

May

9 Wednesday

Sri Lakshmi Ganpati Homa. 5 p.m. Sri

Lakshmi Ganapathi Temple. 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose. (408) 226-3600. www.vvgc.org. www.siliconvalleyhindutemple.com.

May

11 Friday

Boundless Wisdom. Currently the text

Ribhu Gita is being read.The verses or passages are read aloud, commentary is offered, and dialogues usually follow. Organized by Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT). 8-9:30 p.m. SAT, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free.

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

Home Satsang. Discourses on Dakshinamoorthy Strotram. Organized by Chinmaya Mission San Jose. 8-9 p.m. Rao Residence, 22314 Cupertino Road, Cupertino. Free. (408) 863-0595. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose.org.

104 • india currents • may 2012

May

13 Sunday

Mother’s Day Celebration. Group recitation of Sri Lalitha Sahasranama. Talk by Mangalananda on the” Mother’s Role in Hindu Tradition.” Followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama.

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

Moving Towards Interdependence. A

special reception with Brij Mohan Anand of the Brahma Kumaris. Organized by Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization. 11 a.m. Anubhuti Meditation and Retreat Center, 820 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato. anubhuti@ bkwsu.org.

Mother bhajans, followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama.

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

Amavasya Kali Puja. 8 p.m. Sri Maha

Kaleshwar Mandir. 2344A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara. (408) 800-7852. www.srimahakalmandir.com.

May

20 Sunday

Group Singing and Meditation. Slokas of the Sri Ramayana recited, and storytelling

Chidambaram Nataraja Abhishekam.

Live dance performance. 5:30-8 p.m. Sri Maha Kaleshwar Mandir. 2344A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara. (408) 800-7852. www.srimahakalmandir.com.

May

14 Monday

Monthly Shiva Pooja. Abhishekam and full chanting of rudram/chamakam for Lord Shiva. Organized by Chinmaya Mission San Jose. 7:30-9 p.m. Sandeepany San Jose, 1050 Park Ave., San Jose. Free. (408) 998-2793. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmayasanjose.org.

May

17 Thursday

Pradosha Siva Puja. 7-8:30 p.m. Sri Maha

Kabir Jayanti, May 27

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and what is not. Ends May 27. Organized

by Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT). 9 a.m.-2 p.m. SAT, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz . Registration Required. (831) 425-7287. sat@ cruzio.com. satramana.org.

May

26 Saturday

Workshop on Managing Life Creatively.

Organized by Swami Sukhabodhananda.

2:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Divine Science Community Center, 1540 Hicks Ave, San Jose. Free. (408) 425-2851. vskamala@yahoo.com, toshakila@ gmail.com. www.swamisukhabodhananda.org.

Meditation programs with Anandi Ma, June 14

from the Ramayana. Followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama.

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

Shiva Abhisheka. 4 p.m. Sri Lakshmi Ga-

napathi Temple. 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose.

(408) 226-3600. www.vvgc.org. www.siliconvalleyhindutemple.com.

May

24 Thursday

Swami Sukhabodhananda’s Bhagavad Gita Talks. Ends May 25. 7:40-9:30 p.m.

Divine Science Community Center, 1540, Hicks Ave, San Jose. Free. (408) 425-2851. vskamala@yahoo.com, toshakila@gmail.com. www.swamisukhabodhananda.org.

May

25 Friday

Discourses on Bhaja Govindam. Ends May 28. Organized by Chinmaya Mission San Jose. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. California High School, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon.

Free. (408) 998-2793. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose.org.

Sukla Sashti Night. Nama archana. 8:30

p.m. Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Temple. 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose. (408) 226-3600. www. vvgc.org. www.siliconvalleyhindutemple.com.

May

Kabir Jayanti. Kabirvani, bhajans and saa-

khee, in honor of Sadguru Kabir Saheb. Followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized

by Bharati Bhakta,Ram Saxena in conjunction with Badarikashrama. 2-6 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave.,San Leandro.

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

May

30 Wednesday

Maha Kumbhabhishekam. Auspicious

occasion of inauguration of the newly built Balaji Temple with MahaKumbhabhishekam.

Ends June 3. Balaji Temple, 5004 N 1st St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@ gmail.com. www.Balajitemple1.net.

The Self-Knowledge Retreat. Based

on the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi contained within “Origin of Spiritual Instruction.” The spiritual instruction focuses on the discernment between the Self and what is not the Self, between what is real

27 Sunday

June

2 Sunday

Badarikashrama Celebrates its 28th Anniversary. Cultural program with skit by Bal-

asamskara Kendra, Anuradha Sridhar (violin)

Share your stories on health with India Currents readers!

