June 2014

Some Other Country

by Benedito Ferrao

India Has Won! Decoding Elections 2014

Letter From a Dad

by Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy

INDIA CURRENTS D.C. Edition

Celebrating 28 Years of Excellence

Ishq, Actually june 2014 • vol. 28 , no . 3 • www. indiacurrents.com

Affairs of the heart, as related by American Muslim women

By Zenobia Khaleel

How Jay-Z Trumped Modi facebook.com/IndiaCurrents twitter.com/IndiaCurrents Now published in three separate editions WASHINGTON, D.C. BUREAU (Managed by IC New Ventures, LLC) 19709 Executive Park Circle Germantown, MD 20874 Phone: (202) 709-7010 Fax: (240) 407-4470 Associate Publisher: Asif Ismail publisher-dc@indiacurrents.com (202) 709-7010 Sales Associate: Sam Kumar Sales-dc@indiacurrents.com 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 (408) 324-0488 x225 Managing Director: Vijay Rajvaidya md@indiacurrents.com Editor: Jaya Padmanabhan editor@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x226 Events Editor: Mona Shah events@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x224

Let’s wrap our heads around this. India conducted the largest elections—814,500,000 people had a ballot.

Voter turnout hit a stunning 66.38%— More than 500 million people voted! The new Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet “India has won! Acche din aanewale hain!”

(Good days ahead!) was re-tweeted 70,556 times (as of May 27) setting a record as the nation’s most re-tweeted post. Narendra Modi is the sixth most followed world leader on Twitter.

These are electrifying numbers and reflect an evolving India standing at the crossroads of modernism and traditionalism, of aspiration and expectation, which the western media is still trying to understand.

This was ridiculously apparent on the evening of May 15, when India’s election results were rapidly streaming in; a thrilling and colorful kaleidoscope of contestants, voters, analysts, poll numbers, laddoos and Lok Sabha seats.

At about the same time, CNN was playing and replaying the video of Jay-Z being assaulted in an elevator by his sisterin-law Solange; ABC had the Wheel of Fortune contestant Sili Pese solving “Heavenly Body” on its bonus round, and PBS’s NewsHour pontificated on the unsure situ-

ation in Greece and France. No mention of India’s elections on any television channel, except on Comedy Central, where the Daily Show’s Jason Jones put out a hilarious spoof on what the minority looks like in India.

Eagerly, the morning after, I searched for commentaries in the leading United States newspapers, and found a handful that left me chafing at the lack of preparation and anticipation of a history-bending moment.

This should have been no surprise, since John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight and a Daily Show alumnus, lampooned Fox News for a risible segment, in April, on how this august media channel showcased their interest in India by featuring a leopard on the loose in some obscure corner of the country, at the same time that millions were pouring into polling booths. It seems that comedy shows are on the upper curve of trending news topics.

Television news arbiters have extrapolated that an “in-depth” discussion of a kick aimed at Jay-Z’s nether parts is so much more relevant than the coverage of the “world’s biggest” peaceful democratic exercise. It’s time to change that channel, America!

Jaya Padmanabhan

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INDIA CURRENTS June 2014 • vol 28 • no 3

PERSPECTIVES

Washington, D.C. Edition www.indiacurrents.com

LIFESTYLE

Find us on 1 | EDITORIAL How Jay-Z Trumped Modi

By Jaya Padmanabhan

25 | FINANCE The Science of Uncertainty II

By Rahul Varshneya

6 | A THOUSAND WORDS An Indian on Indians

By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

32 | BOOKS Reviews of Transactions of Belonging and Salaam, Love

By Jeanne Fredriksen, Dilnavaz Bamboat

7 | BUSINESS Silicon Valley Elitism

By Vivek Wadhwa 8 | COMMENTARY Some Other Country

By R. Benedito Ferrao 10 | PARENT PRINCIPLE Letter From a Dad

By Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy 22 | VIEWPOINT Spring Blooms

By Priyanka Sacheti 27 | YOUTH A New Bollywood Love Story

By Kunal Kamath

28 | Ishq, Actually Muslim women discuss love, relationships and marriage

By Zenobia Khaleel

12 | Feature India Elections 2014!

By Vamsee Juluri, Ranjani Iyer Mohanty, Sujeet Rajan, Sandip Roy

36 | Films Reviews of Koyelaanchal and Bhoothnath Returns

43 | ON INGLISH Down from the Tonga

By Kalpana Mohan

By Aniruddh Chawda, Madhumita Gupta

48 | THE LAST WORD Showing Up is Eighty Percent of Life

By Sarita Sarvate

34 | Music

38 | TRAVEL Hyderabadi Splendor

By Arundhati Nath 44 | HEALTHY LIFE Myths About Palliative Care

By Richard Springer 45 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA Selective v. Picky

By Jasbina Ahluwalia 46 | RECIPE The Scent of a Green Papaya

By Praba Iyer

DEPARTMENTS 4 | Voices 18 | About Town 24 | Ask a Lawyer 47 | Viewfinder

Zakir Hussain Throws a Party!

WHAT’S CURRENT 40 | Cultural Calendar

By Priya Das

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 3

voices Peaks and Valleys

I commend Nirmala Nataraj for writing the piece on sexuality (Journey to My Desire, India Currents, May 2014). I’ve felt that our community, like Nataraj says, is totally wound up on issues relating to sexuality. Just as she points out, we’ve been conditioned by all sorts of ideas about what “good” girls may do and how they may behave. Certainly I, too, am guilty of foisting some of those hand-me-down opinions about the “right” and “wrong” of sexuality on my children.

But the story didn’t satisfy me. It seemed like the writer was holding something back; it seemed like someone was doing OM on me and then, out of the blue, the person went off to take a call and make aloo subzi.

The piece was vague about what exactly Nataraj discovered in the practice of OM that transformed her. The article did not explain how OM would give me both, sexual satisfaction as well as spiritual fulfillment. It was alluded to with no details.

And then the question, if it is not a climax but just ridges and peaks and valleys, what exactly is it? There was no map with legends, such as “You are here.” The devil, for me, is in the details. Obviously, I understand that OM is at a different level conceptually, but for folks like me at sea level, please enlighten us with a GPS, a printed map, or a walkie-talkie.

While Nataraj is a good writer, at several places in the article, she lost me. For example, and I quote: “Like tantra, OM suggests that we transform sex obsession into sex integration, and that the same time, we view the path of desire as a viable exploration, and consider mundane experience and sensations as aspects of a much larger totality.” I consider myself a savvier reader than most, because I am always worrying about how a reader may understand me.

Yet, in several places, I couldn’t make sense of her point.

The setup of the piece was not adequate. I would have been happier knowing what it was in her marriage that made her sexually dissatisfied? What expectations did she go in with about her partner? What experiences had she had with sex before marriage? Nataraj seems to be implying that marital happiness, conformance to social mores and sexual fulfillment are mutually exclusive.

At several points in the article, she hints that there were several things shaking up her marriage, not just sexual incompatibility. Yet, she gives her marriage only two years, not long enough, in my opinion, 4 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

when hers was not an “arranged” marriage, i.e., she went into the marriage having known the man well, I would think. Again, I wasn’t given enough background.

The ending, too, seemed abrupt. I would have liked it better if she had disclosed that she was an OM teacher earlier.

Kalpana Mohan, Saratoga, CA The Author Responds I appreciate Kalpana’s thoughtful critique. To be honest, aside from the fact that some of the original details I included were edited from the piece, I felt that I had to censor myself considerably, because I was sensitive to the potential audience. I agree that the devil is in the details. But the details are tricky and multifaceted; they include a slew of things that make me even more of an outlier in the community. To speak to these things is important, of course, but in this arena, I’m still discovering my voice. For me, writing the piece was a significant and fairly scary step, a coming-out of sorts. Perhaps I didn’t do it as gracefully as I would have liked, but at the same time, it prompted curiosity and a desire for “more.”

