November 2014

The Cent Percent Solution

by Gayatri Subramaniam

MOM-Mission Possible!

by Karine Schomer, P. Mahadevan

Cooking with Quinoa

by Nirmala Garimella

INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 28 Years of Excellence

I WILL SURVIVE

november 2014 • vol. 28 , no .8 • www. indiacurrents.com

Real people, real stories of courage, endurance, and the strength of the human spirit

By Priya Das

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After the announcement of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize jointly awarded to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, there was a sense of overwhelming validation at the first name and of overpowering curiosity at the second name. Yousafzai’s remarkable grit has been justifiably well chronicled: a young girl speaking out for girls’ education despite the fear of brutal reprisal. When it comes to Satyarthi, as Sandip Roy, First Post senior editor and our own columnist, so acerbically put it, “most of India went ‘Kailash who?’ before they were proud of him.”

If you do a quick search for both names on Google, this is what you’ll find (as of Oct 22): 18,400,000 results for Malala Yousafzai and 8,510,000 for Satyarthi. And of the 28 pages of “relevant” results about Satyarthi, most articles have been written in the recent past, post award.

These results and reactions are telling and not because we didn’t know Satyarthi before and we’re obsessively following him now.

The Nobel Peace Award is one of the most controversial awards and too often the leitmotif seems to be currency, clout and connections. The list encompasses do-gooders, activists, politicians and campaigners already famous for their humanitarian and political stances.

In the past, the prize has been given to

heads of state like Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Anwar El Sadat and Barack Obama; to statesmen like Cordell Hull and Henry Kissinger; and well-known, well-deserving non-violent activists like Tenzin Gyatso, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Martin Luther King Jr, yet eliding Gandhi.

So who is Kailash Satyarthi? Here’s the little we know. At the age of 26, he gave up his teaching career and started Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Mission) to fight against child labour. For 34 years he has waged a crusade for children’s rights. Thirty-four years!

It is people like Kailash Satyarthi, however, those silent strivers who are empowered by their own passion and persist in the face of staggering odds that too often remain a forgotten footnote in the human struggle for justice and fairness.

Yes, Satyarthi shares the prize with Yousafzai, the youngest ever awardee, and that too is transformational: two courageous advocates from neighboring wrangling countries, a woman and a man, both with an overriding need to safeguard children, the future of our world.

This time I believe that the Nobel committe got it right.

Jaya Padmanabhan

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INDIA CURRENTS November 2014 • vol 28 • no 8

PERSPECTIVES 1 | EDITORIAL Little Known Laureate

By Jaya Padmanabhan

Southern California Edition www.indiacurrents.com

Find us on

LIFESTYLE 28 | FINANCE Ushering India Into the Future

By Rahul Varshneya 37 | BOOKS Reviews of The Story Hour and Love Potion No. 10

By Jeanne Fredriksen, Tara Menon

6 | FORUM Should Global Warming Concerns Drive Economic Policy?

By Rameysh Ramdas, Mani Subramani 7 | A THOUSAND WORDS The Fourth India

By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

45 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA Honesty is Not Always the Best Policy

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8 | POLITICS Corruption is Still India’s Biggest Problem

By Shashi Tharoor

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By Sandip Roy 21 | PERSPECTIVE And Then They Left

By Veenu Puri-Vermani 22 | OPINION The Secret Annex

By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty 30 | YOUTH Films, Femme Fatales and Feminism

By Radhika Munshani 44 | COMMENTARY The Cent Percent Solution

By Gayatri Subramaniam 56 | ON INGLISH So Naked Without Bangles

By Kalpana Mohan 64 | THE LAST WORD Watch The Wire This Election Season

By Sarita Sarvate 2 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

10 | I Will Survive Stories that showcase bravery and grit when disaster strikes

By Priya Das

18 | Analysis MOM: Mission Possible!

By Karine Schomer, P. Mahadevan

34 | Films Reviews of Haider and Bang Bang

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voices Who Is a Hindu?

The title of Vamsee Juluri’s article (Who Is a Hindu, September 2014, India Currents) immediately caught my attention. I was further intrigued by “that provocative question: what does it really mean to be a Hindu today?” in the very first paragraph. Are they really such pressing issues? I thought to myself as I read on. The major incentive of the article seemed to me to be a reflection of the rise of the Hindu Right, which culminated in the overwhelming victory of Narendra Modi and the BJP in the recent elections.

From the article, it may be inferred that Juluri is alluding to a religious group and its practices and not merely the inhabitants of a geographical area. I am no expert on the subject (being a humble Civil Engineer). So, I quote that according to Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu (more appropriately a follower of Sanatana Dharma) is one who believes in the infallibility of the four Vedas. In the same context, per late Prof. Bimal Matilal (exSpalding Professor at Oxford, a Chair earlier held by Dr. Radhakrishnan), a Hindu is one who is not a follower of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism or Zoarastrianism (neti, neti a la the great Shankaracharya!). This definition, I am told, is similar to that in the Indian Constitution.

Now, the provocative question: what does it mean to be a Hindu today? To me, a proud Hindu for all of my life of nearly 70 years, it means no different to me today than at any other time. Admittedly, there is suddenly all round me an increased consciousness (paranoia?) that we Hindus are under attack from all sides. Much of this, I submit, is the result of increased coverage of the media and our increased exposure to it. After all, in this age of explosion of information technology, much exaggeration and hearsays compete with genuine information. I am sure, as a professor of media studies, this is not lost on him.

I felt Juluri was somewhat unnecessarily uneasy about our Gods, epics and myths.

Swami Vivekananda has said that all major religions consist of rituals, mythology and philosophy. So, “myth” does not need to be a condescending term when alluding to Rama or Krishna. We may perhaps find better understanding and some solace to this issue from the recent works of historians, most prominently Romila Thapar, the doyen of historians. Thapar goes on to show how history is subtly interbedded in our Puranas and epics.

There are some statements in the article

4 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

that I am hard pressed to swallow. Unlike Juluri, I tend to agree that the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and later the highly deplorable Gujarat riots are part of a Hindu fundamentalist uprising and that it would destroy India’s secular fabric.

Also, I cannot fathom how Emperor Asoka becomes a “non-Hindu” icon. Further, I find Juluri’s anathema to the “supposed liberal-secular vision of Hinduism” including their view of history rather disconcerting.

History should not be subjective, though some interpretations may change with new information. Regarding history, Juluri is still fixated on the theory of the Aryan invasion of India, which has been discarded by mainstream historians for nearly 50 years. And there is some question regarding how badly India was hurt by the Islamic invasions. Muslims hardly ever ruled over a major portion of India and all the major Bhakti movements: Kabir, Nanak, Chaitanya, Tukaram, Ramdas occurred during their regimes under their noses. I also disagree with him in that to me, Columbus did discover America at least for the Europeans who overwhelmingly dominate its population and culture.

Juluri shows great concern about the potential ill effects of poor textbooks in America regarding Hinduism on our children growing up here. He brings up the 2006 California textbook controversy. I totally fail to perceive any such ill effects on any of the many young men and women that I know, who were brought up in this country, including my two sons, who are presently well settled. To me it is essentially a non-issue raked up by some, who probably do not qualify to speak on the subject. This is not surprising, given that a large majority among us here are, as he says, in “safe” professions like me, thanks to “a major pitfall in the Nehruvian vision.”

In conclusion, I would like to strongly suggest that we Hindus should, within the times available to us, and our capacities, try to use our resources to further our knowledge of Hinduism and Indian history instead of giving in to popular media hype. There are excellent authoritative books on Hindu (Vedic) philosophy written by monks of

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the Ramakrishna Mission and other venerable organizations and individuals. There are also books on Indian history by eminent established historians like Romila Thapar and R.S. Sharma and others. Disregarding some of them as “Marxist” historians merely on the basis of propagandist literature would be foolhardy.

Partha Sircar, Concord, California

V

amsee Juluri’s attempt to review three books to find the answer to the question: Who is a Hindu?” reminds me of the folk story of three blind French men who went to “see” an elephant. One came back to say that it was flat, another said it was round and the last one said it was very stinky. The answers for the question under discussion on Hinduism vary from fundamentalist right, secular and passive, to urban cowboy. I feel more comfortable with the profile of the elephant.

Misunderstandings on a profound question of this sort, innocent or mischievously implied, are normal. As President of a temple board, some years ago, one of the public enquiry letters I had to answer was simple.

Scribbled on a dinner napkin in pencil, after a name and a long serial number, the letter said: “I am in a prison in N. California. I love Siva and your temple, When I get out, I will visit the temple; What is the difference between Siva and Shiva?” Genuine, no doubt.

Ever since the assumption of office by Prime Minister Modi, the western media is relentlessly harping on their old slogans like, contentious, controversial, fundamentalist et al. They refer always to the riots in Gujarat but not the brutal massacre of 62 Hindu pilgrims trapped in a rail car in Godhra by miscreants before the riots. It would be charitable and fair to add the prefix: “following the fire bombing” to any discussion of the riots. Juluri also is remiss on this omission.

Back to the question of Who is a Hindu? The conceptual Supreme Being of the Universe from Indian mythology does not discriminate among humans. All receive the same guidance, love and care. The answer to the question therefore is: All of us are Hindus. An oft quoted simple prayer in Sanskrit, “Akashad Pathitham Thoyam ...” explains the philosophy. Just as the water from the sky that falls on earth flows freely and finds its way to the great oceans, so do your prayers to all the Gods get directed to me. Obviously, the question of proselytization does not arise because all humans are on the same side for the Supreme Being. It is not me or you but us. (I acknowledge the benefit of discussions on some of these topics with Garimella SriRama Rao of Cerritos, CA) P. Mahadevan, Fullerton, CA

P

art of the dissonance on “Hinduism” may arise from the differences between Dharmic religions and Abrahamic religions in how they approach spirituality as relationship vs. realization of the Divine.

Other than ontological differences we are also stymied by language. The Sanskrit language has a highly nuanced spiritual vocabulary that English is a poor match for.

Sanskrit words are often multivalent, with the same word having several meanings. So, much can be lost in translation in the hands/ vision of the inept.

Language and world-view are intimately connected. As Indian-Americans we are uniquely positioned to build bridges, expand worldviews—both that of ours and others and yes, vocabularies.

Or maybe, we should all just meditate and experience the Truth behind all ontologies and languages!

Mala Setty, Long Beach, California

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he answer to the question Who is a Hindu? is nobody and everybody. All religions anchor on two fundamentals—an imaginary God and an imaginary Soul. No religion can withstand scientific scrutiny or rational judgment. Based on Blind Faith (God, Soul), all religions are same or similar.

The palpable differences are created through artificial rituals. It’s time to ban all Blind Faiths (religions) to build a better world for humanity.

Mohammed Shoaib, email

Spanking and the Bible

Bad advice is still bad advice, even if it has a Ph.D. after it. Alzak Amlan’s criticism of spanking (Spanking Children, India Currents, September 2014) is typical of any liberal educated in a post-modern culture, and the liberal view of child-rearing over the last 40 years has been disastrous in America.

His statement “violence begets violence” is very simplistic and disingenuous. Spanking is not violence. Spanking, in an appropriate manner, is an act of a loving parent who doesn’t want their child to grow up violent, obnoxious and disrespectful to elders. King Solomon wrote in the Holy Bible 3,000 years ago, “He who spares the rod of discipline hates his child, and he who loves his child will be careful to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24). I have seen so many examples of parents trying to control their kids using the liberal approach that Amlani endorses, and the results are embarassing. Loud, outof-control children are an embarassment to their parents who think they can run around all day telling their children “No, no, no, ...” hoping their two-year old will “listen to reason.” The idea that spanking is harmful to a child is total foolishness. Some of the most

pleasant and respectful children I have seen come from parents who spanked them in a loving and Biblical manner. I urge all Indian parents to ignore the degenerate advice of liberal psychologists and continue to spank their children. May I suggest an excellent resource on the subject: Dr. James Dobson’s work, Dare to Discipline, which can be found at Focus on the Family.

Ara “Lukas” Piranian, CA

The Imperative to Label

I found myself both in agreement with and shaking my head at the October editorial (Who Am I? India Currents, October 2014).

It reminded me of a conversation about politics I participated in with my cousin and brother-in-law, at a time when I was a new immigrant to the States, and George W. Bush was still duking it out with Al Gore.

That conversation started with my cousin stating “I would call myself a compassionate conservative,” and me thinking to myself, “That’s so American”—the imperative to label oneself. What sounds epiphanous to Jaya Padmanabhan, that identities are fluid, would be common intuition in most other places.

Especially in politics, when labels serve as a starting point for framing ideology or opinion, they can often do more harm than good. Hyphenated or not, they tend to be polar. Once you’ve decided a label fits you, it’s very difficult not to look for reinforcing facts or opinions. It prioritizes ideology over merit in elections. I hold this predilection at least partly to blame for the polarized state of political discourse in this nation. For all the rap that India might get for widespread corruption, caste- and community-based affinities and immaturity in general, there is greater sanctity afforded to individual opinion, and it is more widely accepted that they are malleable and changing.

Sumit Kishore, website

Stepping Up

I would like to thank you for publishing my letter about the OCI confusion at the Indian Consulate (Letters, India Currents, June 2014). We were caught during the transition from BLS International to Cox & Kings for OCI issuance. Thanks to India Currents’ prompt response in the matter, the Indian Consulate issued our OCI a month later. It was a frustrating time for our family, as we were making travel plans, which would not have happened if not for India Currents’ email to the Indian Consulate, which helped us procure the OCI cards for our entire family in the span of one month. Kudos to you and your staff for listening to your readers and stepping up to help.

David/Maruska Desouza (OCI card holders and ardent readers of India Currents)

India Currents is now available on the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/IndiaCurrents/dp/B005LRAXNG Follow us at twitter.com/indiacurrents on facebook.com/IndiaCurrents Most Popular Articles Online October 2014 1) How I Met My Husband Vibha Akkaraju 2) Mixed, Chopped and Stirred Radhika Dinesh 3) Shanghai Bund Kalpana Mohan 4) 2014 Wedding Supplement 5) My Experiment with Truth Swapnajit Mitra 6) Debating the Indian-British Past Shashi Tharoor 7) Butter Chicken, My Dad’s Way Monica Bhide 8) Who Am I? Jaya Padmanabhan 9) 57th and Maryland Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan 10) An Uncommon Ordinariness: Their Story, Our Story, My Story Rajesh C. Oza

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forum

Should Global Warming Concerns Drive Economic Policy?

No, it has nothing to do with economic policy

Yes, it needs to be driven by legislation

By Rameysh Ramdas

By Mani Subramani

he primary purpose of economic policy should be to promote growth in employment and GDP, with a strong dollar and stable prices. Any other goal such as combating global warming can be peripheral—so long as it does not negatively impact the economy. Unfortunately, some zealots on the far left of the environmental movement believe that economic policy should be driven by their climate change goals, often advocating steps that will negatively impede economic growth and opportunity for our citizens.

The environmental movement often dramatically overstates the effects of activities like oil and gas exploration, and demonizes the innovation of corporations and farmers. As former VP Al Gore commented on the CO2 crisis: “I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience to listen to what the solutions are, and how hopeful it is that we are going to solve this crisis.”

To combat pollution, global warming and climate change, the world must target the worst polluters such as China. The Washington Post had a revealing study comparing air pollution in 10 Worst China and United States cities with PM2.5 Many in the United produced by fossil fuels as the measure—the worst States forget that United States city, Bakersfield, clocked in at 18.2 emissions from other micrograms (> 10 is bad countries flow into the per the WHO) and Xinghai, the worst city in China universe as well ... clocked in at 155.2 with not one city in the list from China below 100! Many in the United States forget that emissions from other countries flow into the universe as well and just stifling the United States and depriving its citizens of fuels, water, or natural resources is not going to solve the problem on a global scale. By imposing egregious and draconian measures such as denying water to our Central Valley farmers and dumping it in the ocean to ostensibly to “save” the smelt fish—is simply shooting ourselves in the foot. In California we have reduced our water usage by 7.5% state wide.

Rational citizens do their part in supporting and promoting efforts to protect the environment by recycling and expending natural resources responsibly. It is other nations such as China, India, Mexico and Brazil that need to do more. However, if the goal of the environmental movement is to use the scare of global warming and climate change to redistribute wealth or alter the way of life in America, then that must give us pause.

President Obama’s science czar is quoted as saying that “A massive campaign must be launched to restore a high-quality environment in North America and to de-develop the United States ...” Yes, we must protect the environment, but not at the cost of “de-developing” America nor robbing its citizens of their livelihood and quality of life. n

here are two reasons why global warming should be the primary domestic policy agenda for the United States. First, there is abundant evidence now that the ocean temperatures are rising. The rise in temperature is primarily due to the green house effect of CO2 caused by human activity. The only people who don’t believe these scientific facts are more worried about leaving the next generation a world with debt. What they should be worried about is leaving them a world at all! The fact that global warming is caused by human activity does not mean we all hold our collective breaths and say OM. It means we need to focus on finding solutions to the problem at hand.

Many people see the approach to global warming as a zero sum between economy and climate. They would like to continue the status quo, plant a few trees or bike to work when convenient to save the environment. This approach is very short lived and has no chance of success. Even if we stopped any economic development and only sustained what we have, population increase alone would increase the carbon dioxide emissions. An excellent example of such short sighted and foolhardy policy is the fracking boom in the mid-west. Burning Many people see the natural gas to generate approach to global electricity is far less polluting compared to burnwarming as a zero sum ing coal. Natural gas only releases a fraction of the between economy and CO2 that is released with climate. burning coal and does not suffer the disadvantages of other sulfur based pollutants emitted during coal burning.

That brings us to the second reason why global warming needs to be the number one economic priority in the United States. It will give the economy a sense of direction and purpose. The industrialized world has always been driven by broad directives and goals.

These have resulted in technological innovation which have provided for a better quality of life for everyone. Similarly, a policy in place to reduce carbon emissions will invariably create a better life for all. In California, Tesla Motors showed that it was possible to make highly efficient cars that co-exist on our roads quietly and have a low carbon foot print. Thanks to the vast deployment of solar panels, a significant portion of residents’ power needs, especially on hot days, is generated by the sun. The largest cellulosic bio-refinery was opened recently in Kansas. This type of biofuel is not only carbon neutral and easily integrated into the fuel supply it is generated from corn stover which does not compete with food or animal feed. These are the kinds of breakthrough solutions that the world needs to reduce carbon emissions, create jobs and, heck, even bring Republicans and Democrats together! This type of innovation has to occur in great numbers and at a very large scale. This can only be possible if it driven by legislation, funding and focus. n

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

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

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6 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

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a thousand words

The Fourth India

By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

I

n A Matter of Rats: A Short Biography of Patna, Amitava Kumar distinguishes between three versions of the Indian city he once called home: the Patna of those who left (who now live “elsewhere” and treat Patna like an unwanted “leftover”), the Patna of those who stayed (who belong “nowhere else” and who alone understand daily life in the city), and the Patna of those for whom it is “a matter of life and death,” i.e., those for whom Patna either represents an activist calling or a state of abjection. Kumar also describes a fourth Patna, though he does not name it explicitly, and that is the Patna that emerges in writing—if you go looking for it.

