Destination Bali by Vivienne Kruger
You Lose It In a Generation by Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
KATHA 1st Prizre
winne
Unsaid by Iqbal Pittalwala
INDIA CURRENTS URREN Celebrating 29 Years of Excellence
Re-creating Home How retirement homes are now catering to changing demographics by Sarita Sarvate
July 2015 • vol. 29, no .4 • www. indiacurrents.com
Thumbs Up, Ekalavya! facebook.com/IndiaCurrents twitter.com/IndiaCurrents Now published in three separate editions HEAD OFFICE 1885 Lundy Ave Ste 220, San Jose, CA 95131 Phone: (408) 324-0488 Fax: (408) 324-0477 Email: info@indiacurrents.com www.indiacurrents.com Publisher: Vandana Kumar publisher@indiacurrents.com Managing Director: Vijay Rajvaidya md@indiacurrents.com Managing Editor: Geetika Pathania Jain mgeditor@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x226 Events Editor: Mona Shah events@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x224 Advertising Department ads@indiacurrents.com Northern California: (408) 324-0488 x 225 Southern California: (714) 523-8788 x 225 Sales Associate: Anu B anu@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x 222 Marketing Department Ritu Marwah ritu@indiacurrents.com Graphic Designer: Nghia Vuong
As a child, I was dismayed at the story of Ekalavya, a boy of “humble birth,” who asked the sage Drona to accept him as a pupil. Seeing that the talented youngster was a potential rival to his royal students, (and no doubt remembering the non-compete clause in his contract), Drona first refused to accept E (the dreaded reject letter from Drona U.!) and then asked for the archer’s right thumb as gurudakshina (tuition fees by another name.) Allow me to venture that high education costs are the equivalent of Ekalavya’s thumb for low-income students who are crippled by the burden. Desi immigrants are uniquely positioned to understand that a college education can be a ticket to the American Dream. Even after admission is secured, steep college tuition remains a formidable barrier. But perhaps there is hope. The “other,” arguably less famous, Salman Khan of Khan Academy has been in the news recently. The son of Bangladeshi parents, Sal attended MIT and Harvard before founding Khan Academy. In partnership with the College Board,
Khan Academy announced free prep classes that hold the promise of creating educational access. (“Can Khan Academy’s Free SAT Prep Level the Playing Field?” Jason Tanz, Wired, June 2, 2015.) Could this usher in a democratization of education? Can you say MOOC? (Massive Open Online Course) As in so many fields, the Silicon Valley leads the trend. Sebastian Thrun’s first open 2011 Artificial Intelligence class grew to 160,000 students. Despite some disappointment over completion rates, there is no doubt that the new model has the potential to radically alter higher education. The face-to-face Socratic method of teaching is effective, but expensive. The door has been cracked open just a sliver. Let’s hope that a modern-day Ekalavya can sign up for a free Khan Academy prep class or a MOOC instead. Thumbs Up, Ekalavya! Geetika Pathania Jain, Ph.D. is guest Managing Editor of India Currents magazine. Jaya Padmanabhan will return from her sabbatical next month.
WASHINGTON, D.C. BUREAU (Managed by IC New Ventures, LLC) 910 17th Street, NW, Ste# 215 Washington, D.C. 20006 Phone: (202) 709-7010 Fax: (240) 407-4470 Associate Publisher: Asif Ismail publisher-dc@indiacurrents.com (202) 709-7010 Cover Design: Nghia Vuong Cover Photo Credit: Priya Living INDIA CURRENTS® (ISSN 0896-095X) is published monthly (except Dec/Jan, which is a combined issue) for $19.95 per year by India Currents, 1885 Lundy Ave., Ste 220, San Jose, CA 95131. Periodicals postage paid at San Jose, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INDIA CURRENTS, 1885 LUNDY AVE, STE. 220, SAN JOSE, CA 95131 Information provided is accurate as of the date of going to press; India Currents is not responsible for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed are those of individual authors. Advertising copy, logos, and artwork are the sole responsibility of individual advertisers, not of India Currents. Copyright © 2015 by India Currents All rights reserved. Fully indexed by Ethnic Newswatch
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2 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
INDIA CURRENTS July 2015 • vol 29 • no 4
PERSPECTIVES 1 | EDITORIAL Thumbs Up, Ekalavya! By Geetika Pathania Jain
Northern California Edition
LIFESTYLE
www.indiacurrents.com
20 | TAX TALK 5 Simple Ways to Lower Your Tax Bill By Rita Bhayani
Find us on
6 | A THOUSAND WORDS You Lose It In A Generation By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
34 | TRAVEL Destination Bali By Vivienne Kruger
8 | BUSINESS House of Cards By Prabhu Palani
38 | MUSIC Bollywood Hums NewZealander’s Tunes By Priya Bhatt Das
14 | EDUCATION Why a Software Engineer Became A Writer By Jaya Padmanabhan 18 | FEATURE Drought Changes Water Rights History in California By Ritu Marwah 26 | COMMENTARY Memories Of A Beloved Father By Vrinda Kirloskar
42 | RECIPES Baked Samosa Triangles By Shanta Sacharoff
10 | Recreating Home How retirement homes cater to changing demographics By Sarita Sarvate
52 | DEAR DOCTOR Getting To Know Yourself By Alzak Amlani
22 | Fiction
54 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA It’s In The Eyes By Jasbina Ahluwalia
Unsaid By Iqbal Pittalwala
40 | ON INGLISH House of Teak By Kalpana Mohan 45 | YOUTH Gandhi Camp By Divya Desale
56 | THE LAST WORD Does A Corset A Woman Make? By Sarita Sarvate
50 | HEALTHY LIFE Skyrocket Your Energy Level By Puja Mukherjee
28 | Books
DEPARTMENTS
Reviews of Two States by Chetan Bhagat, Grandma and the Great Gourd by Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni
4 | Letters to the Editor 17 | Popular Articles 21 | Visa Dates
By Raj Oza, Tara Menon
WHAT’S CURRENT
31 | Films
Reviews of Dil Dhadakne Do, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Miss India America
46 | Cultural Calendar 48 | Spiritual Calendar
By Aniruddh Chawda, Sagaree Jain and Madhumita Gupta July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 3
letters to the editor Secrets R Us
I would like to make some comments on Geetika Jain’s editorial.(“Secrets R Us” India Currents, June 2015) When the threat to national security is very high, even riff-raff like Snowden get “Top Secret” clearance. Snowden is guilty of misusing that privilege, getting paid for it, and seeking publicity outside, after “deserting the post” by renouncing his own country. This fellow is a hero? He should have resigned and recorded his objections in secret to the hierarchy and then remained silent. But the pay check and the fame. So many of my generation with security clearance could not get the “Top” category because we had parents or siblings in India. This fellow is safe and dependable? He stabbed the country on its back. Parameswar Mahadevan, website comment Who is a hero and who is a traitor? A similar Snowden-esque figure exists in the Ramayana, in the case of Vibheeshan, who can be seen as a dissident. As a “whistle-blower” who exposed the government, it can be argued that Snowden caused us to to reflect: who will guard the guardians? Thanks to Snowden, a nation-wide conversation began, which led this month to the Senate overwhelmingly passing the USA Freedom Act —a surveillance reform bill that limited mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Geetika Pathania Jain, Guest Managing Editor
Black and Desi
IC’s June 2015 article, “Black & Desi: a Shared History” (India Currents, June 2015) was an eye-opener for me. I commend Anirvan Chatterjee on his research, his activism and his effort to educate us. The history of slavery and racial discrimination has burdened us—no matter what race—with a whole lot of negative collective karmic debt. The Bayard Rustins of America who have supported freedom-rights show us how to restore the karmic balance. Anirvan and young desis like him are too. This is both dharma and good karma. Mala Setty, Long Beach, CA
Black and Desi
As someone who was active in the early sixties in the Civil Right Movement on my universty campus and who saw the passing of the “Immigration and Nationality Services Act” in 1965 and how it was opposed by the American conservatives and had heard their odious and racist arguments against its pas-
4 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
sage, I am disgusted, appalled and amazed when I see so many Indo-Pakistanis support the Repulican Party. If the right wingers had their way, the Indo Pak population would never have been the 3.5 million of today’s. We have forgotten so easily who are our friends and who is the foe of liberty and equality and free opportunity for all. Zubair Malik, Facebook
Sammy the Stockpicker
The article “Sammy the Stockpicker” (India Currents, June 2015) starts with “Before we bet the house on our favorite stocks, let us consider this. The majority of the best trained, most accomplished professional money managers often make mistakes in their stock picks.” The article goes on to say that investors are essentially in the negative after management, brokerage and other administrative fees. Yet this article closes with the following confounding remark to let the pros invest for you. If the author views investing as a “game” then it is no wonder this article vociferously says nothing. Toucalit Benton, Facebook Thank you for your comment. Perhaps I could have been clearer at the end. There are many pros/financial advisors who buy ETFs and Index Funds instead of “picking” stocks. It is my hope that investors will seek them out. Stock picking (as opposed to buying an index/smart beta/ market and suchlike) is essentially a losing game for the majority. Prabhu Pilani, author
Yoga Dualism: Physical or Spiritual vs. Indian or American?
“Why do we need God? Don’t we have enough problems already?” Swamy Chinmayananda, the late founder of the global Chinmaya Mission often began his sociospiritual lectures with this opening question. If the talk were scheduled for today, most certainly, one of the “problems” will be the
SPEAK YOUR MIND!
Have a thought or opinion to share? Send us an original letter of up to 300 words, and include your name, address, and phone number. Letters are edited for clarity and brevity. Write India Currents Letters, 1885 Lundy Ave. Suite 220, San Jose 95131 or email letters@indiacurrents.com.
observance of International Yoga Day on June 21 per request from the United Nations. Srinivas Chari in his comments on this general problem (India Currents, June 2015) expresses appreciation of the general public’s willingness in America to translate an esoteric practice from another country into mainstream culture here. If the system is shown to be beneficial to the practitioner, the dichotomy is irrelevant. The controversy, if there is one, appears to come more from the zealous religious followers in America rather than from anyone in India. The question is whether the practice is spiritual or physical. I recall a blog in the press for a way out of the difficult dilemma by simply calling Yoga with reverse spelling; “AGOY.” Imagine how this would turn out if the spoken language is phonetic instead. In Southern California, the matter was referred to court recently requesting an inunction against a school district to cease and desist the teaching of Yoga. The court denied the request on commonsense grounds. Even a unique ancient practice to inculcate physical and mental discipline among its practitioners with no intellectual property rights or protections to anyone can become a bone of contention in the modern day culture of intolerance. Parameswar Mahadevan, email
Call of the Koel
With regard to the article “Call of The Koel” (India Currents, June 2015), I just read the delightful piece by Kalpana Mohan—your definition of Koel—“the male, typically having all-black plumage”— Mohan C Mohan will never be a koel! Rameysh Ramdas, Facebook Editor’s note: Mohan C Mohan must never dye his snowy plumage black, not even to impress his witty mate, Kalpana Mohan.
Are You Desi Enough?
With regard to the article “Are You Desi Enough?” (India Currents, June 2015) I completely agree. It is a victory if we can make our kids worthy global citizens of this planet, grounded in human values of compassion, kindness and ever striving to make themselves stronger so they can help other people! Neeraj Chowdhury, online
A Message on a Postcard
I receive India Currents regularly. I wish all the working India Currents staff good luck. Kamaluddin Ahmed, Los Angeles, CA
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 5
a thousand words
You Lose It In A Generation By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
M
y parents came to the United States young (my mother was in English. Then, after “establish[ing] each other’s linguistic identity a teenager) and separately. They met in upstate New York, … they switch comfortably to another language, or a hybrid, dein graduate school. Despite sharing roots in Kerala—she by pending on the link they have established.” heritage, he by residence—they spoke to each other in English. They This is the conventional account of English as a mediating, wrote letters in English and announced their engagement by phone to “neutral” language in India’s complex linguistic environment. But it parents in India, in English. misses two important things that I have learned as a diaspora-born I have written about some of this before, in these pages. Like many Indian. First, those two Indians cannot always choose to “switch of their generation and demographic, my parents both grew up speakcomfortably” to another language, even if they establish the most ing English. They went to English-medium schools in Cochin and intimate of links. There are many Indians like my parents who are Calcutta. They count some serious Anglophiles among their ancestors, most comfortable in English, full-stop. Choosing or not choosing including, on my father’s side, an English prose-stylist known as the to speak the language is no choice at all, and cannot be vested with Silver-Tongued Orator. undue significance by the arbiters of Indian authenticity. It is entirely possible that, in the early years of their marriage, my Second, in my experience, when two Indians meet abroad today, parents told each other jokes in Hindi or layered their speech with they may very well speak first in Hindi, then switch to English, or Malayalam asides, two of their other a hybrid Hinglish, depending on the compeshared languages. But by the time my My mother tongue is English. tencies of the speakers in question. I have had brother and I were born, in the midthis happen countless times, at restaurants My father tongue is English. 1980s, they had basically established an in Berkeley, in grocery stores in Princeton, English-medium household in suburban The only language I will probat a Starbucks in Dubai airport, at a beauty California, where, let’s face it, we would salon in Chicago. Invariably, I am addressed ably ever wield with unqualihave learned to speak English anyway. in Hindi by someone who recognizes me Over the years, my father’s Tamil fied fluency is English. as a fellow Indian. Typically, I comprehend waned, but not so much that he couldn’t enough to respond sensibly in English. I nod still speak to his mother or translate, in the appropriate places. I say hanh, and ji, felicitously, for a priest at the London and I get by despite the rising shame. wedding of his sister-in-law. Malayalam he trotted out only at parties This is my own version, albeit a comparatively innocuous one, with other Malayalam-speakers, and normally in the form of a pun or of V.S. Naipaul’s “areas of darkness:” words I hear but don’t underodd literary reference. By contrast, my mother’s Malayalam—which stand; mixing up my d’s and dh’s; the inability to ask the woman had always been stilted given her upbringing outside of Kerala—imwho just gave my daughter, Mrinalini, her first real haircut, then proved considerably as she befriended diasporic Malayalees who were, followed with the gift of a paper airplane, how old her son is. Techunlike her, both fluent and literate. Her Hindi, too, benefited from nically, I know the words. It’s just not the same as having them at encounters with other NRIs. the tip of my tongue. Enter the ambivalent and resentful American, moi. My mother This is not an indictment of my parents. They took us to Intongue is English. My father tongue is English. The only language I dia yearly, so often that I learned to speak Malayalam comfortably will probably ever wield with unqualified fluency is English. I watch enough to study in Kerala while living with a host family. They tried Bollywood movies with subtitles. I speak pidgin Malayalam with a to put us in Hindi class. I could have done more than one semester Palakkad accent. My best line in Spanish is a query for more napkins, of Hindi in college. I’ve had the opportunities. The only thing I please. In French: a lament over not having killed some sworn enemy don’t have is the foundation: the experience of growing up in a bilinwhen I had the chance. gual environment, an experience that I jealously imagine would have Yes, I am not so old that I couldn’t make a concerted effort to acmade it easier for me to do what is necessary to achieve something quire fluency in one of these four tongues I speak with less facility than approaching fluency in one of my “native” tongues. English. If I move somewhere where Hindi, Malayalam, Spanish, or What my American husband and I can’t do in any case is proFrench prevails, I might even learn to speak with aplomb. But I am old vide our daughter with that bilingual environment, one that exceeds enough to recognize my weaknesses when it comes to language study Spanish classes at school or exchanges with a Polish babysitter. I am (I got As in high school Spanish by entering Spanish poetry competireminded of this often, like yesterday, when a Bulgarian nanny pushtions, but never learned the subjunctive). It’s not enough to have the ing her half-Spanish, half-Italian charge on the swing told me off for accent; languages, like muscles, must be exercised regularly. And I’m speaking to Mrinalini in English. not sure if I want to move, or will have the opportunity to, or even “You are doing the wrong thing,” she scolded can, so strongly do I feel the historical legacy, the burden-by-proxy, of me. my parents’ migration and self-willed dispossession. “Yes, but—” I started to explain. n In one of his many essays on the idea of Indianness, my uncle Shashi Tharoor observes that when two Indians meet abroad, “or two Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a doctoral candidate in educated urban Indians meet in India,” they almost always speak first Rhetoric at UC Berkeley. 6 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
katha
India Currents and Khabar are pleased to announce the results of
DESI FICTION CONTEST 2015 Thank you to all for submitting your story to Katha: Desi Fiction Contest 2015. As the judges can attest, it was a very tough job to identify the finalists. The judging was completely blind. To all the writers who submitted, it is important to keep in mind that a writer is one who writes, researches, records and reflects. So keep writing and keep submitting. Congratulations to all the winners!
2015 Winners: First Place: Unsaid by Iqbal Pittalwala, Cherry Valley, California Second Place: Miss, Dolly and Hulk by Jyothi Vinod, Bengaluru, India Third Place: 10-4 by Sanjoy Ganguly, San Jose, California Honorable Mention: • Brink by Tanvi Buch, Los Altos, California • Courage by Vivek Santhosh, San Francisco, California This year's judges were Vikram Chandra and Sonia Faleiro. Vikram Chandra's works include, Red Earth and Pouring Rain (a novel), Love and Longing in Bombay (collection of short stories), Sacred Games (a novel) and Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, The Code of Beauty (non-fiction). He currently divides his time between Bombay and Berkeley, California, where he teaches creative writing at the University of California. Sonia Faleiro is the award-winning author of Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars, acclaimed as one of NPR's Five Best Travel Memoirs of 2012, CNN's Mumbai Book of the Year, and The Sunday Times Travel Book of the Year. In 2011 Sonia was awarded the Karmaveer Puraskaar for Social Justice "for drawing attention to India's most vulnerable and writing about them with humanity and integrity."
INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 29 years of excellence
India Currents is the Complete Indian American Magazine
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business
House of Cards Are we in a housing boom?