We are accepting original submissions that focus on health and wellness. Send your 500-850 word essay on disease prevention, exercise, ayurvedic cooking, or any other health-related topic to Mona Shah at events@indiacurrents.com.

106 • india currents • may 2012

and Sriram Brahmanandam (mridangam).

Odissi dance by Nataraj School of dance.

Bhajan concert with Vivek Datar (harmonium), Satish Tare (tabla), Prasad Bhandarkar (bansuri), Abhijet Tere (manjira). Ends June 3. Organized by Badarikashrama. 10:30 a.m.

Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave.,San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.

June

9 Saturday

Group singing of Sundarakaanda Ramayana. Followed by aarati and mahaprasad.

Organized by Badarikashrama. 2:30-5:30 p.m.

Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave.,San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.

June

10 Sunday

Public Lecture and Demonstration.

“Chandra Namaskara: Moon Salutation.”

Mukth Mukh, teaches and practices in San Francisco. Mukth will demonstrate and lead simple asanas and give a talk on the significance of the Moon Salutation in the practice of yoga. He will discuss the healing and spiritual aspects of yoga. Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St. (at 3rd Ave.) San Francisco. Free. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. www.culturalintegrationfellowship.org.

Sri Ramanama Sankirtana and Meditation. Group singing of slokas, and story

telling fromthe Ramayana. Followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave.,San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.

June

14 Thursday

Meditation Programs with Shri Anandi Ma. Join Shri Anandi Ma for an evening

of chanting and meditation. Shaktipat, the transmission of spiritual energy from teacher to student, will be offered by appointment only on Sunday, June 17. Ends June 16. Organized by Dhyanyoga Centers. 6:30-9 p.m.

Dhyanyoga Centers, 3306 Contra Loma Blvd., Antioch. Free. (925) 779-9660. sumati@dyc. org, info@dyc.org, antioch-programs@dyc.org. www.dycantioch.org, www.dyc.org.

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

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ALANKRITHAM celebrating a 20 year journey

Saturday, June 16, 2012 @ 1pm McAfee Theatre, Saratoga High School

Join the Facebook event @ http://on.fb.me/z9P5Ng Afternoon session: •Hindustani by Nachiketa Yakkundi •Ragamalika disciples with Lakshmi Balasubramanya (Violin) Vignesh Venkatraman (Mridangam)

Evening session: Vocal: Asha Ramesh Violin: Jayshankar Balan Mridangam: Vinod Seetharaman Ghatam: Ravi Balasubramanian

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india currents • may 2012 • 109

IC

the healthy life

Niraj “Raj” Patel

Is Ghee Good for You? I

n my last article (IC, Dec. 2011), I explained why many of us felt ghee was bad and why we were probably wrong. For decades we were told to avoid foods full of saturated fats including ghee because they would cause heart attacks.

But the evidence from several studies says otherwise.

As a 2010 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition meta-analysis that look at many studies and was done by researchers at Harvard concludes, the evidence linking saturated fats to a higher risk of heart attacks is not convincing. What I concluded from the science available today is that ghee is not bad per se. Let me now explain why ghee is good.

In general, a natural food that offers nutrition—in contrast to processed food fortified with vitamins but with plenty of added sugars and fats—is good. I believe that natural foods are optimal for good health because our bodies evolved over thousands of years to extract nutrition out of natural foods. In other words, our bodies developed hormones, carriers, bacterial flora and other things to get the most out of food found in nature. Most of these natural foods, such as vegetables, fruits and nuts, are grown from the earth.

But some natural foods are cultivated by people.

Yogurt is one such food, and most experts will say with complete confidence that yogurt is good for us. No doubt you eat some yogurt too, although it could be because you grew up with it. Ghee is another such food. Ghee was the quintessential food of our ancestors (evidence of ghee has been found in ancient pottery from the sixth century) and the medium has been used by Ayurvedic practitioners for various medicines.

In addition to being a food, ghee has been used to cook throughout Indian history. This is an important point because as Michael Pollan, the most famous writer on food today, says, doctors, nutritionists, supplement makers, celebrities and writers (including myself) are not the ideal teachers of what is best to eat. Moms are the best teachers, which (to paraphrase Mr. Pollan) is a way of saying that our cultural traditions (not modern culture, mind you) are our best teachers. As such, a cultural tradition like ours would not keep a food throughout the generations 110 • india currents • may 2012

unless that food had something valuable to offer.

And ghee does have value. First, it is full of Vitamins A, D, E, and K. These vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning they have to be digested with other fat molecules in order for these vitamins to make it into our bloodstream. Fortunately, ghee has lots of dietary fats (mostly saturated fats) that help our bodies absorb and make use of these vitamins.