As a resident of the first Patna (which is to say, a non-resident), Kumar’s engagement with his hometown has over the years taken the form of obsessively tracking every mention of the city in literature and journalism, however obscure. He notes that the Marabar Hills in E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India are modeled on the Barabar caves, just a few hours from Patna. “Patna occurs once in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things,” Kumar writes, offering a page number as evidence.

There is “a fellow from Meerut” in Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August, he laments, but “no Patna.” These tidbits of information give Kumar, an accomplished nonfiction writer, novelist, and professor at Vassar, a sense of affirmation and validation. He is at once excited that other writers have taken note of the city he once called home, and inspired to take on the challenge of representing Patna himself.

Is this a self-abasing exercise, or a charming one? Certainly, it is one I was inducted into myself at a young age and which I suspect many of India Currents’ readers have participated in as well. Substitute “India” for “Patna” and this is the conventional account of what it means to be ethnic in America: to go looking for mentions of “yourself,” of India and of other Indians in newspaper articles and television shows; to delight in sightings of familiar names and places, the appearance of a brown face; to search out the subcontinent in the Booker longlist; to obsessively track mentions of “Desis in the News” in online archives like SAJAforum; to take pride in the Spelling Bee winners whose last names have as many letters as yours, and even more pride in norm-defying athletes like Brandon Chillar, now of “Beyond Bollywood” fame.

I have been so deeply habituated into the game of “where’s the Indian Waldo” that I remember even now, two decades later, some of the names my mother pointed out to me when I was in grade school, and she would clip interesting blurbs from the newspaper to present to me over breakfast. Nina Shen Rastogi was a high school student who was chosen to write entertainment reviews for the San Jose Mercury News’ “Eye” magazine. Vineeta Vijayaraghavan was a Harvard business school student who published a semi-autobiographical novel about an Indian American teenager’s summer in her titular “Motherland;” her protagonist (much to my annoyance, I recall) was right around my age. Rumor had it that this Vineeta had turned down a competitive merit scholarship to Duke. Aruna Venkatesan and her older sister both scored 1,600 on the SAT; I think they lived in Pleasanton; the news brief came in India West.

I remember those names and in some cases even faces, because I identified with them in an artless, aspirational way. Here was someone “like me” who had published a book; here was someone like me, who

... this is the conventional account of what it means to be ethnic in America: to go looking for mentions of “yourself,” of India and of other Indians in newspaper articles and television shows; to delight in sightings of familiar names and places, the appearance of a brown face; was going to be a doctor; here was someone like me who had been recognized by the mainstream media. I remember reading about each young woman with interest. I imagined myself in her place, just as Kumar has been transfixed by the idea of his humble Patna “as a subject for literary writing.” They were Indian, and so was I, and so I paid attention. Probably I fashioned myself in the image of this composite exceptional Indian woman: Nina Vineeta Aruna (and there were others, of course).

Years later, it’s easy to criticize what academics would term the affective structure of ethnic identification, the coercive mimeticism that non-white subjects in the United States inevitably participate in, the ways in which we come to resemble prescribed versions of ourselves, all the while thinking that we have volitionally given shape to chosen lives. It’s impossible to ignore also that the identification of Indian names and faces tends to focus on exceptional and model ones, which are often meretricious and foreclose other ways of living and being in the world. Yes. These things we know.

What I’m interested in is what Kumar creates in A Matter of Rats by summoning up those citations, his fleeting sightings of Patna, and that is an intertextual Patna: a Patna that exists literally and figurally between the lines of Kumar’s text, because of the other texts it brings to bear on its formation. It is a Patna that exists between Forster’s Bankipore and Gogol’s fear of Bihari bandits in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, between Shiva Naipaul’s contemptuous account of Patna as “a town without the faintest traces of charm” and Kumar’s intimate biographical account: “when I step on Patna’s soil, I only want to see how much older my parents look.”

There is an intertextual India, too, not an apocryphal one, but one that comes into being in time and space (here, now) with concrete reference to other times and places (San Jose, California, 1995). Today, because we don’t always read print copies of our weekly Indian newspaper, or even go to the community library to borrow the young woman’s book, the intertextual India is also an inter-medial one. It exists not only between texts, but also between website and memory. The fourth India emerges out of the alchemy of names heard and Googled, books read and recalled. And it is manifest in fragments, something like this one. n Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a doctoral candidate in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 7

politics

Corruption is Still India’s Biggest Problem

By Shashi Tharoor

O

ne of the questions people keep asking me since my entry into politics is what we can do about corruption.

What would I do, one citizen recently asked me in an on-line chat, if I became the “concerned authority” to deal with corruption?

In fact corruption is a national malaise and a social ill, not just one that a “concerned authority” can solve. We are all complicit— those who demand bribes and those who give them.

As one who has long urged an end to public apathy about politics, I was inspired by seeing the passion of Anna Hazare’s followers against corruption, which I share, and I have no doubt that during his mass movement, he touched a chord amongst millions of Indians. But we must remember that his supporters are not the only Indians who are disgusted by corruption. When many of his followers constituted the Aam Aadmi Party against his wishes, they could never quite come to terms with the fact that there are patriotic and principled Indians amongst their critics too, and that we must reach out to each other in good faith.

Anna Hazare’s movement persuaded Indians in general, and the political class eventually, that a strong Jan Lokpal (Citizen’s Ombudsman) is a key part of the answer.

Parliament finally legislated the creation of a strong anti-corruption ombudsman, with genuine autonomy and authority and substantial powers of action. It is too early to judge how well it will work, or indeed whether the unintended consequence many feared—of creating a large, omnipotent and unaccountable supra-institution that could not be challenged, reformed or removed— has been belied. If the current governmental bodies tasked with investigation, vigilance, and audit are deemed to be insufficiently impervious to corruption, it is worth asking what guarantee there is that the new institution of Lokpal will not be infected by the same virus—and if so, what could be done about it, since it would literally be a law unto itself.

A number of related steps need to be taken to tackle corruption at its source.

Campaign finance reform, simplification of laws and regulations, administrative transparency, and the reduction of discretionary powers enjoyed by officials and ministers, are all of the highest priority too. The Right to 8 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Information Act (RTI) was in fact the first step in this direction. A credible Lokpal will be another.

But one of the things that was highlighted by the Anna Hazare phenomenon is the extent to which corruption is a middleclass preoccupation, when in fact the biggest victims of corruption in our country are in fact the poor. For the affluent, corruption is at worst a nuisance; for the salaried middleclass, it can be an indignity and a burden; but for the poor, it is often a tragedy.

The saddest corruption stories I have heard are those where corruption literally transforms lives for the worse. There are stories about the pregnant woman turned away from a government hospital because she couldn’t bribe her way to a bed; the laborer denied an allotment of land that was his due because someone else bribed the patwari to change the land records; the pensioner denied the rightful fruits of decades of toil because he couldn’t or wouldn’t bribe the petty clerk to process his paperwork; the wretchedly poor unable to procure the BPL [“Below Poverty Line”] cards that certify their entitlement to various government schemes and subsidies because they couldn’t afford to bribe the issuing officer; the poor widow cheated of an insurance settlement because she couldn’t grease the right palms ... the examples are endless. Each of these represents not just an injustice, but a crime, and yet the officials responsible get away with their exactions all the time. And all their victims are people living at or near a poverty line that’s been drawn just this side of the funeral pyre.

One of the reasons that I was an early supporter of economic liberalization in India was that I hoped it would reduce corruption by denying officialdom the opportunity to profit from the power to permit. That has happened to some degree, especially at the big-business level. I am, similarly, a strong supporter of computerizing government records and applying e-governance to transactions that currently require paperwork, queues, and bribes to expedite their processing. But I underestimated the creativity of petty corruption in India that leeches blood from the veins of the poorest and most downtrodden in our society.

The problem of corruption runs far broader and deeper than the headlines sug-

gest. Corruption isn’t only high-level governmental malfeasance as typified by the 2G and CWG scandals. Overcoming it requires nothing short of a change in our society’s mindset.

Everyone claims to be against corruption; the debate is on the means to be used to tackle it. For it would be dangerous to reduce the entire issue to a simplistic solution which won’t end corruption by itself. Inspectors and prosecutors can only catch some criminals; we need to change the system so that fewer crimes are committed, and that means changing attitudes too.

For ultimately, corruption flourishes because society enables it. Every time we agree to pay part of the cost of a flat in “black,” negotiate a discount from a store in exchange for not insisting on a bill, or offer “speed money” to jump a queue, we are complicit in corruption. Every businessman who rationalizes an illicit payment as a “facilitation fee,” or airily dismisses a lavish gift in cash or kind as part of “the price of doing business,” is complicit in corruption. When I expostulate with such friends they tell me, “if we don’t do it, our work won’t get done.”

Or even more tellingly, “if we don’t do it, someone else will, and he’ll get the business, we won’t.” Corruption is spawned by the human desire to get ahead of the competition; self-righteousness alone won’t end it.

Once, at the end of yet another argument about corruption, a friend challenged my suggestion that the corrupt only survive because the non-corrupt pay them. If we all stopped offering bribes, I argued, people couldn’t demand them, since no one would pay them. That’s impossible, my friend replied; there would always be someone looking to get an advantage for himself by paying someone off. “You can’t change India,” he sighed.

But we must. Mahatma Gandhi did. It will take a similar mass movement—abetted by efficient systems of e-governance and firm executive action—to deliver India its second freedom: freedom from corruption. n Shashi Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram and the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, is the author of 14 books, including, most recently, Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century. This article was first published on NDTV.

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cover

I Will Survive Coping with disaster

By Priya Das

Dear Readers, what you will read here are stories of survival: Of the unexpected bravery when disaster strikes, of the quiet courage during the immediate aftermath, of the grit to recover, and of the ongoing effort to lead a life with an altered perspective.

These are just a few stories, but India Currents salutes all the survivors and their support teams among us.

Surviving a Plane Crash

I

nexplicable flight-paths, deadly viruses, natural disasters, war zones, and revolutions at a global, community, and individual level seem to dominate the news these days. It is a wonder that life, the greatest show of all, goes on at all. And yet, it is true what they say about the human spirit, that it is indomitable and stands resolute in the face of calamities.

Take Balaji Ganesan for example, a quiet man in his mid-thirties.

There is no telltale sign that he almost lost his life a few years ago in a plane crash. Ganesan lives in Fremont, California and was the only West Coast passenger on US Airways flight 1549 from New York City to Charlotte.

10 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Escape From Death

Captain Sully with Ganesan at the first anniversary event

“Brace for impact.” Those are the three worst words I have heard in my life,” says Hudson “miracle,” plane crash survivor Balaji Ganesan. Ganesan lives in Fremont, California and was the only West Coast passenger on US Airways flight 1549 from New York City to Charlotte. Ganesan’s travel plans had changed because of a client meeting—but for that, he might not have been on that plane. “I was late, I got a middle seat and was thinking, “I hate middle seats!” Little did he know at the time, the back of a middle seat would be etched forever in his memory.

A few minutes into the flight, Ganesan felt a jolt, there was a burning smell in the air. “People said some-

thing about an engine fire,” he says, “After that, it was eerily quiet, like all passengers were in a collective state of shock.”

Then out of the quiet, the pilot announced, “Brace for impact.”

“At that moment I looked out. All I could see was houses. I thought we were going to crash into them,” Ganesan recounts, “Then my head was on my knees, and I was staring at the back of 19E. I still remember that seat-cover.”

Then the plane descended and Ganesan felt cold water trickling in from the floor and soon it was ankle-deep. Ganesan continues, “Some people were jumping over the seats, some were urging to move in an orderly manner. One of the attendants had blood on her face … I grabbed a seat cushion and made my way to the left front exit.”

As we know, Flight 1549 landed on the Hudson river on January 15, 2009. Having made it out of the plane on the exit’s inflatable slide, Ganesan remembers looking up, “I saw the building I had woken up in just that morning, in shock,” says Ganesan. “I was shoeless, my hands were numb, it was not easy to climb up the ladder to get onboard the ferry when it did finally come by.”

Once on land, he called his wife, Jyoti, who recalls, “My mind drew a blank: I am talking to my husband, he seems fine, but had been through a plane crash? I cannot forget that he had tried calling me several times that morning. When we’d finally connected, he’d joked, “What if there was an emergency

and I was trying to reach you frantically?”

Ganesan and Jyoti were constantly in touch through the next day. Jyoti remembers, “My fear was about what he would go through taking another long flight back home.”

“The return journey was the worst of my life, every bit of turbulence was nerveracking. When we landed and I met my daughter who was a year old at the time, that feeling was indescribable—I would actually get to watch my daughter grow now ... !” says Ganesan.

Life After Near Death

Back home, Ganesan refused all calls from the media (being the only survivor from the West Coast, he was sought after), the TV was never turned on, the family kept to themselves. Jyoti remembers, “He basically didn’t want to relive those moments again.”

Ganesan did however, frequent a survivor-yahoogroup, saying, “The airline just returned some cleaned up items of baggage that they could salvage and got some paperwork signed, no psychological referrals or support was offered. There was a yahoogroup that we fellow-passengers got together on, where we had a chance to keep up with our lives. Each one of us had a different coping mechanism—A few talked to the media incessantly, two other fellow passengers got engaged, another learnt to fly an airplane. What was very noticeable though,

is the absence of some, who chose to completely stay away from all those who shared those terrifying moments with them.”

Days later, he was asked whether he could travel to Chicago for work. “I knew I could not cut out air travel altogether from my life. United had a channel then that let you tune into air-traffic control transmissions—that is all I did on that long flight.

The most terrible aspect of the crash was not knowing what was happening, just having to hear “Brace for impact” and then facing death.”

Weeks and months later, reunions with other survivors on the Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric shows were handled with forced will rather than willingness. Ganesan also found a new interest—researching plane crashes in the history of air travel. He can now spout related trivia with ease. But “every time a plane goes down, I go through the moments of terror all over again.”

Now

The Ganesans are now a four member family, with the birth of their son in 2010.

Ganesan himself decided to became an entrepreneur and successfully sold his company in June this year. Speaking of how the crash impacted him, he says, “The crash taught me to create priorities; when hurdles arise, I can detach easily and just move on.” He has stopped listening to the in-flight air-traffic control channel, but gets on a plane “with my eyes open.” n

Surviving Cancer about it and took to eating to manage the stress, slowly gaining weight.”

Being Your Own Doctor

Vijaya Hebbal (Viji), owner of the Viji Beauty Salon in Cupertino, CA, was declared “free” of breast cancer in May 2014, after a five year battle. She had seen the disease up close when it claimed her mother years ago.

But knowing that she had a good chance of getting it had still not prepared her for the actuality.

“I have always been regular about mammogram checkups, and every time, it was a negative result. Late in 2008 though, I felt continually feverish for a few days and taking even a few steps was exhausting. Then, I felt a lump.”

The mammogram came back negative again. “My doctor said that it was all in my head! But here is what I have to say to every woman—You are the first and best doctor for your body,” affirms Viji. “So I insisted on getting a scan … the results came back positive, the same doctor who had said it was in my head announced that I had cancer.

What I knew for sure was this was the start

Serendipitous Chances

Viji at Manasarovar

of a long struggle, but I wasn’t sure whether I would survive it. I was in shock and hid myself from everybody. I did not want to talk

Around the same time, Viji had inquired about renting a station in a Cupertino salon.

The owner asked her instead if she’d like to buy out the whole salon. The possibility, and later the certainty, of cancer threw the decision-making under a harsh new light.

Viji was not sure what energies she would have to manage a salon and whether there was any point to it.

Viji’s older son, Vaibhav, supported the decision along with the rest of the family, remembering, “She needed something to fight for, something beyond family; a goal to return to. Plus, it’s just plain hard to say no to my mom!”

During the few first few days as Viji dazedly managed the salon, she stopped to say hello to a customer, who turned out to be an oncologist at Stanford, and who in turn November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 11

introduced her to the surgeon who would lead her back to a regular life. Viji says, “My salon is my temple, God is inside. I never treat the people who come in as just customers. I try my best to keep my employees happy.”

Coping With Surgery

For 21 hours, the surgeons worked on Viji, ridding her body of the cancerous breasts and reconstructing tissue to make it whole again. For days after that, her husband woke up in the middle of the night, checking to make sure she was breathing. When she cried that death was preferable to the pain, her family rallied around her, saying, “You can die if you can (get out of bed and) take a step first.” The healing was an arduous process; the complete dependency on others—an unholy task, for someone like Viji.

Hebbal says of his mother, “We came to the United States when my mom was already in her thirties. At her age and stage of life, she could just manage her home and family.

But she retook her cosmetology exams and started looking for salon-stations on rent ...

She’s the one who’s always pushed.” For a person like that to be bed-ridden was hard on her and those around her. Viji is unable to articulate her own experience, instead saying volumes with this reaction—“I am lucky that

Viji with her family

I don’t have a daughter. A generation has been spared this pain.”

Contrary to Ganesan, Viji’s experience with support groups depressed her further.

“Most support groups for breast cancer patients are frequented by older people, who are in heart-wrenching life situations. I felt bad, but needed help myself.” She recommends instead, to rely on the medical team for medical advice, friends and family for emotional support, and a personal routine outside of the home for keeping the spirits rejuvenated. “Always get the patient to focus on the promise of the future, give them something to look forward to.”

Now

People from all over call Viji for advice.

She asks to meet with the newly diagnosed, “I cannot provide meaningful help if I do not see for myself what the woman is made of, how tough she is, how involved the family is,” she explains.

Early this year, Viji completed a Himalayan task: A trek to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. For the five years it took her to beat the cancer, she prayed to Lord Shiva everyday, that He must give her one opportunity to visit his abode—and he did! n

Surviving a Lifestyle Change Emergency In A Foreign Country

Farhan (not his real name) was 35, his career on fast-track at a multinational in the nutrition industry, living the life as a single NRI in the US, based in Parsippany, New Jersey.

January 23, 2008 started as an exciting work day for Farhan—he was visiting company offices in Switzerland. Trouble started after lunch, “I felt weird, breathless, but it passed in five seconds.” Later that night, his breathing started to get inconsistent, arms got tingly. “My thoughts overlappe and I felt confused. I drank water a few times, tried to watch TV. Finally, around 3 a.m. I called two of my colleagues who were staying at the same hotel and asked them to come to my room. Then, the right side of my mouth starting involuntarily moving side ways. That’s when I realized I was having a seizure.”