S
hall we Wollongong? Anyone? If you thought Wollongong was a verb, I don’t blame you. The only reason I know it’s a noun is because I have family who live there and I happened to visit this beautiful seaside town about 50 miles south of Sydney in the fall of 2008. According to the ever-reliable Wiki, the “Gong,” as locals call it, boasts a population of about 292,000, not much bigger than my current hometown of Fremont. Besides its beautiful beach, I do remember that it had the magnificent Nan Tien Buddhist temple and is home to the University of Wollongong, rated “Australian University of the Year” in 1999 and 2000 by the Good Universities Guide. The Gong, as I remember it, was a nice, friendly, but not too exciting sleepy town at the edge of the world. Imagine, then, my surprise when the Gong recently made headlines in no less than The Wall Street Journal (4/28/15). At least by one measure, the Gong is now more expensive than New York. When I last checked, New York had a thing or two more going for it than the Gong. Apparently, it takes about 7.5 times your annual income to buy a house in the Gong, compared to a multiple of only 6.1 in New York. Before you go rushing to buy that “cheaper” condo in Manhattan though, the Journal once again comes to our rescue (“Where Prices Are High and Air Is Thin, WSJ, 5/13/15). The 66-story 220 Central Park South has listed more than 60 apartments above $20 million, compared to 2008 when “only” 29 condos sold at those levels. At the 1004-foot green glass tower One57, the penthouse fetched $100 million in January, the most expensive sale for a single unit ever. Are we in a housing bubble? For those readers who live in Silicon Valley and certain pricey markets around the world, it must certainly seem so. The wife, who likes to check out neighborhood kitchen upgrades at open houses, unsuspectingly ventured into one a couple of weekends ago and almost got stampeded by the flood of prospective buyers. After only one weekend of showing, the agent proudly put up a ‘Sold’ sign. Rumor has it that newly affluent overseas buyers roam the streets of the Valley with sackfuls of cash in their black Mercedes Benzes, ready to snap-up two-room shacks in Cupertino, Palo
8 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
By Prabhu Palani
A Creative Commons Image by AAG Alto, Los Altos and everywhere else. According to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), the metros of San Francisco and San Jose (which comprise the 20 largest cities in each metro) have both exceed their pre-crisis highs. And so it is with Honolulu. In the Los Angeles, Charlotte, and Boston metros, prices are within 5% of their precrisis peaks. Where are the bargains? In Tucson (-30% from its peak), Las Vegas (-38.7%), and Atlanta (-11.2%), it appears that the property market hasn’t reached boiling level yet. Nationally, the numbers look slightly more sobering. As of January 2015, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index stood at 172.81 compared to its peak of over 200 in 2006. The National Association of Realtors Home Affordability Index tells a similar story. Barring a few metros in California, New York, and Hawaii, a family at the median income level can still afford to buy an average home. What should you do? If you own a home, pat yourself on the back. You’ve done rather well in the last three years even if it is only on paper. You feel good and spend more on other things (which helps the economy). If you are really lucky, you actually have an economic reason to move to the boonies where you can trade your home for a mansion with some left over in the bank. But what if you are a prospective homebuyer? Make sure that you fully understand the costs of home ownership (and there are plenty). Interest rates are low and hopefully your income is high enough. The local economy influences home prices to a large extent, so make sure
that your area has plenty of jobs and a potentially bright economic future. Factor in other considerations as they apply to your own situation, such as schools, healthcare, crime, quality of life. As the old adage goes, it’s all about location, location, location. Despite the periodic busts of the housing market, some markets like New York and the Valley continue to show an upward trajectory over the long term. According to Draft Plan Bay Area—Strategy for a Sustainable Region published by the Association of Bay Area Governments (March 2013), the San Francisco Bay Area population is expected to increase by 30% from 2010 to 2040, with 33% more jobs and only 24% more housing units during that period. If these projections hold up, the local housing market should remain strong in the long run. As for me, I am waiting for that cash buyer to ring my doorbell. For the right price I might even thrown in my six-and-ahalf cylinder 1929 Bentley Speed Six with the overhead camshaft, single-piece engine (the miniature model). And then I will pack my bags and head out. Tucson anyone? n Prabhu Palani, CFA, was formerly a managing director and the head equity strategist at Mellon Capital Management in San Francisco, CA. Previously he was senior vice president and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments and Principal, Portfolio Manager at Barclays Global Investors. Prabhu holds graduate degrees from Stanford University and the University of Delaware and is a member of the CFA Institute and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
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cover
By Sarita Sarvate
Photo credits: Priya Living
“I am domesticated, broken, tamed,” Arun Pancholi says, sounding like a hen-pecked husband. But as he speaks, his cheeks break into playful dimples. With a baseball hat stylishly cocked on his head, he looks like a mischievous middle-schooler. “I am on the inside,” he says with a twinkle in his eye, “I am done for.”
“I
nside” is the Indian-American retirement community of Shantiniketan in Tavares, Florida, where Pancholi has been living with his wife Usha for the last two years. “Women adjust better to this place; they don’t have to cook any more,” he adds. “Men have a hard time. They have to find their niche.” Pancholi has found his niche. He volunteers at a local hospital. “There is a great need to help people,” he says. “Not only at Shantiniketan but also in the town.” Florida, after all, is the retirement capital of America. People need transportation to medical facilities; they need help in so many different ways. And Pancholi feels fulfilled when he is helping others. “I am an A-type personality,” he says. “I need something to occupy me.” 10 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
After a successful career in sales and marketing in Ohio, where he lived in a 4,000-5,000 sq. ft. suburban home, it is a challenge to adjust to a 1,000 sq. ft. condo in a retirement community. But the choice for him and his wife was to move close to their daughter in New Jersey, go to India, or come to Shantiniketan. And after forty years in America, they knew they could not adapt to life in their native land. Like many Indians of their generation, the Pancholis are modern people. They were among the first wave of Indian immigrants, many of whom came to the US as students and later acquired green cards. They were the first generation to also reject the traditional lifestyles of their parents and grandparents, with the result that they do not expect to live
with their children; they value their independence too fiercely. When I embarked on this project to explore Indian-American retirement communities, my visions of such places were derived from stories about nursing homes I had read in the newspapers when I first came to the US in the ‘70s. I was imagining the neglect, the isolation, the abuse; I was envisioning ghettos of women in saris and men in kurtas hobbling around, cut off from the diverse world, the normal world of America. But Iggy Ignatius, Shantiniketan’s founder says, “They don’t know what heaven is until they come here.” “Every ethnic and religious group has retirement homes in America,” he adds. “Why not us?”
In some media stories, Shantiniketan has been referred to as a Hindu community. But in fact, it is as secular as India is, with a prayer room that accommodates all beliefs, including Islam, Christianity, and Jainism. Ignatius is himself a Christian but belongs to the Brahma Kumaris, a sect that believes in purifying the soul through meditation and positive thinking. “I was seeking something more in life,” he says. Material and professional success was not enough. Trained as an engineer, he got an MBA from the University of Illinois. He became a marketing consultant, got into computers in 1974, and formed a successful IT company. Still, he felt that something was lacking in his life; he was not actively involved in society. He began to ponder his old age. He started to long for his homeland. But his children would not let him leave the US. He realized that like many Indians who came to the
Yet he longed for his own community. “We are like salmon that return to the stream to die,” he says. “At the end stage of our lives, we want to be surrounded by our own kind.” US in the sixties and seventies, he was too assimilated into American life to adjust to India. Yet he longed for his own community. “We are like salmon that return to the stream to die,” he says. “At the end stage of our lives, we want to be surrounded by our own kind.” The name Shantiniketan, which means abode of peace, is taken from the name of the university that Ravindranath Tagore, India’s only Nobel laureate in literature, founded outside of Calcutta in the early 1900s. Devoted to the pursuit of art and poetry in a natural setting, Shantiniketan, India, caters to one end of the population spectrum, while Shantiniketan, Florida serves the other. “There are 3 million Indian Americans,” Ignatius says. “Nearly 10% or 300,000 are retired. And about one percent of those seek a place like Shantiniketan. So it is definitely a niche community.” The main reason residents come to Shantiniketan is the vegetarian food, he adds. Pancholi and his wife Usha agree.
“Don’t you get tired of eating institutional food day after day?” I ask. “No,” they reply. “We have so much variety.” Breakfast is served continental style, with cereal, milk, toast, tea, and coffee. Lunch consists of two vegetables, daal, roti, rice, and yogurt. In the evenings, there are over 30 items for dinner, including Gujarathi, Punjabi, and Maharashtrian cuisine. Mexican and Italian dishes are also available. For the monthly price of $250, the meal plan is a bargain. Residents are free to cook non-veg in their own kitchens, as many fish-eating Bengalis do. For the retired doctors and engineers, Shantiniketan’s condos at $250,000 apiece are quite affordable. But then again, you can get a four, five bedroom house in Tavares for that amount. Still, one of the attractions of a community like Shantiniketan is that it has 55+ zoning, Ignatius says, so residents do not have to pay property taxes for schools. His model has been so successful that he has been invited to open homes in California, Washington DC, Dallas, Texas, even overseas, in places such as Malaysia, England, Australia, and New Zealand. One of the reasons for his success is that 50% of the profits go back to the community, he says. “What about low-income Indian-Americans?” I ask. A plan for a subsidized ashram is underway, Ignatius replies. “For years, Indian-Americans tried to create something like this,” Ignatius says. “But they couldn’t figure out the structure.” Until he came up with a financial model that worked. “First, the land is purchased and infrastructure is put in,” he says. “Development proceeds in phases. Out of a 100-condo community, about 30% or 30 are pre-sold and built at the first stage. The developers get their profits and the next phase is built. Once the entire project is finished, the management and ownership transfers to
the Shantiniketan Association.” Currently, in Phase I, the Ignatius Company prepares the food while the Association serves it. The Association, in fact, has a committee for everything. There is a management committee, a food committee, a transportation committee, a safety and health committee, and a maintenance committee. I recall my experience of communal living in Berkeley in the early eighties and the inevitable arguments it involved over doing the dishes and taking out the garbage. “Don’t you get tired of endless meetings and squabbles?” I ask. “It is definitely like living in an extended family,” he says. “Individually, Indians are great to work with, but communally, they can be difficult.” “I have to keep the premise of 3Cs in mind,” he adds.
I recall my experience of communal living in Berkeley in the early eighties and the inevitable arguments it involved over doing the dishes and taking out the garbage.
3Cs consist of camaraderie, caring, consideration, and compassion, he explains. When I point out that these add up to four Cs, he chuckles and says that you can combine consideration and compassion in one. A sense of humor, after all, carries the day. Based on the principles of ownership and partnership, if Shantiniketan is modeled on the co-housing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing) facilities of Scandinavia, Priya Living offers a different alternative to aging IndianAmericans. Located on a side street off a main thoroughfare in the heart of Silicon Valley, Priya offers one-bedroom rental accommodations for about $2,500 a month. Every year, there is an increase of about 8%. Not only are the rates reasonable by Silicon Valley standards, but for the majority of affluent Indian-American residents, very affordable. Still, Pravin Thakkar, who moved here in April from Columbus, Indiana, worries about his payments. He had a successful career in management in Indiana, but his rental income from Photo credits: Shantiniketan a condo there is low. Cost is not Thakkar’s only pre July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 11
occupation. He also worries about his health, about the possibility of having surgeries without anyone to help him. He finds his loneliness devastating. At the age of 66, Thakkar retired from his job after his wife passed away. He could not bear to live alone in the Midwest. But now he regrets his emotional decision. At least his work kept him occupied, he says. Now he has nothing to distract him. He was never interested in spirituality, so it is hard to find solace in it now. He tried to live alone in Cupertino near his daughter, but it was expensive. So he moved to Priya. “My daughter tells me I was unfortunate to be so fortunate all my life,” he adds. “I had a happy marriage, a happy life. I never had to face the meaning of life.” “The people here are good company,” he adds with a tinge of wistfulness in his voice. Seventy-nine year old Kottarathil Venugopal also speaks wistfully about his fortyeight years in the US. A professor of anesthesiology in Chicago, he started a private practice after the university failed to offer him tenure. He had a successful career but he could not get close to the Indian community there. Winters were cold; distances large. His life was filled with work. Now, at last, he is part of a community. But talking to the 79-year old Venugopal, one cannot help getting the sense that the life he had envisioned when he first came to America has somehow passed him by. Still, he is pragmatic about his decision to live at Priya. “Medical facilities are close by,” he says. “I had a heart procedure at Stanford.” The women at Priya seem more adapted to communal living than men do. Sheela Jangla, who left India forty years ago with her husband to live in Dubai, has acquired the resilience of a nomad. After retirement, she and her husband came to California to be with their son, she says, but returned to India when her husband got cancer. Now that they have green cards and healthcare through Obamacare, they are back. They tried staying with their son but got bored. Her husband misses India, she says, but she does not. Eighty-four year old Uma Jindal, a “snowbird” who comes to California every winter to be near her daughter, is reluctant to give up her condo in Edmonton, Canada. She worked at the library in Canada, she says; she has friends there. Talking to these strong women, one gets the sense that they are fiercely independent and determined to avoid being a burden to anyone. They have used the philosophical underpinnings of their culture, I observe, to prepare themselves for life’s transitions. One advantage of Priya Living is that it also offers rentals to a small number of young Silicon Valley workers, providing 12 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
Photo credits: Priya Living
“Sometimes, you come to me as my mother’s heart And sometimes, like my little girl. And every time I remember you, I ache.” much-needed diversity. The other advantage is that in addition to yoga classes and other activities offered in-house, the residents can access facilities in the communities such as food ordered in from nearby restaurants or activities at the Santa Clara Senior Center. I sit in Priya’s sunny but breezy courtyard, watching a group of residents mixing flaked rice, peanuts, and spices to make Bhel, an Indian street food, when Arun Paul, the founder of Priya, joins me. “A column of yours explains the philosophy behind Priya Living perfectly,” he says, jolting me out of my reverie. “I read it years ago, but I remember it clearly. I have it in my office.” Titled “Exiled at Home,” he reminds me, the essay talked about the experience of spending a lifetime in a place one was not born in. “You talked of the longings and disorientations exile produces in immigrants,” he says. “Even though I was born in the US, I feel it too; I am cut off from my larger family and community.” “Now, millions of people live in places they were not born in,” I wrote in that 2011 column. “Yet, deep down, our longings have
not shifted. To be born and to die in the same place, surrounded by your own people and family, is a privilege that many no longer have.” In my column, Paul reminds me, I quoted a 1961 song a man sings to his country: Sometimes, you come to me as my mother’s heart And sometimes, like my little girl. And every time I remember you, I ache. Maybe it is Paul’s reminder of my words, or maybe it is the sight of these women, young and old, peering over jewelry someone has brought for sale from India, but I no longer feel separate from the group. Teary-eyed, I envy its camaraderie and companionship. I recall the last words of that song: Hum jahaan paida hue us jagah pe hi nikale dam Where I was created, There I will take my last breath. Most of us no longer have the luxury of taking our last breaths in our birthplaces, I muse, but Shantiniketan and Priya Living offer a very good simulation. 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 publitions. Sarita Sarvate wrote this article supported by a fellowship from New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America, sponsored by AARP.
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 13
education
Why a Software Engineer Became a Writer 2015 Convocation Speech at San Jose State University’s Computer Science Department By Jaya Padmanabhan
M
y name is Jaya Padmanabhan. Twenty-four out of every million people may know who I am on this planet. (That number is based on the factoid that there are 172,000 monthly readers of the magazine that I edit: India Currents.) So I was justifiably surprised and incredibly honored to be asked to give the speech today. I always believed that there were rules to these things but thank you Dr. Khuri, Rule Bender. I’d like to borrow a line from the movie The Second Best Marigold Hotel, one of the most extravagantly boring movies ever made despite some serious aging good looks. In the movie, Maggie Smith declares to Dev Patel “I’m not here to give advice. I’m here to share opinions.” That was one of the few things I took away from the movie. So here 14 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
they are my opinions. Twenty years ago I took a class on Computational Theory and I loved it. I was fascinated by the idea of unsolvable problems, by the intractable nature of mathematical dilemmas. Twenty years ago, I listened to Professor Sami Khuri talk about genetic algorithms and I saw the beautiful complexity of heuristic search methodology. Twenty years ago, I was one among you, sitting on a chair listening to a speech given by I don’t know who and wondering where I would be twenty years from graduation, and whether I would be applying what I learned in the classroom. I got my first job based on my passion for NP Complete problems and genetic algorithms, subjects I absorbed in the classrooms that you have sat in. And I was excited then as you probably are today. Yet twenty years
later I stand before you as a writer. And that, ladies and gentleman is what I am here to talk to you about. Life Choices and Algorithms. Graduates, faculty, parents Congratulations! And graduates, class of 2015, while the rest of your story is still to be written, some of the most interesting chapters are done, and whether it is a Narrow Road to the Deep North, or the Road Less Traveled, or the Road to Utopia you are now the one setting the line and page breaks. So keep your eye out and your hopes up. Many of you will be heading out to join startups and large and small enterprises. In a few years some of you will start your own companies and then one or two or maybe a handful of you will be listed on Forbes 500. Your salary and benefits will allow you to buy
those Teslas and Louis Vuitton handbags and you will take your beautiful families on vacations to Aruba and you will dine at restaurants and order dishes described as hand-cut silken cheese from brown cows fed on organic hay and artistically stimulated into reduced green spinach with a splash of satin cream. It will be the same dish that your grandmother once served you, which she calls palak paneer. But that’s what your money will get you. A nice seat at the table and a beautiful description. And, of course, the Louis Vuitton bag. Yes, I am a writer. I am one of those who gave it up, took that fork in the road that brought me little money and 24 out of a million people worth of recognition. I’m a culture writer. I write about identity and being an American from India. I write about belonging and integration and alienation. Writing to me is not much different from coding. It’s merely more refined and less defined. I like to think of writing like it’s a set of codes and trees and data structures that I need to make sense of. So I apply what I was taught in this university to my words. I give it a pattern, and configure my paragraphs so that my story is directly affected by the word to sentence scripting that goes into it. So why become a writer? I’d like to start by telling you of an incident. When one of my twins was seven years old, she and her friend Mary were standing in line during recess. They had just come out of a history class. Mary, without much preamble, turned to my daughter and explained it to her: “if you’d been born 200 years ago,” she said, “you would have been my slave.” At seven, my daughter couldn’t make sense of that remark, so she came home and asked me if what Mary had said was true. I could see that my daughter’s self-image had suddenly changed and she desperately wanted me to refute what she had heard. All of a sudden she was forced into the realization that there were things beyond her control that had tremendous significance. It was an inflection point in her life. It was one of the gravest moments of my life. There was no perfect answer to my daughter’s question. If I’d been born 200 years ago, would I have been a slave? Yes was not entirely right, and no seemed like a dissociation from the black experience. And I wanted my seven-year-old daughter to feel the utter devastation of slavery and to not want to be white, something other than what she is, in our multi-colored world. I understood that this was too much for a child to grasp. So I wanted to record the moment for later. There were many such moments in the years that followed. It became an increasingly complex problem that I grappled with. I
found that I had a crazy compulsion to write and then to read what I had written to make sense of a particularly significant moment. If I’d had to write an algorithm at age thirty that could deterministically predict what I would be doing for the rest of my life, it would have been a straightforward one. The inputs and variables were steady and strong to become a software engineer. At age forty, however, the variables changed and the predictions began to fluctuate. And that, I think, is the irrationality of living. More and more I began to read and think
One of the biggest perks of my job is that I am expected to read. I have always been somewhat of an avid, almost greedy reader. of what identity really meant. For many it’s their job, for others it is fame or friends or fortune or status and for others it’s keeping our spirits alive within our skins. For me, it’s feeling the connection. I feel it when I listen to a beautiful rhythm played by a subway drummer with dark glasses on. I feel it when I’m reading a sentence that is textured into such beauty that I must stop to reflect. I felt it when I sat on a staircase 16 years ago and watched my two-year old daughters negotiate the stairs towards me. I feel it when I read about the Salem march in America or the Dandi march in India and wonder what it would take to knock me down. And how many knocks it would take to keep me physically down. I feel it when ordinary people do extraordinary things. And I feel it when my daughters ask me what the meaning of color really is. The Harlem writer James Baldwin once said, “Insofar as you think you are white, you are irrelevant.” In today’s context I’d like to believe that, “Insofar as you think of the color of skin, you are irrelevant.” Events in the past few months have brought home once again that racism is the discoloration of minds and has less to do with the skin than with inherited attitudes. And that is what I want to convey to my readers and to my children. And that is why I write. The little seven-year-old Mary was trying to make sense of a history lesson and to her the differentiating factor was the color of skin. To my darker hued children, color did not have much meaning till they encountered that life lesson. So I arrived at a point in my life where I hungered for a new awareness. I began to write and publish and I grew as a writer. I experienced the headiness that comes from bringing to the world a truth, even if it’s an
inconvenient one. I often got it wrong, but when it was right, it was beautiful. I loved what I did in my twenties, but I love what I do today even more. And I never forget that I’m here at this juncture of my life because I took classes in Basic and Pascal. I’ve been advising my daughter who wants to be a human rights lawyer that it’s important to take a coding class, just so it can instruct her as a thinker. There are many similarities between writing and programming. Not the least is the analysis that must be part of non-fiction and even fiction writing. Many of you in this audience may have experienced that aha moment when you cracked the code to an algorithm or figured out a solution to a problem you think nobody else has. In my opinion every code has been cracked, every problem has been solved. What we are innovating is a new set of problems and hence new solutions to these new problems. To keep those aha moments coming. It’s no different with writing. I experience many aha moments when I write. Only to realize a little later that someone else has beaten me to it. The plot has already been written, the title already taken. It has already been said. So I just need to say it sooner or better or funnier or in my own style. One of the biggest perks of my job is that I am expected to read. I have always been somewhat of an avid, almost greedy reader. I don’t have to wait to find time for it anymore. I must read in order to survive as a writer. Though strangely enough I’ve come across more writers who don’t read (enough) than readers who don’t write (enough). My mother can testify to my obsessive reading habits since she has caught me on more than one occasion reading what she calls a “storybook” instead of preparing for the chemistry test or bio midterm in high school. She lives with me now and has a permanent furrow on her forehead. I believe it showed up after I told her that I was not merely reading one but actually writing a storybook! The challenge in the choices we make is that whatever we do, we must “think different,” to borrow from Apple. How we do that, what we use to do that or where we do that does not matter. So as you leave San Jose State University, my hope is that you look for and make those connections. Feel the empathy of other experiences and enter your cubicles and garages powered by those feelings. Be ready to be different, make a difference and differentiate wisely as I know you will. Thank you! n Jaya Padmanabhan is the editor of India Currents magazine.