It led many Indian-Americans to look me up and read some of the more informative and personal pieces I have included, which are more explicit and give people an idea of the range of my experiences. That may well offer me the courage to go further and be more vulnerable about the details in future.

Nirmala Nataraj, El Cerrito, CA

Hiring and Inspiring

Regarding the editorial by Jaya Padmanabhan (Bock’s Analysis, India Currents, May 2014), aside from pursuing a financially lucrative career, what about encouraging our children to pursue what they enjoy doing, something that would make them happy—like writing!

Jana Seshadri, Bay Area, CA

I would treat Computer Science as just another language—like Mandarin, Spanish or English. It is the language of the future because just about everything is reflected on the Internet and will require some familiarity with it. It will make kids more employable, which is not a bad thing.

That said, the very same Laszlo Bock very wisely does not correlate fancy numbers and schools with job success. So, ultimately, if the child is not robotic in the quest for name brands with the relentlessly padding of resumes, the meaningless volunteering in exotic lands, the redundant internships (affirmation of the rich), where they learn zilch ... he or she will do fine.

The New York Times article, “The Decline and Fall of the English Major” by Verlyn Klinkenborg is testament to the power

of immersing oneself in the humanities and English in particular: “I find a vivid pressing sense of how much they need the skill they didn’t acquire earlier in life. They don’t call that skill the humanities. They don’t call it literature. They call it writing—the ability to distribute their thinking in the kinds of sentences that have a merit, even a literary merit, of their own.”

Renuka Pullat, Hillsborough, CA It’s the story of every parent and every child. I think, deep inside, every child has an ideal, but every day that ideal gets tossed aside in order to meet the practical.

Success in the humanities requires (typically) a lot of time; it’s a buildup of years of knowledge, rejection, disappointment.

The practical constantly beats the ideal. San Francisco is in the throes of rising property values; if kids are going after their heart, the house they want is going to be in Watsonville, not in Pacific Heights. At least that’s what their parents are telling them.

To the point about the thinking itself.

I think analysis in the humanities calls for logic, wisdom, honesty, life experience and some amount of fearlessness. Most kids, fresh out of college, simply aren’t ready for the demands of it. Computer science provides a far easier route in every way, even if there is a hole in the soul.

Kalpana Mohan, Saratoga, CA With due deference to Bock, in spite of being a huge advocate of STEM pursuit, I entirely disagree with the premise that humanities and languages do not foster creative thought. In fact, humanities, English, philosophy, and history all require much creativity and logic. Humanities (English major) provide, as standard evidence, clarity of thought and expression, writing and analysis. I would think these are important for a job at Google.

As my younger sons are in the process of deciding majors and colleges, we have been reading and thinking about the importance of music, sports, and language in their overall grooming.

Shivakumar Raman, Bay Area, CA

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June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 5

a thousand words

An Indian On Indians

I

By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

am an Indian American who often writes about Indian American experiences in my journalism. I’ve reviewed books

by Indian subcontinental writers like Mohsin Hamid and am researching discourses on India’s globality and the rise of Asia in my dissertation. My work is uber contemporary, and I sometimes fear that it seems like solipsistic navel-gazing. I’m envious of the mathematician’s otherworldly abstractions, the historian studying Merovingian burial rites, and the literary critic of Chaucer’s Middle English. They don’t have to make worthy objects of their subjects in quite the same way as those of us working close to home.

There are two schools of thought about the “autobiographical” content of research and writing, or, put differently, two ways of thinking about the distance a scholar or writer should have from the subjects she is writing about. Both of these perspectives have to do with what we think objectivity in scholarship should look like, what it means “to know” something, and what it is that’s worth knowing.

The first perspective is voiced by feminist theorist Inderpal Grewal in the foreword to her canonical work on global American culture and the South Asian diaspora, Transnational America (2005): “[B]ecause there are communities to care about, there is something I care to write about.” For Grewal, her experience with Narika, the Bay Area-based organization that supports victims of domestic violence, exploitation, and trafficking, is as significant for her academic work as her training in literary criticism and cultural theory. Like many other practitioners of what are sometimes called “Identity Studies” (including Women’s Studies and Ethnic Studies), Grewal is keenly attuned to the way that our lives shape our standpoint on the world and the posture we assume when engaging in scholarly labor. Working through how “who” we are inflects “what” we study can be a knowledge project in its own right.

Then there is the second viewpoint, i.e., that there can be no true scholarship without distance from one’s objects and that we should each pursue research on things we (at first) know nothing about, for that is the nature of the scholarly enterprise: to discover the unknown, not to recover, re-encounter, and rehash the known quantities of one’s life. My cousin Kanishk has his creative writing students spin a globe, land somewhere, then write about and from it. If it’s a fishing outpost in Iceland and the student is from Queens, all the better. Writing is a journey from non-knowledge into knowledge, from absence to creation, so why limit yourself to your own world as the model for an imagined one or as the object for sustained inquiry—whether sociological, anthropological, philosophical, or literary?

I’m overstating these positions a bit, and conflating scholarship in general with writing in particular, but my point is to draw a distinction between how we choose our objects (what we study) and how they in turn define us (who we are as scholars). I would argue that most writers’ and scholars’ lives and worlds bleed into their work whether they are penning confessional essays or studying algae. The difference is that the memoirist’s identity-driven claims are on the surface, while the biologist gets to duck behind the bulwark of the scientific method.

There are other issues at work, of course. In the decades since the culture wars and the opening of the canon, there has been a tacit, troubling “division of labor” in the humanities in which 6 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

When did I become an Indian writing on India, Indians, Indian Americans, and Indian English? Am I unconsciously making a claim to authenticity, of an ability to know something about my objects that other scholars can’t?

African Americans often end up in African American Studies, women conduct Women’s Studies, Indians write post-colonial literary criticism, and the immigrants are left to defend Ethnic Studies from the likes of Arizona’s HB-2281. In other words, studying our “own” previously underrepresented communities has led to a kind of self-segregation that may have reinforced instead of combated the unequal valuation of culturally specific knowledge in the university.

I knew all this before I started my Ph.D. in Rhetoric—was determined, for example, not to write about Jhumpa Lahiri or V.S. Naipaul, not to end up studying the Indian Anglophone novel, not to mine my life for content—so how did I end up in a scholarly domain so closely tied to the contours of my own life experience?

When did I become an Indian writing on India, Indians, Indian Americans, and Indian English? Am I unconsciously making a claim to authenticity, of an ability to know something about my objects that other scholars can’t? Is this a problem of authority that I have to work through in order to find my authorial voice? Has my research become a kind of catharsis? Is my dissertation going to be one big intertextual “selfie?”

I recently read my friend, anthropologist John L. Jackson, Jr.’s, Thin Description (2014), a brilliant monograph about the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (AHIJ), which is equally about the construction of identities through the assemblage of archives and the desire for knowledge of both the self and the other.

While I was reading John’s book, I kept wondering if I could have been an anthropologist, could have picked some people someplace to live with, talk to, write about … in other words, to study.

Would I have had the courage like John to follow the provocations of a man on a subway all the way from Brooklyn, New York to Dimona, Israel? Could I have been an Indian studying someone or something other than India?

But then I reread parts of the book, heard John tell of his “Seventh-Day Adventist upbringing and its reverence for the Sabbath,” his childhood in a neighborhood populated by Jews, his friends teaching him Hebrew as they prepared for their own Bar Mitzvahs.

None of these were reasons he ended up writing a book about the AHIJ community, but he acknowledged these biographical fragments as serendipitous parts of his scholarly prehistory.