It was in the middle of the night in a foreign country; help was not a convenient 911call away. The hotel-lobby was not staffed around the clock. Fortunately John, one of the co-workers, bumped into two policemen who called for an ambulance.

12 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

“I remember getting into the ambulance, that’s all,” Farhan had his first seizure then and a second one when he got to the hospital. John remembers “I thought he had bitten his tongue out, there was too much blood.”

It’s anybody’s guess what would have happened if Farhan hadn’t had the presence of mind to alert his co-workers and if the police hadn’t been near by.

Provoked Seizures

The diagnosis was “provoked seizure”—a combination of lack of sleep, stress, alcohol, and de-hydration. Looking back, Farhan says, “For the next 12 weeks, life was miserable. I was anxious all the time and got frequent panic attacks. I didn’t have any family in the United States, the only friends I had were out-of-state ... so I made the decision to accept the doctor’s recommendation and start anti-anxiety medication. That was a new reality for me. Before that, I studiously avoided medication, preferring to endure colds and headaches. That I had a condition that I could not mitigate by will power alone was a humbling experience.”

Farhan learnt that the only way he could

keep his panic attacks in check was to have a completely predictable schedule: No latenights, no taking on ad-hoc responsibilities at work. Dating was on hold, “I did not think it was fair to involve another person in my struggles, though having a steady relationship would have helped enormously,” admits Farhan. “You don’t expect to give up free-will in your thirties. My personality and body aged from the inside, I stopped taking chances and stayed away from every new thing, that was the only way I knew to cope.”

Now

Farhan accepts assignments carefully.

Evenings out are pre-compensated by naps and hydration in the afternoon. Late-nights are made up for by taking the next day off.

Wherever he goes, he makes sure he knows how to call emergency services. Dating is still doubtful, Farhan recalls, “Somebody commented on how boring my lifestyle was.

And I don’t blame them, it does look that way from the outside. I’m just thankful that I can live my life rather than being victimized by it!” n

Surviving a Child’s Recurrent Illness

IndiaCurrents

Oh! To Lead An Uneventful Life

Perhaps the worst pain that one can ever feel is when your child is in pain. For Sajeeta Das, this has become a part of everyday life. Her daughter, Sachi, was three and a half when she was diagnosed with NF2, a genetic condition that causes tumors in the brain/spine. “In 2007, when Sachi was three, she had continuing loss of appetite, frequent vomiting, extreme fatigue, and she was complaining of headaches,” remembers Das. “When we got the diagnosis finally, my husband and I felt pretty numb. In a way, we were relieved to know why she was sick … we felt pretty desperate to just get her treated and get her better.”

Right after the diagnosis, Sachi needed to undergo two surgeries to remove the tumor. This was followed by radiation for a few months. However, since the condition has a genetic cause, the tumors continue to appear. Das says, “We have to constantly monitor the tumors she has, to make sure they are not growing to a point where they need intervention. She had another surgery in 2012 and a round of radiation sessions as well, since.”

The family has to be on perpetual vigil, getting her vision and hearing evaluated every few months, along with MRI scans done every six months. The impact is big for such a little body, she needs to go on IV and stay without food and water for about five hours for every MRI. Having dealt with this for the last seven years, Das is frank in admitting, “There is nothing more heart-breaking than to have a child be critically sick. But no matter how hard it gets, it is very important for us to hold it together because children often react to situations based on how their parents are reacting … We would love to lead a normal, uneventful life.”

Now

The family has a new member, Shrey, a little boy. Sachi is in the third grade now, plays board games and the piano, and is part of the school band. She is determined to learn to play the drums better; history is her least favorite subject. These are the hallmarks of a regular ten-year-old’s life, except that “Sachi hates getting poked for the IV every few months, she gets anxious about them.

And she does get frustrated and wonders when the hospital visits will stop.”

Like Viji, Datta has not relied on support groups either. Instead, she believes, “It is very important to make a strong bond with the doctors and child life specialists. If your child is chronically ill ... find a good doctor,

Scan to Subscribe Now you don't have to miss a single issue of our award-winning Indian-American monthly magazine. In celebration of 28 years in business, subscriptions to India Currents within California are now available for FREE! Sachi Datta

take second opinions but stick to the one if possible. Because a lot of time having that history is very important when deciding on a course of action in an emergency situation.”

She advocates not hesitating to ask for help, saying, “Having people around you when you are going through a tough time, rather than bottling all the feeling inside helps. People around you, will not have time to notice what you are going through unless you talk about it.”

On the whole, Das is thankful that Sachi is happy and is leading a normal life. She urges families in similar situations to “have faith and hope. No matter how hard it gets, always look at the positive side of it.”

Recently, Sachi had to undergo two more rounds of surgery. Candidly, Das told me: “I have promised Sachi that I will die very old ... so I will be around for a long time to pester her, annoy her, poke my nose into her life and be there for her when she is going through tough times even if she does not want me there.”

Whatever the driving force: Datta family’s stoicism, Farhan’s self-discipline, Viji’s can-do attitude, or Ganesan’s self-sufficiency, the human spirit endures. For our part, let us look a second time at people we are acquainted with and offer a helping hand if they are not. As Datta says “A pat, a hug and even a completely random person saying—‘It will all be ok’ helps a LOT!” Das herself has had to do it, saying, “I try to live in the present moment and not look back on the past or worry too much about the future.” n Priya Das writes about extraordinary nuances of everyday life, reporting on stories of personal courage and uncommon experiences.

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14 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Needlessly Blind

not for profit

Sankara Eye Foundation’s 20/20 vision

By Ritu Marwah

A

s she groped her way around the floor of a house in Kanpur, India, swishing the wet mop from side to side, missing a spot here and accidently spreading a spill there, Channo had little idea that her impending blindness could be halted in its tracks, stopped from plunging her into total darkness. She was the main breadwinner for her family. While her husband spent his salary in hooch, she cleaned houses to feed, clothe and raise her four young children. Blind, she and her children would quietly slip below the poverty line, forever becoming a statistic in government records.

A cataract surgery, at a cost of thirty dollars, could halt the impending doom.

Meanwhile at Sankara Eye Foundation’s (SEF) dandia fundraiser at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, Alkesh Chaudhary’s seven-colored lehenga ballooned as she twirled to the beat of Preetysha’s lyrical voice. The tiny mirrors on her skirt reflected the throbbing bodies of six thousand SF Bay Area residents as they clicked their sticks and rhythmically swung their feet. Their festive energy would turn the lights on in a hospital close to where Channo cleans houses.

Sankara’s vision 20/20 is to establish twenty hospitals across India by the year 2020, and thereby provide free eye care to a million people every year. Half a million would be surgical procedures and the other half a million would be glass corrections, lasers and medical management.

“An anonymous donor has pledged a million dollars,” rang out the voice from the stage. It belonged to Anil Lal, a SF Bay Area entrepreneur and the first “Partner-in-Service” for a Sankara Eye Hospital. By the end of six years Sankara Eye Foundation plans to have eleven new hospitals. Next stop Jodhpur, Indore, Chhattisgarh and Bihar/Orissa.

Six thousand dandia dancers rocked in a rhythmic trance, their dazzling Indian dresses shimmering with excitement. “It’s a people movement,” says Seema Handu who rings in the festive season every year with the SEF Dandia. “Unlike other non-profits in the Bay Area that were started by wealthy individuals, this charity was started by volunteers and had no initial godfather,” says Anil.

It is an organization started in the living room by three committed volunteers and retains the character of a people’s movement.

Over thousand volunteers service the fifty

SEF Dandia Aarti

A patient waiting for surgery

thousand plus SEF donors with meticulous attention to detail. The grass roots organization is flat where any volunteer can propose, take the lead and run with a project and it is seen as a collective achievement.

“Back in 2000, our volunteer Rajiv Chamraj, who had just completed his executive MBA from MIT proposed “Vision 20/20 by 2020,” meaning perfect vision for all by the year 2020. I thought how is it possible for us to achieve this? Swami Vivekananda says every individual is potentially divine and can do anything and everything.

Any limitations are only in the mind. Think big. So SEF put it’s weight behind it’s volunteer’s vision,” says Murali Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive of SEF. The entire organization moved as a behemoth behind that vision. Anil Lal requested guests at both his sons’ weddings to give the newlyweds “blessings, not blenders.” They donated to SEF to open a ward in Anil’s children’s names.

In the delivery of its vision it became imperative for SEF to manage the use of funds in an efficient manner. Cost of building a hospital, not including the cost of the land, is four to five million dollars. Once the capital expenditure is incurred, it is imperative that the hospital become self-sufficient and run on it’s own steam. By following the eightytwenty rule, within five years a hospital is able to bear all recurring expenditures. For every two paying patients, eight patients are treated free.

“By having your surgeries at Sankara Eye Foundation, apart from getting a world

class eye surgery for yourself, you are also indirectly helping needy rural patients for his/her free eye surgeries,” says Dr. Ramani a Rotarian who started Sankara Eye Foundation in India and in 1998 prevailed upon nephews in the SF Bay Area to get involved.

Little did Murali Krishnamurthy, his brother K. Sridharan and their neighbor, Ahmad Khushnood Kazi know the juggernaut they were rolling out!

Forty five million people in India are visually handicapped, twelve million are totally blind, one fourth of the world’s blind population lives in India, and a majority lives in villages. “SEF needs to grow from our current $3M to $4M per year annual revenue to at least $8M or $9M revenue per year to meet the Vision 20/20. I am very positive we will get there,” says Murali Krishnamurthy.

The clock struck eleven in Santa Clara California. Alkesh and Seema along with six thousand dancers raised their voices in unison to sing the aarti. At the very same moment the board of SEF inaugurated their ninth hospital in India. Channo stood in a line outside the new hospital in Kanpur. This Diwali she too would see the colors of the festival in their entire splendor. n Ritu Marwah is a resident of the Bay Area where she has pursued theater, writing, marketing, startup management, raising children, coaching debate and hiking. Ritu graduated from Delhi with a masters in business, joined the Tata Administrative Service and worked in London for ten years before moving to the Bay Area.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 15

media

Karma Hurts!

Satya Nadella apologizes for his recent gaffe Sandip Roy

T

his is a bona fide CTRL-ALTDEL moment for Satya Nadella.

The Microsoft CEO is having to go through a system reboot after having told the audience at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing that they need to trust in karma for the raise they want but feel to diffident to ask for.

“It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise.”

And then he dipped into his rich ancestral Indian heritage for some ancient wisdom.

“That might be one of the initial ‘super powers,’ that quite frankly, women who don’t ask for a raise have.

It’s good karma. It will come back.”

But karma, as they say can be a bitch.

And truth, dear Satya, hurts.

Let’s give this to Nadella. As soon as he realized the foot was well and truly in the mouth, he apologized unconditionally. He did not go the usual weasley non-apology apology route viz “I did not mean to offend anyone but if I did inadvertently offend someone or the other, I am very sorry.”

Nadella, to his credit, did not try to wiggle out or claim he had been misunderstood/ misquoted/jetlagged. He owned up fully.

I answered that question completely wrong.

Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work … If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask. I said I was looking forward to the Grace Hopper Conference to learn, and I certainly learned a valuable lesson.

The whole thing has turned into a conversation about equal pay for equal work.

Nadella says he’s for it but then, which CEO could be overtly against it? Oddly Nadella represents an industry which has been attacked for lack of gender and ethnic diversity, but according to a study by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) math, computer and physical science professions are a few categories that do have 16 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Satya Nadella; wikipedia.org

pay equity, reports Quartz, though others contest that. The earning difference between men and women with the same credentials who make the same career choices is about 6.6% as opposed to 23%. President Obama in his 2014 State of the Union speech said it was “an embarrassment” that women were paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes though as Quartz notes “his careful construction elides the fact that the 77% statistic does not refer to ‘equal work.’”

But the question was not about equal pay for equal work even though that is what the furore is now all about.

It was about asking for a raise and how it is often difficult to ask for one. What Nadella suggested by his remark was that it was “good karma” not to ask for a raise, thus implying that you would be rewarded later (perhaps in another life). Satya Nadella did not say there should not be equal pay for equal work. He suggested something different but also obnoxious—that asking for a raise a woman feels she deserves is somehow a bad thing, not good karma. And that’s just as sexist because it smacks down a woman for speaking up for her due, implying that like children, good girls should be seen (diligently writing code) and not heard.

Satirist @AmreekanDesi rued that “Satya Nadella is proof that you can take Indians out of India, but you can’t take their gender biases out of them. #maaro.” Well,

that might be a little harsh. Sexism is in plentiful supply in India and @ brownbrumby wonders “Has Satya Nadella ever attended a RSS shakha?” and the satire handle @ModiDoesThings quips “EXCLUSIVE: Satya Nadella offered a senior BJP role. ‘In our ethos, too, women cannot question, and need “karma” to grow,’ Amit Shah said.”

But sexism is not the preserve of the RSS. It was not that long ago that Harvard president Lawrence Summers had to issue at least three apologies for saying that women lacked the ability to excel at math and science even while saying, “ I did not say, and I do not believe, that girls are intellectually less able than boys, or that women lack the ability to succeed at the highest levels of science.”

Nadella has apologized and this affair will probably not make Microsoft’s stock sink and Apple’s rise. Anyway an ex-girlfriend of Jobs wrote a biography that describes Jobs as a “sexist bully” who said that “if women were good they wouldn’t experience labor pain.”

Apparently that change did happen after a transformational trip to India, from which he returned covered with bed-bugs and full of parasites.

Nadella’s gaffe is hardly on par with that kind of transformation. But in the world of Twitter karma he can expect some grief for some time to come. Meanwhile he joins the long list of Indian gurus with wisdom to offer to the West. Scroll recently carried a thoughtful piece posing the question “Why Indian writers are never in the running for the Nobel?”

In the Satya Nadella school of wisdom the answer would be “It’s not really about asking for a Nobel, but knowing having the faith that the system will give you the right Nobel. Trust karma.”

And voila we got our Nobel. Though for Peace, not for Literature but karma works in inscrutable ways. n Sandip Roy is the Culture Editor for Firstpost. com. A version of this story appeared on Firstpost.com.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 17

analysis

Mission Possible!

Did the art of jugaad make India’s low-cost Mars Orbiter Mission possible?

By Karine Schomer

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Facebook: Indian Space Research Organization

n September 24, ten months after its flawless launch on November 5, 2013, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) successfully entered orbit around Mars, three days after NASA’s MAVEN. India became the first Asian nation to join the global space elite of the United States, Europe and Russia, and accomplished its Mars mission on the first attempt.

Most astonishing of all was the fact that India’s MOM had cost $74 million to NASA’s $671 million for the MAVEN project.

What made this possible? What fundamental strength of the Indian way of getting things done and approach to innovation accounts for this technological feat on a shoestring?

A few months earlier, I had been invited to brief the NISAR project team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena working on a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to design and launch a satellite with advanced radar imaging to observe the natural processes of the changing earth.

The purpose of the briefing was to create awareness of cultural differences in thinking, communication, ways of working and management style that can affect India-U.S. collaborations.

At JPL, I met Alok Chatterjee, Mission Interface Manager and main architect of this joint project with India. A veteran of both ISRO and NASA/JPL, he had also helped set up JPL support for ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission. We discussed at length the differences in how projects are planned and carried out in India and the United States, and how to make such project collaborations successful.

The parallel development and launching of the India and U.S. Mars orbiters provided us with a high-profile case in point for a fundamental aspect of the Indian mindset that needs to be understood, appreciated and negotiated on a daily basis by all who work

18 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

with Indian partners and counterparts. This approach and way of thinking is superbly captured by the colloquial Hindi term jugaad —India’s art of ingenious improvisation.

There are myriad examples of jugaad in action in India at the level of everyday work style as well as fundamental attitude and belief. What each reveals is that, in the Indian environment, flexibility and “playing it by ear” is not only habitual, and often a matter of necessity, but is considered a strength rather than a weakness. Historically, under feudalism, colonialism and—later on—the “bureaucracy raj” of the first 40 years of independent India, the ability to work around the system, to improvise (and to circumvent the rules!) was often required for any kind of success.

Of course, jugaad is a two-edged sword.

Social commentators and management theorists in India line up on opposite sides of an ongoing and heated national debate about the pros and cons of the jugaad approach.

For some, it’s “an Indian commodity ripe for export,” while for others it’s an attitude that can mean choosing expediency over longterm effectiveness.

It’s not surprising, then, to see Indian commentary on the Mars Orbiter Mission phrased in terms of the ongoing national debate about jugaad. “No Room for Jugaad on Mars” is the title of a Times of India Op-Ed piece. But for JPL’s Alok Chatterjee, “Jugaad is the Indian approach of getting the maximum out of spending the least amount of resources, including time. And while jugaad

cannot defy the laws of physics in getting a complex space mission like MOM accomplished, it is definitely a time-tested approach that has proved applicable to processes for achieving the mission’s accelerated goals.”

India’s “space venture on a shoestring” was thus made possible not only by less expensive engineering talent willing to work around the clock, but also by using ingenious improvisation to cope successfully with resource constraints and exceptionally tight timelines. ISRO built the final model of the orbiter from the start instead of building a series of iterative models, as NASA does. They limited the number of ground tests. They used components and building blocks from earlier and concurrent missions. They also circumvented the lack of a rocket powerful enough to launch the satellite directly out of the earth’s gravitational pull by having the satellite orbit the earth for a month to build up enough speed to break free from the earth’s gravitational pull.

In the afterglow of India’s space age triumph on a frugal budget, the strengths of the jugaad philosophy seem vindicated. But had the Mars Orbiter Mission story ended differently, in failure, as have 30 out of the 51 attempts the world has made to reach Mars, the talk in India today would be far different from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hailing of the mission as “a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation.” There would be questioning of whether the national genius for low-cost improvised innovation and ingenious workaround solutions —jugaad—is indeed the key to a successful future. n Karine Schomer, Ph.D., is President of Change Management Consulting and Training (CMCT) and leads The CMCT India Practice. She is a South Asia expert and advisor to project teams that work with India. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Schomer@indiapractice.com

A Moment in Time

By P. Mahadevan

A British Broadcasting Corporation Image

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ver the past decade India’s Space Research Organization (ISRO) has made very steady progress in space activity with the development of rocket engines, launch capability for multi-stage satellites, geosynchronous vehicle launch, polar satellite launch, mission planning and execution and more under the leadership of G. Madhavan Nair (2003-09) and his successor, K. Radhakrishnan as chairmen (2009-)., ISRO has now scored the first interplanetary success with the Mangalyaan in orbit around Mars as of Sept. 24, 14.