Second, in addition to helping our bodies properly digest fat-soluble vitamins which help preserve our vision (Vitamin A) and prevent bone loss (Vitamin D), ghee gives us an antioxidant named conjugated lineolic acid (CLA). CLA is being increasingly studied because early research has shown that this antioxidant has the potential to protect animals from cancers. One day we may find that high levels of CLA in our blood helps protect us from cancers, too. CLA is also known tofight belly fat, one of the hardest areas to eradicate fat from.

Finally, ghee is an excellent cooking medium because it does not break down in high heat like many cooking oils do. From safflower to canola oil, most oils we use in the kitchen can break down in high heat and produce free radicals. These free radicals are bad. In fact, experts tell us to eat more antioxidant rich foods like berries to help fight free radicals, which harm us by damaging our cells and DNA (which can lead to mutations that on occasion can cause a cancer).

Ghee’s smoke point is between 325°F

and 375°F, which is much higher than the smoke point of popular oils like canola oil (around 250°F). Thus ghee is more stable in high cooking temperature, typical of a lot of Indian cooking.

It is funny that it took so much research for us to realize that ghee, a part of Indian cooking for as long as people were on the subcontinent, is not bad for us. As the famous food writer Michael Pollan explained, the best teacher of what’s healthy is not the food companies (because it is motivated to profit from cheap food that is often unhealthy), government (too often misguided and pulled in different directions by industry), or nutrition scientists (some admit their research techniques are flawed). The best teacher of what is good to eat is our historical culture, and as he put it, culture is a fancy word for mom and grandmother.

Ghee also tastes good, so consider using ghee (of course in moderation), whether to eat or cook with, and enjoy it knowing that it is part of a healthy Indian diet.n Part 1 of this article “Why Ghee Gets a Bad Rap” was published in the December 2011 issue of IC. Niraj “Raj” Patel, M.D. is the author of The Healthy Indian Diet, which explains why modern diets are bad, and how traditional Indian diets are good. It contains recipes by Anuja Balasubramanian and Hetal Jannu of ShowMeTheCurry.com. Read Patel’s blog: www.

HealthyIndianDiet.com.

india currents • may 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 • may 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,

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India Curr

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 • may 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.

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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..

Evening Yoga Classes led by VYASA

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Hatha Yoga classes with Anjali Desai. Orga-

• • • • •

or Yogabharati trained instructors. Sunnyvale Temple, 450 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale.

Wednesdays. 7 -8 p.m. sreejit_chakravarty@ yahoo.com.

nized by ICC. 555 Los Coches St., Milpitas.

Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. Members free. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www.indiacc.org.

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

Sangha, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.

Wednesdays, 6 p.m.-7:15 p.m. $10. (650) 3233363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

Pre-Natal Yoga for expectant mothers.

Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley.

Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.. $10.50 per class.

(510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@ yogalayam.org.

Yoga for Children ages 6-11 years. Yogalay-

am, 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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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. 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 and includes gentle stretching, individual-

Ready for Extreme Makeover?

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.

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.

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.

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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, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.

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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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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 • may 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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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.

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

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.

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Saturdays, 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. (650) 804-9577. kiiyoga@yahoo.com. www.kiyoga.4t.com

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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

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

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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

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Most Health Insurance Plans Accepted including Medicare, HMO, PPO. Cash Paying Options Available • Immigration Physical Languages Spoken: Tamil & Hindi

For Your Beautiful Smile, We Go The Extra Mile.

• Porcelain Veneers • Teeth Whitening • Invisalign • Root Canals • Cowns • Bridges The practice emphasizes gum disease prevention, oral cancer screenings, comprehensive treatment planning and delivery with a caring touch. Utilizing the latest techniques in Family Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, IV Sedation, Hospital Dentistry, patient comfort is foremost in this practice

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Hindu Community and Cultural Center 1232 Arrowhead Ave., Livermore, CA 94551 (925) 449-6255 • www.livermoretemple.org

SRI MEENAKSHI SUNDARESHWARA KALYANOTSAVAM Thursday April 26th, 2012 Saturday May 05th, 2012 Goddess Parvathi Abhishekam Saturday May 05th 2012 - Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwara Kalyanotsavam

*Continuing with the tradition established at the Shiva - Vishnu Temple, devotees will have an opportunity to sponsor for Vastra Samarpanam to the Goddess Parvathi between April 26th and May 04th. Abhishekam and Vastra Samarpanam will be done on a daily basis starting from April 26th through May 04th, followed by Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwara Kalyanam on May 05th, 2012.