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 15
16 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |July 2015
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feature
Drought Changes Water Rights History in California Repeating Punjabi history in California?
W
hen Governor Jerry Brown asked urban dwellers to curtail their usage of water, it caused an uproar. The culprit was agriculture, and it was sucking up eighty percent of California’s water at 8.6 trillion gallons per year. A sword now hung over the heads of the farmers. It threatened to take away the water they did have. Some farmers whose rights to water were protected by long-standing riparian laws were worried that this drought would rewrite history. Among the farmers, the water right priority system is what determines who gets to use water in times of shortage. “Junior water right holders will be told to cease their diversions first in times of shortage so that water is available to meet senior water right holders’ needs. In general, the most senior are riparian water right holders. They are adjacent to the water body and are using water on the land that abuts the water body. Next are the appropriators. Their rights are based on the concept of first in time, first in right. “The ones with more recent rights (junior water right holders) are curtailed first,” explains the Water Authority, which decides who gets how much water and what gets planted. Junior water right holders in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds and others have already been curtailed for the second consecutive year, but this year the seniors fear that the government may be forced
By Ritu Marwah
A Creative Commons Image by CIAT to cut their rights too, which so far have been protected by history. What has been rightfully theirs since before 1914 may be taken away. The concern is what would they do if they planted the field for the summer with row crops like tomatoes, potatoes and asparagus, and the government withdrew their right to water? San Joaquin’s farmers, with senior rights, thought they must take preventive action before the government takes deeper or unpredictable cuts. It was suggested and agreed, that in the interest of realistic planning they would work with the authorities and volunteer to use one quarter less of their water. Farmers with senior rights from the Sacramento Valley agreed to join in.
Map of soil moisture conditions across the U.S. as of January 13th. NOAA/NCDC 18 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
Riparian laws had existed in Punjab as well. When India got independence, each state had ownership of the rivers and lakes that ran through their state but that had not stopped the Indian government in 1966 from declaring that it was giving away Punjab’s water to Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. Could the drought repeat Punjabi history in California? The senior farmers, to manage the risk of potentially deeper curtailment, offered to give up twenty five per cent of their water rights in exchange for assurances they would not face further riparian curtailment during the JuneSeptember growing season. The state accepted their offer. Thus the ongoing drought forced one of the most important concessions and marked the first cuts to the state’s most senior water rights holders anywhere in the state since the 1970s, and the first in memory to senior rights holders along the San Joaquin. The Sacramento River, the principal river of Northern California, flows south from the Klamath Mountains. The San Joaquin River runs north towards San Francisco Bay, through the Central Valley. Both rivers merge in the delta near Sacramento and flow under the Golden Gate Bridge into the Pacific Ocean. Farms along both rivers need water. The difference between the two valleys is that the Sacramento Valley is not as short on water as the Central Valley. The Sacramento River is fat, fed by the melting snows, rain and its many tributaries while the San Joaquin River is dry by the time it reaches Fresno, drained of all its water by the canals which draw water into the farms that fan out from the river’s shores. The Sacramento River area gets more rain and loses less water to the air as the temperatures are lower. It is less hot in the valley of the Sacramento River. The Central or the San Joaquin Valley is parched and hot. A sacrifice of water by the farmers of San Joaquin means cutting back on what they desperately need. On 22nd May, 2015, the New York Times reported “on Friday, in a sign of how the record-setting drought is shaking up established ways here, state officials accepted an offer from farmers in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta to give up a quarter of their water this season, either by leaving part of their land unplanted or finding other ways to reduce their water use. In return, the state has assured them that it will not seek further reductions for the growing season. The deal was symbolic and potentially precedent-setting, reported the Times.
A map of the current status of the water levels in the major state reservoirs. As can be seen the situation is worse in the northern two-thirds of the state than in the southern section. Source: California Department of Water Resources
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Ritu Marwah has pursued theater, writing, marketing, startup management, raising children, coaching debate and hiking. Ritu graduated from Delhi with a master’s degree in business, joined the Tata Group and worked in London for ten years.
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“A water right gives the holder legal permission to use water for beneficial purposes, such as for agriculture, municipal water supply, recreation and the environment. Water right holders do not own the water, but they have the right to beneficially use reasonable amounts of it, when water is available under their priority of right. Drought has given a major blow to Punjabi farming community and California’s agricultural economy, but I am confident that they will eventually rebound and farmers will use water more efficiently in the future,” says Mr. Jitender (Jay) Puniha, who has extensive experience working for California Department of Water Resources and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. “The Californian weather pattern historically gives us hope that the drought has run its course.” The el Nino, flooding Texas in May may predict a wet winter for Californian city and farm dwellers. While we wait with bated breath, eyes raised to the sky, the Californian drought has indeed taught us we must nail some new rules and plans to the trees. n
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tax talk
Five Simple Tips to Lower Your Tax Bill By Rita Bhayani
Y
ou’ve filed or extended your 2014 tax return and now it’s time to plan for next tax season. Here are five simple tax planning tips for 2015.
1. Check your withholding.
If you owed money in 2014 and weren’t self-employed, chances are that you might not be withholding enough tax from your paycheck. On the other hand, if your refund was more than a thousand dollars, you probably are withholding too much and could be getting a larger take-home check every week. Your employer withholds tax based on the information you’ve provided on your Form W-4. The more allowances you claim on Line 5, the less tax your employer withholds. The fewer exemptions you claim, the more tax is withheld.
2. Increase your retirement contributions.
Money you contribute to your 401(k), 403, or SIMPLE account reduces your tax-
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able income, which in turn reduces your tax bill. Some employers will even match contributions to a certain extent. That doesn’t mean you should only contribute up to the match. Investing early unleashes the power of compounding interest.
is no gradual increase. Once you reach the edge of the 15 percent bracket, for example, an additional dollar of income goes from being taxed at 15 percent to 25 percent. Your taxable income is reported on Line 43 of Form 1040.
3. Make HSA contributions.
5. Have a plan and seek advice.
If you have a high-deductible health plan, make HSA contributions through your paycheck to reduce your taxable income. Paycheck contributions (through a cafeteria or 125 plan) also reduce the amount of wages subject to FICA tax. This is great double benefit. You can make contributions outside of work, but they will only reduce your income tax.
4. Know your tax bracket.
Do you know how much of your income was taxed at 10, 15 or 20 percent? The U.S. has a progressive tax system, meaning that your income is separated into brackets and each bracket is taxed at that percent. There
Unless you are Marty McFly, you can’t go back in time. Feel free to schedule a phone call with me to discuss the tax consequences of any big financial decisions you plan on making. n
Rita Bhayani is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant practicing at Pleasanton, CA and she protects the clients from the IRS. She provides tax planning, accounting, payroll and outsourced CFO services too. For more information log on to www. ritacpa.net. Reprinted with permission from the National Association of Tax Professionals.
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.
July 2015
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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 June 2015. 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 Oct 01, 2007 2A Nov 08, 2013 2B Oct 15, 2008 3rd Mar 15, 2004 4th Oct 22, 2002 NOTE: F2A numbers subject to percountry limit are available to applicants with priority dates earlier than September 15, 2013.
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Preference Dates for India 1st Current 2nd Oct 01, 2008 3rd Feb 01, 2004 Other Feb 01, 2004 Workers 4th Current Certain Current Religious Workers 5th Current Targeted Employment Areas The Department of State has a recorded message with visa availability information at (202)485-7699, which is updated in the middle of each month. Source: http://travel. state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/ bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-july-2015.html
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fiction
Unsaid
atha iction Contest 2015
irst Pri e
By Iqbal Pittalwala
I
t happened yesterday in the aunty’s reason, looks at everyone from the cor- one after the other, with relatives callhouse, just three days into our trip. ners of her eyes and slouches with such ing either Irfan or Fatima on their cell Somehow, I knew a breakdown poor stature that one has to wonder if phones. There was no escaping. It was would occur, despite all of Mansoor’s she isn’t developmentally challenged in lunch with this aunty, dinner with anassurances, and now I wish I had not some way. Asperger’s perhaps, some- other, and movies and picnics with different sets of cousins. Before Mansoor come with him to India, to Mumbai, his thing like that. city of abject squalor and decay. The day the airport taxi delivered us could fully recall who the caller was To back up, we’re here to attend to their flat—it was three or four in the while Irfan or Fatima spoke, the phone was thrust into his hand. Poor a wedding—one of Manguy. He nods and agrees now to soor’s million cousin siswhatever the callers say. Most of ters is finally getting marthe time, he does not know who ried. The flight from LA they are, and has to be reminded to Dubai was a killer, the later by Irfan and Fatima. That’s nine-hour layover in Dubai why you should come to Inbeing no joke either. By the dia more often, they’ll both tell time we landed at Mumhim just about every time, pat bai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji his shoulder and admonish him International Airport, we for having let nine years come were drained, able to haul between his last trip and this ourselves off the airplane one—about the same time we’ve only because we couldn’t been a couple. stand it in the cabin any Irfan is in his early fifties, longer. So we scuttled out portly, and sports a gray beard into the noisy terminal, got that makes him look older. Fatithrough immigration and ma is a few years younger, her customs in minutes, and A Creative Commons Image by Asim Chaudhari thick hair tied into a bun, her proceeded to his brother’s morning, some such ungodly hour—it sleepy eyes and drooping shoulders sugflat in Bandra—the flat that once betook us about an hour to get them to gesting prolonged fatigue. While they longed to their deceased parents. What agree to let us sleep in the hall. They know we’re a couple (who can know he hadn’t told me all along was that the wanted us to have Zaynab’s bedroom. what Zaynab thinks?) the rest of the flat is so small—a boxy living room and They would accommodate Zaynab in clan here—a mob of uncles, aunties and two tiny bedrooms—that it can barely their bedroom, although where exactly cousins—does not. But even Irfan will contain the brother, his wife and their she would sleep was not explained. say when introducing us to their handtwenty-eight-year-old daughter. So we’re sleeping in the “hall,” a.k.a. Finally, after lots of raised voices, chest ful of friends, “This is Mansoor and this is Amol,” the living room in sensible places in the t h u m p i n g and nearworld, and managing to sleep under a Unless we put ourselves out there n e g l e c t c o m i c a l ing to add squeaky ceiling fan that I fear is going to t h r e a t s , as a gay couple before his relathat we’re take a dive one night and decapitate us Irfan, the with its sharp blades. If only Mansoor tives, they’re not going to come as good as brother, and married. Is had listened to me when I suggested a Fatima, the around to accepting us as one. it really that hotel months ago. It would have given sister-in-law, big a deal us all the privacy we needed, but no, his agreed to let to acknowlbrother would have felt insulted, he said, us crash out in the hall, which we did as edge us as a couple? Mansoor says it is. the sister-in-law would have thrown a soon as we lay down on the ultra-thin Yeah, a big deal in fact. This isn’t Los tantrum, and the niece—well, Mansoor mattress they retrieved from a dusty Angeles, he’ll say. Sure there are a lot of said nothing about the niece, Zaynab, closet and the lights were turned off. gay people in India, but gay couples are who says nothing most of the time, The invitations came the next day, not as many, and Indian society—his stands perpetually on her toes for some 22 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
relatives for sure—needs time to process it all. Well, I don’t believe in such a glacial pace of progress, I’ll remind him. You should have come here by yourself. Why throw me back into the closet? It’s a matter of days, he said two days ago. Can’t you deal with that? Actually, I can’t. Societies can be transformed in an instant, I think. Unless we put ourselves out there as a gay couple before his relatives, they’re not going to come around to accepting us as one. And that was exactly how I felt last evening before we set out for his aunty’s place in Santa Cruz. I even warned him in the taxi that I would introduce us as a couple. Stop it, he said, and held my hand in his. Patience, sweet pea, he said. Patience. His Sabera Aunty was the one who opened the front door, her rotund body doing little to stop the advance of a cloud of rich food aromas emanating from her flat. She lives with her husband in a high-rise building—I don’t recall what floor. She has no children; an early hysterectomy ensured that. No sooner had we stepped in and taken off our shoes than she asked if I was the friend that Fatima had mentioned to her. An awkward silence followed. As she hobbled away from us, Mansoor said, to my surprise and horror, that that was correct. I was his friend from America. I looked at him. He wouldn’t turn my way. Family originally from New Delhi, he said. Parents moved to the US in the mid-seventies, before I was born. Father: vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion at UCLA. Mother: director of the Center for Feminist Research at USC. That isn’t all true, I said. His aunt asked what isn’t true. The friend part, I said. You are not a friend, she asked. Well, I am—in a sense, I said.