It is purely coincidental that these two technical leaders hail from the same state of India, Kerala, and graduated from the same College of Engineering at Thiruvananthapuram. The Mars mission has provided a tremendous boost to the organization’s confidence index and to the morale of the Indian nation. It so happened that on Sept. 21, 2014, just three days prior to Mangalyaan going into orbit, A NASA probe MAVEN also arrived in orbit around Mars. This is the tenth NASA probe for Mars.

Mangalyaan is India’s first Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Its objectives are limited by its relatively light, 15kg (~33 lbs), payload. After the maneuver into Mars orbit, its assignments include: scan photographically the Martian landscape, study morphology and mineralogy of the surface over the life of the craft, and monitor the atmosphere of Mars, particularly, its methane content. The presence of methane is an indicator of life

of some sort before. The 15 kg payload will not permit much more than these functions and maintenance of life support functions for the craft. The spacecraft has an estimated life span one year. NASA and ISRO are already working to establish a joint Mars working group.

The project was accomplished on a shoe string budget of $74 million over three years.

The production of some block buster movies such as Gravity, recently, cost more. ISRO succeeded in reaching Mars orbit in its first try. Others including the United States, Russia, China and Japan failed to score on their first attempts.

The system was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center site at Sriharikota on Nov. 5, 2013. The craft’s trajectory to reach its destination prior to insertion into Mars orbit required a few sling shot moves, swinging around the earth several times to gain speed in earth’s gravity field. The insertion of Mangalyaan in the vicinity of Mars is a crucial maneuver with the liquid propellant engine and eight auxiliary mini rockets.

To provide a crude analogy to this operation: consider the two freeways, interstate 5 and freeway 91 that approach each other, in the city of Fullerton, California. They merge into each other and run as one for about 150 yards and then separate out again. To transition from one to the other, the motorist has to be alert, slow down, and change lanes towards his destination Thousands of motorist do this right every hour, but some

fail. I avoid it. But this is not catastrophic, an extra mile of detour will put you back on your intended route. Try to scale up the transition time to 24 minutes, add a third dimension to the operating space, the distance to several thousand kilometers and forget the detour possibility. We have then the complications with the spacecraft. For the command and control center in Bangalore, therefore, failure is not an option.

In an op-ed piece in the Financial Times Gurcharan Das asserted that the $74m Mars mission benefits India every bit as much as a clean water project. Virulent critics were there in 1962 when President Kennedy challenged the country to land a man on the moon and bring him back safe. The untold benefits to America are well known. India stands to gain in similar proportion from the morale boost, advance in science education, development of satellite industries to support launch operations, launch and planning services and so much more. Generations will get inspired when heroic achievements are accomplished.

Now, from the sublime to the remarkable.

On September 21st, just three days prior to orbit insertion of Mangalyaan, David Mitchell, the program director for the NASA MAVEN program proclaimed: “Oh, what a night! You get one shot with Mars insertion; MAVEN nailed it!” It was exciting for NASA for the tenth time as well.

The team of scientists and engineers at the command center, Bangalore also were excited and ready for that one shot. They did it in perfect copy book fashion.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) snapped the mood of the team, probably a minute after the “nailing.” The snapshot went viral on the internet. It was a moment in time for the history books.

Here is a congratulatory cheer to our pioneers. n P. Mahadevan is a retired scientist with a Ph.D. in Atomic Physics from the University of London, England. His professional work includes basic and applied research and program management for the Dept. of Defense. He taught Physics at the Univ. of Kerala, at Thiruvananthapuram.

He does very little now, very slowly.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 19

20 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

perspective

And Then They Left The deep void after parents visit and leave

By Veenu Puri-Vermani

A

nd then they left and I don’t know when I will see them again. I imagine that one day, the little boy that I cuddle and hold and pamper and fuss over will grow up and not need me anymore.

The feeling is scary. That is how they must feel about me, their youngest. I was pampered and fussed over. And now I am a mom, managing my work, my home, my kids and their tiring schedules and so much more.

They live in India and I live miles away in California. They are 74 and 70 and getting older each time I see them.

As I leave every morning for work, they stand in the front courtyard, their eyes trailing my car till they can’t see me anymore. As I get home, I often see my mother strolling in my backyard tending to my plants and making sure that the birds have food to eat.

She smiles and her eyes light up as she sees me. Their discussions on Indian politics bring back fond memories of growing up in a home that fostered curiosity, imagination and healthy discussions.

They spill food in the kitchen and the floor is oily and gummy. When my mom makes chappatis, the dry dough is all over my granite and stainless steel cook top.

Their cooking makes the house stuffy and the furnace greasy and dirty. When they fill a cup of water, it spills onto the floor and then when they walk on the floor, it smears the floors. There are food finger prints all over the knobs. In spite of my telling them, they don’t use containers with lids to store food.

There are several small steel bowls with small steel plates for lids in the refrigerator. But this list just doesn’t really matter, does it?

What is important is that they make an effort. They are retired professors from Delhi University with doctorates in political science, are financially independent, medically covered and can hire and afford any help in India. Here, in California, I see my parents making a lot of effort trying to assimilate into our lifestyle.

My father, my most favorite chef, is always ready to adapt to new ways. He takes to the kitchen, cooking vegetables that have

A Creative Commons Image me licking my fingers and goat meat that has me raving. Never mind, the extra oil, the salt and the spices because that is what makes it all yummy. He cooks, he cleans and loads the dishwasher. He uses a damp cloth to clean the granite and the cooktop.

Never mind that it leaves stains behind that I need to wipe up. He beams proudly as I come back home every weekday evening and says, “Look how I cleaned up after your mom made the chapatis!” I smile at him and wink. As we sit to eat, you cannot miss those expectant eyes waiting to hear how he did. Most days, he gets compliments galore from us.

My mother, a hardcore homeopathic fan and an ardent admirer of yoga, is constantly worried that her daughter is overly stressed in this western world and needs to slow down and take deep breaths. She asks every friend of mine that she meets, if they know of a good homeopath in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas. I get abundant advice on how I should stay calm, drink water, milk with turmeric and flax seeds, food with less oil (preferably not cooked by my dad), lemon juice, four glasses of water early in the morning, basil or tulsi in my chai. She asks me to give her 10 minutes in a day so that she can teach me yoga, teach me meditation to help me sleep well, show me exercises that will help me stay healthy. But in 10 minutes we don’t even get started as she excitedly talks about how the yoga postures or asanas will help me. I remind her to make it quick.

She shows warmth, concern and sympathy and my oldest child knows exactly how to extract it. He hovers around her, complaining of how tired he is and how his knee hurts after a long game of tennis and how sad he is that he lost the game. Nani, as my children call their grandmother, comes around with the tiny magical white sugary pills to help him recover from his ailment, pains, sadness, tiredness, stomach upset and ... She has stories for me in the evening of how she managed to get my younger, more American son, to eat Indian food and like it and even managed to get him to drink the haldi (turmeric) milk.

My father is notorious for being a sweet stealer. The children have funny stories of cookies going missing. They argue endlessly about how their grandfather stole from a place where they thought he couldn’t reach.

My father vehemently denies and then confesses to having eaten a small portion.

On the day that they are leaving, I see my father bent over the sink, cleaning it vigorously, in the bathroom that he has been using for the last two months. I see his entirely grey head and drooping shoulders, and I cannot stop the tears from rolling down my eyes, wondering when I will be able to see them next.

In spite of having help in India, and being intellectually inclined, they came to my house and didn’t hesitate to cook, clean and give comfort to their daughter and her family and ensure that they did as everyone else does in this part of the world. I suspect that they like it here with their family. But India still pulls them back to their circle of friends, and their independence and mobility.

My father looks sideways at me and beams proudly, “See how well I cleaned the sink? Eh? Even you can’t do it that well!” and he smiles. I nod my head smiling and crying at the same time!

And then they left and I don’t know when I will see them again. n Veenu Puri-Vermani is an analytics professional from San Diego, CA who also loves to write.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 21

The Secret Annex

opinion

Keeping a diary gives an insight into our personalities

By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty

M

y grandmother’s diary was so not like Bridget Jones’.

When my grandfather died, leaving her a widow at the age of 37, she began writing.

A small, slender, self-effacing woman, her life centered around her children and her grandchildren. By then, I— her first grandchild—had already been born and when my sister came along a couple of years later, the event was duly recorded in her diary.

Her writing was not about analyzing her inner angst but was outward focused, on us and on the daily occurrences at home. She did not wallow in her pain or anxieties; there was too much to do. Much later, when she travelled to Canada, the United States, and Brazil to visit her now grown children, she wrote also of her travels and the fascinating things she saw. When she visited New York City, she stayed with a relative. “I loved showing her around,” he said.

“She was interested in everything she saw and later that evening when she wrote in her diary, she would ask me questions to get the details right.”

People write diaries for different reasons.

The fundamental one is that it makes the writer feel good. Its therapeutic benefits have even been scientifically proven. A study done at UCLA by psychologist Mathew Lieberman showed that writing a diary is emotionally calming and furthermore, writing by hand has more effect than typing it out.

Writing a diary can also be used to vent feelings that are not sharable with others—at least not at that point in time. Later, it can knowingly or unknowingly inform others about an individual, event, or time. Anne Frank’s is a famous example. What began as an ordinary and secretive personal diary of a young girl has now come to represent a poignant story of Jewish persecution during the Nazi era that is read world-wide.

And over time, the reasons themselves can evolve. My father-in-law has been writing a diary for years. Initially it was to nostalgically reminisce about the past. Now, at the 22 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

A Creative Commons Image age of 85 and with his memory fading, it is to remind himself of the past and of himself.

If he can’t remember what he did yesterday, he looks in his diary.

Today, with the Internet, what used to be a largely private pursuit has become a public activity. Searching under “writing a diary” brings up 158 million results. An About.com webpage tells you why you should write a diary. WikiHow explains how to write a diary. YouTube offers an animated film on the topic. Answers.yahoo.com debates whether writing a diary is good or bad. Wikipedia differentiates between a diary (written daily) and a journal (does not have to be regular).

Yesterday’s diary may be today’s blog, and yet the two are very different. A diary is personal, secretive, and a unique window to our real selves—one we do not usually show the world.

As Amadeu do Prado wrote in his journal in the film Night Train to Lisbon, “The way I looked and appeared … I had never been that way for a single minute of my life.” As Otto Frank said after reading his daughter’s diary, “It was quite a different Anna I had known as my daughter.” On the other hand, a blog is a shoutout to the world and presents the image we wish others to have of us. Even today, Anne Frank would have written a diary, whereas Bridget Jones—like Carrie Bradshaw of Sex in the City—would definitely have gone for a blog.

When my daughter was born, I began writing a diary for her, full of details of

her early years that she would not remember herself but may hopefully enjoy knowing about when she’s older: where we lived, what we did, and most importantly what she did. It may give her an insight into her own personality and, if she has children of her own, into theirs.

It may show her how much she has changed. And when she’s much older or going through a difficult time in her life, she can read through it and know how immensely loved she was.

During the last few years, now that she’s old enough to have and make her own memories, it has become more of a journal where I write down my thoughts on her birthdays.

I’d like to give it to her in person, when she turns 18, just before she goes away to college. Only thing is, I wonder if it will get lost among the piles of other books she always has lying around her.

I also began such a diary for my son, but he died before he was four years old of an inoperable brain tumor. I doubt he needs a diary anymore to inform or remind him; I feel he already knows its contents and much more besides. Even so, I hope to one day give him his diary, in person too, along with a big hug.

My grandmother did not write for an audience; she wrote for herself. Or perhaps she wrote for my grandfather. For her, writing a diary was not a temporary activity to pass the time or tide over a bad patch. It was a part of her quotidian life. Towards the end, she would fill up the remainder of a page with the words “Narayana, Narayana, Narayana, …,” her call to God. She wrote in her diary every day until she went into the hospital, where she died soon thereafter.

My grandmother wrote in the Tamil words she spoke at home, but using the Malayalam script she had learnt at school. I can’t read Malayalam so her words are still a mystery to me—and maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be, with a diary. n Ranjani Iyer Mohanty is a writer and editor, based in New Delhi.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 23

Sri, Sakti, Sarde, Kalaniketan Vijaya Bhanu School of Dance presents

dashavatar

(The Ten Incarnations of Vishnu) A Bharata Natyam / Kathak Dance Drama performed by The Talented Students of Sri Sakti Sarade

November 29, 2014

5:00 pm

(Please Be Seated By 3:30 pm)

Venue: Bellflower Civic Center

Special Appearance by VIJAYA BHANU Singing Bhajan, Film & Punjabi Songs

16600 Civic Center Dr., Bellflower, CA 90706

Tickets: VIP $35, $25, $10 & $5 Students and group discount available Donations are highly appreciated

www.VijayaBhanu.net | VijayaBhanuAcademy@yahoo.com | (562) 746-1945 • (562) 402-1051 24 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 25

ask a lawyer

The Upside of Mediation

By Madan Ahluwalia

Q A

How can mediation help in legal situations?

Mediation is a process where parties use a neutral third-party they trust to help them reach a settlement on some or all legal issues. A mediator does not necessarily have to be an attorney, however knowledge and experience in the subject matter is necessary.

According to more recent U.S. Census Bureau divorce statistics, about 2.5 million people get divorced each year. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), nearly 75 percent of all child custody awards are made to the mother. Only about 10 percent of child custody awards are made to fathers. Naturally, the stakes in custody matters are extremely high.

This is how mediation can help: i) Mediation offers people an opportunity to be heard. The mediator actually talks to parties at length to understand the underlying concerns a party might have in taking a legal or factual position and then help them reach an agreement.

ii) Mediation can save money. Legal costs, specifically attorney fees, are high. Attorneys typically charge $250-$500 an hour for divorce cases. Child custody disputes consume a bulk of the time in a divorce case because of the high stakes and emotional commitment.

Using mediation bypasses the time spent in court (mostly waiting in the hallway) and saves the involved parties tons of money in legal fees. iii) Mediation can facilitiate faster resolutions. Going to court by filing a motion and requesting a hearing takes time. The current court system is slow because of lack of funds and a typical hearing is scheduled about two months out. Hearings are also re-scheduled because of the judge’s tight and busy calendar. Hiring your own mediator will allow you to get to a solution quickly. iv) Mediation can give you some control over the situation. Who would you rather have to decide your future? A guy in a black robe (aka judge) who has assigned 20 minutes to your case and has a busy schedule and perhaps has not completely read your file. Or a mediator who listens to you well and then

gives you options to customize your own solution. I would chose the second option. v) Mediation can help make an informed decision. You can go into mediation after getting all the necessary legal advice or subjectmatter advise (tax, accounting, property appraisal, financial planning). Final agreements are made by you, not your lawyer, judge or expert, based on sound advice. vi) Mediation can give you satisfaction.

How would you like to feel satisfied instead of feeling “I have not been heard.” In a survey, most people gave mediation 8.2 out of 10 and 90% of people indicated that they would refer friends to mediation for developing parenting plans needed in child custody disputes.

Think out of the box and give mediation a serious try and save yourself time money and effort. n Madan Ahluwalia, Attorney, practices Family Law in San Jose, CA. He is also a Mediator.

He has successfully helped lots of people settle cases through mediation. He can be reached at 408-416-3149

RAMESH RAMAN

26 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

legal visa dates Important Note: U.S. travelers seeking visas to India will now need to obtain them through Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Call 1-866-978-0055, email enquiriesusa@ckgs.com or visit www.in.ckgs.us for more information.

November 2014

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 November 2014.

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

FAMILY PREFERENCE VISA DATES Preference Dates for India 1st Jun 08, 2007 2A Mar 01, 2013 2B Jan 01, 2008 3rd Dec 08, 2003 4th Feb 08, 2002 NOTE: F2A numbers subject to percountry limit are available to applicants with priority dates beginning September 22, 2012 and earlier than March 01, 2013.

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finance

Ushering India into the Future A look at Modi’s economic vision

By Rahul Varshneya

N

arendra Modi was elected the Prime Minister of India in May 2014.

Since being elected to the Prime Minister’s chair, Modi has become extremely popular in the international community garnering multiple meetings with the United States, Japan, China and others. The international community is very optimistic about Modi’s platform of private sector and economic reform as well as increased transparency into the India’s operations.

Foreign Direct Investment

During the campaign trail one of his campaign promises had been increased foreign direct investment (FDI). Since his inauguration Prime Minister Modi has met with the entire P5 (permanent members of the United Nations Security Council) of China, Russia, France, Great Britain and the United States. His willingness to meet and work with international leaders gives confidence to his ability to support investment in the Indian economy. He has also adopted a policy of “para-diplomacy” where he encourages city and states in India to foster economic and trade relationships with other parts of the world. This program has been quite successful with Mumbai partnering with Beijing, China and Varanasi connecting with Kyoto, Japan. Finally Prime Minister Modi has increased the foreign investment caps in insurance and defense from 22% to 49%.

With India’s defense expenditure increasing to around $38 billion, experts believe it will rival that of China and the United States in the next 30 years.

Bureaucracy and Infrastructure

Increasing international participation in India’s economy is not enough to propel it to new heights—Modi is also addressing the internal bureaucratic and infrastructure issues that stifle the country. According to analysts, the Indian government has experienced significant issues in investments, public projects and job creation due to arbitrary decisionmaking and complicated approval processes.

Prime Minister Modi’s “Red Carpet, not Red Tape” program seeks to eliminate that.

He first implemented this program in Gujurat—making it an attractive place to invest through investment openness and accelerated approvals. At the national level, Modi

28 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

plans to leverage his popularity in the private sector to encourage them to be involved in public welfare sector. In the infrastructure space Prime Minister Modi has promised a reformed railway system. The railway system has been long overdue for India. The current railway system functions very poorly. Every year, many deaths occur due to unsafe riding conditions, crossing tracks or exposure to high voltage wires. Businesses are hard pressed to predict when or in what condition their goods will arrive by train due to delays and theft. The main reason for this is the limited funds being allocated to maintenance and development of the rails—India spends $10 billion a year in contrast to China that spends $90 billion. Modi is drawing his inspiration from Japan by wanting to build a bullet train network. With a better railway, Indians can travel more effectively and efficiently around the country leading to greater productivity while goods will be transported more efficiently leading to increased revenue.

Regulatory and Transparency

Modi is also pursuing regulatory issues that plague India through changes in tax reform, eradicating the practice of black money, and increasing India’s transparency in general. A large part of the hesitation that international firms express is the confusing tax code. Modi promised throughout his campaign that he would reform and enact a simpler business and personal tax regime that will brings jobs to India. Black money is a leak in the system that weakens the country and reduces the amount of money being spent in the country. Modi had promised in his first 100 days to bring back all the black money being hidden by passing legislation and developing agreements with other countries. He has further promised to set up special tribunals to prosecute those who engaged in these practices. His desire to clean up India’s reputation combined with his top down transparency has improved the business outlook for India. Modi’s response to the coal price fixing scandal from earlier this year was to have it regulated online so the prices would be visible to everyone.