It’s not always clear why we feel the call of certain objects, the pull to tell this particular story or another. Is the call any less worth answering if it issues from a place that looks like home? n Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley.

business

W

Silicon Valley Elitism

hen computers were just for nerds and large corporations, Silicon Valley’s elite could get away with arrogance, insularity and sexism.

They were building products for people that looked just like them. The child geniuses inspired so much awe that their fratboy behavior was a topic of amusement.

Now technology is everywhere. It is being used by everyone. Grandma downloads apps and communicates with junior over Facebook. Women are dominating social media and African Americans are becoming Twitter’s fastest-growing demographic group.

The public is investing billions of dollars in tech companies and expects professionalism, maturity, and corporate social responsibility. It is losing its tolerance for elitism and arrogance.

Note what just happened when Silicon Valley luminary Tom Perkins wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal (Jan 24, 2014) to complain of public criticism of the Bay Area elite and his ex-wife Danielle Steel. He said “Writing from the epicenter of progressive thought, San Francisco, I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its ‘one percent,’ namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the ‘rich.’”

There was such an outpouring of anger on social media over the comparison to the Nazi genocide that the venture capital firm Perkins founded, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, disavowed its association with him. Tech blogs and newspapers lashed out. Silicon Valley heavyweights such as Marc Andreesen and Marc Benioff expressed their disapproval. It is a rare thing in Silicon Valley for any venture capitalist or CEO to speak up against a tech luminary—no matter how much out of line he may be. So this was a surprise.

The Perkins controversy is the tip of the iceberg. Kleiner Perkins is itself embroiled in a sexual-harassment scandal that it chose to litigate rather than settle. When Twitter filed for an IPO with an all-male board, the New York Times slammed it for being an old boys’ club. Rather than admitting that his company may have erred, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo chose to lash out publicly against a critic—me—for expressing

By Vivek Wadhwa outrage in the article. A few weeks later, Twitter gave in to the growing backlash and announced a woman director. There was no apology or humility, however.

In most industries, discriminating on the basis of gender, race, or age would be considered illegal. Yet in the tech industry, venture capitalists routinely show off about their “pattern recognition” capabilities.

They say they can recognize a successful entrepreneur, engineer, or business executive when they see one. The pattern always resembles Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or themselves: a nerdy male.

Women, blacks, and Latinos are at a disadvantage as are older entrepreneurs. VCs openly admit that they only fund young entrepreneurs and claim that older people can’t innovate.

It isn’t just venture capitalists who are insensitive to federal employment-discrimination laws. Most tech companies refuse to release gender, race, or age data. They claim this information is a trade secret.

Whatever data are available reveal a strong bias towards young males.

In his letter to Wall Street Journal, Tom Perkins complained of the outraged public reaction to Google buses carrying technology workers and to rising real-estate prices.

But these are genuine grievances. Longtime residents of San Francisco are being displaced because of skyrocketing rents.

Bus stops are being clogged with fleets of luxury buses. The tech industry is taking advantage of the investment that taxpayers made in public infrastructure, the Internet, and education—without giving much back or even acknowledging its debts to society.

Silicon Valley’s tech companies are also disconnected from the communities in which they live. They remain aloof about the problems that the poor face. Very few help set up soup kitchens, build houses for the homeless, or provide scholarships for disadvantaged children. Tech moguls such as Peter Thiel go as far as admonishing the value of higher education itself—and paying children $100,000 to drop out of college. Most startups focus on building senseless social media-type apps or solving the problems of the rich—and that is what venture capitalists typically fund.

Silicon Valley has an important role to play in solving the world’s problems. It is

Women, blacks, and Latinos are at a disadvantage as are older entrepreneurs. VCs openly admit that they only fund young entrepreneurs and claim that older people can’t innovate. the epicenter of innovation. Most technologists I know have a social conscience and want to do whatever they can to make the world a better place. Yet the power brokers—most venture capitalists, super-rich angel investors, and CEOs consistently show a disregard for social causes. They display a high level of arrogance, demand tax cuts for themselves, and have a don’tcare attitude. As demonstrated by the Perkins letter, this sends the wrong message to the world and holds Silicon Valley back.

It is time for the Silicon Valley elite to smell the coffee and realize that the world has changed—and that they must too. It is time for tech entrepreneurs to focus on solving big problems and giving back to the world. n Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. You can follow him on Twitter at @vwadhwa and find his research at www. wadhwa.com. First published in The Washington Post.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 7

commentary

Some Other Country

By R. Benedito Ferrão

N

ight had fallen on Melbourne by the time I had gotten through immigration and customs. I made my way through the crowd of smiling people, some holding up “Welcome Home!” signs. For a moment, I entertained the possibility that at least one of them could be for me. In the arrivals area, I found a quiet spot and, fortunately, free wifi—always such a boon to itinerants. There was just enough power on my phone to send a quick message to let my folks know I had arrived safely. For a long while, I stood by my luggage cart and eyed the exit. I was not ready, just yet, to leave the neutral space of the airport, and step into terra incognita.

Sure, I had found myself in this same situation many times before. But it never ceases to feel daunting, that alienness of being on the precipice of starting life anew.

En route to Australia, I broke my journey in Beirut. At immigration in Lebanon, I surmised that the officer was asking me if I spoke Arabic, but being unable to respond in that tongue, I apologized in English.

“How come?” He interrogated. “You were born in Kuwait,” he said, jabbing his finger at the tell-tale information in my American passport.

Just a few weeks prior, the mustachioed official collecting departure cards at Bombay’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport—which will always be Sahar Airport to me from my childhood memories of transiting through there between Kuwait and Goa to see my grandmother—insisted on speaking to me in Hindi. As if to go with the nationalistically inclined name change of the airport, he questioned my inability to articulate myself fluently in “the mother tongue” that is completely unknown to my mother who was born and raised in East Africa. Waving my Overseas Citizenship of India card in my face, he chastised me, in Hindi, for not speaking the language of “your country.”

I thought of the title of that novel, the one in which James Baldwin writes, “The 8 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

administration, but from those personal circumstances and accidents which cause, and always will cause, the fortunes and experience of one man to be different from another’s.” The rising antiimmigrant sentiment resulted in the turning away of exiles, some of them South Asians from once British East Africa. Never mind that they were part of Britain’s history, or that they spoke “the same language.”

There was an awkward silence when the cab driver finally A Creative Commons Image ended the call he had been on from the time he had picked aim of the dreamer, after all, is merely to me up. I had gathered from the phone go on dreaming and not to be molested by conversation that he was Punjabi. “How the world. His dreams are his protection long have you lived here?” I enquired. “Ten against the world.” I thought of 1961, the years.” After another protracted pause, he year in which Goa ceased being Estado da asked, “You’re here for work?” I nodded. Índia Portuguesa and, without the benefit “Yes. New job.” He said, “Good, good.” of a local referendum to ascertain the will of Leaning forward in my seat, I queried, “So, its people, was handed over to India some some years ago, there were those attacks, fourteen years after a certain “Tryst with no? On Indian students … Some were Destiny.” I signed my Portuguese name murdered?” His head bobbed in assent. on the exit form, and departed the country “But it is safe. You know … just mind your that neither of my parents, nor I, had been own business. You do your work and you born in. go home after and everything will be fine.”