The Temple will provide vastra's (Kanchivaram Pure Silk Saris) for a sponsorship. This year, sponsors will not be able to preview or select the vastra's until adorned. Saris in stock will be randomly numbered in a sequence. Upon paying the sponsorship amount, the first available number in the sequence will be assigned to the sponsored. The sponsor needs to let the Temple Manager know as to what date the vastra's have to be adorned on the deity. Sponsors may collect the vastra's back on May 05th itself after the Kalyanotsavam, or schedule with the Temple Manager to collect at a later date.

Please note: On each of the Abhishekam days (April 26th - May 04th) only four Vastra Samarpanam sponsorships will be accepted. Please call and sponsor at your earliest convenience as limited sponsorships are available.

For further information, please contact: Event Coordinator Rema Ramani at 408 274 3241 or remaramani@yahoo.com or Temple Front Office @ 925-449-6255 press 3 A Non-Profit Organization since 1977 • Tax ID# 94-2427126 • Inc# D0821589 120 • india currents • may 2012

INDIA CURRENTS GRAPHICS (408) 324-0488

Shiva-Vishnu temple will be celebrating Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwara Kalyanotsavam following the tradition of the annual Chittirai festival at Madurai Meenakshi Temple. At Madurai Temple, the festival begins on the Shukla Panchami day of the Tamil month Chittirai. The eighth day of the festival witnesses the coronation of Goddess Meenakshi, and the tenth day (Chitra Poornima) marks the wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareshwara. Daily Abhishekams for Goddess Parvathi will be performed from Thursday April 26th, 2012 Saturday May 05th 2012. Please come with your family and friends to participate in this auspicious event and receive divine blessings.

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 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

Yoga for Children to improve memory, re-

Ave., Berkeley. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org

Pranayama and Meditation by Manda Rao. Dancing Yogi Studio, Saratoga. Satur-

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-

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

IndiaCurrents

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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.

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I C dear doctor

Alzak Amlani

Dating Woes Q

I am a twenty-five year old woman born in India and living in the United States since I was nine years old. My mother and I have always been close—sharing stories, cooking, going to family and cultural gatherings together, and supporting each other through illnesses and deaths, including that of my grandparents.

She hasn’t asked much about my dating life or whom I might want to marry. I had a boyfriend at twenty-one for a year and he was also Indian.

My parents approved of him, but weren’t so fond of him. We broke up after we graduated from college and went our separate ways.

Although I do date when and whom I want, I know my mother would be devastated if I got serious with a guy who isn’t Indian, and especially not Asian. I feel torn inside, as I want to make my family life with my parents and relatives easier.

However, I also just want to meet someone that I like a lot and can have a close relationship with. I don’t know how to say these things to my mother and am so afraid she will be disappointed in me. I love her a lot, but also feel

pressured to take care of her emotionally. I don’t feel the freedom to be myself fully.

A

You express your dilemma well and there are many dimensions to your situation: feeling very close to your mother; familialcultural expectations of you as a daughter; finding your voice and risking your parents' approval and care; and holding onto what you value most about your own culture within the larger American culture.

There is a difference between loving your mother and becoming merged with her.

To be merged implies that you lose yourself and cannot feel separate, independent or make individual choices. This can become suffocating and will not encourage emotional growth. Without moving beyond a merged relationship, there cannot be full honesty and exploration of each other as individuals who are different and changing and who have autonomous feelings, needs, desires and purposes in life.

Beginning this conversation about dif-

ferent cultural frameworks and expectations with your mother would be a good place to start.

Speak about your closeness and what you care and love about that. Then also articulate how afraid you are that if you meet someone who doesn’t fit her ideal, she’ll be disappointed. Simply express your concerns without expecting her to change. You can also talk about what it’s like to be an Indian-American woman. Express how you try to include these different, and at times, opposing parts of you into your identity and life. Again, this is simply a sharing of your inner struggle and not an attempt to get her to agree or validate you.

See how it feels to “come out” to her. This will guide you in your next steps. By being open about where we are with issues in our lives, our inner truths begin to emerge and make sense. 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.

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CLASSIFIED ADS: $10.00

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MAIL FORWARDING: $5.00

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PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE: To place a classified ad online, go to http:// www.indiacurrents.com/forms/placeclassified/ ANNOUNCEMENTS IF YOU ARE PLANNING to own a house in India, why not own a Spanish Home in the Queen of Hill Stations—Kodaikanal? www.i-sps.com/villa

BEAUTY SEEMA BEAUTY SALON. Threading, waxing, facials, color, hair cut, henna, perms, Japanese style hair straightening, head massage, hair conditioning, manicure, pedicure and bridal makeup. Located in Sunnyvale.

Call (408) 244-6009.