Then Amol, you are my friend also, Mansoor when he would give her the she said, and beamed. All of Mansoor’s good news. What good news, I asked. friends are mine as well. She laughed. Mansoor did not. The Where do you live in America, she good news of his marriage, she said, and asked as we all settled into lush couches giggled. She patted me on the knee. He is in the living room. Los Angeles, I said. like a son to me, he always has been, she In the same apartment as your nephew added. My late sister’s son but he grew here, I wanted to add. We sleep in the up mostly in my arms. Now he must same bed. We get mareven have sex ried. Yes, Mansoor is my partner there, he must, I every once in a while. More my lover, my boyfriend, and said. What in the early about you, fianc . ere in your house, she asked years, less so now. We’re however, he is my friend. me. Are you renting at the married? I moment. We said I wasn’t plan to purbut that I chase a condo in Long Beach and then soon would be. That’s wonderful, she get married—you know, tie the knot, said. You must find a sweet girl for live happily ever after as husband and my Mansoor. A Muslim girl, please. husband. Is Los Angeles where you Mansoor glanced at me, all forty-three grew up, she asked next. I grew up in Al- years of him. I shook my head wearily. lentown, I said. It’s in Pennsylvania, not What have you made for dinner, Aunty, far from Philadelphia. Ah, Philadelphia, I heard him say. she said, enunciating each syllable, as They’re clueless, this aunty and unthough she were remembering the place. cle. Even if Mansoor and I held hands I was born in Edison, New Jersey, which right now, they would not be clued. is where my parents first settled, I said. Sabera Aunty said she made mutton I am their only child, I did not bother biryani. It’s his favorite, she explained to add. They love me and your Mansoor to me. And I have prepared some dhan unconditionally. My other relatives there saak, she added. Caramel custard for do, too. They accept us as a couple and dessert. Mansoor threw a fist in the air include us as such in the extended family. and yelled yes. That particular custard is Mansoor is my partner there, my lover, also his favorite, Sabera Aunty said. my boyfriend, and fiancé. Here in your house, however, he is my friend. The husband emerged into the room and shook hands with us, the way one might before a business meeting. Silveraward $300): FIRST PLACE (cash haired and beady-eyed, he wasn’t interLWALA Unsaid by IQBAL PITA ested in me at all, his attention only on a rni Cherry Valley, Califo his wife and periodically on Mansoor. sh award $200): Had he guessed who I was, who we SECOND PLACE (ca JYOTHI were? To draw his atMiss, Dolly and Hulk by ia Ind tention to me, I asked VINOD, Bangalore, him if he’d been to award $100): THIRD PLACE (cash America. When he reNGULY, San 10-4 by SANJOY GA plied that he had in the Jose, California 1970s he looked at his wife. Mansoor asked if ION: HONORABLE MENT business had taken him , Los Altos, Brink by TANVI BUCH there. The uncle said California business and pleasure. ION: He looked at Mansoor HONORABLE MENT HOSH NT when he said that, then Courage by VIVEK SA a rni lifo turned to his wife. San Francisco, Ca Sabera Aunty asked
Katha 2015 Results
A Creative Commons Image by Tom Jervis
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 23
ishing temporarily, and said. Yes, we are, I said. We are a couple made her way back to and his family—all of them—need to know. No, they don’t, he said. her seat. I leaned toward him, pulled him Zaynab should be getting married soon, closer to me, and kissed him hard on she said. The girl was the lips. He pushed me away, wiped his approaching thirty. If mouth and looked at the taxi driver in she didn’t marry be- the rear view mirror. Have you comfore thirty, it would be pletely lost your mind, he yelled. This too late, the aunt pro- is not West Hollywood, Amol! I don’t nounced. Perhaps she care, I retorted. That’s what I should wants to remain single, have done at your aunt’s place—kissed A Creative Commons Image by R. Mitra I said. Nonsense, the you, French-kissed you before her, that aunt said. What is with strange uncle, and that pitiful servant She panicked suddenly and leaned all of you single people? By now you girl. You’re mad, Mansoor said. Mad forward in my direction. You eat meat, should be happily married. Marriage is with joy and aliveness, I said. I added I would not stay another night at his don’t you, she said. I told her I am not fundamental to life, she said. vegetarian. I didn’t say that while I was The uncle nodded. Marriage and brother’s flat. It’s too crammed. There’s born Hindu, my family practiced no then children, I exclaimed, leaning for- no privacy. It’s a bloody prison. We can’t religion, that with the exception of my ward in my chair. What other purpose is even have sex if we wanted to. I don’t mother who had embraced the Baha’i there? A pregnant silence took over the want to, he said. Not here in India. Are faith a decade ago, the family bordered room. Sabera Aunty looked down. The you nuts? No, I am not nuts, I said. on atheism. uncle reached out and held her hand. We’ll check into a hotel, I added. No, we A servant girl of about ten years Yes, children, too, she said. I am sorry, won’t, he said. But why a hotel, Fatima shrieked of age brought two tall glasses of pink I said, remembering the hysterectomy. colored drinks on a silver tray. She wore But children are not necessary for a mar- when I brought it up minutes later dea white frock too large for her. Her riage to be happy, the uncle said, looking spite Mansoor’s warning. You have both arms and legs were cinnamon-stick thin. directly at me for once. I said I couldn’t come to my house from America after Mansoor protested, saying we were only agree more. Mansoor gave me a look, God knows how many years and you will consuming bottled drinks in India. He and scowled. Look at us, the uncle said, stay in a hotel? What will people think? apologized profusely. The aunt insisted we’re happy. If no children followed, it is You would spoil our name in the comthe drinks were made with bottled wa- only the grace of God. No doubt, I said munity! We wouldn’t be able to show ter. The servant girl looked on, unsure with a measure of sarcasm. The servant our faces to anyone. Out of the question! No, of what to do. Don’t be so fussy, Sabera girl entered not posAunty said. You American-types are too the room We are not on a mission, he said. sible, Irfan funny, the uncle said, and chuckled from again, the one side of his mouth. He massaged his silver tray Yes, we are, I said. We are a couple c h i m e d in. Even knee. Indian food and drinks are the best held before and his family—all of them—need Z a y n a b way to clean up the digestive system, he her like a said. Enough, his wife told him. She had shield, to to know. No, they don’t, he said. m u m b l e d something already moved toward Mansoor with a collect our that no one drink in her hand. Have, have, come on glasses but could decinow, nothing will happen, don’t insult the drinks us, she said. The servant girl came to were still in our hands. Set the table for pher. We’re running into each other all stand before me. I reached for the drink dinner, Sabera Aunty commanded. Oh the time, I said. Mansoor sat down on on the tray and held it in my hand. good, Mansoor said. We settled our un- the couch, leaned forward, and held his The house phone rang. The servant sipped drinks on the coffee table before face in his hands. Please forgive me that girl slapped the tray against her chest us and proceeded through a bead curtain my house is not big enough for you, Fatima said, joining her hands together. and rushed to answer it. It was Fatima toward the dining table. calling to ask if we had made it to We fought in the taxi on the way to We’re inconveniencing you, I said. God Sabera Aunty’s place in good time. Sa- Irfan and Fatima’s place. Mansoor ob- promise, not at all, Fatima said. That is bera Aunty took the phone and issued jected to the way I behaved at his aunt’s. why you both should have listened to mild protests that Irfan, Fatima and I objected to how he had not behaved. I me the day you arrived: just let Zaynab Zaynab had not come also. There was am not your friend, I said. Not again, he sleep in our room, and you two can then silence while Sabera Aunty listened. Oh, said. I told you it’s just a matter of days. use her bed. We won’t fit in it, I said. I Fatima, you don’t need an invitation, We’ll be out of here soon. I said nothing saw Mansoor shake his head. It’s a twin, the aunt said. Don’t be so formal. You would be achieved. There is nothing to I said. Twin? What twin, Irfan said. know you are welcome here any time. achieve or accomplish, he said. Yes, there Then let’s do this, Fatima said: Irfan She put down the phone, her smile van- is, I said. We are not on a mission, he and I will use Zaynab’s bed, and you 24 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
loud lipstick and nail polish. You’ve lost your mind, he said. Just do what you want. Oh, I will, I said. Fatima popped her head into the hall. Good morning, she sang. How did you both sleep? I want to go shopping, I said. A few things urgently needed for the wedding. No problem, she said. I rose from the floor and began to fold the bedsheet we were using for a blanket. It smelled of sweat and spices. Irfan staggered into the room, scratching his arm. His nails made scraping sounds and left long white trails of dead skin. Hey guys, he said. Slept okay? What do you want for breakfast? What’s your agenda for today? Today we are making asses of ourselves, Mansoor said. What, what, Fatima said. I burst out laughing, and clapped my hands. Irfan and Fatima exchanged glances. Zaynab burst into the room on her toes, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. Today is a brand-new me, I said, and threw open my arms. Let’s have some crazy wild fun! Nobody said anything. Only Za-
two sleep in our bed. And where would Zaynab sleep, I asked. Fatima turned to Zaynab. Zaynab puckered her lips. She will sleep in the living room, Fatima said. Mansoor leaned back on the couch, threw his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he said nothing was going to change: we would sleep in the hall, Zaynab in her room, Irfan and Fatima in theirs. Are you ruling out the hotel option then, I asked. Just shut up, he said. This morning, before the others woke up, I told him I would not be attending the cousin’s wedding. I lay on my back on the mattress, watching the ceiling fan spin. Mansoor was spreadeagled on the couch. As you wish, he said. Several uncomfortable minutes passed. Wait a minute, I then said, piercing the silence. It had occurred to me he was glad I was not attending. This way he wouldn’t have to explain me to everyone. I know what I will do, I said. I will attend the wedding. I’ll show you! I’ll show everyone. I’ll wear lacy pink clothes and glittery high heels. I’ll wear dazzling jewelry, a sparkling tiara maybe,
SANJIV GUPTA , CPA www.sanjivcpa.com • • • •
ynab looked at me and for the first time smiled. n Iqbal Pittalwala is the author of “Dear Paramount Pictures,” a collection of short stories published by SMU Press. He lives in Southern California. Judge’s Comments: Sonia Faleiro: A quirky exploration into the challenges of expressing modern ideas in a conventional Mumbai household. Vikram Chandra: Unsaid is sharply observed, vividly written, and emotionally engaging. Sonia Faleiro is the award winning author of Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay’s Dance Bars. Vikram Chandra’s works include Red Earth and Pouring Rain (a novel), Love and Longing in Bombay (collection of short stories), Sacred Game (a novel) and Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, The Code of Beauty (nonfiction.)
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commentary
Memories of a Beloved Father A piece of paper brings memories
L
eafing through some old diaries, I stumbled across a page torn out of a mini spiral-bound note pad. The calligraphy was precise, drawn gracefully, using a blue ink pen. The writer and his tools were unmistakable, and I saw the flourish with which he probably ended the last sentence. Discovering this little remnant of my Dada opened the floodgates that day. He had written across the top, “A parent can only be as happy as their saddest child.” I had read this before, but I felt my heart shatter into a million little pieces. The date on the little notepaper was May 2009. Unbeknownst to anyone, including him, that would be his last year. Both, my brother and I, had immigrated and carved out our present in America. Still, Dada’s eyes looked west, following our progress and trying to guide us. Like most young adults, we found this cloying and were exasperated by his advice. We tried to explain it to him, my brother in his gentle, circuitous way, and me as direct as a rhino. Dada listened, but as always, stayed true to his beliefs. We tried to shed him, like skin, yet he stayed so close like an essence. Then came the phone call that one dreads. In June 2010, a neighbor called to say that Dada had been hospitalized and was really sick. Our lives began to unravel at the seams. My brother and I flitted between the United States and India, as regularly as if it were a work commute. Playing tag team and coping. This was not how we had imagined this eventuality. Dada was so particular about his walking, balanced diet, and perfect schedule. In contrast my mother, Aai, always ailed, hounded by her hydrocephaly. Like a willful child, she ate, drank and slept erratically. We chanted these thoughts helplessly, like a mantra, and watched the disease grip and alter him. In the privacy of his room, he sat sad, lost, and diffident. But in the presence of visitors, he hauled out his big personality. Indeed, he was so persuasive that everyone
26 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
By Vrinda Kirloskar
A Creative Commons Image by Anthony Kelly
Playing tag team and coping. was convinced that he was “fine.” Only then I understood how Dada’s personality always eclipsed everything else, filling the space around him with his energy. So much so that no one, including my brother who left home at 17, saw how much Aai’s hydrocephaly affected our mother’s life. Dada’s decline was sudden and gave us no time to come to terms with it. I don’t think Dada had come to terms with it either —he was always so positive that I can almost describe him as ebullient. But in those last six months, my brother or I would catch him despondent, and pained. He had lost what he did best—taking hard decisions and standing by them. We realized, quickly, the difficulty of managing two ill parents from another continent, so we moved them into a senior facility in Pune. For our fiercely independent Dada, and diehard Mumbaikar Aai this was emotionally unacceptable. We were criticized by family, friends, and even
servants. We don’t blame them. Perhaps this is also a form of love … But given our circumstances, my brother and I had little choice ... Dada stayed in the apartment for two days, before he moved back into the hospital. By the time the hematologist confirmed the disease, organs had begun to fail. My brother and I signed the DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), knowing that Dada would not want any invasive procedures. This is the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life. Ever. I suspect it is the same for my brother. After Dada passed away, we got down to the business of caring for Aai. Initially she resisted staying in the senior community, but little by little she made it hers simply by her presence. It took her almost three years, and when she stopped talking about her “real home” and gave up railing against the senior apartment, we sensed that she was letting go of everything. It was one step at a time, slow and steady, very much in keeping with the rhythm of her own life through the years. She passed away without a ripple, gently and calmly. The memory of her sitting on her favorite couch is etched into our minds. It was only after she passed away last year, that my brother and I have had the respite to mourn them both. I suspect that almost all of us who live abroad share similar experiences. Since our parents’ passing, we have shed their stuff little by little, step by step. And then, just as one thinks that all physical connections no longer remain, one stumbles upon a mini notepad paper ... This connection I will preserve. Maybe I’ll read it out to my brother when he visits, and we’ll smile. n Vrinda Kirloskar has been a lecturer, tech writer, and fitness instructor. She currently runs her own Pilates Reformer studio in Cupertino. She is interested in people, their perspectives, and in fostering compassion and kindness.
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books
Low Brow, High Readership By Rajesh C. Oza 2 STATES: THE STORY OF MY MARRIAGE by Chetan Bhagat. Rupa, 2009, 269 pages.
T
hose of you who furrow your brows around the highfalutin books often reviewed in these pages, kindly relax and please know that there are at least two types of books that readers enjoy. High-brow or low-brow, it would seem that as far as novel writing goes, there is more than one way to do it. Chetan Bhagat’s 2 States: The Story of My Marriage (aka, 2S:TSoMM ) is a sentimental novel with populist appeal that the youth of India have been raving about for many years. Originally published in 2009, the book’s film adaptation was released on the silver screen in 2014 under the truncated filmy-friendly title 2 States. Perhaps in Bhagat’s case, “golden screen” would be more apropos, since he possesses a Midas touch in writing novels that inevitably find their way into the hearts of audiences and the coffers of film producers seeking super-hits: Five Point Someone adapted to 3 Idiots; One Night @ the Call Center to Hello; The 3 Mistakes of My Life to Kai Po Che!; and Revolution 2020 to a not yet released film. 2S:TSoMM is transmutational, in the way an alchemist transmutates lead into gold. While those inclined to call it “low brow” might smirk at this faux jewelry of fiction, it is a jewel nonetheless. It just lacks the Tiffany-esque imprimatur of prizes and prominent placement in the New York Times Book Review. But 2S:TSoMM has what every author dreams of: a reading public. Stroll on most any sidewalk in urban India or step onto almost any Indian railway platform, and you’ll have ready access to this book; indeed, if my recent experience in Bangalore with Sharif, a roadside vendor of books, is an accurate indicator, you’re likely to have available Bhagat’s entire corpus. To be sure, Sharif and his colleagues peddle pirated copies for a fraction of the published price, but perhaps the author is smiling all the way to the bank since his books may serve as a publicity vehicle for the film adaptations, which bring home crores of rupees to “Bhagat Inc.” (or is that ink?). But this is neither a review of films, nor a discussion of jugaad (frugal, street corner, improvised, hacked) publishing economics. As a recent article in Scientific American 28 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
While there is more to Bhagat’s magic than outlined above, hopefully this review compensates for years of neglect by this selfidentified high-brow reviewer. asked (and answered), “What of the fabled transmutation of lead to gold? It is indeed possible—all you need is a particle accelerator, a vast supply of energy and an extremely low expectation of how much gold you will end up with.” Bhagat and 2S:TSoMM meet the criteria established by Scientific American: both author and book are particle accelerators with a vast supply of energy of sorts (having published a book every year or two, Bhagat takes a small idea and moves it from concept
to completion with tremendous energy, and his novel’s pace and plotting reflect that same relentless movement). And while 2S:TSoMM has a moment or two of literary sunshine, its author seems to have little interest in abstract metaphors that might raise the expectations of readers seeking to enjoy a sunny story. 2S:TSoMM is a feel-good novel about an MBA student from North India who marries a fellow IIM student from the South. The tag line on the book’s back cover pretty much covers the narrative: “Love marriages around the world are simple: Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. They get married. In India, there are a few more steps: Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. Girl’s family has to love boy. Boy’s family has to love girl. Girl’s family has to love boy’s family. Boy’s family has to love girl’s family. Girl and boy still love each other. They get married.” That is the essence of this novel; and it is the foundation of so many Bollywood romantic comedies. This is a formula that never goes stale; and with attractive, fresh-faced stars, a little bit of direction and choreography, and a lot of catchy music, it becomes a formula for a super-hit. While there is more to Bhagat’s magic than outlined above, hopefully this review compensates for years of neglect by this selfidentified high-brow reviewer. And perhaps it may encourage a reader or two (million) to pick up Chetan Bhagat’s recently published Half Girlfriend. Of course, this reviewer vastly overestimates his own impact on the reading public. For example, though I have reviewed the Nobelist V. S. Naipaul numerous times in these pages, when I asked Sharif, the Bangalore bookseller, for a dusty copy of Naipaul’s Half a Life, he said, “Paul who?” Clearly, Sharif had very few customers requesting highfalutin fare. I shuddered in the muddy Indian rain and raced over to the august Oxford Bookstore, housed next to the regal Leela Palace hotel, and found plenty of copies of Naipaul’s prizewinning books. n In appreciation of Balkrishna Oza, who let a much younger RCO ride on his shoulders and taught him that all kinds of writing (ranging from aerogram letters to prize winners to Sunday comics to cereal boxes) has value, as do all kinds of people.
Saving Grandma By Tara Menon GRANDMA AND THE GREAT GOURD, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Roaring Brook Press, 2013.