“It’s not just another country for you,” I thought about whose home this couna friend remarked. “It’s a whole other try really is and I thought of homelessness. continent.” Nonetheless, some things were I thought of 1869 and the ironically named immediately familiar, I thought to myself Aboriginal Protection Act, which led to the as I prepared the cash to pay the taxi driver Stolen Generations of state-abducted indignear the end of the ride from Melbourne’s enous children. I thought of Doris PilkingTullamarine Airport. For instance, there ton’s Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, which was the crowned head on the heavy curwas turned into a film and tells the story of rency—the paradoxically common royal just such Aboriginal children who had been visage on the coinage of the Commontaken away from their families. I thought wealth. I remember her well from those of the earliest South Asians to come to this days of scrounging together my all too country, the so called “Afghans” who served uncommon wealth as a student in London. as cameleers in the 1860s, transporting And English is spoken here—that other goods across Australia’s deserts—Muslim imperial legacy. I thought of 1968, the year men who married into Aboriginal commuin which England withdrew the right of nities. I thought of the migrant who goes entry to British passport holders from its everywhere and belongs nowhere. “This former colonies and how the lie was given is your stop,” the driver announced as he to the concept of the Commonwealth. slowed down. “All the best!” n I thought of “Rivers of Blood,” Enoch Powell’s speech delivered that same year, To read more of R. Benedito Ferrão’s writing, in which he proclaimed, “Whatever drawvisit his blog at thenightchild.blogspot.com or backs attended the immigrants arose not The Nightchild Nexus on Facebook. from the law or from public policy or from

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June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 9

parent principle

Letter From a Dad A father writes an open letter to his six year old son

By Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy

I

t is now officially an annual ritual—my open/public letter to my son on his birthday. I wrote the first one when he turned 4. I followed it up with one when he turned 5. On March 29, my medium guy (noting his objection to the word small), turned 6. Here is my letter to my young man.

Dearest Dude, So you are a year older and a bit wiser.

Maybe a little too much for our convenience but we will let that pass. You are starting to ask too many questions. Some of them quite complicated and a few of them uncomfortably so. Give us some time and we will catch up. Until then, let the dictionaries and encyclopedias be your friend.

your newfound appreciation (as you clearly put it, not love) for pink and peach.

The perspective is all good. Just one note of caution. As much as you like your friend, never, never ever call her your most favorite girl in the world. Not in front of your mom.

Rule No 0: The mother is always the favorite girl, lady, woman in the world.

Never changes. Until you get married and then, the “if … then” clause kicks in.

V Art

Reading Books

I love that you are hooked on math and science. Attaboy! I say. As much as your mother wanted you to be a creative type completely unlike the two of us, your DNA refuses to cooperate. The older you grow, the more obvious it gets that you are going to get into math and science. Like everyone else in the family.

Now that we understand that part, would you be so kind as to consider thinking about building the next great thing. I am not looking for a $19 billion buyout.

Something in the millions would be fine too. If you agree, I am willing to start saving towards your rent in San Francisco. You will most likely need it.

Last year, we had talked about girls.

Yes, girls. You now have your doppelgänger who happens to be a girl. We are thrilled about it. Not so much about you following her instructions to a T and getting into trouble, but all the other parts including

10 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

We have kept technology away from you as much as possible. Sometimes we wish there could be a balance but not as yet. This birthday, we got you a Chromebook so you have all the right tools at the right time. It is a great device to learn cool things. And the occasional Angry Birds.

Your continued love for music is fantastic. I love the fact that we can listen to good Karnatik music together. While you continue to love Balamurali Krishna’s singing, your newfound admiration for Abhishek Raghuram (and his Viribhoni) is admirable. As is your liking for the Sikkil Gurucharan and Anil Srinivasan combo. I hope to get you to meet one or all of them someday. Remember, these guys put in a lot of effort to get where they are. It is not just talent. So, there is no point in expecting music to come to you naturally. You have to put in the effort. Yes, I am talking about your complaints over repeated practice.

Gotta do it. No way around it.

I love, love the fact that you run to hug me when I drop you off at school. In front of your BFF, no less. I know this is a fleeting experience that will soon disappear.

Until then, I will cherish every one of those tight hugs.

The Medium Guy

Your mother and I so desperately wish to freeze things in time. As much as we would love for you to eat your food yourself without taking the entire day, we oh so desperately miss the little guy who was knee high and wobbling around in his diapers, and babbling incessantly. We miss that little one so much and as you grow older, even more so.

We love it when you speak in Tamil.

But it is starting to get rarer and rarer.

Please, please speak the language a little more like you used to. For our sake. It feels like honey in our ears when we hear it. No hyperbole whatsoever.

I am thrilled that you are not scared of lizards in the garden. I am not gung-ho about you wanting to go and touch them.

But not being scared is nice. If only your mother saw our side of things.

Finally, to me, the greatest part of my day is when I put you to bed and watch you go to sleep. Nothing, absolutely nothing feels purer and awesomer than that. In that moment, the Universe just feels right.

Happy birthday, my would-be paleontologist who also happens to be a would-be geologist.

Signed, Appa P.S: Too early to be asking questions about the reproductive system from your encyclopedia. End of conversation. Finito.

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Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy is a tech enthusiast and blogs on various topics from parenting to shopping: rangaprabhu.com.

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feature

Decoding Elections 2014 The emerging Hindu identity

By Vamsee Juluri

Narendra Modi's victory needs to be understood beyond the two commonly heard positions we have heard these past few months leading up to the election.

Critics of Modi saw his rise as the march of Hindu nationalist fascism and the inevitable death of secularism in India. Supporters of Modi saw his rise as a sign of hope for India after years of corruption in high places, general ineptitude, and a sickening sense of venality in civic and public life.

But India’s vote for Narendra Modi needs to be understood beyond these two ideas. Even if Modi ran on a campaign of universal good governance rather than divisive anti-secular rhetoric, and even if his critics now assume that his victory means an end to something noble in India, the truth is that both positions only tiptoe around what his victory means from a modern, civilizational Hindu point of view today.

The mandate that Narendra Modi has won, in other words, is not just for either good governance, or for dismantling secularism, but for embodying a new, emerging idea of what it means to be Hindu, and Indian, in the world today. It is very different from thinking of it as a mandate for Hindu nationalism of the kind we witnessed in the late 1980s and 1990s.

This mandate, simply put, is about Hinduism even more than Hindu nationalism, or secularism. It might sound paradoxical, but by running on a promise of universal good, rather than on divisive identity-rhetoric, Modi has re-established a very Hindu way of looking at the world.

This is important to recognize, because the anointed secular position against Modi, though seemingly a good thing—for secularism is a good thing in my view—has very little intellectual, emotional, or moral purchase in large sections of India's young today. We need to recognize that, and to respect that.

Young people in India today, growing up in a rapidly globalizing cultural environment, aspiring perhaps to study or work in other countries, generally disposed favorably towards the United States and the West, and also, for the most part, accustomed to diverse, multi-religious coexistence in India and therefore not inherently hateful to other communities, find 12 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Narendra Modi

Photo Credit: Narendra Modi Facebook page

The mandate that Narendra Modi has won ... is for embodying a new, emerging idea of what it means to be Hindu, and Indian, in the world today. a tremendous contradiction between how they see themselves and how they are represented in the global discourse.

Young Hindus see themselves as part of a great civilizational heritage, and value it not just for its ancient glory, but also because they see its spirituality as being the core of their civilizational ethic of coexistence and respect for all religions.

If Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and so many different kind of Hindus divided by language, custom, caste and history still share a land and history so deeply, they know it is not simply because of India’s secular constitution, but because of Hinduism’s ancient legacy of respecting all faiths. There is a new sense of wanting to be Indian, and Hindu, in India’s young that is very different from the simplistic Hindu nationalist rhetoric we saw two decades ago.

Unfortunately, even if Hindus have moved on for the most part from the extremism and jingoistic pride of that period, the secular commentary has not. In fact, it has only become worse, if such a thing was possible. It should come as no surprise to anyone therefore that the numerous

earnest and passionate appeals to Indian voters to reject Modi that populated the august pages of The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Economist in recent months probably had very little meaning for voters in India. To know why, it is worth recalling what else these publications had to say about Hindus, Hinduism, and India in the last few years, before they took up their outraged positions on behalf of India's supposedly vanishing secularism.