NAZ THREADING SALON, Sunnyvale. Facial: gold, pearl or diamond $40 with veg peel; waxing: full leg $29, full arms $18; manicure and pedicure $25; men’s haircut $12. Valid on Tuesdays from 9am-1pm. Call (408) 4000629. nazbeautysalon@yahoo.com THREADING, FACIAL, HAIR, and full range of Shahnaz products. Khoobsurat Threading, 1014 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087. Contact Shefali (408) 835-0097 KASHISH SALON - Threading, facial/waxing, Hair & Makeup, bridal and wedding studio.

Two locations San Francisco (408) 219-0046, Santa Clara (408) 260-2676.

FOR ALL BEAUTY NEEDS Shiva Beauty Salon in Fremont. Contact Kanak Patel (510) 440-8300.

ARE YOU A BEAUTICIAN? Do you do threading, waxing, facials, perms, hair cutting and styling? Place your advertisement here in India Currents Classifieds and reach 32,000 readers. Call (408) 324-0488 and place your 126 • india currents • may 2012

indiacurrents.com ad today!

CLASSES: COMPUTERS SILICON VALLEY UNIVERSITY. Catering to Silicon Valley High-Tech Industry. (408) 435-8989 Email: info@svuca.edu.

IT Placement & Training. Canvas InfoTech Inc. Contact Godhuli Chatterjee (510) 3425663 Ext. 108

CLASSES: DANCE CHHANDAM SCHOOL OF KATHAK DANCE. Classes held in Berkeley, Mountain View, San Francisco, San Bruno, San Rafael, and Union City. Beginning classes available in all locations. Call (415) 759-8060 or visit www.chhandam.org

COUNSELING FREE PEER COUNSELING and support offered to S. Asian women. Maitri has a live person handling phone calls 9am-1pm (MonFri) and a voice message helpline at all other times. Are you having problems with you partner? Are you going through cultural adjustment problems? Call (408) 436-8398. Our S. Asian female volunteers speak many South Asian languages. Toll free hotline 1(888) 8-MAITRI or go to maitri@maitri.org IS A FAMILY MEMBER HURTING YOU? Contact Narika, a domestic violence hotline for South Asian women. Our services are free and strictly confidential. Call (800) 215-7308.

EDUCATION

BHARATANATYAM CLASSES in San Jose, Fremont and Santa Clara by Artistic Director Suganda Sreenath. Kalakshetra style including extensive theory. Call (408) 270-9295 or email sugandaiyer@comcast.net

VEDIC MATH AFTERSCHOOL ENRICHMENT. Sharpen your mental Math and problem solving skills. Calculate at lightning speed with amazing ease and accuracy. More information (408) 931-1000, vedicmath@comcast.net.

ODISSI DANCE CLASSES with Guru Jyoti Rout. Jyoti Kala Mandir College of Indian Classical Arts. www.JyotiKalaMandir.org

ENTERTAINMENT

ODISSI DANCE CLASSES. Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra style. With Revital Carroll. Now in Mountain View on Tuesdays and Thursday. Open for adults beginners. shaktibhakti.com. (928) 713-7123.

CLASSES: MUSIC CLASSES OFFERED BY LAKSHMI C. SAXENA in San Jose. North Indian vocal music: classical, semi classical, light music like bhajans, geet, ghazals; film songs; instrumental music: harmonium, tabla. Also Hindi lessons.

Available for performances. Call (408) 2683651 or email Lsaxena99@yahoo.com ALI AKBAR COLLEGE OF MUSIC offers study in North Indian classical music. Four 8-week sessions a year are taught by master musicians. Classes are offered in vocal, instrumental and tabla. All are welcome. For more information please call (415) 454-6264.

CLASSES AFTER-SCHOOL LEARNING CENTER. International Gurukul at Santa Clara. (408) 416-7568. www.igurukul.org

TEED ROCKWELL PLAYS TOUCHSTYLE VEENA. Classical Ragas and inspired improvisations on A.R. Rahman melodies for weddings and parties. Original music videos at www.bollywoodgharana.com. (510) 548-8779

FABRICS KHOOBSURAT SAREE PALACE. Visit our showroom for a vast selection of ladies, gents, children clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry etc. (408) 774-1284 BORROW IT BINDAAS a fabulous online boutique where you can borrow or buy beautiful sarees and accessories delivered straight to your doorstep. www.borrowitbindaas.com

FOR SALE: MUSIC INSTRUMENTS - Greatest selection of North Indian instrumetns in the U.S. Ali Akbar College store sells the finest quality sitars, sarodes, tanpuras, harmoniums, tablas, flutes, etc. Complete repair service. We ship anywhere in the U.S. 1554 4th San Rafael, CA 94901. Call (415) 454-0581. www.aac.org/shop

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Creations By Sam Photography, Videography & DVD Productions

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classifieds HELP WANTED ATTENTION EYEBROW THREADERS. Immediate Full & Part-Time Employment Opportunities. Call Sam (847) 772-7266 or visit www.browart23.com

INSURANCE AMILA INSURANCE SERVICES - Looking for a better deal on Auto Insurance? Call (408) 723-2100.