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hitra Banerjee Divakaruni, one of my favorite writers, whose twin strengths are an ear for language and an innate storytelling prowess, is not only prolific, but also versatile. Her books, whether they are poetry, collections of short stories, or fiction for adults or children, have an excellence that make me eagerly anticipate her next work. Currently, Divakaruni has debuted in the picture book category with the retelling of a Bengali folktale for children between the ages of five to eight. Grandma and the Great Gourd is an easy read, one that will immerse the reader into a traditional world, where a wise old woman outwits three enemies. The writer sticks to the familiar terrain of folktales, without any genre-bending, and she appears to have stayed true to the original version. As demanded by this story form, the writer uses simple, straightforward language that occasionally conveys musicality. The old woman in the story is known as Grandma and Susy Pilgrim Waters, the illustrator, depicts her with a beautiful white dupatta over her head, which can be mistaken for long, lush hair. However, her portrayal works well, especially for those children who are afraid of the elderly. Grandma lives in a village, where she has the best vegetable patch. From her hut, she can hear the jungle sounds of the elephants’ walk, thup-thupthup, or of slithering lizards, khash-khash. Is Grandma afraid? Not while she has her fiercely loyal dogs Kalu and Bhulu to guard her. The arrival of her daughter’s letter sets in motion Grandma’s adventures. She decides to cut across the jungle to visit her. Then, sounding very American or sassy, she says, “What’s life without a little adventure?” Before leaving, she reminds her dogs to take care of her garden. When they tell her to call them if she gets into any trouble, the reader knows for sure she’ll need the canines’ help, as folktales often feature good characters (animals or humans) offering some kind of protection to people who are setting out on an adventure. When Grandma encounters a fox, it almost seems like a reverse Red Riding Hood story, except that Grandma favors
white and the animal she meets is a fox, who makes his intentions to eat her clear at the outset. Soon the Western fairy tale dissipates from our minds. In spite of a heart that goes dhip-dhip, Grandma outfoxes the fox by telling him to wait until she returns from her daughter’s house, when she’ll be plumper. Twice more she meets dangerous animals, a bear and a tiger, who like the fox, utter the same polite sentence, “How nice of you to arrive just when I’m so hungry!” This is in keeping with the folklore narrative tradition, where similar sounding phrases are scattered in the text. A scared Grandma tells the bear, and later the tiger, what she told the fox— they would be better off eating her after she returns from visiting her daughter. Grandma has a lovely time at her daughter’s house and, true to her word, becomes plumper after eating the delicious dishes offered to her. When Grandma is ready to return to her beloved dogs and her garden, she tells her daughter that the bear, the tiger, and the fox will be waiting for her. Her daughter comes up with an ingenious solution to the problem! The next few pages are fun as we follow Grandma traveling through the forest in a sealed giant gourd. There’s a bit of suspense
when the fox comes across the gourd. However, the folktale has a happy ending since Grandma is the cleverest of them all. S u s y Pilgrim Wa t e r s , who has done murals for the New York City Public Library and other large scale works, makes her debut as a picture book illustrator with Grandma and the Great Gourd. Her illustrations in the book have a large-scale quality to them. In addition, they are vivid and colorful. The foliage in the cover picture is reminiscent of Indian fabric, but lovely Grandma surprisingly wears a long white dress or a kurta sans pajama. In the picture of Grandma’s first encounter with the tiger, the animal’s eye appears glassy and menacing, a wonderful touch. The pairing of Divakaruni’s narration with Waters’s illustrations enhances the story. Divakaruni’s inspiration to write the story might have stemmed from the fact she first heard it from her grandfather and, later, recounted it to her sons. We feel the writer’s affection for the story, which gets transmitted to the reader. If a writer has fun with her work, can a reader not help getting engaged? When the last page is turned, readers will hanker for more Bengali folktales or, even, stories featuring a wise old woman. 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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films
Crass Warfare By Aniruddh Chawda
DIL DHADAKNE DO. Director: Zoya Akhtar. Players: Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shetty, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Zarina Wahab. Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Lyrics: Javed Akhtar. Hindi with Eng. Sub-tit. Theatrical release (T-Series)
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n these boom times for India’s economy —already the seventh largest in the world—leisure time and exotic vacations are increasingly within reach of an everexpanding middle class. Cruise ship travel, for example, is suddenly a family summer getaway possibility. For the emerging middle class, what could be better than taking one’s terra firma modern problems out to high seas on what promises to be an eventful cruise? Fashioned after that thought, Dil Dhadakne Do, a seven seas romantic comedy set almost entirely on a cruise ship, more-orless balances the wave motion while wringing through wet sordid upper-crust angst to dock into a surprisingly astute and slam dunk fun formula. Director Akhtar and co-scriptwriter Reema Kagti wade deep into family waters to reel in the highfalutin 1-percenter Mehra clan that invites about a thousand or so of their closest friends on a Mediterranean junket. Kamal (Kapoor), the patriarch, is secretly triangulating for a business white knight to rescue the family’s struggling empire. His wife Neelam (Shetty), makes a little too obvious the distance that 30 years of marriage has created between the couple. Kamal would like nothing more than for his underachieving son Kabir (Singh) to take over the keys to the kingdom while overlooking the shrewdly entrepreneurial daughter Ayesha (Chopra), who is by all measures an accomplished self-made businesswoman—even as she tolerates a cold, dismissive husband (Bose). The gimmicky yet observant nuance of chunks of the dialog “spoken” by the human thoughts of the family dog Pluto (memorably voiced by Aamir Khan) provides comical insight into what ails not only the Mehras but also other assorted shipside fauna. There is Farah (Sharma), the onboard cabaret dancer that catches Kabir’s eye and Sunny (Akhtar), an old flame of Ayesha’s who may just throw a pebble into the pond that is Ayesha’s otherwise stagnant existence.
This longish three-hour-cruise could have done with one or two fewer ports of call. Still, like she did with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), underneath the spectacle of shallowness, director Akhtar engages with a nudge towards basic human elements with which the Mehras and their well-heeled entourage sometimes desperately need to reconnect. That the filmmaker is able to tie all loose knots into the harbor so neatly is even more remarkable considering the huge allstar cast—perhaps the biggest ensemble of a marquee roll call since Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2002). For added luster, Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s catchy soundtrack will no doubt end up on car dashboards and MP3 players this summer. This includes the Roaring Twenties jazzy number “Girls Like to Swing” (Sunidhi Chauhan), filmed on Sharma and her dance troop on an elaborate dinner-stage, and is a retro delight. Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar come up with decent chops in the title track, while the “Gallan Goodiyan” bhangra number figuratively brings to fore the afore-mentioned thousand guests who all appear to join in the rumpus. As a respected big-budget filmmaker who can draw A-list talent before and behind the camera, Zoya Akhtar’s nearest contemporary big tent equal is Farah Khan whose movies, even though they earn far more money, are generally confined to churning out over-the-top Shahrukh Khan home projects (Happy New Year, Om Shanti Om). The fact that both these women firmly stand their ground and make successive box office hits in an otherwise male-dominated career track attests to the changing headwinds in Hindi cinema.
Aside from some gorgeous Mediterranean port of calls that include Tunisia’s Roman ruins, Paris’s riverfront and Istanbul’s Bosphorus as well as the magnificent Blue Mosque as backdrops, it is director Akhtar’s chisel-sharp floating microcosm that airs out stiflingly closed upper-crust slices from lives jaded by riches. Most deck-side hangerson are wannabe nouveau riche who are more posers than actual movers, more crass than class. Their social passports are devised entirely out of gossip, faux scandals fabricated out of innuendo and the perceived misfortune of others who may or may not be in the same income tier or station in life. Dil Dhadakne Do is perhaps the closest that polite society gets to soft-core wealth porn. n EQ: A Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.
LATA’S FLICK PICKS Velvet Bombay Piku Weds Manu Return Tanu Mr. X li Leela Ek Paheram Sankat ha D Ek
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 31
Learning to Lose: A South Asian Saga By Sagaree Jain
MISS INDIA AMERICA. Director: Ravi Kapoor. Writers: Ravi Kapoor and Meera Simhan. Players: Tiya Sircar, Hannah Simone, Kosha Patel, Meera Simhan, Bernard White. Producers: Megha Kadakia and Saurabh K.
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avi Kapoor’s 2014 Miss India America opens on a comfortably familiar graduation ceremony. The sun is shining, the parents are proud, and the valedictorian is delivering a speech so oily it is a wonder her hat remains on her head. The girl, energetic and oblivious, is Lily Prasad, and as she orates on the value of winning, she points towards her father as an example of a man who has won, despite growing up in a slum in India. “Well,” he mutters in the audience, apparently to the white family next to him, “not technically a slum.” This moment too, with its awkward weight of the Indian American diasporic narrative, is familiar. “Miss India America” is a beauty pageant for Desi girls in Los Angeles. Lily, the protagonist played by Tiya Sircar, enters after a humiliating break up with a high school boyfriend. But “Miss India America” is also a perfect designation for Lily, a character composed mostly of the pressure of fulfilling a certain post-immigration trajectory. Lily must always win. Her friends, family, and plans all exist in a careful hierarchy of winners and losers, success and non-success. Her neurosis is exacerbated by her father, a loving but often oblivious man. Having already and dramatically achieved success, Lily’s fathercomforts Lily with the fact that she, too, is a winner, rather than forcing her to confront deeper questions about her goals. Her boyfriend’s desertion is not so much a break of heart as a break in the life plan: Harvard, Johns Hopkins, job as a neurosurgeon, house with a view, two well-behaved children. When this boyfriend embarks on a path different from her own, reading poetry and dating last year’s Miss India America, Lily sets off to win him back in the most clear-cut competition available to her. And so, it is the Miss India America pageant that becomes the field to test Lily’s
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convictions, replete with delightfully bizarre supporting cast, pretensions, and moral dilemmas. The beauty of this setting absolutely lay in its loving details of Indian Los Angeles: in enrolling for the pageant, for example, Lily and best friend Seema find that the auspicious numbers in the competition order have aggressively been taken on the advice of various LA Panditjis. The opening dinner is populated by washed up pageant queens and Bollywood stars that form a Desi version of faded LA glamor. New Girl’s Hannah Simone plays Lily’s nemesis in the pageant, a woman named Sonia Nielson, aloof, enigmatic, but in tune with the emotional requirements of the pageant. When Sonia Nielson rounds out an exquisitely delivered speech from Shakespeare’s Richard III with a plaintive “meri beti,” adorning the prose with Hindi for maximum auntie appeal, Kapoor touches on something very sweet and funny about the game of approval many well-off, first generation Indian Americans play with the elder generation. All of it exists within a heady competition, stressed by surrounding mothers, aunties, and the open need of the girls themselves. Just the invocation of this syncretic world is fascinating, cathartic, comedic. Another beauty of Miss India America is its constant comparison of the largely predictable Lily Prasad to the dynamic women around her. Her best friend Seema, played by Kosha Patel, is in some ways a better-rounded character. Seema’s complex of inferiority and genuine kindness is engaging and sweet in a film filled with overeager competition.
Lily’s interaction with Lily’s emotional journey also has much to do with her mother, played by Meera Simhan, an award-winning poet who Lily largely dismisses. In struggling to understand her mother, Lily is also presented with an idea of success not quite comfortable for her. And, of course, the lovely Sonia Nielson presents a sharp contrast to Lily, who is confused and frustrated by Sonia’s total lack of neurosis. The fabric of Miss India America is textured and stretched by these definitively female energies, testing the boundaries of Lily’s narrow mind. Ultimately, the conclusion of Miss India America feels like a first step. Lily comes to the understanding that winning is not, in the end, everything, but some of her engagement with ideas of compassion, even with the diasporic narrative as the backdrop for her own neurosis, seems shallow. The slums of India referenced in the first scene reappear at the end of the film, but in a way, shows Lily continues to be, still, stunningly uninformed about the complexity of her parents’ lives in their home country. But Lily has many years to tackle her own history, answer her own questions. Rather than engaging in these thorny topics, Miss India America instead shows Lily developing real gratitude for the community it details, borne of displacement and achievement. It is filled with tributes to this broad, subtle system of love: its women, its bharatnatyam studios, its drama, humiliations, paradoxes, and ultimately, its support. n EQ: A Sagaree Jain is an undergraduate student at UC, Berkeley. She studies South Asian History, minors in English, and dreams of writing a thesis on the British Empire. She is spending the summer in Pune with a TATA International Social Entrepreneurs program to work in Corporate Social Responsibility.
Double Fun! By Madhumita Gupta TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS. Director: Anand L. Rai. Players: Kangana Ranaut, Madhavan, Jimmy Shergill, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub and Swara Bhaskar. Music: Krsna Solo, Tanishq. Theater release: Colour Yellow Pictures, Eros International.
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sequel to a successful but not extraordinary Tanu Weds Manu—how exciting could it be? Could there be anything new about it? Well, yes, the second, quite unrecognizable Kangana. And she did look intriguing enough to warrant the tickets but I went with low expectations. And I’m glad to report that I was proved resoundingly wrong! The film begins with a swift recap of the lively wedding in TWM as the credits roll to the very appropriate background song sun sahiba sun, pyaar ki dhun only to immediately transport us to the contrastingly grey and glum exterior of a mental asylum cum marriage-counseling center (don’t ask me) in the snowy Twickenham, UK. We find Tanu (Ranaut) and Manu (Madhavan) standing there at the end of their tethers four years later. The seven–year itch has set in three years too soon. An acrimonious parting further convinces them that theirs is not a marriage made in heaven. Determined to end their farcical marriage, Tanu returns to Kanpur–and as the more impulsive of the two, tries to find the lost spark in the string of her erstwhile “boyfriends”—who range from a rickshaw-wala to the realtor Raja Awasthi (Shergill) who had been abandoned at the altar in the prequel Tanu Weds Manu. Manu, sick of the whole thing, seems resigned to the idea of returning to bachelordom and to drinking down his sorrows, but then he comes across a young Haryanvi athlete, Kusum aka Datto (an outstanding Ranaut 2). Her resemblance to Tanu makes Manu fall in love again, perhaps on a rebound, and he pursues her till he convinces her of his intentions. How he goes about overcoming Datto’s and his own bosom-friend, Pappi’s (Dobriyal at his most hilarious) objections; and, after all, whether he still loves the original Tanu and whether she finds love elsewhere or not is what the film is about. The climax is a little contrived and Tanu’s stance unrealistically masochistic, but the performances rise above
the story and hold it together. Undoubtedly, this film belongs to Kangana Ranaut. With the recent National Award for Queen under her belt, Ranaut is undeniably a force to reckon with in her two roles of Tanu and Datto. The former is the desi diva —“the Batman, who people hear about but don’t see” as Chintu (Ayyub) puts it in the film—she is the pouty-lipped, made-up, shallow and selfish little doll. Kusum or Datto on the other hand is the innocent, sorted and independent athlete who is touchingly proud of her ability to support herself and her family. Kangana, in a triumph of a performance, lives the part of Datto, her act is pat from the quizzical expressions to her boyish gait and perfect Haryanvi accent. Much hoo-haa is usually made when a super-star “preps” for a role—how he got his eight-packs or learnt this or that dialect, but Kangana leaves them all behind as she takes on this challenging role which isn’t like anything she has ever done before. She is in a class of her own. The other character who deserves a very special mention is Deepak Dobriyal as Madhavan’s friend. We knew he was a great comic but in TMW2 he comes to his own and is side-splittingly funny as Madhavan’s confused friend who has his own fish to fry. Madhavan serves as a foil to Ranaut in both her avatars and is consistent falling out and in love again. He gracefully gives Ranaut her space and still holds his own as the disgruntled husband who is wondering what he has let himself in for. Shergill also comes from the line of those secure actors who know they’re good and don’t believe in hogging the space. Another actor to watch out for is Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, as
the crafty, small-time lawyer from Uttar Pradesh who falls for the charms of Tanu despite calling her “didi.” A star in its own right is the writing of the film. While there are several loopholes and contrivances in the film, the dialogues sparkle with wit and humour without resorting to crassness anywhere. Take a bow, Himanshu Sharma! Anand L. Rai deserves praise as he has made small-town milieu his own with Kanpur and Lucknow-based characters in TMW and then in Ranjhnaa. In TWM2 too he delivers, proving to be completely in sync with his surroundings. His mastery over the medium is apparent in some scenes lifted straight out of life, like the one in which Manu, his father and Pappi are bonding over drinks. We hear the irate mother’s non-stop complaints from inside the house to which none of the three seem to pay any attention, till the father—fed up of the tirade, coolly brandishes a floor-wiper and smashes the tube-light. As far as music is concerned, though nothing extraordinary, the songs fit in as they are feisty and folksy, specially, “Banno tera swagger sexy lage,” Krsna Solo and TanishkVayu have done their job well. Chiranatna Das’s cinematography captures Kanpur and Jhajhar village very realistically. While we can question how a man can fall in love with a look-alike of a wife whom he hates; how a wife returns to her not-sorosy marriage only on discovering that her previous beaus are all unavailable; and how she tortures herself by helping out and dancing at her own husband’s wedding, what remains far above any question are the superb performances and the well-written sequences which help us glide over the bumpy bits in the story. TWM: Returns is another one in the line of clean comedies which do not depend on the crutch of crass to raise the guffaws. n EQ- A Madhumita Gupta is a freelance writer and a teacher.
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travel
Destination Bali Yoga, spas, and a healing culture in Ubud By Vivienne Kruger By Vivienne Kruger
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ali is a very devout, sacred Hindu island—a shining green emerald etched into the equatorial heart of the primeval, volcanic Indonesian archipelago. Bali continues to maintain its ancient cultural links to India—it is an adamant and joyous outpost of Hindu reverence and religion. A ring of high, coastal perimeter temples guards their sacred, secret island both from invaders—and from the omnipresent forces of lurking, local black magic practitioners. The Balinese are secure under this divine benediction: everything that they do is done under the protection of the gods. The Balinese will never give up their deities, sacred religious foods, village priests, cycle of offerings, village ceremonies, temple anniversaries, and extravagant, traffic-stopping processions. Local Balinese women in brightly colored, pink and yellow lace kebayas and silken sarongs parade through the narrow village streets in breathtaking, traffic-stopping, single ceremonial file. They balance heavy, six-foot-high, layered-fruit offering towers (banten tegeh) on their heads while enroute to visit another village temple. I took a oneday class at Ubud’s Puri Lukisan Museum on how to construct the offering tower (the trick is in a hidden, vertical interior stand and sharp bamboo sticks to affix the fruit in even rows!) There are elaborately carved, strategically placed paras stone temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Vishnu in every single village on the island—long referred to as “the island of ten thousand temples.” The Balinese will invite you to come to their homes to share their ceremonies, home art galleries, village cooking, and weddings. Royal cremation ceremonies showcase Bali’s devotion to the Hindu divinities. Everything else stops—time itself ceases and freezes solid—whenever a massive, elaborate cremation ceremony must be staged to honor (and consecrate to the flames) a king or member of the royal palace of Ubud. Indian tourists to Bali will be warmly welcomed, and you will find much that is familiar in shared roots 34 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
Bali, “the island of ten thousand temples.”
and religion—but with a delicious Balinese cultural twist! “Spiritual growth and health tourism” options are abundant in the rice-field-ringed, traditional village heart of Bali. Ubud is the cultural capital and sacred healing center of Bali, blessed with an abundance of yoga studios, spas, herbal healing sanctuaries, beauty and massage treatments, traditional healers, local village balian, jamu sellers, beauty regimens, natural beauty products, Balinese dance performances, health meditation teachers, and holistic intuitive healers.