The Economist once described a holy Hindu deity, the Shiva Lingam at Amarnath, as a “penis-shaped lump of ice.”

The Guardian once lampooned the passing of a revered Hindu guru, who probably did more to uphold India's secular, multi-religious fabric than any intellectual or activist ever did, and derided his teachings as simplistic “peace, love and vegetarianism.”

The New York Times published a spate of op-ed pieces after the 2008 Pakistani terrorist attacks blaming India and Hindu nationalism. Not to mention its serious advocacy for a Hinduism “expert” who compares ancient Hindus to Nazis in her book, The Hindus, and unilateral exclusion of dissenting opinion.

With this sort of a track record, why would take anyone take them seriously on Narendra Modi either?

The fact is that what might have been a fair, principled position of secularist critique against Hindu extremism has long ago lost all integrity in the eyes of most reasonable Hindus. They may not care for the sort of ultra-nationalism and minorityabusing that some Hindutva leaders did, but they do care about their religion, their nation, and their place in the world.

They do not see secularism being advocated against Modi, but only Hinduphobia.

Had Modi run on a really divisive platform, the situation would have indeed been different. But fact is that he did not.

Perhaps the time has truly come for a better conversation now about India, and the future of religion, and nationalism. We need a better notion of secularism than the profoundly orientalistic Hinduphobia we have seen so far. We also need a better notion of Hindu nationalism to enter the debate than the 19th century ideologies that

have dominated its parties for a long time.

At least on the latter, Modi has marked a distinct change from the past.

Whether Prime Minister Modi is truly different from the Chief Minister who allegedly allowed a terrible riot to run wild in 2002 is of course a question that leaves many restless. The Indian electorate has clearly spoken in his favor. If there was really an inexcusable level of culpability, then surely votes too would not mean any lessening of it.

But we do have to consider one thing, which people in India probably have and those of us who only read about India through largely Hinduphobic publications have not. For a few days in 2002, the allegation holds, a government failed in its responsibility to protect its citizens, and for this lapse punishments were indeed made.

We are however not satisfied with those who paid for these crimes, and somehow sought the head, so to speak, of one man more than any other. Whether it was for what he really did, or whether he only became a symbol for all our fears, is perhaps not ever going to be known for sure.

Nothing can and will erase the pain of those who suffered in Gujarat in 2002, Hindu and Muslim. Nothing can and will erase the pain of all those who suffered at the hands of terrorists and their bombs and bullets in India in the last two decades. But one thing the Indian electorate has done decisively now is to reject those whose politics have rested on the divisive and ugly identity-claims that underlie that sort of violence.

India has rejected both pseudo-secularism, and jingoistic Hindu extremism. It has accepted a plank of good governance for all, which for young Hindus could also mean a repudiation of brazen, racist Hinduphobia, and for others might prove a reassurance eventually that India’s secular constitution will not be threatened, and may even be strengthened by recognizing the civilizational roots on which that country's many religions rest.

This election was not really about choosing between secularism and religious extremism as it was made out to be. The choice was perhaps seen by people in India more accurately as one between Hinduphobia and an India for everyone.

And India has chosen. n Vamsee Juluri is a Professor of Media Studies and the author, most recently, of Bollywood Nation: India through its Cinema. This article was first published on Huffington Post.

Democracy Equals Freedom

By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty

T

Photo Credit: Narendra Modi Facebook page

he epic task is complete. In nine phases, over a course of 36 days, an electoral population of over 800 million people in 543 constituencies had the opportunity to vote—requiring five million people to administer the procedure and another five million to provide security, and costing taxpayers Rupees 35 billion ($580 million). A truly monumental effort.

India had the biggest election but it was not alone in this venture. Spring arrived and elections were in the air; Afghanistan, South Africa, Turkey, Belgium, and Egypt were part of a longer list. Many people seem disillusioned with their current government and quite ready for change. Maybe it’s just that those who are dissatisfied are the most vocal, creating an impression of general unhappiness. Maybe it’s aggravated by the media focusing on the discontent, and playing it up to fill printed news pages and the 24-hour news cycle. Or maybe the desire for change is just natural. The grass always looks greener on the other side and even over the septic tank.

But it may be more than that. It may be disillusionment with the workings of democracy.

Right now, the undemocratic nations and their rulers seem stronger. Russia has dreams of expansion and Vladimir Putin is amassing troops near Ukraine. China’s “peaceful rise” has morphed to “quiet assertion” and Xi Jinping is claiming territorial rights in the South China Sea. North Korea is happy to stand alone and Kim Jongun continues his legacy of threats against South Korea. Zimbabwe has its ageless Robert Mugabe. They seem to be able to get things done and quickly, while leaders of the democratic nations seem weak.

America is gridlocked and Obama seems professorial. In the United Kingdom, Cameron seems haunted by expense scandals. South Africa has high unemployment and Jacob Zuma appears morally bankrupt. And in India corruption seems to have reigned unchecked, under Manmohan Singh.

There’s no doubt that democracy is messy, slow, and inefficient. We, in India, are particularly aware of that. In the

supposed race between China and India, India fares badly because we must do things democratically and with consensus.

Crouching tiger, bumbling elephant.

Even the well-known Indian policewoman and social activist Kiran Bedi recently said that she’s prepared to sacrifice the cause of anti-corruption for some good governance. This statement was likely made to justify her shift of support from the anticorruption and somewhat anarchist Aam Admi Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

But in some sense, India has made this compromise for years now. When frustrations grow in the face of inefficiencies and lack of resources, it’s understandable why people move towards anything that offers a modicum of efficiency and certainty.

All forms of government come with a price. But with democracy—good or bad, right or wrong—we get the government the majority of us voted for. It may be a bumbling elephant, but it’s our bumbling elephant. And democracy at least espouses equality and human rights.

Despite the chaos, gridlock, incompetence, corruption, and having to repeatedly put up with the expensive circus of elections, those of us living in democratic countries need to remind ourselves that it’s not just our right to vote but our privilege. Elections are a rare and infrequent opportunity for the common people to shape the country they live in. Democracy may be another word for freedom. Few of us would knowingly or willingly give up the freedom to succeed or fail in our own way in exchange for a more efficient life in a gilded cage as dictated by someone else.

Mohandas K. Gandhi said, “Good government is no substitute for self government.”

India has a new democratically elected Prime Minister. It is time now to believe that we have voted for what we think is best for India. And it’s time to hope we can arrive at a summer of satisfaction. n Ranjani Iyer Mohanty is a writer and editor, based in New Delhi. Her articles have appeared in several newspapers and magazines, including the NY Times, IHT, WSJ, FT, and the Atlantic.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 13

14 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

India Gets a Charismatic Leader

By Sujeet Rajan

N

arendra Damodardas Modi, who comes from a humble background as the son of a tea-seller, is a charismatic, dynamic and shrewd politician.

His victory in the recent elections in India can only be matched by that of President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential elections.

If some of you readers don’t quite agree with that opinion, perhaps you might find this, too, a bit difficult to agree with: Modi is finally the global role model India has been looking for in politics as well as in business, sports, films and the arts.

It’s not that India has not had its share of great politicians—with all their individual flaws—to choose from. There have been many, from the erudite and sophisticated Jawaharlal Nehru to the reformist Narasimha Rao, whose liberalization policies were taken forward by the capable Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh to shape India’s aspirations towards becoming a developed nation. I believe that Modi, too, will endeavor to follow that same path and goals.

But what makes Modi a great Indian politician, a global role model, and one who commands respect is that he has beaten all odds to make the impossible possible. Obama, and now Modi, with their calculated, successful campaigns and ultimate victory at the polls, have given hope to generations, and have inspired and will continue to inspire millions of youngsters to dream big.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections were as personal for Modi as it was for Rajiv Gandhi in the wake of the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi. The country may have voted for the first time in 30 years on the issue of the economy, but for Modi, it was about reinstating his identity as a secular Indian.