Make in India

Finally, Prime Minister Modi has recently implemented the “Make in India” initiative

to bring back manufacturing jobs to India, and seeks to harness the energy of unemployed youths aged between 16-35 years.

The “Make in India” Program emulates similar movements in Japan and China to create an export-oriented economy in 25 sectors such as Biotechnology and Information services. Through the program, businesses will have an easier time navigating complicated labor laws, reducing time on project approvals and will be able to create more manufacturing jobs. “Make in India” attempts to reduce the rampant unemployment in the younger age group and transitions India from a service-based economy to a manufacturing based one. Through this program India will see increased focus on manufacturing as international and local business will find it easier to implement their manufacturing operations.

The Future?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked hard to adopt his new image of corporate style reformer of the struggling business that is India. His ambitious new plans have struck a cord with the international community making him very popular.

Modi’s no nonsense approach instills confidence in India’s ability to support business and investment. More importantly than actual legislation is Modi’s attack on India’s poor reputation—the biggest issue it faces.

Stereotypes are India’s biggest barrier to joining the ranks of the United States, China, France and Germany. Treating India like a business is perhaps what is needed to make it great again. n

This article is the opinion of the author and is not shared by India Currents or any of its staff.

All investors should conduct their independent analysis before taking any actions and should not make any decisions on the information provided in this article alone.

Rahul Varshneya graduated from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University with a degree in finance and is working in the technology industry as a financial analyst. If you have feedback or have a topic you would like addressed please contact Rahul at rahul89@ gmail.com.

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youth

Films, Femme Fatales and Feminism

By Radhika Munshani

F

rom my limited access to my parents’ motherland, Bollywood has largely colored my perceptions of life in India.

I am aware that the exaggerated actions and dialogues that take place during these films are far from realistic in a majority of cases.

Still, it is natural to believe that these films portray some level of reality, however small, and also have an impact on their vast audience, whether it is conscious or not.

Studies, like those published in Michelle Larkin’s book Music Sells Sex to Teenagers, have proved this multiple times, whether the targeted area be movies, music, or other art forms. In the case of these films, something is absorbed from viewing, be it negative or positive. Throughout my many viewings of Hindi movies, I spotted a recurring theme of anti-feminist stereotypes. This can possibly carry over into reality, and have unfavorable repercussions.

Item Numbers

Katrina Kaif

Bollywood, India’s booming Hindi film industry, has been known to exploit women.

Female lead characters that embody the strong, intelligent, versatile and every-day woman of today are few given the volume of films that Bollywood churns out. In Malaika Arora, Katrina Kaif and Malika Sherawat many of the movies produced, there is the dumbed-down heroine being rescued by her masculine hero, and worse, stars in an (in) famous “item” song. In these musical numbers, women are portrayed as no more than sexual objects, throwing their scantily-clad frames around a stage for the man’s pleasure.

From interviews with my peers, I collated some examples that were offered up.

One was the song “Munni Badnaam Hui” from the movie Dabbang(2010). In this, Malaika Arora Khan cavorts with village men and the local thanedaar (prison guard) in the super-hit song of the summer. Later that year, Katrina Kaif stars as Sheila in “Sheila Ki Jawani” from Tees Maar Khan, which turns out to be her major breakthrough into the industry. Kaif later becomes the poster girl for item songs. Her repertoire includes “Chikni Chameli” in Agneepath, “Mashallah” in Ek Tha Tiger, and “Kamli” in Dhoom 3, among others. Popular Bollywood actresses have Priyanka Chopra appeared in at least one item number, including, Aishwarya Rai in “Ishq Kameena” from 30 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Shakti, Priyanka Chopra in “Ram Chahe Leela” from Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, and Kareena Kapoor in “Chammak Challo” from Ra.One. Bollywood has turned to sexualizing women in order to gain viewership. No doubt the songs themselves, the sets and locales are lavish and appealing. However, the attire, and specifically the dance moves featured in some songs can tarnish an otherwise catchy tune. Personally, I find some of the actions in these songs cringe-worthy.

Item numbers showcase a paradoxical double standard in India. On one hand, woman deities and mother figures are openly honored. And, still, these “cheap thrill” songs have a large audience who clearly see no hypocrisy.

The Gender Gap

I consider Bollywood partially to blame for the sexism prevalent in India. No one can doubt its massive, all-pervasive influence. The movie industry has yet to embrace feminism, so the audiences of India have followed suit. For instance, women make up roughly 50% (48.5% to be exact) of the Indian population (State-wise Population

by Residence and Sex in India (as per 2011 Census)). Yet, women make up a measly 3% of all legislative, management, and senior official positions (The India Gender Gap Review 2011). In 2010, a study conducted by Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Ruth Sealy, and Susan Vinnicombe for Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India, found that women held 2.5% of total executive directorship positions, at a jarring 8 out of 323 (Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India).

Women are greatly outnumbered in Indian government as well. They held just 11.4% and 11.9% of the seats in lower and upper parliament, respectively (Inter-Parliamentary Union, “Women in National Parliaments,” (April 2014). Even wage differences for the genders are dramatic: women earn 62% of their male counterparts for the same work (The Global Gender Gap Report 2013).

India has the means to take action to close these jarring gaps. With a growing respect for the female race, all playing fields will begin to equalize.

Harmful Stereotypes

In India, even as debates on morals and respect are on the rise, the Bollywood industry continues to churn out money-generating titillating numbers. It is a fact that some of the young actresses are naïve, desperate for a break in the competitive film industry and open to exploitation, but it is also true that some of the leading actresses have attended college, and hail from urban backgrounds.

Priyanka Chopra, for one, grew up and went to school in the United States. Preity Zinta is one of the few Indian actresses to graduate with a Masters degree.

I realize that its not about education inasmuch as the courage and strength to stand up for our rights and refuse to allow exploitation. Nonetheless, I feel frustrated at the idea that the knowledge that these Bollywood actresses are role-models to a generation of girls does not seem to have much impact on them. Young girls in India lack positive women in leadership roles. The statistics are very much against them. Bollywood actresses are better known than female engineers, politicians, and lawyers. Only time will tell when changes in the industry will likewise trigger changes in society’s outlook and behavior.

When you read about women exploitation and the indifference shown by male

society, including the insensitive comments by male politicians, one cannot help but wonder if harmful Bollywood stereotypes are partially responsible.

Bollywood is a private enterprise which requires substantial capital. It is natural for movie makers to minimize their risk on investment knowing that adding “item numbers” increase their chance of returns on investment. This is not an easy problem to address. It would be interesting to see if the portrayal of women in the “item number” category has added to the increase in number of crimes against women. If this can be proved then Bollywood should have the courage to self correct this path.

The point is not to villainize Bollywood.

Women all over the world are sexualized, and cast as eye-candy in films. However, item numbers are different in several unsettling ways. Films brand “item girls,” feature teasing that could qualify as sexual harassment, and directors refuse to take any responsibility.

Change

There is reason to hope for change and revolution. Recently, Bollywood seems to be on a pro-women kick, with box office hits like Queen, and a few years earlier, Nobody Killed Jessica. Both boast themes of women empowerment. In Queen, Kangana Ranaut

plays a small-town girl who breaks it off with her fiancé after exploring parts of Europe on her own and realizing her self-worth through her own Eat, Pray, Love–esque adventure.

Likewise, in Nobody Killed Jessica, several women band together to bring a young girl’s killer to justice. Both were met with positive critical acclaim. It showed the need for India to portray real woman leads. Audiences have responded to the girl-next-door positively.

Male actors too have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in the industry.

Bollywood royalty like Aamir Khan have begun to make changes; he started a talk show Satyamev Jayate in 2012 that focuses on social inequalities and reform. He has targeted violent crimes against women and their lack of worth several times, and audiences have responded encouragingly.

Other socially-conscious filmmakers are also starting to gain attention for their work, a clear sign of progress in the stubborn industry.

Let’s hope these aren’t passing fads, but rather evidence of a changing nation, slowly but surely catching up to their first world counterparts. n Radhika Munshani is a sophomore at Irvington High School in Fremont. She interned at India Currents over the summer.

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32 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

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films

Kashmir Winter Discontent

By Aniruddh Chawda

HAIDER. Director: Vishal Bhardwaj. Players: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Shraddha Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Music: Vishal Bhardwaj. Hindi w/ Eng. Sub-titles. Theatrical release (UTV). hardwaj has a preoccupation—some would say obsession—for translating Shakespeare’s tragedies onto a broad Indian canvas and to date, doing so very successfully. First with Maqbool (2003), based on Macbeth, and then with Omkara (2006) based on Othello, Bhardwaj established himself as a premier modern Indian filmmaker who achieved classic story re-telling prowess.

With Haider, a re-envisioning of Hamlet, Bhardwaj once again comes up roses by absolutely nailing the alignment between ageold soul searching and modern sensibilities in an Indian milieu.

Central to this plot, as it has been for

Meer (Menon) has a hand behind the doctor’s disappearance. Against the backdrop of an Islamist insurgency brewing locally, Haider goes about retracing the truth behind his father’s disappearance.

While Pankaj Kumar’s strikingly lush cinematography using starkly beautiful mountain vistas to add layers of shadows outdoors as well as to a key graveyard scene, it is ultimately some amazing characterization that makes it all come together. Shahid Kapoor nicely underplays Haider’s would-be princeling and is able to command focus on his plight as the story’s primary motivator.

Tabu’s Ghazala is the embodiment of uncertainty at the choices she has made in life and now must fess up to.

As the villainous uncle, Menon’s Khurram Meer is a wily opportunist able to shift allegiance at a moment’s notice. And what about Khan’s strange and shadowy

centuries, is Haider Meer (Kapoor), a college kid who returns to his family home in Kashmir many years after Haider father (Narendra Jha), a doctor, mysteriously disappears while on duty. In addition to Ghazala Meer (Tabu), Haider’s devoted mother, he is also welcomed back by Arshia (Shraddha Kapoor, no relation), the daughter of head of the local constabulary. Haider suspects, and can’t prove yet, that Haider’s uncle Khurram

Roohdaar? Is he a former cellmate of Haider’s father, a principled insurgent turncoat or a criminal benefactor? Strangely, it is his mere shadowy presence that helps solve some key riddles.

To Bhardwaj’s credit, his script makes no attempt to water down the oedipal drama at the heart of the story. Haider is, as Hamlet was, a love triangle that has for its vertices Haider, his mother, and the uncle both the

B

34 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

son and mother either suspect or know had a hand in the disappearance of Haider’s father. From this perspective, Haider’s angst is fueled more by losing a potential lover —his mother—than by a search for avenging a grievance against an uncle. In a cleverly staged scene where Haider confronts his fate, the director cunningly exploits both the revenge and the love-triangle motifs, simultaneously solving everything and yet nothing. The debate between the dramatists and psychoanalysts will rage on, no doubt.

Bhardwaj’s score, with a hand from Vishal Dadlani and lyricist Gulzar, is a sensory feast in itself and a knockout musical soundtrack. Gulzar’s lyrics reinforce an unsettled landscape where bloodletting could start anytime. Vishal Dadlani’s “Aao Na” reignites the undying embers of vengeance, while Sukhwinder Sing’s uptempo “Bismil” foreshadows the death of a songbird that strays too far from home. The most bittersweet tune, one that thematically sums up the script, is Bhardwaj’s rendition of “Jhelum,” outwardly a somber quest for the famed river’s coast, is allegorically about dead bodies buried on the shore. The tides in the river turn salty from the tears cried on its banks. Very good stuff!

Finally, Bhardwaj also wins points for using the Bard’s framework against richly (and oft sadly) pervasive vignettes from India’s unique national experience. While Maqbool tapped into the Mumbai underworld and Omkara toured rural official corruption, Haider reaches for the Islamist insurgency in Kashmir. Other contemporary Hindi filmmakers have also found success in adapting Shakespearean tragedies. Mansoor Khan’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela (2011) both succeeded at loosely re-spinning Romeo and Juliet. As a thematic discipline, however, they were not able to match Bhardwaj’s powerful story-telling and artistic prowess. Here’s hoping that Bhardwaj will continue to return to the well that for him at least, keeps on giving. n EQ : A

Mojo Rising

BANG BANG. Director: Siddharth Anand.

Players: Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Danny Denzongpa, Javed Jaffrey, Jimmy Shergill, Dipti Nawal. Music: Vishal-Shekhar. Hindi w/ Eng. Sub-titles. Theatrical release (Fox Star).

A

fter the successful Roshan-Kaif pairing in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, it was only a matter of time before another big budget vehicle roped them together again. Floated on an incredibly huge budget—the actual figure being somewhat persnickety to pinpoint—the roulette wheel stopped at Bang Bang, an international action-adventure Roshan-Kaif joyride that explodes from almost the get-go. Even though the script stretches credibility more than once, this mindless high-seas and high desert romp works because the overall gig is somewhat plausible and the cast appears to be having genuine tongue-in-cheek fun.

For Fox Star studio, getting rights to formally remake the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz 2011 thriller Knight and Day was not nearly as difficult as skewing the story in an Indian direction to give it sub-continental flavor. Not to worry—this all turns out so-very-Indian! Rajveer Nanda, a dastardly international jewel thief wanted for siphoning off with none other than the famed Kohinoor diamond from its Tower of London keep, ends up in Shimla (see, Indian flavor already!) where he has an unanticipated encounter with Harleen Sahni (Kaif), the virginal bank teller who is very Indian-shy and yet very not afraid to show off her leggy physique.

Before the stolen gem can be recovered, Rajveer and Harleen are on the run from both Interpol and from criminals unleashed by underworld mastermind Omar Zafar (Denzongpa), who wants the Kohinoor at any cost. Playing off one side against the other on a backdrop of the afore-mentioned high speed chases, our winsome twosome find themselves running out of hideaways as the chase takes them from North India to Europe to Australia. Director Anand, whose usual forte is rom-coms (Anjaana Anjaani, Salaam Namaste, Bachna Ae Haseeno), to his credit here manages to keep the romantic aspect of the runaway bank-teller jaunt sufficiently grounded to give the plot a watered down third-dimension.

In a nod to ever-improving delivery of visual effects in Hindi movies, the action sequences are highly fluid. There are no

telltale jumper-cables following Roshan as he defies gravity and appears to stroll up the walls of Zafar’s desert oasis lair. A high-seas chase with Roshan taking dolphin-like leaps in and out of water while being chased by Zafar’s henchmen who are on jet skis is a thrilling testimonial to how much, um, bang can delivered for the big-budget visual gimmicks buck.

There are also other connections and noteworthy names who help make the story gel. Nawal as Rajveer’s mother, Shergill as Rajveer’s brother and Jafrey as a clumsy underworld overlord add texture to the casting. Vishal-Shekhar’s music score does well with both the title track and the “Maherban Maherban” tracks.

Since Hindi film actors still serve as pinup fodder for millions of fans—in oh-thethings-I-do-for-India moves—Roshan goes shirtless while Kaif bares enough mid-riff epidermic acreage to meet demanding prurient quotas set by the masses. As modern update to the traditional wet-sari-in-a-downpour scene, we also witness Kaif-in-miniskirt lounging on a plus-sized swing against an icy cold Himalayan backdrop. Roshan, after his highly acclaimed turn as Emperor Akbar in Jodhaa-Akbar (2008), may not get into a serious role again until Ashutosh Gowariker’s historical epic Mohenjo Daro unspools in 2016. Along the way, Roshan appears to be merrily lining up both box office hits and his pockets.

A record-seeting 5000+ theaters global release? Check. State of the art special ef-

fectis? Check. A scantily-clad, nubile Kaif?

Check. A scantily-clad, pumped up Roshan?

Check. Huge budget? Box office in the top 10 of all time Hindi film box office grosses?

Biggest box office of any Hindi movie in North American in 2014? Check, check and check. Drat—curtains! Now, quick—sneak out before someone sees you! n EQ : BGlobe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.

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books

Talking Heads

by Jeanne E. Fredriksen THE STORY HOUR by Thrity Umrigar. HarperCollins:New York. 2014. 336 pages. $25.99 Harpercollins.com umrigar. com Available as hard cover book, digital book, audio CD, or Audible book download.

T

elling stories is a method by which we preserve our histories, relate to others on a personal level, and learn from each other. It is also how we divulge secrets and heal our emotional injuries. In The Story Hour, Thrity Umrigar brings together two dissimilar women who, through storytelling, forge an unconventional friendship that is tested more than once.

Dr. Maggie Bose, an African-American psychologist married to Sudhir, “an Indian immigrant who taught at the university,” is assigned to Lakshmi Patil’s case after the young immigrant’s suicide attempt. In Lakshmi, Maggie sees a woman who has everything going against her: a marriage bereft of love, an abusive, controlling husband who calls her “Stupid,” and a world confined to their apartment, restaurant, and grocery store. Even contact with her family in India is prohibited.

Profoundly affected by Lakshmi’s dilemma, Maggie offers pro bono treatment in her home office with the goal of helping Lakshmi gain confidence and a measure of independence. Early in their sessions, Maggie recognizes that the 32-year old woman before her is acutely lonely and more in need of a friend than a therapist. As soon as Lakshmi comes to Maggie’s office, the doctor-patient relationship changes. Lines are crossed. Boundaries crumble. Maggie allows Lakshmi freedoms that are not extended to other patients, and Lakshmi—who doesn’t understand the purpose of the therapy sessions—interprets Maggie’s interest in her as friendship. After all, wasn’t she invited into Maggie’s home?

As their friendship progresses, Lakshmi begins to take control of her own life. With Sudhir’s encouragement, she caters parties, cleans houses, learns to drive, and generates her own income, thus helping her marriage.

36 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

But Lakshmi has a closely-guarded secret that gnaws at her, and when her secret is shared, Maggie is stunned and appalled.

As Lakshmi heals, Maggie begins to lose control of her own life. Her actions put her relationship with Lakshmi and, more importantly, her enviable marriage to Sudhir at risk. She just can’t say no to the lover she vowed never to see again.

Umrigar created an emotional roller coaster in this novel filled with joyful highs and mournful lows, misunderstanding and forgiveness. The dynamics between characters yields tension of varying degrees for so many reasons that they had to have been choreographed carefully to facilitate the smooth transition in which the patient heals and the doctor requires healing. However, Umrigar believes otherwise.

“I guess I (trusted) my instincts on this,” she said. “It seems to me that there are highs

and lows in every individual’s life and if I depicted them in an authentic manner, the balance would take care of itself.”