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india currents • may 2012 • 129

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perspective

Sudha Chandrasekaran

Today’s Gossip is Tomorrow’s Headline

M

ark Twain once said, “A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.”

Gossip has long been dismissed as little more than background noise and blather with no useful function. But, it is absolutely necessary to society and just about unavoidable.

As often as it sullies reputations, gossip offers a foothold for newcomers in a group. A friend, Smitha Shankar, overcame the initial discomforts of her office environment by engaging in some light-hearted gossip with fellow newcomers. “It helped me laugh at a time when some people were making my life miserable. And this stopped me from quitting,” she shares. Gossip is an integral part of our lives and even though at times it has put us in a spot, one cannot challenge its “therapeutic” powers.

The word, gossip, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon English term, “godsibb,” a concatenation of “god,” short for godparent, and “sibb,” meaning relative. In the 14th century, the term connoted a close conversation between women friends invited to attend a birth. It was in the 16th century that the meaning extended to include “anyone engaging in familiar or idle talk” and then later in the 19th century to “trifling talk, groundless rumor.”

Primitive societies used negative information to discredit the reputation of their rivals and defeat them. People commonly understand gossip to mean the spread of rumour and misinformation through excited discussion of scandals. Some newspapers carry “gossip columns” which retail the social and personal lives of celebrities or of elite members of certain communities.

“Do you know what type of dress she was wearing?” “I heard that she married him not for love but only for his money and admitted that to her best friend Sheetal, who is my neighbour’s sister and I got to know of it from her.”

I watched two ladies in a garment shop, recently, cackling away. My eyes bounced from face to face as though I was watching a tennis match. It seemed as though they wanted others to overhear their “conversation,” and at 130 • india currents • may 2012

People commonly understand gossip to mean the spread of rumour and misinformation through excited discussion of scandals.

the same time it appeared that they were each trying to outdo the other, in a “I know a bigger scandal than you” kind of way.

Even though what they were saying sounded absurd, it reminded me of Chinese whispers, the Asian way (with our own masala added). I’m sure we all know of people who can make a living out of selling scandals, but why would you want to rub someone else’s unfortunate affairs in their face?

It is not that men do not gossip. At a recent party, I overheard some men talk about “Narang making tons of money illegitimately.” Is it really implausible to believe that Narang worked hard to earn that money?

Though, I have noticed that men tend to gossip about others’ business affairs.

Recently, I read the following interesting quote—“Gossip is the tool of the poet, the shop-talk of the scientist, and the consolation of the housewife, wit, tycoon and intellectual.

It begins in the nursery and ends when speech is past.”

I am basically an introvert, but occasionally I like to have a “little chat” with my neighbors, during which I get to know the happenings in our neighborhood, location of new offices and shops, actual prices of several items and the current salaries of house help, all of which translate into useful information.

It lifts my spirits, making me realize that problems are universal. I often gossip with my

domestic help about life. I have peeped into her world which is so different from mine. It has been a revelation.

Gossip has been shown to strengthen relationships between friends and work colleagues, reinforce shared values, offer increased feelings of “connectedness” and community spirit, assist in controlling the poor behavior of others, particularly in an office situation, and offer a sense of status by being included in the “gossip circle” which boosts our self esteem and increases our sense of wellbeing. Gossip can even help ward off depression. Half an hour over tea listening to others’ dilemmas can make you realize that things are not that bad in your own backyard after all. Gossiping about the lives of people who seem to have it all, like Bollywood celebrities, also reinforces the idea that life is not all rosy in tinseltown, despite beauty, money, and fame. The financial and health problems of Amitabh Bachchan, the broken engagements of several film stars, and split in the Ambani family are all grist for the rumor mill, reassuring us that we are all very much human.

Before you go racing off to spread the latest tidbit, it pays to differentiate between “good” gossip and “bad” gossip. We can easily tell the difference between the kinds of gossip at either ends of the spectrum—gossip that is harmless and informative, and gossip that is toxic accumulating into false rumours and wrecking lives. Should this happen, it is best to extricate yourself quickly from the conversation.

Most people love a good chinwag. The Daily Mail reported that women spend about 298 minutes a day on gossip and about 24 minutes a day discussing “weight, diets and dress size.” As enjoyable as it may be to bond with someone through gossip, the harm to all parties is immeasurable if it is damaging.