Modi, who will turn 64 this September, when entrusted with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leadership spot for the 2014 polls in India, showed tremendous enthusiasm, energy, vigor and panache at hundreds of rallies across the country.

For Obama, the hardest part was to win the Democratic primaries, beating Hillary Clinton. The rest was easier, as United States votes state by state either Blue or Red. It was either going to be a narrow win or a narrow loss for him.

Not so, for Modi. The challenge for him has been the same since the 2002 Gujarat riots. There was no way for him to

Narendra Modi

Photo Credit: Narendra Modi Facebook page

know till the day the votes were counted how much the nation either hated or loved him.

Modi not only had to counter the opposition, and convince a sceptical nation of his worth, but to convince the top leaders from his own party, stalwarts like L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj, of his leadership credentials.

Before Modi took on the reins of the party, the BJP was in shambles. The party was in no position to take charge of even a state government anywhere, forget sweeping polls nationally. Modi made it a cohesive national party again, gave it the badly needed stature and confidence, got immediate results in Assembly elections in prominent states, and proved to be an astute leader.

Modi was ostracized by not only his fellow Indians, but by the global community for the 2002 Gujarat riots. In all those years when he was condemned and castigated, Modi could have exploded in public fury and disintegrated like an Arvind Kejriwal, or created a split within the party and formed a faction of his own, or committed political hara kiri. But instead he quietly and systematically laid the foundation for the Prime Minister’s job by developing Gujarat economically and gaining the trust with his performance as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

As detractors continued to criticize him, Modi showed one of his greatest strengths: he kept a calm front in the face of all the overt and passive aggression against him; and he didn’t stoop to denounce the lobbying-tilted actions of the United States, who refused him a diplomatic United States visa in 2005.

The United States is now courting Modi. Obama has invited him to the White House; the State Department wants him to visit the United States. The visa issue, it seems was white smoke.

The most difficult part, as Modi will soon come to know, is to succeed in the

face of adversity, while governing the country.

If Modi wants to succeed in developing India economically, which is what his campaign message has been, he needs to make India the engine of growth, take the country towards global economic recovery, initiate measures to punish corruption and eradicate it in the long run, make the country more secular, despite the reservations of minorities, and make its defence forces and borders stronger.

This is indeed a tall task and one for which Modi is well-prepared, and if he is able to achieve everything that he has stated he will, Modi will be revered in the global community as an icon.

No Indian businessman, bar Ratan Tata, can come close to being a global icon—for Indian businesses believe more in the service sector to make money than in developing products like Bill Gates did.

Sachin Tendulkar, for all of India’s pretensions, is still a (retired) cricket celebrity, not a global sports icon; ditto for Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in the films arena, and the country’s real writers, the ones who make money and are critically successful at the same time, like Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh and Jhumpa Lahiri are NRIs and PIOs, so the likes of Chetan Bhagat are confined to being desi phenomenons. Besides the country is yet to produce another Rabindranath Tagore or Satyajit Ray. If Modi is able to unite a diverse and divisive populace, within the contours of democracy and government, his name will one day be taken in the same breath as one would Mahatma Gandhi’s name. As one of the two greatest Indians the country has ever produced.

After all, one gave India freedom. The other could well give Indians freedom from its worries. n Sujeet Rajan is the Editor-in-Chief of The American Bazaar June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 15

Modi’s Majority Will Modi represent his vote share or all of India?

By Sandip Roy

I

t is an indisputable fact that Narendra Modi has led the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) to a clear majority on its own in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament of India).

It is equally an indisputable fact that at 31 percent of the vote the BJP has the lowest vote share of any party to win a single party majority in the same Lok Sabha. (To compare the BJP number in 2014 to the Congress in 2009 is an apples and oranges comparison because the Congress has not won a majority on its own since 1984).

But to insinuate that because of the latter, the former is somehow suspect or even illegitimate is mischievous, delusional and ultimately undemocratic.

While vote share might be of interest to psephologists and strategists, for the purposes of forming a government it’s the number of seats that counts. That’s the way the game has been set up and no one can change the rules of the game at this stage just because they are unhappy with the results. And the BJP will rightfully occupy 282 seats in the 16th Lok Sabha—that’s 52 percent of the Lok Sabha, not 31 percent.

Those who want to take solace in that 69 percent who did not vote for the BJP, or the 61.5 percent who did not vote for the NDA, can do so, but those numbers are in the end crumbs of very cold comfort.

If the 69 percent is important, it’s not because it can be used to question the legitimacy of Modi’s victory, but because it signals the work he has to do given that Modi and his supporters have been claiming a mandate in a way a Manmohan Singh was never able to.

If the BJP wants to play down the importance of vote percentages nationally it cannot play up the tripling of its vote share in a state like West Bengal even though it only won a couple of seats there. Likewise Amit Shah is too shrewd a strategist to assume that Mayawati is irrelevant in Uttar Pradesh politics because the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank in terms of seats.

It still got 20% of the vote, something the BJP would be foolish to ignore when it comes time for Assembly elections there.

Of course Modi does not have to be accommodating if he does not want to. “(T)his was not a mandate for consensus but for audacity,” writes journalist Swapan Dasgupta urging Modi to not yield to the 16 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

India Parliament Photo Credit:India Parliament Election 2014 Facebook page

“merchants of caution.”

Modi’s party has a comfortable majority, he has a free hand and he can rule as he wishes, serving the interests of the 31% who elected him. He can start building a Ram Mandir tomorrow and announce a Uniform Civil Code the day after and the 69 percent can weep into their op-eds and blogs.

Yes, he can. But what good will it do him?

After Barack Obama won the United States presidential election in 2008, a bitter and acrimonious election where his race had become a factor, Obama rejoiced in the historic victory, much as Modi did in Vadodra, but Obama also reached out to those who did not vote for him.

“And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices.

I need your help. And I will be your president, too.”

Many in that 69 percent were straining to hear echoes of that in Modi’s first speech after winning as well. Modi gave some indication of that when he said “I want to tell my fellow Indians that in letter and spirit I will take all Indians with me.”

The 69 percent question for Modi will be how he chooses to walk his talk. But as Ramakrishna, the mentor of his favorite icon Vivekananda put it “jato mat tato path.” (As many beliefs that many ways to God). Modi wants to put India first. One India cannot be the same thing as a homogeneous India.

While the final vote breakdown numbers are still trickling in, Modi and his advisors must already have a good inkling about who make up that 69 percent of doubters.

Muslims are the group who have gotten the most attention. Yet numbers prove conflicting. India Today notes that BJP won big in many seats with a high number of Muslim voters—Lucknow, Gauhati, Chandni

Chowk for example. India Today also points out that of the 102 constituencies where at least one in five voters is a Muslim, the BJP won 47 seats. In 2009 it had won 24 of those seats.

Pre-poll studies have shown that the BJP went into these elections with a gender gap. Rajeswari Deshpande of the University of Pune analyzed National Election Studies (NES) figures from 1996 to 2009 to conclude that “Among those who favored Modi as prime minister, 62 per cent were men and 38 per cent were women.”

And let’s not forget that gay Indians disappointed with the BJP’s stance on Section 377 are also part and parcel of this diverse India that Modi will have to lead.

Modi supporters might dismiss them as inconsequential whiners but the rights to privacy and the right to dissent are not inconsequential for the health and well-being of any democratic society.

Technically speaking Modi can ignore all these groups. The election results of 2014 have given Modi the unquestioned right to the bully pulpit. That does not mean the country has given him carte blanche to be the bully.