Lakshmi’s healing begins with Maggie saying to her, “Tell me about your village.

Tell me about where you grew up.”

To Lakshmi, this becomes personal.

Talking about her village, her family, the people, and even the elephant that lived there allows Lakshmi to realize that she is worth more and smarter than she is made to believe. Umrigar herself is a master storyteller, bringing to life characters such as these that experience emotions to which we’re often too afraid to admit.

“I suppose most of us believe that talking to another human being, telling your story and secrets to someone else, is a way of healing,” Umrigar said. “The thing that I learned in writing this book is realizing that talk therapy is ultimately the act of storytelling. And it made me realize the power of storytelling. We all have a meta-narrative about our own lives. In some ways, you could look at therapy as a means to change or rewrite that narrative.

(Once) we tell ourselves and others a different story about ourselves, change and healing become possible.”

Interestingly, there are distinct similarities between The Story Hour and The Space Between Us (India Currents, January 2006).

The main characters in both novels are vastly different from each other yet find things in common that eventually bind them. I asked Umrigar how much of an influence The Space Between Us was on The Story Hour.

“I was not aware of the parallels between Space and The Story Hour until I began editing the first draft,” she revealed. “It was only then that I saw the similarities between the two books. Lakshmi and Maggie, much like Sera and Bhima, have very little in common.

They come from different classes and education backgrounds. In the new book, they are also divided by race and nationality. And yet, instead of focusing on the differences, they realize the things that they have in common and this becomes the basis for a kind of friendship. Much like in Space, it is not a classic friendship between equals. And in this

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book too, that bond that the women share is severely tested and their response to that test determines the course of their lives.”

Aside from parallels in characters, the theme of loneliness is prevalent from cover to cover and not unique to The Story Hour.

Umrigar, in book after book, opens windows to her characters’ souls, allowing the reader to feel and understand the pain and suffering of being lonely. In Lakshmi’s case, it is the most heartbreaking and most primal: “In Lakshmi’s crying,” Umrigar writes of Lakshmi’s opening up to Maggie, “was the sound you’d make if you were the last person left alive on the entire planet.”

To one degree or another, this theme found its way into Umrigar’s six novels as evidenced by Nishta/Zoha in The World We Found (India Currents July 2012) and Tehmina in If Today Be Sweet (India Currents July 2007).

“It’s a good observation even if it’s something I’m not terribly aware of while writing,” Umrigar said. “I suppose because of the subject matter that I am usually drawn to, loneliness is an inevitable subtext. I think many of my books are about human beings struggling and looking for love, hoping to shed the confines of their own skin and build community or make some connection with another.”

Another theme that often appears in Umrigar’s fiction is the challenges facing immigrants. Umrigar knows first-hand the process of coming to a new country and finding one’s place. In that regard, she hopes her readers will “... gain an insight into how heart wrenchingly difficult the act of immigration truly is.”

“I would like them to show some compassion towards immigrants like Lakshmi, who come to this country with poor or little English, little education, little money, very little community support, who live lonely and isolated lives in America. Because there’s so much news about people crossing the border illegally ... people sometimes forget how gigantically difficult it is to voluntarily give up country, family, friends, language, and go to another land.

“Nativeborn Americans don’t appreciate the sheer desperation that makes people do this. If the next time they see a newspaper headline about immigration, legal or illegal, if remembering Lakshmi’s struggle makes them feel a little more kindly towards the immigrant, it would make me happy.” n Jeanne E. Fredriksen lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where she freelances in advertising and public relations. Between assignments, she writes fiction, enjoys wine, and heads to the beach as often as she can.

38 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Love Connection

by Tara Menon

LOVE POTION No 10 by Betsy Woodman.

Henry Holt and Company, 2013. 320 pages.

Hardcover $16.48.

B

etsy Woodman, who spent most of her childhood in India, has created a series revolving around a widow of Scottish descent, Jana Bibi. Her debut, Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes, (India Currents, October 2013) set in 1960, introduced the eponymous character. Hamara Nagar is a fictional hill station that Woodman has imbued with history and considerable charm.

As a tourist destination it is considered to be second-rate; the government considers it dispensable enough to destroy and construct a dam in its location. In the first book, its denizens conspire to save Hamara Nagar and the newcomer Jana does her part by becoming a fortune-teller.

Woodman’s follow-up Love Potion Number 10 is set a year later in 1961. The preoccupations of her sequel are interest and speculation in a suitor for Jana and protect-

ing Mr. Ganguly, her pet bird, from birdnappers. The two themes are slow to build up and are diffused by the parade of characters and incidents that offer plenty of exoticism.

At the beginning of the novel, Jana reminisces about her life and how she acquired her parrot. She was orphaned at a young age and deprived of her adopted country, India, when her grandfather took her to live in Scotland. She married a clergyman she barely knew in order to return to India. Her daughters died of smallpox and twelve years later her husband, too, passed away from the same illness.

In the second chapter, the protagonist suffers a toothache and travels in Mr. Kilometres’s taxi to a dentist in Dehra Dun. After the effect of Dr. Sahni’s painkillers wears off, Jana goes to Abinath’s Apothecary, where the owner gives her a potion named after a song he claims “works equally well with an aching jaw and an aching heart.” Love Potion Number 10 is a wonderful Woodman invention that was inspired by old advertisements for patent medicines in The Illustrated Weekly of India.

After a sleepless night spent perusing Dr. Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, Jana overhears her household chatter about the possibility of her remarrying. Mary, her children’s former ayah, thinks of Kenneth StuartSmith, an American diplomat, as a suitable suitor, but she also considers another missionary as husband for her employer, which leads the protagonist to reminisce about a hilarious but alarming episode involving an unwanted proposal by her husband’s successor. To press his suit, Reverend Fester had said, “I’m not much older than you, and healthy, and my own dear wife has been in her grave for two months. Don’t you believe that it is Divine Providence that has brought us together?”

The reader can assess Stuart-Smith as a potential husband through Jana’s eyes when the couple have dinner together at Victoria Hotel. “Jana had always assumed that divor-

dance ce would show on a person in a negative way, like the sallowness of a liver condition, but here was Kenneth Stuart-Smith, robustly healthy and happy, divorced, and rather glamorous for it. Otherwise, he was the same Kenneth, his thoughtful blue-gray eyes inspiring confidence.” There isn’t any romance in the air though they have something in common: Indian childhoods and one marriage each behind them. Jana talks about her fears for Mr. Ganguly. She was visited by a man who posed as a reporter, took photos, and got information from her about her household. Later she received a letter claiming the parrot was stolen property and that she was to return the parrot to his rightful owner with adequate compensation.

When she learns that Lily, her friend in Bombay, Lily’s husband, and her cousin Max are coming to Hamara Nagar to buy Victoria Hotel, her thoughts turn to Max and the accidental kiss they once shared at a party. “And what should be her first words to him? Condolences on the death of his wife, she supposed, although saying, ‘I’m so sorry’ seemed like rank hypocrisy. ‘I’m so glad’ would hardly do, though.”

After Jana and Max meet, it’s clear the magic between them still exists. Though I cannot help liking the heroine, I felt indifferent about Jana’s potential suitors. What I do feel concerned about is whether Miriam, a quaint Anglo-Indian teacher at Fair Oaks boarding school, will marry her pen pal who lives in Australia. Miriam’s love story is sparingly dealt with, which means, perhaps, that it may not be the number of pages devoted, but rather more deft pen strokes that were necessary to instil that curiosity and connection in the reader.

When an intruder climbs over the wall into the Jolly Grant House’s property, Mary comes up with a scheme to save Mr. Ganguly.

Again, the reader might not get caught up in this plot twist either, though the parrot is another endearing Woodman creation.

Woodman’s love for India results in an array of characters we feel empathy for and an exotic place, Hamara Nagar, we are drawn to. She tastefully takes us back to the early sixties in her novels. For diversion from this busy and violent world, dips rather than immersion into Love Potion Number 10 will work well, just as a reader may prefer to read a collection of short stories in fits and starts rather than devour the tales in a single sitting. n Tara Menon is a freelance writer based in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her fiction, poetry, and book reviews have been published in many magazines.

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recipes

Cooking with Quinoa

By Nirmala Garimella

Q

uinoa, the magic grain is a must for many households focused on healthy eating. What was a relative-

ly unknown grain just a decade or so ago, is now in such demand that farmers in South America are unable to sell locally because the crop is exported and the prices have soared.

Although the history of quinoa is deeply rooted in South America, it crossed the Atlantic in the early 21st century according to the United Nations. The Food and Agri-

Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties

cultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially declared that the year 2013 be recognized as “The International Year of the Quinoa.” Described as a food with “high nutritive value,” it is considered an excellent source of protein, containing all essential amino acids, and phosphorus, copper, magnesium, dietary fiber, folate, and zinc. A cup of cooked quinoa has less than 250 calories with a low glycemic index.

The word “quinoa” is pronounced “KEEN-wah.” It comes from the Spanish

word, quinua, which itself comes from the word “kinwa” or “kinua” in the Quechua dialect.

My experiments with quinoa started a few years ago when I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy. Looking to adapt to new grains for my staple diet, quinoa is now my favorite and here I present several delicious recipes from the Indian repertoire. n

Quinoa Dosa

Quinoa Khichdi

Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties

Quinoa Dosa

Ingredients: 1 sweet potato boiled 1 cup cooked organic quinoa (cook according to instructions of package) ½ tsp flax seeds 1 tbsp chickpea flour ¼ cups cashews or peanuts chopped (optional) 1 medium onion finely chopped 1 green chili finely chopped ½ cup chopped cilantro 1 tbsp chopped ginger ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp red chili powder 3/4 tsp salt or to taste

Ingredients 1 cup organic quinoa 1 cup urad dal ½ cup brown or white rice

Method: In a large bowl, peel and mash the sweet potato. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Shape into patties and pan fry them with a little oil on medium heat until both sides are golden and crisp. Top them with chopped onion and cilantro. Use them creatively as a side dish, on a loaf of bread, over lentils or as ragda patties.

42 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Method Soak the above ingredients for at least eight hours and grind them in a blender smoothly (I use the Ultra Grind blender).

Add salt and leave it overnight. This gives the batter time to ferment and rise to make dosas the next day. Heat an iron pan or griddle, sprinkle water, pour a spoonful of batter and spread it evenly in the shape of a dosa. When it is brown and crispy, remove and serve with peanut or coconut chutney.

Quinoa Khichdi with Vegetables and Masoor Dal Ingredients 1 cup quinoa 1 cup masoor dal (red lentils) ½ tsp turmeric powder ½ cup chopped onions (optional)

Nirmala Garimella writes from Lexington, MA.

½ tsp grated ginger 2 chopped green chillies 1 tsp cumin 2 cardamom pods whole 1 cinnamon stick 1 bay leaf ½ cup chopped green beans ½ cup chopped carrots 2 tbsp fried cashews pieces (optional) 2 tsp salt Ghee or oil Method: Add a teaspoon of ghee or olive oil to a deep bottomed pan. Once it heats, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and chopped onions. Saute till the onions turns translucent, add ginger, green chillies, turmeric, vegetables, quinoa and masoor dal. Toss for about three minutes to immerse the grain and the vegetables with the spices. Add four cups water and salt and simmer on a slow flame till cooked and the water is all absorbed. It should be light and fluffy. Add crushed cashews as garnish to give it a nutty flavor.

Serve with pappad, and tomato chutney.

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commentary

The Cent Percent Solution

By Gayatri Subramaniam

A

few years ago, I took a class with a professor who was known as a tough grader.

A lot of people thought he was too exacting, but I actually valued his feedback since he would write neat and elaborate notes next to anything he thought was good or worth improving. I finished his class with a 97% and felt very good about it. That was until my daughter saw my final paper lying around and said, “What happened to the other 3%?” She was 10 at the time, and I laughed and told my professor later, “Who needs Indian parents? I’ve got a child who asks me the devastating questions!”

My mother is visiting as I write this, and I think about that other 3% a lot when she is around. You see, when I cook around her, I’m never going to get that 3%. Let me start by saying that I was (and in my heart will forever be) a tomboy. I played sports, never grew my hair long or stuck a single flower in it, and tried my hardest to stay out of the kitchen. When I came to the United States at the age of 20, I could make a cup of tea.

Yes, that was my repertoire. Tea. Perhaps served with a biscuit if I could summon up some hospitality. At 20, my mother had been married, had a one-year-old, and could cook well enough to please the in-laws, who believed fondly that “she could almost be from Palghat,” though her family was from Tirunelveli. So you know she must have had the culinary touch, but apparently she failed to pass it on.

This week, I pulled out my Madhur Jaffrey book and decided to follow her recipes to the letter. Well, said my mother, the cauliflower was fine, but the dal “needs to be a little softer.” The other day, it was rice where “the grains could have been a little more sticky” if I had only added more water. I hissed sotto voce to my husband, “Why is Gayatri not confident with her cooking?

Exhibit A: Amma!” He made some soothing noises about how she had told him years ago that his aviyal was fine, but “it just needed a little more salt.” That 3% again.

My mother owns a cookbook or two, but it appears to be beneath her dignity to

44 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

A Creative Commons image

actually follow a recipe through from start to finish. I’ve tried to ask for recipes when I’ve particularly enjoyed something, and her response usually sounds like this: “Oh, it’s nothing, Gayatri. I just took some rice, added some vegetables, a bit of that persimmon and mint chutney I made yesterday, and a few spices … and it all came together.” And I’m supposed to replicate this? Where will I find “yesterday’s persimmon chutney?”

Children of creative culinary geniuses stay out of the kitchen for a reason. I remember when she tried to get me to roll chapathis.

I think I got as far as flattening out the ball of dough, when she said, “Ok, let me do it,” grabbed it back from my hands and whipped out a meal in five minutes flat. At the time, I was glad to flee the kitchen, but I should’ve seen the big picture. It just killed her to see the ineptitude!

She decided to send me instead to the Cultural Academy in Santhome, Chennai one summer, to get some … well, culture, I suppose. Cooking was singularly boring, and I’m pretty sure the sewing teacher hated me.

I suspect they sent me off with a certificate, because, horrors, I might return if they failed me. I never told my mother that the saving grace that summer was my father’s office being round the corner from the Academy, and I dashed over every day for lunch and a chat with him, instead of hanging out with the other home-making prodigies.

Don’t get me wrong. I can make more than tea now. I have amassed a nice collection of cookbooks representing cuisine from every corner of the world. After some complaints

about how I “boiled meat,” I even learned to cook fish and chicken to please my husband’s western palate. But then Amma comes along and I turn into a hopeless and helpless weakling in the kitchen.

And finally, there’s South Indian coffee. I’m just not a fan. My taste buds are fine-tuned to a particular tea from the Nilgiris, which this very same mother served me as a youngster. My husband uses the filter and makes the decoction coffee in this house, and serves it to any visiting Indian (or anyone, really) as proudly as if he had fashioned the contraption himself and as if it was his heritage. I consider it a nice balance in our marriage. I bring the spaetzle and he brings the coffee.

But my mother, who was otherwise quite liberal with my upbringing, decided this summer that I must get a lesson in being a good hostess, and what kind of hostess would I be, if I, a South Indian woman, could not serve coffee? Maybe my friends are being polite, but I have not seen anyone leave my social gatherings with “Gayatri, that’s it. No coffee, no friendship. Goodbye!” I tried pointing out to my mom that if I had said, “I don’t drink alcohol, so I won’t serve beer,” nary a protest would have been heard. Well, logic is not her strong point, so she continued to say, “But, you’re South Indian!” And then she committed the worst crime—she brought her coffee over to where I sat with my wake-meup cup of tea non-pareil, and tried to give me a lesson in coffee making. I will say no more, but invite you readers to picture the best Diwali fireworks you can! Apparently, when my professor holds on to the precious 3% I say, “I learned a lot from his comments,” but when my mother does the same, I slowly inch towards insanity.

By the way, I just graded her. Anyone who sullies my morning tea simply does not get cent percent. 97% perhaps. n Gayatri Subramaniam is a San Jose-based instructional designer and writer. She is an ardent tennis fan who believes that if she had only been taller, stronger, faster, and blessed with more talent, she would’ve been a Grand Slam champion.

relationship diva

Honesty is Not Always the Best Policy

By Jasbina Ahluwalia

Q

On the one hand, I’ve been told I should always be completely honest about everything with a partner. On the other hand, I’ve also heard it may not be wise to tell your partner everything all the time. What do you think?

A

I think that honesty is one of the foundations of a healthy, lasting relationship. That said, sometimes tact and kindness rather than uncensored honesty can nurture a relationship; whereas at other times, it is a loving act to tell it like it is. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind. i) Will being honest make a positive change? If your partner comes home with a terrible haircut or bores you by reciting every detail of a “fascinating” new project at work, think carefully before you blurt out something.

A thoughtful approach doesn’t mean you have to lie (don’t gush about the haircut, or the project), but be careful not to say something that will make your partner feel unval-

ued or attacked. Over time, you’ll hone the fine art of managing these delicate situations. ii) Family matters require tact. Difficulties with your loved ones’ friends or family members can be especially difficult, and honesty is often not the best policy. If you don’t get along with these other important people in your partner’s life, think carefully before saying something hurtful (even if it’s true!).

Again, ask yourself if sharing your negative feelings will improve the situation or only cause pain. If your partner asks you a direct question, respond with tact: “We’re very different,” or “It may take some time to get used to each other.” iii) Managing conflict. If you and your partner are dealing with a conflict, share your true feelings in a way that leaves a door open toward resolution. Honesty is important, but it has to allow room for the other person’s opinion. If your partner is making an effort to resolve the conflict, meet him or her halfway; if you were in their shoes, you would appreciate this kind of empathy.

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It’s also important to restrain yourself from re-entering an argument after it’s finished—even if you can’t stop thinking about it! Sometimes it’s better to distract yourself than to express everything that’s on your mind in the moment. iv) Act in the best interest of the relationship. When it comes to the major life decisions you must make with your partner—like marriage, children, or big financial commitments—any policy besides honesty can be dangerous. Your relationship relies on values you share with each other, and open communication is required to work through differences. Even when addressing a difficult issue that demands your honesty, an empathetic, open-minded approach will take you far. 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.

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SOME OF OUR AVAILABLE PLANTS: BANANA • CHIKU/SAPOTA • FIG • JAKFRUIT • LITCHEE • MANGO • PAPAYA • POMEGRANATE • JAMUN • SHEHTOOT/MULBERRY • SITAPHAL/SHARIFA

Open 7 Days A Week by Same Day Appointment 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Please Call First)

(818) 363-3680

Alex@PapayaTreeNursery.com • www.PapayaTreeNursery.com

INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 27 Years of Excellence

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events NOVEMBER

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! DEC/JAN issue deadline: Thursday, November 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and fill out the Web form

Check us out on

special dates Guru Nanak’s B’day

Nov. 6

Guru Tej Bahadur Day

Nov. 24

Thanksgiving Day

Nov. 27

Christmas Day

Dec. 25

NewYear’s Eve

Dec. 31

CULTURAL CALENDER

November

1 Saturday

Colors of Life—An Art Exhibition.