Shadow Puppet Performance
Ubud is the perfect setting to see a wayang kulit shadow puppet performance— a spiritualized art form which still holds tremendous power in Bali and Java. The highly trained dalang (puppet master) assumes formidable supernatural powers (he
is almost in trance) during the entire wayang performance. Sequestered behind an oil lamp-lit screen, he re-enacts ancient familiar scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana legends (spliced with contemporary, often comical, Balinese social and political commentary). He uses and manipulates his own large, ornate, powerful collection of carefully crafted and blessed, magically charged puppet characters. Behind the glow of the ancient oil lamp, he is an otherworldly spiritual force to be reckoned with—and treated with great care and deference. The wayang kulit can typically go on for hours on special ritual occasions. Young Balinese couples will still hire a wayang group to stage a performance at their home wedding ceremony to entertain the guests. Balinese Wayang Kulit shadow plays take place in conjunction with temple celebrations or other religious gatherings. The first
time that I saw the wayang was in Ubud in the 1990s—I was captivated and entranced by both the ink-black, night-time, rubblestrewn performance space and the sacred ritual subtext of the experience. The purpose of the wayang is to bless the occasion by inviting ancestral spirits to visit the location. Bountiful offerings are presented before, during, and after the performance, which may last from three to four hours. Balinese wayang is not an all night performance as it is in Java. Plays usually begin sometime between nine and eleven o’clock. The Balinese dalang takes on the role of priest, performing acts of offering and cleansing. Mantras are recited before and after the performance. A primary purpose of the shadow play is for the dalang to make holy water—to be used for prayer and to bless the area and the participants. Holy water is prepared by adding flowers to water from a high stream, and reciting mantras with incense and sprinklings of rice (abundant offerings are also presented).
Natural Spas
Luscious-smelling, organic spa products manufacturers are clustered in the environs of Ubud—offering their own brand of authentic, village boreh scrubs. These poultices originated in the golden age of Balinese rice cultivation. Tending the bright green, terraced rice field rings, the farmers were constantly exposed to the raw elements. They labored under the heat of the sun—standing fast against tropical gusts—while mired knee-deep in damp earth, irrigated, mirrorlike flooded paddy fields, and pools of water. This gave rise to assorted muscular aches and pains. The cure was a restorative boreh powder—a combination of medicinal roots, spices, and bark crushed into a healing pack. Bali’s ancient, indigenous boreh—a healing and warming paste used for sickness—warms the body, enhances blood circulation, relieves aching joints and sore muscles, and enhances skin elasticity. The fresh herbal aromatics also relieve headaches, colds, flu, and runny noses. It is commonly applied to the forehead and temples, shoulders, back, foot, knee, and legs. Following a harsh day hoeing in the fields, the boreh provides welcome warmth to cold rural legs and feet. After the farmer washes up, eats dinner, and gets ready for bed, the pack will be applied and left in place throughout the night (especially during the cooler rainy season). It will be rinsed off in the morning. This warming sequence is also applied in modern, “traditional spa treatments,” with boreh described as a body warmer, beauty scrub/body scrub, healing paste and exfoliant all at the same time— both remedial and cosmetic.
Cokorda Rai Ceremony Blessing with Holy Water, Ubud
spa products in Bali are natural and contain local Balinese herbs, plants, flowers, and spices grown in Ubud’s equatorial, tropical highland Garden of Eden. The native plants used in the Tamarind Spa all grow in rich, local volcanic soil. The village of Ubud (obad means “medicine” in Balinese) is the source of many of the Tamarind Spa’s superior concoctions—a naturally fertile area lush with emerald green leaves, roots, barks, and herbs. In Bali, spiritual income is as important as physical income: the use of raw, organic spa ingredients benefits the local farmers. Honeycomb may come from area bee keepers, and seaweed is brought over from Bali’s pristine sister island, Nusa Lembongan. The high quality of the fragrant ingredients enhances the Spa’s body and bath treatments, scrubs, facials, massages, and exfoliants. You will stare—with love and longing, and anticipation—at your beautiful, fragrant bar of soap sitting on the treatment If you want to recover, grow, room ledge. It awaits your every and find inner peace, you must pleasure. This is the type of soap that you bond with—that you build come to Ubud. an intimate relationship with—an indulgent delight! You may find yourself lingering in the gorgeous of herbs and spices from a small, traditional hot shower in a fragrant haze. Your skin feels warung stall across the village road, or simply soft, silky, smooth, and relaxed—like everygather some home-grown roots and leaves one and everything else in Bali. from their back yard gardens and fields. For the ultimate Balinese spa experience, A relaxing, rejuvenating day spa indulyou must take the famous, flower-filled, mandi gence is another integral element in Ubud’s lulur bathtub extravaganza—which originated arsenal of healing, happiness, and wellness in the sumptuous royal palaces of Java to choices. I recommend the Tamarind Spa at preserve the beauty of the pampered royal Murni’s Houses in Ubud for the ultimate in princesses. You will luxuriate for an hour luxurious, body-pampering bliss. It lives up in a warm, gleaming tub filled with fresh to its beautiful name—a place for magical flower petals, red hibiscus blossoms, and caretaking, delicious scents, and the ultivivid marigold flowers and sip hot ginger mate in body and soul rejuvenation. Most A healing boreh product is usually composed of fresh coconut oil, flowers, aromatic roots, cardamom, cinnamon, wild ginger, galangal, cloves, pepper, nutmeg and rice powder. All ingredients are milled into powders and blended with warm water for immediate use. The archetypal bark and cloves blend has a pleasant odor (brown rice acts as a glutinous viscous base). The paste is applied to areas of ailment and then left to dry. In the villages, you can see the typically rugged Balinese elders with patches of dried boreh on their temples, arms, and legs. Different ailments may call for alternate or additional ingredients such as sandalwood, mesui, and sitok (other indigenous tree barks), coriander, bengle (a type of plant widely used in local and Chinese medicine), and an extensive list of herbs. Older Balinese (even with a mild cold) will send a child to purchase a list
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tea from small, elegant, celadon-green stoneware cups. It does not get any better than this. The nearby Tjampuhan Hotel and Spa on Jalan Raya Tjampuhan (near the old Dutch suspension bridge) is another wellestablished, wellness destination in Ubud. It offers a unique Romanesque grotto setting decorated with traditional Balinese carvings and stonework set into the river valley. Hot and cold whirlpool baths compete with multi-level, gladiator-like natural, tree ringed pools: I lingered here all afternoon in amazed bliss. The cliffside day massage beds are unique in the world: clients can relax “en plain air,” accompanied by the relaxing sounds and sights of the rushing river below. I had hours of fun watching a beautiful, brightly colored, yellow and brown striped snail slowly crawl up the rocky wall of my open-air massage space.
Yoga and Healing
If you want to recover, grow, and find inner peace, you must come to Ubud. Ubud’s organic/healing sensibilities run deep: some of the finest and most creative yoga studios in the world make their home in the sanctuary of this bustling, rice-field bracketed Balinese village. Linda Madani’s Intuitive Flow yoga studio is perched high above the stone stairs leading up to the bucolic, beautiful local village of Penestenan. A Canadian expat, Linda, has done advanced spiritual training with a member of Ubud’s royal family, Cokorda Rai, in ancient Balinese yoga and healing techniques. Her gorgeous, Intuitive Flow yoga space has a wrap-around view of the lush countryside below: classes with Linda are a life-changing, life-enhancing, “spiritual yoga” odyssey. Bali has a worldwide reputation as a monastic refuge of restorative healing, renewal, and health. The massive Bali Spirit Yoga Barn studio on Jalan Hanoman in Ubud is
Banten Tegeh, Fruit Layered Offering Towers, Bali
relaxing, friendly, comfortable, earthy and unpretentious. Here, you can nourish your body, mind and soul. The Yoga Barn has five yoga studios with wooden walls and floors, blessed by a myriad of carved Ganesha statues. The multi-level Yoga Barn is nestled in an oasis amidst lush rice paddies, an organic farm, and a jungle ravine: it is a Balinese architectural miracle of local green grasses, lotus ponds and bamboo. A center of spirituality, the Yoga Barn offers delicious organic vegetarian food, a yoga clothing boutique, and a full roster of mind and body-opening yoga classes, retreats, yoga festivals, and yoga teacher training courses. The instructors are international “yoga teachers in extended residence” in magical Ubud (from the United States, Australia, and beyond). It is a very liberating experience to enjoy your yoga practice
in this special, supportive, transformational environment: “If you hug Ubud, it will hug you back!” I bought a special seven-day pass to the Yoga Barn, and was in residence there from morning until night for one of the best weeks of my life! I finally learned the meaning of the all too common “monkey mind” expression:
I finally learned the meaning of the all too common “monkey mind” expression. like an overactive macaque, our unquiet, unsettled thoughts are always jumping from tree to tree! Nor will I ever forget Bodi Whittaker’s “bliss ball” teachings—straight from Byron Bay, Australia. Hold your palms body-width apart, facing each other in front of you. Imagine that there is a large round bliss ball between them. You can feel the very palpable, joyous positive energy running between your hands. Use it as an open-ended source of happiness, peace, and enlightenment. It works! n Vivienne Kruger, Ph.D. is the author of Balinese Food: The Traditional Cuisine and Food Culture of Bali, 2014. Vivienne Kruger launched her own tour company and is leading fabulous, fully guided two-week tour groups to Bali. Please visit www.balinesefoodculturaltourstobali.blogspot.com for complete information and booking.
Tamarind Spa, Murnis Houses, Jalan Raya Campuan, Ubud, Bali 36 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
music & dance
Geeta & Sanjiv Munshi Arts Academy
Learn Odissi this Year!
“Bringing you Music & Dance for 25 successful years!” Call us for LIVE MUSIC & DANCE PERFORMANCES!
Visiting Master Teacher and Performer from India – Pabitra Kumar Pradhan
• Vocal Classes • Instrument Classes • Dance Classes
Few match Pabitra Pradhan in the mastery of movement ·Workshops and in-depth of Odissi dance and theory. ·Regular knowledge Classes (includes yoga techniques) · Programs/performances He has been teaching and performing for 20 years. He is in Southern California from June 2015 to May 2016.
Call for classes in your location GSartsacademy@yahoo.com www.GSArtsAcademy.com
·Workshops ·Regular Classes ·Programs/performances
Nishi Munshi
Miss India California
(562) 946-0496 (909) 556-6070
Guruvayurappan Sahayam
Offering Instructions in Carnatic vocal music, Bhajans, Keyboard & Music on Computer. Contact
INDIA CURRENTS GRAPHIC (408) 324-0488
Dance Director - Sharanya Mukhopadhyay
Babu Parameswaran DIRECTOR Keerthana School of Indian Music & Fine Arts
Sharanya, a talented dancer and teacher, has taken Odissi to the mainstream by performing in platforms including the Miss America Pageant. www.sharanyamukhopadhyay.com
Music composing, digital recording, mixing and mastering facility at the Keerthana recording space.
For Programs, Classical Indian dance, semi-classical, fusion, folk and general choreography call: 714 318 2001; 7143188784 simonti@aol.com; smukhopadhyay1@aol.com or 714 743 1787; sharanyam217@gmail.com
(949) 559-4504
http://www.geocities.com/babusmusic
Visit Soundclick.com Traditional Indian section to hear some of the recordings from the Keerthana Recording Space
NRITYODAYA KATHAK ACADEMY
SRI, SAKTI, SARADE, KALANIKETAN
Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself~ Havelock Ellis
BHAIRAVI KUMAR BHAIRA
Founder/Director Since 1989 Contact: 909-630-8558 bhairavipkumar@yahoo.com www.kathaksocal.com
E-mail: babusmusic@hotmail.com
offer classes in
Yoga & Indian Classical Dance
Kathak classes offered in Walnut/ Diamond Bar, Tustin/Irvine, Santa Ana
Bharata Natyam Kathak Kuchipudi Kathakali VIJAYA BHANU the entrepreneur of dance classes in California since 1982 and (3 times award winner "NATYAMAYURI " DOCTOR award in dance 1995 Dancing Angel award in 2000. Versatile Classical Dance Performer and the
Affiliated with Hindustan art & music society, Calcutta. Students receives official accreditation, diplomas and degrees from India.
Kalapeetham Foundation Established in 1990
Director: Smt. Kalyani Shanmugarajah (Alumnus of Kalakshetra, 1974) Offering Classes In:
Kalakshetra style of Bharathanatyam, Traditional Folk Dances and Theory Class Locations: Granada Hills, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Simi Valley,
Valencia, Santa Clarita, Palmdale/Lancaster, Santa Monica, Irvine
(818) 892-4890 • KalapeethamFoundation@gmail.com www.Kalapeetham.com • www.facebook.com/Kalapeetham
Versatile singer of Bhajans, Gazals, Geet, Sangeet, and Filmy old and new songs and Punjabi folk songs. Available For Stage Concerts And Home Concert for All occasions, In your Choice of locations. VijayaBhanu.net VijayaBhanuAcademy@yahoo.com
(562) 746-1945 • (562) 402-1051
July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 37
music
Bollywood Hums to New Zealander’s Tunes By Priya Bhatt Das
S
urprising fact: a New Zealander created the music for the Bollywood movies Margarita with a Straw and Bombay Velvet. He won “Best Composer” at the 2015 Asian Film Awards for the former. His name is Mikey McCleary. McCleary was born in Chennai to New Zealander parents, but then moved out of India. When you listen to his music, it feels like 1970s-80s Bollywood music on steroids. His website, mikeymccleary.com has a sampling of his work, including Quick Gun Murugan, many well known commercials (Lakme, Cinthol, TVS Scooty), and a couple of his own albums. All of his work has a distinct, smooth sound that blends western and Indian influences. How does a New Zealander “get” Bollywood? McCleary is not sure how that came to be, saying “Perhaps my family’s connection with India has helped me adapt. I’ve always enjoyed doing many different styles of music and I like the challenge of trying to understand Indian music and incorporate elements in my work.” McCleary was re-introduced to India when he was working for a studio in London, focusing on Western music. He got
because it’s such a fascinating place and full of interesting music opportunities. Which was your first TV commercial and first film? It was a Lakme TV ad sung by Anushka Manchanda. First film was Aao Wish Karein. What made you think up “Bartender,” the stage name for your own albums? Could you expand on that, share that moment of epiphany? Well, it was a combination of things. When I started playing around with old songs and reinventing them, I was making “smoky late night bar” type versions of these songs. The name Bartender seemed to suit the mood. Also Bartenders mix up concoctions much like I mix up music.
Specifically about Margarita with a Straw: How did that come about? I met the director, Shonali Bose, I had this feeling of “I must try living in after Shaad Ali recIndia sometime” building up inside me. I ommended me to We started work came here because it’s such a fascinating her. on this film more place and full of interesting music oppor- than two years ago. Despite it being tunities. stretched out, the process always relucky, literally, when he met Lucky Ali and mained fresh and captivating. The last song started making music for his albums. That (“Choone Chali Aasman”) was the toughest collaboration spurred him into attending Into finish. Even though the composition came dian music concerts and working with other really fast we couldn’t find the right voice to music directors such as A.R. Rahman. sing the song. After trying seven different The following interview Mikey McCleary voices out, we came back to the first singer attempts to score his career. Rachel Varghese. Often, first instincts are best. Winning the best composer award at When and why did you decide to move to BomAsian Film Awards was a huge bonus, parbay? ticularly as I was getting married in New I moved about seven years ago. I had this Zealand at the time of the award ceremony. feeling of ‘I must try living in India sometime’ building up inside me. I came here Did you get to see rushes of the movie while you 38 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
were working on it, or just the plot, or … First, I read the script and then worked on a few songs which were needed preshoot. After that, I saw many different edits as the film was fine-tuned. During that period, I did most of my composition for the other songs and the music score.
You are a music man. How do you craft your videos, which have an edgy vibe of their own? Last year I made eight music videos. Many had interesting stories. I think the simplest and best one is “The little things you do” featuring Anushka Manchanda. It was just Anushka, my director of photography and I who went off to Goa and made this video with very little budget and no production help. Somehow, it turned out nice. In another one called “Aaj ki Raat” I created a film noir mystery story which involved romance, betrayal and murder in the bath tub. This was a huge challenge because we had many actors, it was technically very difficult in terms of lighting and set design, plus I tried to fit the plot of a full feature film into a three minute video. (Both of these videos can be watched at mikeymccleary.com) n Priya Das is an enthusiastic follower of world music and avidly tracks intersecting points between folk, classical, jazz, and other genres.
Manipuri Dance Visions
Institute for Indian Clasical Performing Arts - A Not For Profit Organization
Institute of Manipuri Dance Artistic Director:
Dr. SOHINI RAY (disciple of late Guru Bipin Singh)
Classes in Pasadena & Woodland Hills
Prachi Dixit Founder/Director Kathak | Tabla | Vocal Torrance, Cerritos & Venice
Kathak
For more information::
(310) 872-7061 Kala Academy
(818) 790-2897
Email: sohiniray@yahoo.com
nupuracademyla@gmail.com • www.nupuracademyla.org Estalished in 1998
Classes Available on Weekdays and Weekends Private Lessons also available Students of the Academy have performed all over the Los Angeles Community
Serving San Fernando Valley and in Pasadena
Now
Offered by the talented member of the Academy
For information Call
www.manipuridancevisions.com
www.mykathak.com Founder and Instructor
Kathak
CELEBRATING DANCE
Rachana 1977 to 2015 Upadhyay Viji Prakash
MA in Kathak ( Nipun) Bhatkhande University
Kala Academy Estalished in 1998
www.mykathak.com
Founder/Director
Lucknow Shakti School of Bharata Natyam email: Classes in West Los Angeles, Torrance, Cerritos, Orange/Irvine, Woodland Hills rachanau@yahoo.com
(818) 882-3368 www.mykathak.com
DANCE
Nupur Academy LA Inc.
“dance is the song of the soul” www.shaktibharatanatyam.com info@shaktibharatanatyam.com
“Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.” Picasso
Serving
• Classes Available on Weekdays and Weekends • Private Lessons also available • Students of the Academy have performed all over the Los Angeles Community
San Fernando Valley and now in
Pasadena Offered by the talented member of the Academy
Anvita Kohli Founder and Instructor
Rachana Upadhyay MA in Kathak (Nipun) Bhatkhande University, Lucknow For Information Call
Arpana School of Dance
(818) 882-3368
www. danceramya.com (949) 874-3662
email: rachanau@yahoo.com
ACADEMY OF KATHAK DANCE Classes offered at La Habra Heights, Whittier, Cerritos, Yorba Linda ( Classes can potentially be offered in your area - inquiries welcome)
Visiting Artist and Teacher Abhay Shankar Mishra Aarti Manek
Head of Kathak Department (Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, London, UK)
Contact: 1.714.595.3735 1.714.299.3525 shankaradance@gmail.com www.shankaradance.com
Bharata Natyam Folk Dances Classes: Duarte,Cerritos, Riverside,Chino Hills
Paulomi Pandit Recipient of Post Diploma from
Kalakshetra, India paulomi@rangashree.com www.rangashree.com
626-590-5547 July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 39
On Inglish
The House Of Teak By Kalpana Mohan
teak, noun. A large East Indian tree, of the verbena family, yielding a hard, durable, resinous, yellowish-brown wood used for shipbuilding, making furniture, etc.