The 69 percent figure should not be bandied to question Modi’s right to be the next Prime Minister of India. But it should be a reminder to him that all of India is not on the same page as he is after an election that was presented as a referendum on him.

Vote share or no vote share, Modi has the keys to the kingdom. It’s his choice what he does with it—whether he decides to be the Prime Minister of India as opposed to the Commander-in-Chief of the 31 percent. n Sandip Roy is the Culture Editor for Firstpost.com. He is on leave as editor with New America Media. His weekly dispatches from India can be heard on KALW.org. This article was first published on Firstpost.com.

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India’s Road to the Security Council

By Geeta Goindi

S

trongly supporting a permanent seat for India on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), influential US lawmaker Joseph Crowley (D-NY) has questioned the relevance of the body without the world’s largest democracy at the table.

“India represents one-sixth of the world’s population and it ought to have a position at that table,” said Crowley, Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, speaking at the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple where he was a special guest.

“I strongly support it and hope the UN moves towards that,” he said. “I believe it is inevitable. It would make the institution laughable if at some point it does not recognize one-sixth of the world’s population in that Council.”

The lawmaker noted that when the UN body was created in 1946, India was not in a place to demand a position.

“The world has changed dramatically,” since then, he said. “India will be the largest populated country in the world. The interesting aspect about India is that it has one foot firmly in the modern world and one foot firmly in the developing world which gives it a great balance and understanding of the entire world.”

Crowley was joined at the temple by Vivek Murthy, President Barack Obama’s nominee for US Surgeon General; Alice Chen, Executive Director of Doctors For America, a grassroots organization that she has built with Murthy which advocates for affordable, accessible and better healthcare; Mini Timmaraju, Chief of Staff for Congressman Ami Bera (D–California); Mythili Bachu, Vice President of the Council of Hindu Temples of North America; and Jeremy Woodrum, Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Crowley. These special guests were invited by Shekar Narasimhan, an appointee to President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), a key Committee Chairperson at the temple, and a

18 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

renowned, highly respected leader of our community.

Brushing aside any concerns about the furtherance of bilateral ties, Crowley predicted “great relations” for the world’s largest and greatest democracies.

“I, for one, am very bold in terms of my predictions as well as confident that our two nations will enjoy great relations in this century,” he said. “We are drawn together by commonalities of democracy and freedom.”

Referring to India’s election as “the incredible event that is taking place right now,” the lawmaker marveled that 815 million people are voting, of which 100 million are new voters. “There are probably as many new voters in India as there are voters in the US,” he said. “Somehow, that vote counts regardless of economic strata.”

Crowley deftly steered clear of any prediction or premonition regarding the

possible outcome of the election.

“The Indian people will make a decision about who best represents them,” he said. “When that’s done, we will deal with whatever that government is.”

On the domestic front, he dwelt on the success of an issue which he has spearheaded—the FBI, under the Department of Justice, now recognizes hate crimes towards individual ethnic and religious minorities. Previously, “when a crime was committed against a Sikh American, it was presumed it was done because they (Sikhs) were thought to be Muslim,” he told the gathering. While, “no violence is tolerable,” he said, “it was important to delineate the statistics so that resources can be allocated to fight these crimes.”

Still, America is far behind other countries when it comes to allowing practicing Sikhs to serve in the armed forces.

Congressman Crowley noted that “Sikh

Photo by Geeta Goindi

A priest performs Puja at the Sri Siva Vishnu. Looking on in (left to right) Shekar Narasimhan, an appointee to President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Congressman Joseph Crowley; Alice Chen, Executive Director of Doctors For America; and Vivek Murthy, President Obama’s nominee for US Surgeon General.

Americans are serving in the US military, but they have to go through a rigorous and unnecessary protocol to allow them to wear their religious garb.”

Of the three Sikh Americans currently serving in the military, the lawmaker has met one—Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi.

“He looks regal with his turban,” he said. “I would like the New York Police Department (NYPD) to follow suit and allow Sikh Americans to serve with their articles of faith.”

Narasimhan told temple leaders, “You and I know coming from India that Sikhs are, in fact, the backbone of the Indian military. You and I also know that in all the NATO forces, this is not even an issue—it is accepted. So, it has always been somewhat of an anachronism here in America.”

Narasimhan applauded Crowley for leading efforts in getting 105 members of the House and 15 Senators to write a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in support of Sikh Americans in the armed forces.

The Defense Department has now agreed to re-examine the issue.

“Why does this affect us as Hindus?”

Narasimhan asked. “Why should it affect us as Indian-Americans? When these issues occur, whether they are symbolic or real, the bottom-line is that they affect all of us.

They discriminate. So, we all need to step up on these issues and Congressman Crowley has,” he said.

Narasimhan also commended the lawmaker for co-hosting the first-ever Congressional Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill, with the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple.

Clearly elated at the success of this historic event, Crowley told the gathering, “We had over 500 people, over 30 bipartisan members of Congress.”

Crowley thanked Congressman Ami Bera (D-Hawaii), currently the only Indian-American lawmaker, and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), the first Hindu lawmaker who took the oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita, for their support.

“It was a marvelous event, the celebration itself,” he said. “It comes around the same time as Christmas and Hanukkah which are all celebrations of light over darkness, goodness over evil, knowledge over ignorance. All these celebrations talk to the commonality of mankind.”

Looking at Murthy, the lawmaker quipped, “I feel a little uncomfortable speaking in front of this underachiever. It’s an awesome responsibility, being placed in charge of the health and well-being of the United States,” he said.

As things stand, Murthy’s confirmation

by the Senate is facing stiff opposition by the National Rifle Association. The Yaleeducated, Harvard physician who, at 36, is the youngest nominee for US Surgeon General, has expressed his support for sensible, limited gun safety measures such as a ban on assault weapons, mandatory safety training and limits on ammunition. This has irked the potent gun lobby.

In his address at the temple, Murthy focused on the field of health and spoke about collaborating and giving back to the larger community.

“Among the many challenges facing America, I would put health at the top of the list,” he said. “Our challenges on the health-care front have economic consequences, national security consequences and ultimately, they will impact our standing and leadership in the world.”

Murthy observed that nowadays, health is largely determined outside of hospitals and clinics. It’s a result of “what we eat at home, in the physical activity we engage in,” he said.

It is noteworthy that the event was held at a temple where several members of the Indian American community have availed of, and benefitted from, services offered by free health clinics organized on weekends.

Murthy underscored the importance of faith-based communities which he believed

“can make a big difference in our healthrelated choices.”

“Temples can play a powerful role in giving people access to health-care,” he said. “People who might not go to hospitals and clinics, do go to their place of worship for screening and other health-related issues.”

Murthy recalled that growing up, he spent several days a week at the temple, volunteering, helping to organize events with family members. He stressed the importance of making an impact outside the confines of the Hindu community.

Even as he spoke of “building bridges” Murthy lauded the inclusiveness of the Hindu religion.

“We don’t think of Hinduism as the sole path to Moksha (salvation) or selfrealization,” he said. “We think of our path as one of many paths that can lead to a destination. We give equal respect to all the different paths of religious worship.”

Murthy recommended reaching out to other faith-based groups and building collaborations to advance not just health, but other challenges that are faced by all community members.

“I am very inspired by leaders like Shekar Narasimhan who think about the challenges of the entire community and how to overcome them,” he said. n

New Contrator for Visa Services

T

he Embassy of India has hired a new contractor to process all Visa/ OCI/PIO/Renunciation of Indian Citizenship Certification application support services.

Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Ltd., which replaced BLS International Ltd., started processing all applications beginning May 21.

BLS has been reeling from the bad publicity it received following an incident in later November last year, in which some 70 passports were stolen from their office in San Francisco (initial reports had the number as low as eight, but it ballooned shortly thereafter).