Oil paintings showcasing variety of moods and expressions along with a collection of Indian folk art like Tanjore, Madhubani and Pathachitra by artist Jaya Hemnani.

Ends Nov. 1. Mary Paxton Gallery, Norwalk Cultural Arts Center, 13200 Clarkdale Ave., Norwalk . www.jayahemnani.com, www.facebook.com/Jaya.FineArt.

2 Sunday College and Education Expo.

November

Understand the college admissions process and get insider knowledge from experts in the field. Speaker: Udisa Chowdhury, rising sophomore at NY University. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

46 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Mitra, a solo bharatanatyam show by Ramaa Bharadvaj, Nov. 3

Sheraton Cerritos Hotel, 12725 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. Free. www.indiawest.com/collegefair.

Sitar Performance by Partha Bose.

Organized by The Music Circle. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Herrick Chapel, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road., Los Angeles. $35 general, $25 members, $5 children/students. www.musiccircle.org.

November

3 Monday

Mitra—Dance Hymn to Friendship.

A solo bharatanatyam dance-story scripted, choreographed and performed by Ramaa Bharadvaj. Weaving multilingual poetry by saint poets of India, it is a dance-celebration of faith, friendship and divinity of life. A

pre-dance performance will be featured by dancers from the California Dance Institute as a fundraiser for its dance in Los Angeles public schools program. 7-8:30 p.m.

California Dance Institute, 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica . $15. (323) 301-8900. ramaabharadvaj@yahoo.com. www.californiadanceinstitute.org/events/.

November

6 Thursday

San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF). This year, SDAFF will premiere more than 140 films from 21 countries, including the closing night film Meet the Patels. SDAFF will be at nine different venues in San Diego, including the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15, UCSD, La Jolla’s Sherwood Auditorium, and the historic

events

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events

La Paloma in Encinitas, in addition to the Festival’s homebase at Ultrastar Mission Valley, where a majority of the films will screen.

Ends Nov. 15. Ultrastar Mission Valley at Hazard Center, 7510 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego. (619) 400-5911. info@pac-arts. org. www.festival.sdaff.org.

November

7 Friday

sampradAya gAnam. Featuring artists Pantula Rama (vocal), MSN Murthy (violin), Patri Satishkumar (mridangam).

Organized by Indian Fine Arts Academy San Diego (IFAASD). 7:30 p.m. Seaside Center for Spiritual Living, 1613 Lake Drive, Encinitas. $20. www.indianfinearts.org.

Care, Compassion and Mindfulness. Key and invited speakers include

Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic Studies and Theology, Loyola Marymount University; James R. Doty, Founding Director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, and clinical professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford School of Medicine; Jenny Phillips, Cultural anthropologist, writer, psychotherapist, and producer of documentary, Dhamma Brothers; Lobsang Rapgay, Research Psychologist and Director of the Clinical Training program for Mental Health Professionals at the Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, UCLA; Samani Charitrapragya, Vice Chancellor, Jain Vishwa Bharti University, India; Jeff Smith, Co-founder and CEO, Lunar Design, San Francisco; Michael Tobias, Historian of Consciousness, global ecologist, author, filmmaker, and President of Dancing Star Foundation; B. Alan Wallace, President, Santa Barbara Institute of Consciousness Studies, and Chairman, Thanyapura Mind Center; and Gianfranco Zaccai, Chairman, President and Chief Design Officer, Design Continuum, Boston. Ends Nov. 9. Organized by Ahimsa Center. Cal Poly Pomona, 3801 W Temple Ave., Pomona. (909) 869-3868. tsethia@csupomona.edu. www. csupomona.edu/~ahimsacenter/conference/conference_14.shtml.

November

8 Saturday

TiECON Southwest. TiE Southern Cali-

fornia’s annual conference bringing together some 1000 entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and business professionals for a good combination of substantive conversation

Meet the Patels screened at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Nov. 6

and peer networking. Keynotes by Shobhaa De (Author, Columnist, Novelist), Umang Gupta (Chairman & CEO, Keynote Systems, Inc.) and Dhiraj Rajaram (Founder, Mu Sigma). 5 Panels (3 parallel tracks) on Entrepreneurship, New Trends in Technology, Media & Entertainment, VC/Angels/ Funding, and Marketing. Organized by TiE Southern California. 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sheraton, 2725 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. Members $75, Non-Members $100. executive.director@ socal.tie.org. tieconsouthwest.com/2014/.

November

9 Sunday

Mukesh Ki Yaaden. Featuring Mukhtar

Shah and Shobhana. Organized by Dylan Entertainment and Trisha Entertainment.

6 p.m. PYLSUD Performing Arts Center, Eldorado High School, 1651 N. Valencia Ave., Placentia. 450, $35, $25. (562) 860-1135, (310) 753-8990.

November

18 Tuesday

Masterclass in Indian Contemporary Dance. Featuring Manjushree Chaki-Sarkar, trained in the Tagore school of contempo-

rary dance created her own movement genre ‘nabanritya’ where she combined techniques from Indian classical dances and martial arts.

Organized by Manipuri Dance Visions. 5:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Live Arts Los Angeles Studio 2, 4210 Panamint St., Los Angeles. $25. (818) 790-2897. sohiniray7@gmail.com.

Indian Modern Dance Workshop

by Sanjib Bhattacharya. Organized by

Manipuri Dance Visions. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Live Arts Los Angles Studio, 4210 Panamint St., Los Angeles. sohiniray7@gmail.com.

November

29 Saturday

Dashavatar—The Ten Incarnations of Vishnu. A bharatanatyam and kathak

dance drama performed by students of Sri Sakti Sarade Kalaniketan. Special appearance

by Vijaya Bhanu singing bhajan, film and punjabi songs. Organized by Vijaya Bhanu School of Dance. 5 p.m. Bellflower Civic Center, 16600 Civic Center Drive., Bellflower. $35, $25, $10, $5. (562) 746-1945, (562) 402-1051. vijayabhanuacademy@yahoo.com. www.vijayabhanu.net. © Copyright 2014 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 47

48 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Reformation Thesis

PART III OF V (LOOK FOR PART IV IN THE DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE)

III. There are none good.

People who teach that man is “basically good”, whether they be pastors or presidents, are fools who fall on the most lunatic fringe of Liberal mentality. The Bible says in Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Mankind is not good, but instead a selfish, jealous, lust-filled, fornicating rabble that both blasphemes and hates God and wishes no part of His virtuous and glorious kingdom. On top of that, he is a spiritually dead entity who is in total enslavement to money, sex and vain religious rituals. He is blind, dead and lost, and he does not have the ability to make himself see, come alive or be found. He does not love Christ and cannot follow Him. This destitute creature cannot “choose” Christ and is destined to remain depraved unless Christ causes him to be born again.

Seeker friendly preachers who water down the Gospel to manipulate sinners to “accept” Christ are false preachers who are either ignorant of Scripture or hate and spurn core Scriptural doctrines. The Bible warns us in II Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.” This is why the subject of sin, hell and God's wrath are systematically suppressed in most churches. Today's average pastor is a comedian who tells joke after joke hoping his spiritually dead congregation will like him, and perhaps by liking him, will one day then like his Jesus and “accept” Him. MISSIONARIES OF ANTIOCH - FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: (818) 764-6718 • antioch@afo.net

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 49

Do You Have a Picture That Tells a Story?

India Currents invites readers to send in a picture and caption to publish in our magazine. We’ll pick the best picture every month and award a cash prize to the winning entry. Entries will be judged on the originality and creativity of the visual and the clarity and storytelling of the caption. So pick up that camera and click away.

Send the picture as a jpeg image to editor@indiacurrents.com with Subject: A Picture That Tells a Story.

Deadline for entries: 10th of every month.

SPIRITUALITY & HEALTH

November

2 Sunday

The Scientific Art of Living. Sunday

Service. Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 5251291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 2950170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.

Meditation on the Ten Mystical Aspects of the Divine Mother. The prom-

inent feature of this spiritual system is that the ancient indigenous people of ancient India visualized a cosmos that was feminine, within which ancient matriarchal tribal societies flourished. Learn a particular method to access the form of Tara and worship Mother Tara. Ends Nov. 7. 4-3 p.m. Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm, 14651 Ballantree, Grass Valley. $490.00 (excl. accommodations).

(530) 272-9322. yogafarmregistration@sivananda.org. www.sivanandayogafarm.org.

November

9 Sunday

The Universal Appeal of Yoga. Sun-

day Service. Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 5251291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 2950170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.

November

16 Sunday

How to Dissolve the Causes of War.

Friends on Canopy Road A Creative Commons Image

50 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Sunday Service. Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades.

(310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006.

Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton.

(714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf. org.

November

23 Sunday

Giving Thanks for Life’s Blessings.

Sunday Service. Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades.

(310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 5251291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 2950170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.

November

30 Sunday

Inner Resources of Energy and Health. The prominent feature of this spiri-

tual system is that the ancient indigenous people of ancient India visualized a cosmos that was feminine, within which ancient matriarchal tribal societies flourished. Learn a particular method to access the form of Tara and worship Mother Tara. Ends Nov. 7. 4-3 p.m. Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm, 14651 Ballantree, Grass Valley. $490.00 (excl. accommodations). (530) 272-9322. yogafarmregistration@sivananda.org. www.sivanandayogafarm. org.

Check out India Currents’ calendar online at www.IndiaCurents .com © Copyright 2014 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.

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November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 51

reflections

Life, Liberation and the Pursuit of Bliss

By Jojy Michael

Yogah Chittavrutti Nirodhah —Verse 1.2, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

“U

nion (yoga) is the cessation of fluctuations in consciousness,” says the second verse in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The first verse, verse 1.1, is this simple statement, “Now begins Yoga instruction.” (Atha Yoganusasanam). I find it interesting that verse 1.2 reads more like the conclusion, rather than the beginning, of instruction. So what does Patanjali deal with in the remaining 194 verses of the treatise?

During our summer trip to Kerala in June, my son Joshi and I took advantage of a brief lull in the monsoon’s downpour to travel from Kollam to Trivandrum by train. During the short trip of about an hour, the railway track crosses many rivers and lakes including Lake Ashtamudi, a very large body of water with eight (ashta) branches. When it is not traversing these large bodies of water, the track is hemmed in on both sides by trees, houses and streets. So for most of the trip, the scenery rushes by at a fast pace.

What does Patanjali offer those travelling “Yeah, sure it does” he said.

But when the train enters a bridge the on the rail tracks of Life?

“Why so?” I probed. landscape falls away abruptly and slide What vast vistas of awareness opens up “Because it is still and calm” was his ready by so slowly that one might imagine that to those who manage to disconnect the mind reply. the train has magically slowed down or from the rapid fluctuations of worldly life?

“That’s so right”, I thought to myself, even stopped. These respites from the The Yoga Sutras discuss the blissfulness “And the expansive view holds a hint of the rushing scenery were so enchanting that and the access to the Infinite that comes from infinite”. The suggestion of the infinite to the noise and rocking motion of the a conscious stilling of the train of thoughts just one of our senses, sight in this case, train, the dirt and odor of the coach, the that the human mind is perpetually riding was sufficient to remove the unpleasantness fellow passengers crowding around you on. Since these sutras were created many inflicted upon the other senses. (we were travelling unreserved second millennia ago when they could class, standing room only!), be transmitted only by word of all these assaults on the mouth, they are quite compact senses disappeared from my and cryptic. Moreover, they are awareness. I was left with Thus the Yogi fulfills the four fold aims of life and in Sanskrit. So they are not easa calming vision of placid achieves Liberation. ily understood by the modern waters and a distant and Then the Atman shines forth with its pristine nareader. To make matters harder still horizon highlighted by for the spiritual enthusiast, the ture, as pure Consciousness. coconut trees. literature on Yoga offers a beI turned to my teenage —paraphrased translation of Verse 4.34 (last verse) of wildering variety of approaches. son and asked, “Joshi, do Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras There is Patanjali’s own “eight you find this scene relaxlimbs of Yoga” (verse 2.29) that ing?”

52 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

range from moral discipline to body postures to concentration of the mind. Yogic philosophy also proposes a system of “koshas” (sheaths) that cover the Divine within the human body; these sheaths transition from the gross to the fine—Anna-maya (food body), Prana-maya (energy body), Manomaya (mind body), Vijnana-maya (wisdom body) and Ananda-maya (Bliss body). Nowadays, yoga is often erroneously associated with stretching routines and exercise regimens, especially in the West.

Perhaps, the easiest discussions about Yoga are the ones about the four yogic paths—Karma (action), Bhakti (devotion), Jnana (knowledge) and Raja (energy) yoga with their respective emphasis on doing, feeling, learning and being. Especially for knowledge workers who thrive on hard work, the paths of Jnana and Karma have a natural appeal. A course in yoga that offers a rational approach to the essence of its practices in a secular fashion would be beneficial to urban societies immersed in modern science and technology. “Inner Engineering” offered by the Isha Foundation is one such program that launches the participants on a path to a certain awareness and a simple daily practice designed to align the four components of human existence: being, thinking, feeling and working.

As for the concluding verse of Patanjali’s sutras, it states, the lofty end that awaits the steady practitioner is the realization that the Creator is a fellow traveler on the journey of Life. n Jojy Michael is a knowledge worker in Silicon Valley. His perspectives on yoga are greatly influenced by Isha Foundation courses like Inner Engineering. Jojy has been a steady practitioner of Isha Yoga since 2008.

Share your health stories with India Currents readers!

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

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

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 53

healthy life

The Hiden Dangers of Over-Vaccination

By Vijay Gupta

A

child born in America today, who follows the officially recommended schedule of vaccinations, will receive 38 doses of 14 different vaccines by age two and 70 doses of 16 different vaccines by age 18. This is more than twice the number of vaccine doses that were recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) just 25 years ago.

More specifically, nine new vaccines, namely, Hib, Hep B, Varicella, Rotavirus, PCV, Influenza, Hep A, HPV, and MCV, have been added to the United States vaccination schedule since 1989.

With all these new vaccines designed to prevent so many childhood diseases, one might expect that the health of American children would improve significantly. But the evidence suggests otherwise. America has a higher infant mortality rate today than many countries that require fewer vaccines. Perhaps more seriously, vaccinations may be responsible for a significant rise in the incidence rates of many chronic diseases. Skepticism about the safety and effectiveness of vaccinations is illustrated by the fact that nearly 40% of nurses decline the annual flu shots. (Clark et al, Influenza vaccination attitudes and practices among U.S. registered nurses, Am J Infect Control 2009; 37:551-6.)

Vaccine Safety

Ideally, the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine should be fully established by the manufacturer of the vaccine before it is approved for public use. However, in the United States, vaccines are often approved without adequate safety studies. Moreover, a 1986 law, that exempted vaccine manufacturers from any liability for harm or injury caused by vaccines, has further undermined their motivation to improve vaccine safety.

According to CDC’s current vaccination schedule, a one-year old child may be given up to nine vaccines during a single office visit. Most parents are familiar with the immediate reactions to these 54 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

injections which range from mild (redness and soreness at the injection site, mild fever, headache, crying, etc.) to severe (very high fever, severe allergic reaction, apnea, syncope, etc.). Based on reports of such adverse reactions submitted by parents, the CDCsponsored Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) compiles a national database of such immediate vaccine reactions.

More seriously though, there is substantial evidence to suggest that over-vaccination may also be responsible for the sharply increasing rates of immune system and neurological disorders such as allergies, asthma, autism, Crohn’s disease, juvenile diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, seizure disorders, and so on. According to one study, Hep B vaccination of male neonates tripled their odds for autism diagnosis.

Besides safety, the effectiveness of some vaccines is also quite limited. For example, flu vaccine is, at best, 50-75%, and, at worst, 0% effective at preventing seasonal flu. Moreover, the immunity obtained from many vaccines is short-lived compared to the life-long immunity obtained from exposure to the real virus.

Vaccination Alternatives

Parents concerned about risks of overvaccination may use an alternative vaccination schedule that minimizes the risk of vaccine injury while protecting their children from the more serious childhood diseases.

For example, parents can follow the more conservative pre-1989 schedule of vaccinations which requires fewer and older (more time-proven) vaccines. Or they can follow the current vaccination schedule of another country, such as Japan, that requires significantly fewer vaccines. Finally, they can choose to give their children only selected vaccines, e.g., the four “traditional” vaccines: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio.

As a further precaution, parents can spread out the vaccination schedule so that fewer vaccine doses are given during a single office visit. They can also request vaccines that are free from problematic ingredients such as mercury. And in some cases, they

may be able to defer a particular vaccine until there is a local outbreak of the associated disease.

Note that some diseases such as flu, Hep B, and HPV can also be prevented by practicing good hygiene and safe sex. And many more diseases—including some for which vaccines don’t even exist—can be prevented by fostering natural immunity through breastfeeding, good nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle. Last but not least, some researchers claim that experiencing some childhood diseases, e.g., chickenpox, naturally may help stimulate the development of a mature immune system.

To fully appreciate the pros and cons of all these alternatives, parents may wish to read some good books on this topic, such as Vaccinations by Aviva Jill Romm. A good source of up-to-date information on all the vaccines is the National Vaccine Information Center web site (nvic.org).

Note that parents who skip any required vaccination will need to file a vaccination exemption form when enrolling their children in school. The exemption process varies by state, but is relatively simple in California.

The vaccination pendulum in the United States has swung from a situation where too many children suffered because of undervaccination to a situation where too many children suffer because of over-vaccination.

Moreover, this pendulum will likely swing even further as 300 new vaccines are currently under development. This vaccination juggernaut is being driven by strong economic forces, not unlike those driving the reckless overuse of antibiotics.

(Note that the global vaccine market is projected to grow from about $30 billion today to $100 billion by 2025.) However, millions of concerned parents are refusing to acquiesce in CDC’s aggressive one-sizefits-all approach to vaccination. They are educating themselves and making thoughtful vaccination choices to minimize serious risks to their children’s health. n Vijay Gupta researches and writes about health issues from a consumer’s perspective.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 55

On Inglish

So Naked Without Bangles

By Kalpana Mohan

bangle [bang-guh l]: noun, 1780-90; < Hindi bangli, var of bangri < a rigid ring shaped bracelet or anklet usually made without a clasp

A

t every social occasion, a dear friend of mine is turned out in a simple and elegant sari. She wears the same diamond earrings and the same gold chain. Her sari blouses are always sleeveless and always cut in the same way. Almost always, however, one accessory stands out on her wrists: a two-inch procession of metal bangles that reflect the colors of her sari.