I
animal, were always colleagues working towards a common n 1956, when my parents were building a new life for themselves goal. They became inseparable when, in the middle of the 19th in the city of Bangalore (now called Bengaluru), my mother’s century, the obsession with teak began to rival that of gold brother arrived at their doorstep with a gift from my maternal and herds of elephants and “teak-wallahs” (teak inspectors) in grandparents. Burma and northern Thailand carted timber for processing. My uncle had brought with him a set of three low-slung sofas Demand for hardwood in the west skyrocketed when European crafted from the best teakwood. On the flanks of each chair, the ribs stocks of oak waned; teak became a worthy substitute, lining emerged in a radial formation, like the rays of the morning sun. My the interior and exterior of ships and residences. parents received the gift that would become a prized possession in While the world was discovering teak, one artistic young their living room outlasting both of them: two single chairs and a loveprince in the Travancore kingdom of Kerala, Maharaja Swathi seat, custom-built, stained and buffed to a fine gloss by a carpenter in Thirunal, decided to build a house, a vast palace called Kuthiramy mother’s ancestral home in Kerala. malika, with 122 prancing horses carved into the wooden wall “Thekku” was the Malayalam term by which my parents had albrackets that supported its southern roof. I walked through ways referred to teak. I found out that the native term was, in fact, the twenty rooms of this 80-room palace—lavishly ornamented in origin for both the Portuguese (“teca”) and English (“teak”) references teak, rosewood, granite and marble—that took 5000 artisans to the tree. My parents would always extol the wood’s durability and four years to complete. I was flumappearance. I learned that teak repelled moxed by the elaborate carvings in termites, making it invaluable for use I noticed that the teak tree ecto- teak: sixteen rooms of the palace were both indoors and outdoors. constructed in sixteen different patterns, Teakwood framed the doors and na grandis) was never the tallest with each coffered ceiling a paean to the windows of our old bungalow in Chenversatility of teak and to the skill of the nai. Our doors, too, were fashioned from tree in the forest but it rose towards who molded the wood. solid teak. When I reflect on the sale the skies with nary a hesitation. artistes A few years ago, I discovered some of the home my father had built with of the same artistry with teak wood in the breath and hope of his salad days, I my husband’s home when, years after wince at the dismantlement and, later, my first visit, I walked into his ancestral property in the vilthe jettisoning of all the teak reinforcements that had once made our lage of Esayanur. It was the first thing that accosted me when house a home. I stepped under the eaves of the old home: a doorway ornaOf late, on all my travels, I’ve found myself sighing often at the mented lavishly in teak with mythical annapakshi birds perched stretch of an orchard or pondering the beauty of wood in both its naon swaying branches. As I did on every visit, I ran my fingers tive and its man-made form. On our walk through Galle, an old Dutch over its fine edges and shot yet another photograph of the same settlement in Sri Lanka, I couldn’t believe the fine craftsmanship—with doorframe. local jackfruit, neem and teak woods—in the form of windows, doors, A photograph stanches a deep-seated fear of the evanestables and seating. I stopped to feel artfully appointed wooden doors, cence of a particular moment. If I assumed an animistic perspecbenches, gates, settees, beds, headboards, shutters and windows. I tive, I would argue that the spiritual world is intrinsically tied asked questions about the type and origin of a wooden artifact. During to the material world and that the wood in the doorframe is my recent stay in South India, I drove through miles of semi-arid couninvested with the spirit of the people, in this case my husband’s tryside where Tamil Nadu conjoins Andhra Pradesh. I rolled through ancestors, who touched it. Even in its inanimate avatar, wood is jungle thickets in Kerala on an overnight train. Wherever I went, a invested, I believe, with the power of the touch, of the transferphalanx of teak trees pierced the skies between rows of coconut, banana ence of energy from one person to another. and rubber plantations. In fall, when I receive three pieces of teak furniture whose I noticed that the teak tree (Tectona grandis) was never the tallest grains were burned with the warmth of my parents’ bodies for tree in the forest but it rose towards the skies with nary a hesitation. over a half of a century, I’ll sink into one of the chairs on a rough The coconut hunched over, depending on the sun and the wind. The day. My hands will glide over the arms of the chair knowing palmyra seemed harsh, rugged and temperamental, dotting India’s completely, as those of us do who seek their loved ones in every landscape in an unpredictable manner. The stodgy banana was a object they own, that while one of its arms belongs to my late ubiquitous clump of stumps, constantly birthing babies, often keeling mother, the other must surely belong to my over with a ponderous hand of fruit. But the teak, whether in a casual recently departed father. n occurrence or in the formal mode of cultivation, maintained a stiff 70foot stance, occupying little space close to the ground and sprouting a shower of leaves where no one could reach out to touch them—imKalpana Mohan writes from Saratoga. To read placable and unshakeable on its lofty, one-track, pencil-point journey more about her, go to http://kalpanamohan.org towards the blue yonder. and http://saritorial.com. The teak, in my view, seemed like the elephant in the jungle. The comparison is not farfetched, I think. The two, the plant and the 40 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 41
recipes
Baked Samosa Triangles By Shanta Sacharoff
A
ll cultures have tantalizing, cherished foods that are usually served before or at the start of a meal. Known in the United States as appetizers (appetiteteasers), hors d’oeuvres, or antipasto, they are called dim sum (touch the heart) in China, and antojitos (little whims) in Mexico. In Gujarat, where I am from, they are called farsan. A farsan is usually a light but elaborate snack or appetizer that can be served as a first course before the main entrée, or alone as a lunch or a light supper. A chutney is a must to accompany the farsan. Many farsans are deep-fried and not suitable for people who wish to cut down on fat. Deep-fried foods are not healthy for any of us. When I decided to cut deep-fried foods from my diet, out went the chips, the French Fries, the pakoras, and oh no! my favorite, samosas! Looking for a healthy option, I replaced traditional fried samosas triangles with Samosa Pie. (You can find this recipe in the December 2013 issue of India Currents.)
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For the samosa pie, I sandwiched the filling between two crusts and baked it, but making the crusts is time-consuming, so I created this recipe for baked samosa triangles using store-bought Greek pastry dough called phyllo (or filo). Baked samosa triangles are quick and easy to make, and the resulting samosas are fluffy and light. The filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the triangles, and the unbaked triangles can be refrigerated or frozen for future baking. Samosa triangles are perfect for a picnic or a pot-luck dinner as they taste great served hot or at room temperature. Don’t forget the chutney! n
Illustration by Serena Sacharoff
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in the complete Indian American magazine
INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 29 Years of Excellence
CALL (408) 324-0488 . (714) 523-8788 Fax: (408) 324-0477 Email: ads@indiacurrents.com www.indiacurrents.com Write: 1885 Lundy Ave ste 220 San Jose, CA 95131 Deadline: 20th of every month 42 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff, author of Flavors Of India: Vegetarian Indian Cuisine is a coowner of Other Avenues Food Cooperative in San Francisco. Serena Sacharoff is a chef, an illustrator and an art student.
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Ingredients for the filling:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 tablespoons finely-chopped green or yellow onions 4 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2” cubes 1 cup grated carrots ¾ cup shelled peas, fresh or frozen and thawed ¼ teaspoon each cumin, turmeric, and coriander powders ¾ teaspoon garam masala or a mixture of ¼ teaspoon each ground cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves, freshly chopped ½ cup water juice of one lemon 1 teaspoon (or to taste) salt ¼ teaspoon (or to taste) cayenne powder
Ingredients for the wrapping:
1 8-ounce box of frozen phyllo dough, available in the supermarket freezer section 3 to 4 tablespoons of cooking oil Phyllo dough is brittle and delicate to work with, but once you get used to it, there are endless ways to use this light magical pastry. After purchasing, store the phyllo in your freezer. The night before, or several hours before you wish to use it, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator to allow it to thaw slightly. Always keep phyllo chilled; it will dry out and break if allowed to warm to roomtemperature.
wide strips. Using a pastry brush, spread a very thin layer of oil onto each of the strips. You will use four strips of phyllo for each samosa triangle. You can take out more phyllo as needed from the refrigerator once you have used up sheets from the kitchen cloth. Place a tablespoonful of filling at the lower left corner of one strip, and fold the corner diagonally to form a triangle. Fold again, and continue folding and wrapping the triangle until the entire strip is used up, as shown in the illustration. Brush the top of the triangle with oil and set it on the lower left corner of a second phyllo strip. Fold and wrap the triangle as before until the second strip is used up. Repeat the process using a third strip and the fourth strip. Place the finished triangle on the baking sheet. Then cut another sheet of phyllo into four strips, and repeat the process of filling and folding. Continue this process until all of the filling is used up. The samosas will puff up as they bake,
with ripe tamarind pods, which are often available in Mexican or Southeast Asian markets, or from dried and compressed tamarind pulp that is sold in a brick-like package and is widely available year-round. If using fresh pods, choose 1/2 pound of fresh ripe pods. Remove the brittle outer shell and the stringy fibers. Rinse the pods and then soak them in one cup of warm water for at least 30 minutes. After soaking, rub the softened pods between your fingers to separate as much of the pulp into the water as possible. When the water becomes a thick sauce, strain it through a large-holed colander into a bowl, leaving the membranes and seeds behind. Discard the fibers and seeds and set the bowl of tamarind sauce aside. If using dehydrated pulp, break approximately 1/2 cup into small pieces, discarding any strings or seeds. Put it in a blender or food processor with one cup of warm water and process into a sauce.
Prepare the filling
Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions until limp. Add all the vegetables, spices and cilantro. Sauté uncovered for several minutes until the vegetables begin to soften and the spices are well-distributed. Add the water and lemon juice, cover, and cook over a low heat until the potatoes are soft but not mushy. If too much liquid is left at this point, uncover and stir-fry the mixture to dry it. Stir in salt and cayenne to taste. Transfer to a platter and set aside.
Assemble
When you are ready to assemble the samosa triangles, lightly oil a couple of baking sheets and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the phyllo from its box and cut open the inner foil of the package. Take out several phyllo sheets from the foil, roll them up and immediately wrap them in the damp kitchen cloth or a napkin. Put rest of the package back in the refrigerator. Carefully remove one sheet of phyllo and place it on a clean flat surface, keeping the rest of the strips wrapped in the towel. Cut the sheet of phyllo lengthwise into four 3-inch-
A Creative Commons Image by Adrigu so allow some space between them on the baking sheet. This amount of filling makes approximately 18 triangles. Freeze any unused phyllo for future use. Bake the samosa triangles for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees, until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature with a chutney. You can wrap the unbaked samosas with a plastic sheet and refrigerate for a day or two, or freeze for longer time and bake when desired. Variation: Potato and spinach samosa: Follow the above recipe, but replace the carrots and peas with 2 cups of finely chopped spinach. Makes 18 to 20 triangles
Date and Tamarind Chutney
Tamarind chutney is best when prepared
You will need only ½ cup of sauce for this chutney. Thr rest of the sauce can be refrigerated for later use, to flavor a soup or a dal. Ingredients for Chutney: 1/2 cup fresh tamarind sauce 1 tablespoon finely-minced ginger 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped ¼ teaspoon (or to taste) cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon salt To make the chutney, place the tamarind sauce, date pieces, ginger, salt and cayenne pepper into a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth puree. Serve right away or refrigerate. This chutney will keep for a week refrigerated in a tightly-closed container. Makes about 1½ cups chutney. n
July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 43
44 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
youth
GANDHI CAMP By Divya Desale
I
t’s the middle of summer and he more I learn from Bhaiji’s fables dance, music, and costumes to here I am, meditating with forty celebrate to the numerous lanother kids in a retreat house. and experiences, the more I reali e how guages and cultures that popuThat was the first thought the the Indian subcontinent. The similar the religions are. At its core, late ten year-old me had running through newsletter publishes works and her head at seven o’clock that morn- each religion preaches the same set of highlights from each year and the ing. Eight years later, and you can environmental committee implestill find me in the meditation room principles love, peace, mercy and faith. ments ecofriendly tactics to minias the sun rises for an entire week mize camp waste. No matter what in August. I’ll be at Gandhi Camp. age, no matter what interest, any religious turmoil and violence in the world? Gandhi Camp is not your average sumcamper can find an activity to participate in. Bhaiji’s mission is to prevent this for fumer camp. Rather, it’s a truly unique experiEvery year, parents ask me why I come ture generations. As a member of the Gandhi ence. Led by Dr. S.N. Subba Rao, more comback. There’s no simple answer—maybe it’s Peace Foundation and founder of the Namonly referred to as Bhaiji, the camp teaches the service, the people, or the independence. tional Youth Project, he leads camps all over Gandhian principles. Kids grades 5-12 learn I like to say it’s because Gandhi Camp is the world, often for thousands of youth at a Gandhiji’s values such as self-discipline, reliunique and everything I learn is applicable to time. Bhaiji’s activism began when he was gious equality, and of course non-violence, life outside of camp. This year, as we head to only 13. He joined the people in the streets but any kid can memorize and recite a list Chinmaya Mission’s retreat center in Piercy of India to protest Gandhi’s imprisonment, of vows. Gandhi Camp not only teaches the for the first time, I look forward to all the yelling out slogans of freedom from British principles, but also how to live them out new campers, all the returning faces, and occupancy. Like many others, he was arwhen we return home. For instance, removall the memories I’ll add to my collection. rested. Once again inspired by Gandhi, years ing untouchability may seem obsolete in Bhaiji envisions a world with religious later, he gave up a promising career in law modern-day American society, but nightly harmony and peace, and, as future leaders, to spread his message of peace—an invaludiscussions bring forth marginalized individuals and simple actions we can take to dedicate our services in order to bridge the gap between us and them. Strict vegetarianism and alternating kitchen shifts teach control over the palate. Gandhi would set aside time each day to perform an act of physical labor. In a similar fashion, we work for three hours each morning to assist the caretakers of the retreat grounds, engaged in activities such as mending fences, tending to gardens, pruning and trailblazing. And every morning, without fail, we see Bhaiji working alongside us, likely raking leaves out of the road. One of my favorite aspects of the camp is how Bhaiji teaches religious equality. I was raised in a Hindu household, educated at a Catholic High School, and had attended my Performance at Gandhi Camp fair share of various other spiritual ceremonies. In my mind, I was already well eduable, pertinent message for today’s youth. we are his army. We’re young; we’re optimiscated on the practices of different religions. We are truly fortunate to be inspired by him. tic; and we’re often underestimated. Gandhi But each time I return, Bhaiji shows me all Over the past eight years, I’ve also enwas just one man dedicated to his principles, that I have yet to learn. Each evening, we rejoyed the more typical camp activities, most yet he transformed the world through his cite prayers from the world’s major religions. of which are camper-run. The talent show civil disobedience. Who’s to say we can’t? n Each morning as we walk out to the tool is always an entertaining medley of musisheds, a mural depicting each of the symbols cians, dancers, magicians, and skits, Indian Divya Desale is a recent graduate of Archbishop from each religion welcomes us. The more I and American alike. Gandhi Camp Jeopardy Mitty High School, set to attend the University learn from Bhaiji’s fables and experiences, the never fails to elicit the competitive nature of California, San Diego this fall. She has volmore I realize how similar the religions are. of the campers as we cram in the hours unteered with many other organizations besides At its core, each religion preaches the same before, memorizing prayers, allegories, and her eight years at Gandhi camp, including the set of principles—love, peace, mercy, faith. biographies. The final program includes Girl Scouts. She is planning for a career in inSo why do we still see elevated levels of Bharat ki Santan, a tribute complete with ternational law.
July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 45
events JULY
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! AUGUST issue deadline: Monday, July 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and click on List Your Event
Check us out on
special dates U.S. Independence Day
July 4
Eid ul Fitr
July 17
Ratha Yatra
July 18
Guru Purnima
July 31
India Independence Day
Aug 15
CULTURAL CALENDER
July
2 Thursday
Bruhan Maharashtra Mandal Convention 2015. Full day seminars for business, medical professionals, senior citizens and media, followed by multiple tracks of entertainment and educational programs. Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis is the chief guest. Ends July 5. Organized by Maharashtra Mandal of Los Angeles. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W Katella Ave., Anaheim . $300. (310) 776-5593, (562) 405-7024. info@ bmm2015.org. www.bmm2015.org, www. facebook.com/bmm2015.
46 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | July 2015
Malavika Sarukkai in Ganga Nitya Vaahini—The Eternal River, July 19
July
11 Saturday
Bharathanatyam Arangetram of Tushara Govind. Student of Malini
Krishnamurthi, Artistic Director of Natyanjali School of Dance. 5:30 p.m. Campus
Theater at Fullerton College, 321 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. By Invitation only. jeepalem@ yahoo.com.
July
12 Sunday
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events
Sacred Geometry, a 30th anniversary performance by the Rangoli Dance Company, August 1
Film Screening—The Unseen Sequence. Exploring bharatanatyam through
the art of Malavika Sarukkai, a film by Sumantra Ghosal. Organized by Shakti School of Bharatanatyam and Jazz Tap Ensemble. 4 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium, Santa Monica Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. $20, limited seating, RSVP required. (424) 288-4030. dancevg@gmail.com.
July
18 Saturday
Estate Planning Seminar. India properties, wills, and trusts with Sunny Kalara. 2-4 p.m. Kalara Law Firm, 1055 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1850, Los Angeles. Free. (213) 3557000, (213) 394-5370. skalara@kalaralaw. com, lawyers@gmail.com, mcoelho@kalaralaw. com. www.kalaralaw.com. Scared Chants—A Bharatanatyam Dance Performance. In celebration of
their 35th anniversary, a performance by students of Malini Krishnamurthi, Artistic Director of Natyanjali School of Classical Indian Music. Performances by Tushara, Shrinithi, Kriti and Bavani. Accompanied by Malini Krishnamurthi (nattuvangam), Akshay Padmanabhan (vocal), R. Srihari (mridangam) and R. Narasimhamurthy (flute). 5 p.m. Sophia B. Clarke Theater at
26 Sunday
Mt. San Antonio College, 1100 North Grand Ave., Walnut. $20, $50. (951) 440-1485, (909) 720-3202. www.natyanjali.org.
July
Shreya Ghosal Live in Concert. Organized by Stage Paint Productions. 6:30 p.m. Terrace Theater - Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. $49-$149. (310) 699-6296.