Resist the momentary temptation. Reprisals from negative gossip are definitely not good for mental health. Human dialog can be a great healer or a great destroyer. Gossip is nature’s telephone. Use it wisely. n Sudha Chandrasekaran is a writer, based in India.

india currents • may 2012 • 131

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on Inglish

Kalpana Mohan

That Bungalow in Chennai bungalow—n 1. A one-storey house, sometimes with an attic 2. (in India) a one-storey house, usually surrounded by a veranda [from Hindi bangla (house) of the Bengal type]

M

y father built our bungalow in 1961, the year I was born. It’s impossible to forget the square courtyard of our Chennai home.

I was dropped head down on it as a baby of one, from a height of about three feet, by my sister who was twelve years old at the time.

My father, my husband and now, my children, maintain that such a fall so early on in my life might have had much to do with my skewed perspective of the world. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that our bungalow had a profound impact on me.

T

he idea of the “bungalow,” a word first used in 1676 according to the Merriam Webster, originated in the Bengal region of India. In Urdu, bangla means, literally, a house in the Bengal style. A bungalow is a comfortable abode with high thatched roofs and overhanging eaves shading a single story house. It is a house having one and a half stories and a front porch, or verandah, another Indian word absorbed into English which will be the subject of a future column.

The bungalow has a central living area with the kitchen, dining, bedrooms, and bathrooms clustered around it. Used in reference to the spacious homes or lodgings of officials of the British Raj, the term and the concept caught on in the late 19th century in Britain, its colonies and America, as large country or suburban summer homes became popular.

O

ur home in Chennai’s ancient suburb of T. Nagar was a typical “first-time home owner’s bungalow.” My grandfather gifted his son teak and hardwood worth about 10,000 Rupees from land that he owned in Kerala. “I bought the plot of land for 3,200 Rupees and it cost me about 30,000 Rupees (current evaluation: about $608) to build that one-story bungalow with a room upstairs leading out into the terrace,” my father says.

Then, on a salary of 600 Rupees a month, my dad, a “penurious” accountant as he calls himself, built his 1100 square-foot bungalow.

In present day Chennai, the prime plot of land on which our bungalow once sat—it was approximately a tenth of an acre—is worth about two crores ($400,000). Consequently bungalows like ours have been razed to the ground to make way for four and five storey buildings housing several apartments with rapidly ballooning per square-foot price tags.

Of the few bungalows that remain in Indian metropolises, many are crumbling relics, waiting to be gobbled up by greedy realtors. In a few instances, owners of bungalows in India are old parents who are waiting to get the best deal so they may divide the money after sale among their children.

Some sprawling bungalows of yesteryears have been converted into stately heritage homes. On my last trip, I stepped into one such spectacular bungalow in Chennai that now houses, amid glorious antiques and artifacts of pre-Independence India, the sari store Sarangi and the jewelry store Rasvihar.

The word bungalow spells nostalgia for those of us who grew up in postcolonial India. I recall long summer days on the red mosaic bench of the verandah of our bungalow. I lay basking in the tepid breeze while my grandfather read The Hindu by my side before and after lunch, badmouthing, as he read, the third-rate blackguards who ruled the land.

I nodded absently as he chided Mrs. Gandhi and the “scoundrels” in her cabinet; I preferred, instead, to watch the lizards that plastered the ceiling.

They fascinated me on those humid days when the knife man walked down 138 • india currents • may 2012

Photo Credit: A Creative Commons image

our road shouting “Kaththi kaththi” while my mother’s favorite Muslim vendor, the man who brought her mirror-faced stainless steel vessels, traded his wares for her old saris. The ice-cream man clanged by at teatime every day, ringing his bicycle bell for all kids to hear. There was the newspaper buyer, the jasmine seller, the fruit vendor and the spinach lady. No one ever really understood the curly cries of the spinach lady who sold Melbourne kirai. In those days Indians loved foreign goods and perhaps my mother too felt the pull of the new, even in spinach? That bungalow era has been locked away forever now. Apartment buildings now have security guards and elevators. Unsolicited vendors, mendicants and hermits don’t color residential courtyards anymore.

I still remember the bogeyman who rattled into our porch, the bearded soothsayer dressed in bright, tattered robes, a gudugudupandi (a terrorising mendicant) with his symbolic white cow. He cursed until my mother came out into the verandah. We parted, quickly, with a few coins for no one ever wanted a blur marring the bliss of the old bungalow. n Kalpana Mohan writes from Saratoga. To read more about her, go to http://kalpanamohan.org and http://saritorial.com.

IC

uncubed

Krishna M. Sadasivam is the cartoonist behind UNcubed, a weekly online auto-bio comic, focusing on life as an Indian guy in the United States.

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/.

india currents • may 2012 • 139

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IC

the last word

Sarita Sarvate

Bhagavad Gita to the Rescue

F

or every human life comes a moment when mortality stares it in the face. For me it came last autumn, when I went to my hometown of Nagpur. My last visit had been three years before, when I had gone to tend to my dying mother. Now I was returning.