Although the concept of the bangle as an item of jewelry was around long before the Indus Valley civilization and even during the upper Paleolithic period some 8,000 years ago, the word bangle was first heard used only in the late eighteenth century in the English language. A bangle is simply a ring of colored glass worn on the wrist by women. Today, the word itself—originating from the Hindi bangli—applies to “a ring-bracelet or an anklet of any kind worn on the ankle or leg.”

In my home, you can hear the clink of bangles all the time—as I type, read, cook or clean. It’s a tinkle that’s as banal as it is momentous. It means that everything is all right with my life—even though in many parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the glitter of Indian finery is now tantamount to an all-points bulletin attracting a gold rush among local burglars. Petty thieves have been fishing out their guns and making off with gold worn by women of Indian origin disrupting the peace in what once was a safe community.

But fears of personal safety never stopped those of us who grew up in India from displaying our gold glitter. The reasons for doing so are rooted in tradition and beliefs about womanhood. Like most mothers from my part of India, mine too instructed me to never leave my forearms bare. “Girls mustn’t be seen without bangles,” she would say. “You’re not going out without wearing something on your wrists, are you?” she would ask if she ever caught me barehanded. While the preferred choice of bangle was gold, of course, glass or metal bangles were acceptable, especially if we wished to match an accessory to an outfit.

The feminine mystique of the bangle has survived through civilizations in different forms. A few decades ago, archeologists who excavated sites in what is today’s eastern Pakistan uncovered evidence of the existence, in antiquity, of different types of bangles manufactured from exotic materials such as marine shell, ivory and terracotta. More than their use as ornaments, bangles were believed to have been protective bands. One of the most telling images of a bangle invokes the legend of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra who is thought to have worn the coiled bangle of a snake that reached for its own tail. In India, wearing a band around your wrist made with panchaloka (an alloy of five metals—gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc) is believed to shower balance in one’s life, bringing daily energy, self-confidence, good health, fortune, prosperity and peace.

Conditioned by the influences of my early years, I too began believing in the latent power of a gold bangle on my wrists. I believed it would bring me luck although I had no proof of its magical properties. In June, when I had to fly to India to be with my father 56 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

through the last week of his life, I made sure to wear my favorite four gold bangles—the first two that my late mother bought for me as part of my trousseau and the last two that she insisted I buy a few years before her death. The four bangles seemed to exert a magnetic force on me during the last days of my father’s life. They gave out a reassuring jangle as I hovered by my father’s bedside.

The sound of security. Bangles offer that to the listener. In the Indian custom, a married women wears bangles as a charm representing safety and good luck for her husband. Their color and material often bear a special significance. In Bengal, for instance, red coral bangles symbolize energy. White shell bangles represent purity or innocence. Bangles are auspicious also during childbirth.

They are gifted to women during a baby shower because the tinkle of bangles is believed to offer acoustic stimuli for the baby while allaying the expectant mother’s stress.

The symbolism associated with the bangle, especially with regard to marriage, has been exploited by Indian cinema and television. In the sappiest regional language and Hindi serials that I’ve followed, the heroine weeps copiously while her forearms glitter with colored glass bangles. She often runs away from a tumultuous showdown into the confines of her bedroom. The force with which she throws herself on her bed (or gets thrown by someone) causes her bangles to chip or crack. The sound of broken bangles is portentous of tragedy. The man in her life has run away with another woman or there’s a divorce looming or the man in question is about to meet his end.

That notion of beauty and sentiment in a specific object does not always translate into another culture. I’ll never forget an incident that took place at the local library where I had walked in to work in silence. An hour after I sat down, a Caucasian women seated at the table next to mine turned around to catch my attention. “Your bangles. Do you mind? They’re making too much noise,” she said in an exasperated, yet apologetic, tone. “Absolutely,” I replied with a smile, removing them and tossing the four bangles into my bag where they stayed until I walked out of the city library pondering the entitlement of the woman who protested the environmental pollution of a sartorial preference.

That afternoon at the library, I found myself apologizing even though I had been quite offended at having lost, temporarily, at any rate, my freedom under the flag to which I now owed allegiance. I wondered how my friend with her deck of bangles might have reacted to that stranger. I suspect she would have told her to purchase noise-canceling headphones from Sony. n Kalpana Mohan writes from Saratoga. To read more about her, go to http://kalpanamohan.org and http://saritorial.com.

November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 57

Flavors of Philly

travel

Food is our common ground; a universal experience—James Beard

By Meera Ramanathan

T

he best and most authentic way to experience Philadelphia is to taste the city’s signature philly cheese steak. As your taste buds delight from the flavor overload and your senses revel in this gastronomical marvel, the history and sights become the dessert to the main course.

Philadelphia or Philly to locals, called the city of brotherly love, is the second most populous city in the north eastern United States. Founded by William Penn in 1682, this colony was to house people irrespective of their faith. As a Quaker (commonly referred to as the Religious Society of Friends), Penn suffered from religious persecution and was adamant in nurturing Philly as a society that would house residents with spiritual and religious freedom. After William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, was instrumental in developing the city and designing its architecture.

Philadelphia’s central location made it a natural choice for America’s revolutionaries and it served as a capital of the United States from 1790 until 1800. Philadelphia also hosted the convening of the Continental Congress as well as the writings of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The Independence National Historic Park, which houses the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, stands testimony to this. Today, Philadelphia is renowned for its prestigious cultural scene and its sporting legends—Phillies, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers.

Although Philadelphia provides numerous sights for the regular tourist, the best and most pleasurable way to capture the city’s rhythm is by journeying through the culinary scenes. The city conducts several tours to tantalize and educate us of the city’s culinary sights. The tour guides are extremely accommodating (as Christine was with our toddler) and are experts at weaving together fascinating stories about the city’s landscape and food culture.

The tours promise behind the scenes looks at restaurant kitchens, undiscovered food meccas, home brewing experiences, sneak peeks into a Buddhist shrine, scrumptious Vietnamese hoagie tastings, luscious gelato and decadent chocolate truffle tryouts.

58 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

Philadelphia City Hall

Every morsel is peppered with fun facts and the guides are known to be local foodies with perfectly amicable personalities.

We narrowed down our food tour choice to Flavors of Philly as this was child friendly and highly recommended for first time visitors. The tour was from 1:30pm-4pm giving us plenty of time to do some sightseeing on our own. Plus the promise of a bona fide Philly cheese steak motivated us into signing up. (The tours are $39/adult; $29/child ages 10-14, nonrefundable and can be reserved online.) The short walks and minimal stops were ideal for our toddler and the groups were small (four couples).

We started our trek at Saxby’s Coffee Stand located in the Shops at Liberty Place. Christine, the tour guide, showed up early and eased us into the tour with a bright smile and chilled water bottles.

(Throughout the tour she would indulge us with second servings and more bottles of water). From the first stop, our history lesson began. Liberty Place was constructed amidst widespread opposition. It was considered a violation of the gentleman’s agreement that no structure would be built

Reading Terminal Market;

A Creative Commons Image

in the Center City that would be taller than Philadelphia City Hall, which bore the statue of William Penn. Despite public resistance, officials considered this a viable opportunity that would bring needed business and jobs.

With the Mayor favoring the project, Liberty Place began construction in 1985 and was open to the public by 1990. Liberty Place stood high and tall dotting the city skyline but it would also bring about the Curse of Billy Penn. The curse was used to explain the failure of major professional sports teams based in Philadelphia to win championships since the construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper. The curse was lifted only after ironworkers raised the final beam in the construction of the Comcast Center at 17th Street in 2007. In an attempt to end the curse, workers fashioned a figurine of William Penn to the tallest beam along with an American flag and a small evergreen tree.

The Phillies won the World Championship on October 29, 2008 much to the relief of sports fans in Philadelphia.

With this interesting history tidbit, we strolled outdoors and set foot in the first restaurant for the day.

Middle or corner? is the question you often encounter when ordering the tomato pie from Joe’s Pizza. Tomato pie, a Philly staple, is a rectangular sibling of the famed pizza minus the cheese. (Unlike the typical pizza, the tomato pie is derived from the Sicilian pizza). Philly prides itself on its unique pizza sauces and the one at Joe’s Pizza was a winner. The tomato pie traces its origins in Philly to at least 1910, when Iannelli’s opened. The best tomato pies have a thick bready crust, a generous layer of tomato sauce (or “gravy,” as it’s known in South Philly), and are cooked in a brick oven. Joe’s Pizza boasts of a traditional family recipe (as is the case in most places) and the luscious taste vouched for their proud legacy (We even said no to offers of grated cheese).

Our next stop was the celebrated Philly Pretzel Factory. The average Philadelphian today consumes about twelve times as many pretzels as the national average. Soft pretzels which are unique to this city were first introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers.

The Factory was teeming with patrons and instead of waiting for the crowd to thin, Christine ushered us to a steakhouse that held many surprises.

Del Frisco’s, the double eagle steakhouse restaurant was housed inside a historic landmark that was once First Pennsylvania Bank. The Vault Room, once the location of the bank’s safe deposit boxes, was now transformed into a private dining enclosure.

Although this was amusing, what took our breath away was the centerpiece—a two story wine vault (armed with 2,500 bottles).

The Vault Room

The interiors were lavishly decorated and the ambience was in tune with the numerous accolades this fine dining place has been bestowed with.

Still reeling from the staggering decor we stepped outside to a view of the City Hall.

This masonry building, as mentioned before, has a bronze statue of the city’s founder William Penn atop it.

We went back to the Pretzel Factory where the crowds had thinned and we were able to try the delicious soft pretzels. Next stop Pat and Geno’s for the famed philly cheese steak.

A city icon and an obsession, a cheese steak is a long, crusty roll filled with thinly sliced sautéed rib eye beef and melted cheese.

For vegetarians the beef is replaced with fried peppers and onions. First time patrons are also treated to Pat and Geno’s story. Pat Olivieri was a South Philadelphia hot dog vendor who once decided to put some beef from the butcher on his grill. A cab driver seduced by the aroma came in asking for his signature steak sandwich. And so the philly steak began its run. The cheese addendum is a topic of endless debate between Pat and Geno loyalists.

The final lap of this tour commenced from the Reading Terminal Market which is an important tourist landmark and serves as a place of culinary treats and unique merchandise. The Flying Monkey Bakery was a sweet sensation and the truffles and cookies were sinfully delicious. Be sure to try a slice of the pumpple cake which is a cake pie hybrid and is sure to send your senses into a spiral.

After bidding adieu to Christine we plopped on the Market’s seating area. The bite size portions promised everywhere combined together to form a neat meal. With our bellies full, we reveled in the aromas and

Joe’s Pizza; A Creative Commons Image

Pumple Pie; A Creative Commons Image

sights around us. Food holds an important key to understanding a city’s psyche. With Philly offering an impressive and unforgettable gustatory experience, you simply have to submit to its culinary extravaganza. n Meera Ramanathan is a columnist focusing on her dual passions—food and travel. A voracious reader, she also writes about immigration melodramas, cinema and parenting woes. She tweets at @meeraramanathan and blogs at Lost in Thought.(http://dreamzwild.wordpress.com) November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 59

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viewfinder

Together We Stand

By Hamid Daudani

r winne

L

ife is so beautiful at this age! One can smell the innocence all around. Our two granddaughters seem to be saying, “We will grow with the love that we receive like this strong tree.” The picture was taken on our recent visit to Richmond, Virginia. n Hamid was recognized with an award in 2013 from the Mayor of San Diego

for his services to the community for over 20 years. NetIP organization also honored him in February 2014 and gave an award for “Leadership in Cultural Awareness.” He is a well known artist and has written, directed and produced over 20 plays. He is currently on the board of San Diego Indian American Society. Hamid is a financial officer by profession.

India Currents invites readers to submit to this column. Send us a picture with caption and we’ll pick the best entry every month. There will be a cash prize awarded to the lucky entrant. Entries will be judged on the originality and creativity of the visual and the clarity and storytelling of the caption. So pick up that camera and click away.

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62 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

dear doctor

How Do I Manage My Emotions?

By Alzak Amlani

Q

I am going through some big changes in my family life. Recently my father passed away. Although we were not necessarily close, I respected him and have always known life with him around. My partner and I have differences that seem irreconcilable and we don’t know what the future holds. I am also under a lot of work pressure, which fatigues me quickly now. You often recommend that people actually take the time to feel their feelings as a way to get to know themselves better. When I start to feel my feelings, I get depressed and worry that I’ll never feel better. Some days I wonder if I’ll be able to get out of bed and go to work if I spend time really feeling what is inside me. How do I manage my emotions?

A

When you lose a parent, you will go through a range of feelings that can be overwhelming. It’s such a significant loss in your life that you need to take time to grieve and honor his life and passing.

Did you take time off to be with family and friends, rest, do the rituals and ceremonies to help you say good bye? When we are

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inwardly overwhelmed we need to start by getting support from other people so that we can better tolerate our painful feelings. This provides a holding environment that reminds us that we are not alone and that we can lean on other people.

There is a lot of reinforcement in our society to avoid our feelings, usually by distracting, eating, working, or manipulating our minds to ignore or numb our emotions.

However, this leads to further disconnection with ourselves and our inner resources. You need to build capacity to tolerate and learn from your feelings. This is done by living in a sustainable way that includes attention to diet, sleep, exercise, rest, play, balanced work -life and meaningful and supportive relationships. Such a lifestyle gives us the life energy and inner stability to be present to ourselves.

Internally you can start by checking in with yourself about how you feel through the day. It can even be for a few seconds at a time. Doing a breathing practice where you breathe in for five seconds, retain your breath for five seconds and release your breath for

five seconds can greatly calm you down.

Looking at things in your environment that you like—plants, art, fabric, colors, the sky and so on can also support your inner state.

In actuality feelings are dynamic. They flow and change all the time. Adults get mired in one or two feelings and can’t shift out of them. This is due to fear, lack of appropriate support and understanding and having too many memories and experiences that remain undigested and unintegrated. By developing the ability to process your feelings you are building a container for your inner life and sorting through some of the baggage of your earlier years. Although this takes energy, ultimately it produces more energy because unprocessed life experiences weigh us down and pushing things away takes more energy than experiencing them. n Alzak Amlani, Ph.D., is a counseling psychologist of Indian descent in the Bay Area. 650325-8393. Visit www.wholenesstherapy.com

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the last word

Watch The Wire This Election Season

By Sarita Sarvate

N

ot long ago, I announced in these very pages that a TV show like Breaking Bad will never come again. Well, I have to eat humble pie and say that there is a show just as good as Breaking Bad, if not better.

I am talking of The Wire.

I came late to this acclaimed show, partly because it was created before the advent of online streaming and partly because the show’s use of African American street slang made it somewhat inaccessible. But this summer, I discovered that it did not take more than a couple of episodes to get hooked.

The world of The Wire, unlike that of the Sopranos or Breaking Bad, is one that we all live in. This is a show, not just about kids dealing drugs on the streets, but about the social and political system that makes it necessary. David Simon, creator, producer, and writer, does not deliver his message through preachy rants delivered Ironiby self-righteous characters, but through a suspenseful, tightly cally, in the woven mystery that keeps the middle of watch- viewer on the edge of her ing Season Four, I seat. Apart from the excellent writing, the wonderful attended a political directing, and the realisfundraiser and was tic locations of Baltimore, proudly informed by what hooked me onto the show was the acting by an East Bay mayor its young African American cast. Never have I seen that the murder a major production give so rate in her city much opportunity to black achad fallen from tors. From the young kids who start selling “packages” at street sixty to corners at ages as young as ten, the police officers, church minissixteen. ters,to politicians, boxing coaches, petty thieves, thugs, drug addicts and drug lords, the show captures the non-Cosby-show like reality of black inner-city life in America in the new millennium. For Indian Americans, who mostly live in suburbs, the show should be an education.

David Simon does something rare in The Wire. Instead of limiting himself to the riveting tale of drug lords, their child soldiers, and the cops who chase them, he expands the circle to include the dockworkers, the schools, the politicians, and the media, while keeping some of the main characters weaving in and out of the story. He has said that he wanted to build a city, but what Simon has developed instead is a mini America itself. When you remember that these stories are not simply products of his fertile imagination, but based on real events that Simon, as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, and his co-writer Ed Burns, a former Baltimore cop, witnessed, your blood chills.

What takes your breath away is the complexity of the plot 64 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014

and the characters. No one person is the bad guy here, rather, everyone, from the drug boss to the street dealer to the corrupt dockworker to the police chief to the politician, is a victim of his or her own circumstance. The kids grow up in the ghetto, attending poorly funded schools where the teachers are unable to remedy the lack of parenting at home, and become drug kingpins or pawns in the game, falling casualties to gang violence.

The cops, who are instructed not to target the big culprits, but to round up petty dealers at street corners in America’s so-called war on drugs, drown their stress in alcohol; a few are corrupt but most are just following orders. Their chiefs are asked one minute to bring down the stats—as in statistics on homicides —the next, asked to ignore them to avoid bad publicity. The politicians, who come into office with good intentions, are persuaded by strategists to please the voters during election cycles, and often drop the pursuit of real perpetrators who fund their campaigns.

What moved me the most was Season Four, in which, focusing on the inner lives of four kids, the show made the viewer root for them. One kid looks after a younger sibling and an addicted mother and is driven to become a hit man in order to earn a living; another is pushed to deal drugs by his materialistic mother while his father serves life in prison. The third one is a social outcast whose only friend is the hit man, a fourth a foster child who unwittingly becomes witness to a murder. The scenes with the kids and their caring teachers who wash their clothes or take them into their homes are heartbreaking; so is the cop who tries to protect the witness.

Ironically, in the middle of watching Season Four, I attended a political fundraiser and was proudly informed by an East Bay mayor that the murder rate in her city had fallen from sixty to sixteen. That was when I realized how brilliantly realistic The Wire really is.

What makes the show bearable is the wry humor sprinkled in with the blood and gore. Take the scene with Stringer Bell, played by Idris Elba, for example, who adheres to Roberts Rules to conduct a business meeting with his gangster underlings, but exclaims, “Are you effing taking notes of a criminal conspiracy,” when his associate begins to take minutes.

The show begs the question as to why white drug users are left off the hook while small time black dealers are targeted. I also wondered who is sheltering the white drug lords and their downtown lawyers like the fictional Levy.

During this election season, which will start with the midterms and continue onto the presidential contest, you should watch The Wire. But don’t expect pat happy endings like in Hollywood. n Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has published commentaries for New America Media, KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publications.

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