Malathi Iyengar, Artistic Director of Rangoli Dance Company. with guest artist Khalil Alashar, student of Prachi Dixit, Artistic Director of Nupur Dance Academy. Accompanied by musicians from India and the United States. Organized by HNC Support International. 4 p.m. Barnsdall Gallery Theater, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. $20. sheilaaula@gmail.com. www.rangoli.org, hncsupport.org, www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/1702293.
July
19 Sunday
Malavika Sarukkai Performes in Ganga Nitya Vaahini (The Eternal River). Organized by Shakti School of
August
Bharatanatyam and Jazz Tap Ensemble. 4 p.m. The Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica. $50 (includes film screening on July 12th), $35, $25 students. (424) 288-4030. dancevg@gmail.com.
July
24 Friday
Bollywood Singers Club Party.
Upasana—A Bharatanatyam Performance by Sheila Aula. Student of
Organized by Qusro Patel. 7 p.m. Tandoor Resturant, 1132 E Katella Ave., Orange. $20. (714) 397-7224, (562) 860-1135, (714) 5950446.
1 Saturday
Sacred Geometry. A 30th anniversary production by Rangoli Dance Company, Artistic Director Malathi iyengar and guest artist Dorcas Roman. This dance uses geometric figures and shapes to describe the beauty of creation, and how absolute unity exhibits multiplicity and diversity. 7 p.m. Barnsdall Gallery Theater, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. $30, $50 reserved. rangolidancecompany@gmail.com. www.rangoli.org, rangoli.brownpapertickets.com. © Copyright 2015 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 47
SPIRITUALITY & HEALTH
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July
1 Wednesday
Spiritual Talks by Swami Tejomayananda. Talk on gyan yagna “Foster Your
Freedom” will be based on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4. Cultural Presentation each evening, prior to the talk, featuring a cultural presentation. Ends July 4. Organized by Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles. 7-8:30 p.m. Chinmaya Rameshwaram, 14451 Franklin Ave., Tustin. Free. (714) 832-7669. gurujiyagna2015@gmail.com. www.chinmayala.org.
July
5 Sunday
The Spiritual Foundations of World Peace. Sunday Service. Lake Shrine Temple
- Mike & Sari
- N. Muralikrishnan
Eastern Structures Western Sounds - Saku Rodrigo
and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 6618006. 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.
July
Spirituality. 8 p.m. Los Angeles Airport Hilton, 5711 West Century Blvd., Los Angeles. (800) 978-5778.
12 Sunday
Reincarnation: The Soul’s Journey to God. Sunday Service. Lake Shrine
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19 Sunday
Universal Steps That Lead to GodCommunion. 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.
July
26 Sunday
Great Saints and Illumined Teachers: God’s Messengers of Truth. 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.
7 Tuesday
Spiritual Talk by H.H. Sant Rajinder Singh Maharaj. Organized by Science of
July
July
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.
Check out India Currents’ calendar online at www.IndiaCurents .com © Copyright 2015 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
July 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 49
healthy life
Skyrocket Your Energy Level By Puja Mukherjee
D
o you ever watch a group of kids at play and wonder where they get all that energy? If you were able to bottle all that vim and vigor, you would make a fortune selling this elixir at offices in early afternoons or at the juice bar in the local fitness center. You are not alone when you get that sagging feeling in the early afternoon, or when you just don’t have quite enough oomph to finish your exercise routine. There has been a proliferation of energy drinks and “healthy” granola bars in the market, as the solution to replenishing that empty fuel tank. However, most of these highly sweetened liquids and foods use sugars to give your body a quick energy boost. The catch is, not only do you exhaust the sugarsupplied energy very quickly; it also slows your metabolism down and can further hinder you’re the progress towards your fitness goals. The good news is, there are a number of other things that you can do to increase your energy levels...naturally. Some of it has to do with shift in dietary habits, while others involve lifestyle changes, and then there are exercises that immensely help fill up your energy reserves.
Dietary Energy Boosters Reduce your sugar consumption
Sugar causes energy fluctuations that contribute to fatigue. Eat foods and snacks that are high in protein and good, complex carbohydrates, the source of energy.
Increase your iron intake
An iron deficiency is responsible for much of the chronic fatigue. Eat foods that are high in iron and take a good, natural iron supplement.
Drink lots of water
A dehydrated body tires easily, so stay hydrated with frequent glasses of water.
Eat smaller and frequent meals
Large meals, particularly lunch, will contribute to that groggy feeling in the 50 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
early afternoon. More frequent meals stabilize insulin levels and keep your metabolism up throughout the day.
Eat brain food
Consume healthy fats like those in fish and green leafy vegetables to boost your brain function and provide energy.
Eat healthy snacks
A snack of protein, complex carbohydrates, fresh fruits and vegetables will keep your blood sugars at a consistent level all day long. Protein combats fatigue and builds muscle mass to appear toned. Whole grains take longer for your system to metabolize and give a steady supply of energy, not the quick, short-lived burst that sugars supply. Enjoy your cup of coffee but don’t over do it. The initial rush from caffeine is not long-lasting and will leave you fatigued and dehydrated.
Eat lots of fiber
Fiber promotes satiety and the slow release of sugar will give you sustained energy throughout the day.
Lifestyle Changes for An Energy Boost Practice deep breathing
Breathing with your abdominal muscles will increase your oxygen intake to improve your lung capacity and increase overall stamina overtime.
Start your day with a big breakfast
Your body needs a jump-start in the morning and a good, well-balanced breakfast rich in protein and complex carbohydrates is the best way to start the day and feel fresh for a long time.
Stop smoking
Smoking depletes oxygen and in turn reduces stamina to leave you feeling fatigued.
Sleep with the sun
Sleep hormones are linked to natural light. Going to sleep early helps you awaken naturally without requiring an alarm. If it is still light outside, create the illusion of darkness by using heavy curtains to block off sunlight and streetlights, switching off laptops, cell phones and other gadgets to
prepare your body for a restful night of sleep.
Read before going to bed
Establish a sleep ritual like reading before retiring. It helps block out other noise in your mind and helps you fall asleep faster.
Avoid sleeping with pets
Pets on your bed will disturb your sleep if you keep bumping into them. So get the dog and cat to sleep in their own beds. That way everyone wakes up feeling fresh.
Exercises That Provide Energy Boost Get up and stretch
It is important to take a break to stretch from sitting down for too long to maintain a good blood flow to your body and brain. Stretch your body out will keep you from sagging into lethargy and bad posture.
Have a short morning workout routine
This will shake off your sleepiness, rev up your metabolism and get your blood flowing for most of the day.
Play competitive sports
Playing a sport requires thinking and will spark your mental energy. Desire to win and winning provides adrenaline rush to keep you feeling youthful. Go for a brisk, short walk after a big meal. It will aid digestion and avoid feeling bloated. Try doing the following to beat drowsiness. Remove your watch, and stand straight. Extend your right arm slightly, palm down. With your left hand, rub the right arm firmly from wrist to shoulder. Rotate palm upwards, and rub firmly from shoulder to wrist. Repeat this until ten repetitions are completed. Reverse and rub the left arm with the right hand. Stand straight with feet slightly spread. Raise your hands to shoulder height, elbows bent at 90 degrees, palms facing down. Start shaking your hands very fast with your wrists relaxed. Do this for a count to 100. All of the above will help restore your energy and awaken you. n Puja Mukherjee, is a certified fitness trainer, who woke up one morning to drop everything in the pursuit of her passion for fitness. She says the best part about her job is to liberate her clients from their preconceived notions about fitness and see them be dazzled. Follow her at www. getmeanmuscle.com.
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 51
dear doctor
Getting To Know Yourself By Alzak Amlani
Q
I am in the midst of numerous decisions and changes at work and at home. They are exciting and daunting. I start to feel anxious and overwhelmed when I think about them all. Yet I tend to seek out more challenges and creative projects that take time and require a lot of preparation, decisions and thinking through. At times I wonder why I am doing any of it—expanding my career, remodeling my home, starting a new relationship and planning a backpacking trip in the mountains. I feel this drive inside me that wants to do these things and then when I get overwhelmed, I just want to be quiet and have a simpler life. I go back and forth and don’t know what’s really going on with me.
A
Sounds like you are in touch with both sides of your nature: the part that wants adventure, expansion, stimulation and challenges and the part that wants simplicity, peace, gets overwhelmed and seeks the familiar and comfortable. This is not an uncommon struggle at any stage in life. Expansion brings with it challenges and chaos. However, it is also a deep part of human nature to want to do more and
Ayurveda
Since 1932
have new experiences. First, allow yourself to have this range of interests and feelings. Take a deep breath into all of who you are and notice how that feels. Reflecting upon your motivation to do certain things is worthwhile. What makes you want to do more with your career and start a new relationship? Is it a drive that comes from outside you—boss, family, employees or friends? If so, what do you think about their suggestions or interests for you? Do they feel supportive and creative or that you have to fulfill another obligation or impress people? Sometimes this is difficult to sort out. Whatever clarity you find with these questions will be valuable to you. Losing yourself in others’ ideas and desires for you, will leave you disconnected, anxious and ultimately resentful. It will also lead to a feeling of unfulfillment at the end of all of your hard work. So, the first task is to dive deeper into yourself and think about what is moving you to make these changes. Then taking in the feedback of others will enhance your own inner knowing. Even when you are clear that having
intimacy in your life with a partner is what you want, there will be cycles of feelings that you will actually move through. Some will be exciting and meaningful and others will be frustrating and scary. Rather than resist the feelings that you don’t like or that don’t feel so good, lean into them. Feel them so you can build more capacity to be with whatever arises inside you. This is a truer and more dynamic way of being and living. Nature is always changing with the time of day, weather and seasons. The changes makes it interesting, beautiful and refreshing. So, we are a part of nature and will also undergo these natural rhythms and shifts in our daily lives. By observing the mountains and meadows around you on your backpacking trip, you will come to know yourself more fully. n
Alzak Amlani, Ph.D., is a counseling psychologist of Indian descent in the Bay Area. 650-325-8393. Visit www. wholenesstherapy.com
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relationship diva
It’s In The Eyes By Jasbina Ahluwalia
Q
My friend told me to pay attention to my date’s eyes to gauge his interest—any truth to that?
A
Controlled by the brain’s visual cortex, your eyes can reveal your moods and your emotions as they respond instinctively to what they see. Here are 10 tips for observing the “windows to the soul.” Does your date 1. Maintain eye contact while talking to you? If so, they are definitely interested in what you have to say—and possibly more! 2. Blink rapidly or excessively? A date who blinks more than usual may be feeling awkward, confused or annoyed. 3. Have pupils that are large or small? Enlarged pupils indicate interest, enthusiasm and even lust, while “pinpoint” pupils reveal the person may be “turned off.” 4. Look to the left or to the right? Research studies into the direction of a
AD INDEX n Classes: Dance 39 Arpana Dance Company 37 Kalyani Shanmugarajah 39 Kathak Kala Academy 37 Nrityodaya Kathak Academy 39 Prachi Dixit 39 Rangashree 39 Shakti School 39 Shankara Dance Academy 37 Sharanya Mukhopadhyay 39 Sohini Ray 37 Sri Sakti Sarade Kala Niketan Classes: Music 37 Babu Parameswaran 37 Geeta Munshi Events 44 Kalyani Shanmugarajah 16 Natyanjali 30 Natyanjali 2 Rangoli 44 Rangoli 41 Shakti School 54 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
gaze has found that people looking to the left are trying to remember something or thinking about the past. Those directing their gaze to the right may be engaging in more creative, possibly deceptive thought patterns. 5. Have sparkling eyes? Glistening, sparkling eyes means your date is definitely interested in you. Extra fluid in the eyes means your date’s central nervous system is being positively stimulated—by you! 6. Have a “poker face” and “poker” eyes? A frozen face and a blank stare is not a good sign, especially if your date’s staring seems aggressive and unfriendly. They may be hiding something they do NOT want you to discover. 7. Break eye contact frequently? If they move their gaze randomly around the room and do not look at you while you are talking, it could be a sign your date is feeling uncomfortable, distracted or uninterested in the date. 8. Have eyes that are wide open or
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gazing downward? This indicates fear associated with extreme shyness and uncertainty. Your date probably likes you but is too nervous to show it. 9. Have eyes that follow your every move? That’s good! It shows interest and a desire to be accessible to you. 10. Have eyes that blink infrequently? This may indicate they are attempting to control their eye movements, probably because they want to appear calm, cool and collected--when they are really feeling excited and nervous. 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. Jasbina@intersectionsmatch.com.
Nursery / Plants 42 Papaya Tree Nursery Real Estate & Loans IFC Deleon Realty BC Ramesh Bhambhra 21 Pushpa Nagaraj 9 Ramesh Raman 17 Rapid Capital Funding Restaurants 17 Paru’s Indian Restaurant Spiritual 52 Hindu Heritage Endowment 49 Self Realization Fellowship Travel Section 42 International Travel Center Legends: IFC-INSIDE FRONT COVER, IBC-INSIDE BACK COVER, BC-BACK COVER NEXT DEADLINE: JULY 20 CALL (408) 324-0488 x 225 ads@indiacurrents.com
July 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 55
the last word
Does a Corset a Woman Make? What makes a woman? By Sarita Sarvate
Y
India. I developed the brain of a man. I was forced to be aggresou really have to worry about the future of feminism when sive, outspoken, courageous, and adventurous. I was encouraged Jon Stewart, a white guy, has to point out the pervading to take risks. These are qualities generally associated with men. At gender stereotypes in our culture. I am talking of the sexy the same time, I had to conceal my intensely sensitive, emotional, picture of Caitlyn Jenner plastered all over the media. When I first and vulnerable female psyche behind a tough façade. The result saw it, I felt a distinct sense of disquiet. I could not quite put my was a dichotomy I have had to live with all my life. My outward finger on the reason, however. Until Jon Stewart ridiculed the appearance, complete with knee-length hair, high cheekbones, and acolytes the media was piling upon Bruce Jenner for his successful a petite physique, projected an image that at times was the oppotransition to womanhood. The message then became clear; wearsite of what I felt inside. Even after I came to the United States and ing a corset made you a woman. My confusion was compounded cut my hair, I suffered indignities like being ignored in professional by the fact that I had always thought that a corset was something meetings and receiving patronizing treatment. The worst came Scarlett O’Hara had worn to shrink her waist, not an outfit a when women, too, sometimes treated me as an outsider modern woman could wear in public. I began to wonder if because of my lack of girlish banter. Even today, I feel I had failed as a woman by not ever putting one on. Sure, But my like an odd man out in certain all-female groups with I have sported sexy lingeries and stockings on occasion, message to Jen- cliquish, exclusionary vibes. but only for my partner. such experiences could make me sympathize After Jon Stewart—how I miss him already— ner and the media withAllpeople like Jenner, if only they could refrain stated the obvious, women writers jumped into the fray. But the damage had already been done. We had is simple. Under the from prescribing to me the Hollywood ideal of sexiness and femininity, if only they could avoid been told that women were only concerned with guise of promoting telling us the psychological qualities that make us gossiping and looking sexy. A New York Times op-ed articulated my misgivtransgender rights, feminine. There is a continuum of male and female atings. A white man who had been adored as a hero for decades could never understand what it was like don’t reduce me to tributes that we all have, I think. Some men look physically masculine but are shy, emotional, and to live an entire life as a woman, Elinor Burkett wrote, a body in a white sweet, as my sons sometimes can be. Some women particularly a woman born in a certain era. are warriors because they have had to fight all their I could not agree more. corset. lives. Burkett did not stop at deriding the gender stereotype Besides, I cannot help but be suspicious of someone like evoked by the Jenner photo, but went on to criticize the transCaitlyn Jenner, whose motives for the media splash seem quesgender community for pushing its agenda on all women. tionable. Is money and fame the object, I wonder, particularly Her comments gave me pause. I recalled a writing workshop since I have just discovered that Jenner was on a TV show with not too long ago where a transgender who was biologically a the Kardashians, a family known perhaps to every American but woman but chose to live as a man accused me of “not getting it.” me? Transgenderism is no doubt the latest bandwagon on which I felt he had insulted my intelligence. Of course I got it. the media is jumping. But my message to Jenner and the media What I did not get was why the entire workshop had to focus is simple. Under the guise of promoting transgender rights, don’t on this person’s “in your face” sexual agenda. The transgender reduce me to a body in a white corset. n community has no doubt suffered discrimination for centuries. Still, I believe that every individual has a right to prioritize his or her own political agenda, and not everyone puts gay marriage or Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has published commentaries transgender rights at the top of their list. Particularly if they have for New America Media, KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the suffered discrimination in various forms, not only from men but Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publications. from women too. Take me, for example. Growing up with a psychologically troubled mother, I looked up to my father for a role model. The oldest and the strongest child, I was forced to act like a male in a very traditional society. I stood in lines at railway stations to be jostled by men; I rode bicycles late at night and got molested in the dark; I did many things girls and women simply did not do in
56 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | July 2015
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One Point Options
LOAN PROGRAM RATE APR* RATE APR*
Conforming<$417k 30 yr Fixed 3.750 3.800 15 yr Fixed 2.875 3.121 7/1 ARM 2.625 2.754 5/1 ARM 2.500 2.629 Hi-Balance - $417K to $625.5K 30 yrs Fixed 3.875 4.006 15 yrs Fixed 3.000 3.231 10/1 ARM 3.500 3.625 5/1 ARM 2.625 2.750 Jumbo $625,501 to $3,000,000 30 yrs Fixed 3.875 3.987 10/1 ARM 3.500 3.612 5/1 ARM 2.625 2.734
3.875 3.125 3.125 2.750
3.931 3.229 3.179 2.806
4.000 3.250 3.750 3.000
4.046 3.329 3.794 3.052
4.125 4.159 3.750 3.791 3.000 3.031
NOTE: 1. Rates are for owner-occupied purchase. 2. Rates quoted based on 75LTV and FICO more than 740. 3. Rates for Jumbo loans vary with loan amount. 4. Rates as of June 18, 2015. * APR based on maximum loan amounts for various programs. Rates may vary daily. Purchase loans with 25 day close guarantee for completed loan application. Loans with Lender-Paid Credit are available that can vary with the loan amount. Please call for custom quotes. 180 day early closure fee and other restrictions may apply on all loans. Note: Rates quoted are for approved loans and are subject to change without notice. Additionally, there may be other restrictions that could apply in specific loan scenarios that could change the actual rates applicable. Rates provided as a general guideline only.
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