But for the first time in my life, there was no one eagerly awaiting my arrival. As the plane hovered over the green fields, I looked down at the large throng gathered on the terrace atop the airport building.

For my first visit from America, I recalled, an army of uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends had been waiting in that same spot. A total solar eclipse had been in full force that day, and scientists and astrologers alike had issued dire warnings for people not to venture out.

But as our plane landed, darkness had lifted and a sliver of sunshine had bathed it in a white glow. As I walked down the stairs of the airplane and into the terminal, my mother had exclaimed, “I said I will risk going blind; I will chance bad omens from the eclipse, but I will go to welcome my daughter.”

This time, only a cousin was waiting for me at the gate. He took me to the house of a childhood friend.

After much persuasion, my brother came to see me there the next day. Within minutes, it became clear that he felt betrayed and embittered, because I had not been there for him when he needed me the most. I had been preoccupied with the responsibilities of my own family, I tried to explain, even as, deep inside me, I felt guilty for not having done more for him and my parents. But now it was too late. Now I could never tell my parents that I loved them.

So I wanted to tell it to my brother, their surrogate. But he no longer wanted such intimacy with me; he no longer needed me.

After he was gone, my friend pointed out the back window of her house and said, “See that!” I gazed at a large apartment building standing now in place of where my childhood home had once been.

Something snapped inside me at the sight.

I went on a long walk that night, on a stroll down memory lane.

Here was my friend Puppy’s house, fallen into disrepair. I had once spent so many cheerful hours here, listening to music and laughing hysterically about various neighborhood characters.

Here was the house of Nalini, in whose kitchen I had once taken kathak dance lessons.

But had it in fact been this lane?

Suddenly, I felt confused. Nothing seemed recognizable any more.

I dared not walk down my own street. My heart would burst, I thought, at the realization that my parents were no longer in this world.

And yet who was I to mourn for them? For was I not to follow them soon enough? Was I not just passing through this earth, on the way to a great void?

When I returned, something had shifted inside me. I had faced my mortality. I could no longer sleep. Everything seemed blue inside.

I thought of all that had gone before; all that I could have done differently. How had all my dreams gone awry? All the disappointments

Change is the law of the universe. What you think of as death, is indeed life.

144 • india currents • may 2012

of a lifetime came back to haunt me in nightmares that rose and fell endlessly.

I felt as though I had failed my brother, my parents and more importantly, myself. How could I wake up and carry on in the face of so much pain?

Back in California, I felt isolated, alone. I went to a meditation group. There, we read out aloud interpretations of the Bhagvad Gita.

Suddenly, a cloud lifted from my heart. I had never been religious, yet when Krishna said, “…I am the operator in you,” I felt my burden lightened. I was only an instrument of a bigger force. I was driving the chariot in the battle of Kurukshetra, but it was Lord Krishna who was directing it.

Something about this idea was very reassuring indeed.

The trouble with analytical people like myself, I realized, is that we put too much stock in our competence. We anticipate success to come our way simply because we were born with ability. Then when things go wrong; when we have a disabled child, or a bad marriage, we blame ourselves because we wonder where we slipped.

The Bhagvad Gita talks of Karma Yoga—act but do not cling to results. For a wise man, security is unaffected by the results of his action; even while acting, he is only an instrument. He is free in action.

They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life, and who never compete. They are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them.

According to the Gita, I had to remember that whatever happened, happened for the good; whatever is happening, is happening for the good; whatever will happen, will also happen for the good. I need not have any regrets for the past. I need not worry for the future. The present is happening.

What did I lose that I was crying about? What did I bring with me, which I thought I had lost? What did I produce, which I thought got destroyed? I did not bring anything—whatever I have, I received from here. Whatever I have given, I have given only here. I came empty handed, I will leave empty handed. What is mine today, belonged to someone else yesterday, and will belong to someone else the day after tomorrow. I am mistakenly enjoying the thought that this is mine. It is this false happiness that is the cause of my sorrows.

Change is the law of the universe. What you think of as death, is indeed life. In one instance you can be a millionaire, and in the other instance you can be steeped in poverty.

Those without attachment to the ego are free; their minds are purified by the knowledge that all life is one. They perform all work freely, in the spirit of service.

When I read this famous verse from the Gita, I felt lighthearted.

I was not in control. Nor did I need to be. All I needed to do was my duty. The rest was up to that eternal force of the universe that humbles us, makes us kneel in front of it, for we are but instruments, puppets in its hands. n Sarita Sarvate writes commentaries for Pacific News Service and KQED. Visit www.saritasarvate.com

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