The robbery prompted the city’s Indian mission to cancel all the missing

documentation and coordinate a massive recovery operation and investigation with local law enforcement. It also proved to be a long-term embarrassment for BLS, from which the company evidently has not fully recovered.

There have been numerous complaints of negligence and shoddy work too against BLS International across the country, with community groups sending petitions to the Embassy and the Consulates.

In Washington, DC, CKGS Service Center is located at Suite 100, 1250, 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037.

CKGS Helpdesk phone numbers, also operational, are: (866) 978-0055, (408) 709-1764, (408) 709-1773. http://www. in.ckgs.us. enquiriesusa@ckgs.com. n

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 19

Indian Americans Sworn in by Biden

By Sirmukh S. Manku

T

hree Indian-Americans were among the group of individuals A file photo of Lt. Col. sworn into their new positions Ravi Chaudhary, 317th on President Obama’s Advisory ComRecruiting Squadron mission on Asian American and Pacific commander, speaking at Islanders (AAPI) on May 6. a White House Summit, Lt. Col Ravi Chaudhary, an officer July 29, 2011, honoring in the US Air Force; community leader South Asian American Shekar Narasimhan and actor Mau- U.S. Air Force photo military members. lik Pancholy are among the group of 14 AAPI community leaders, business scions, and entertainment figures inducted Initiative’s Executive Director Kiran Ahuja, into the new Advisory Commission. Their in a press release. “AAPIs are fast on the nominations were announced last month, rise, and it’s important to both recognize the community’s great diversity and the and they were confirmed this week.

Vice-President Joe Biden presided importance of government and community over the induction ceremony at the White working together to address the unique House, lauding the accomplishments of the challenges we face.”

Chaudhary is the Executive Officer to AAPI community throughout the United States. Sri Srinivasan—the Indian Ameri- the Commander of the Air Force District can US Circuit Judge in the US Court of Washington, at Joint Base Andrews in of Appeals for the District of Columbia southern Maryland. He has logged over Circuit, who could become the first Indian 3,000 flight hours as a pilot and flight-test American Supreme Court justice down the engineer, and has over 700 hours of comline—ceremonially swore in 14 new and bat registered to his name. He is routinely feted by the White House, and was even two returning Commissioners.

“We are honored to have Vice President present during Michelle Obama’s Diwali Biden speak to the AAPI community at celebration last fall.

Narasimhan has been the managing this historic moment in time,” said AAPI

V

Diversity Day

oice of America (VoA), the official United States federal government broadcasting institution that provides programming across multiple platforms in 43 different languages around the world, hosted its annual Diversity Day program on May 14.

The two-hour program took place at the VoA headquarters in Southwest D.C. VoA employees from several different departments all showcased their various talents, with performances celebrating the cultures of China, Ethiopia, the Creole regions, Bangladesh, and, of course, India.

The subcontinent was honored with a dance performed by Sumona Apsara Parii, a bharatanatyam dancer and now a teacher of Indian dance techniques in the DC-Metro area. Parii performed to the Bollywood song Aaja Nachle, from the film of the same name, wowing the audience with her grace and passion.

20 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

partner at Beekman Advisors since 2003, and has also been chairman of Papillon Capital since 2012. Prior to this, he was the managing director at Prudential Mortgage Capital from 2000 to 2003, and was also the chairman and CEO of the WMF Group Ltd., from 1988 to 2000. He holds a B.S. from IIT Delhi, and an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Finally, Pancholy is most well-known for his role as Alec Baldwin’s assistant Jonathan on NBC’s 30 Rock. Pancholy has also had recurring roles on the Showtime series Weeds and the Cartoon Network hit Phineas and Ferb.

Earlier this year, Pancholy got engaged to his partner, Ryan Corvaia, at the Taj Mahal, while touring India to protest the anti-gay legislation upheld by the country’s Supreme Court.

“I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years,” Obama said in a statement last month, when the nominations were announced. n

near the program’s halfway Other performances inpoint, commenting on how cluded Ahsanul Huq and TaVoA’s “tapestry of cultures” hira Kibira, who work in the gives it diversity second VoA’s Bangla Service. The to none when it comes to pair performed a recitation government administrations and dance to a Rabindranath across the United States.

Tagore poem.

Delia Johnson, the DiThe program included a rector of the IBB’s Office hip-hop fusion dance perof Civil Rights, closed out formed by members of VoA’s the Diversity Day celebraMandarin Service, tradition tion, thanking the particidances performed in celebrapants and attending guests tion of Ethiopian culture, Sumona Apsara Parii for continuing to foster an and even a Portuguese marenvironment that not only accepted, but actial arts and dance routine. The event was tively embraced the variety of cultures that co-emceed by Rudaba Nasir, a radio promake America the nation that it is. ducer in VoA’s Urdu Service channel.

Food and drinks were served after the Key government administrators were program, featuring a mélange of culinary also present for the Diversity Day celebratreats from the various nations showcased tion. Andre Mendes, Director of Global during Diversity Day. Raffle prizes were Operations for the International Broadalso held throughout the program. n casting Bureau (IBB), gave his remarks

Vaisakhi Celebrations

By Geeta Goindi

(l-r) Ishmeet Singh Maharaj, Ishar Kaur Chhabra and Navmeet Singh Maharaj of the DC Metro Punjabi Art Academy performing bhangra at the Vaisakhi celebrations held at the Embassy Residence. Photos by The Embassy of India.

T

he Embassy of India celebrated Vaisakhi on May 17 on the sprawling lawn of the Embassy Residence.

“Our gathering today is both a mark of this special occasion and to recognize the contributions and concerns of [the Sikh American] community in the United States,” Ambassador S. Jaishankar told a 200-strong crowd of eminent community members, mostly Sikhs. It was the first Indian festival hosted by Jaishankar since he assumed charge as India’s top diplomat in Washington.

The Ambassador’s wife, Kyoko Jaishankar, a charming hostess, greeting and mingled with guests in a refreshingly affable manner. Among the Embassy officials who partook in the celebration were: Deputy Chief of Mission Taranjit Singh Sandhu; N.K. Mishra, Minister of Personnel and Community Affairs; Reenat Sandhu, Minister of Commerce; and M. Sridharan, Counselor, Press, Information and Culture.

Brigadier Ashok Dhingra served as the master of ceremonies.

Chanhok Jasdip “Jesse” Singh, Chairman of the Maryland Governor’s Commission on South Asian American Affairs, together with Commissioners Pavan Bezwada, Devang Shah and Baljinder Singh, presented a citation to the Ambassador from Governor Martin O’Malley, co-signed

by Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown and Secretary of State John McDonough.

The citation recognized the envoy’s “commitment and contributions to the Sikh community of Maryland.” n

Photos by The Embassy of India.

Photos by The Embassy of India.

Ambassador S. Jaishankar addressing guests

Jasdip “Jesse” Singh (left), a member of the Maryland Commission on South Asian American Affairs, reading out a congratulatory message sent by Gov. Martin O’Malley on the occasion of Vaisakhi.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 21

viewpoint

Spring Blooms Discovering the enactment of changing seasons

By Priyanka Sacheti

A

fter what seemed like an unending winter, spring finally arrived at our doorstep, prettily packaged and presented. As I inhaled the fresh, invigorating spring air and heard the concert of enthusiastically performed birdsong, I absorbed the transformations in the surrounding landscape. For many months, my eyes had become accustomed to the minimalist branches silhouetted against a granite-gray winter sky; green appeared to be an impossible, mythic notion. And now, there was suddenly so much to see and sense.

Recently, strolling through Beacon street in Boston, the magnolia trees seemed to be in full bloom and of many hues: buttery-yellow, sepia pink, and palest pink.

What is it about these trees in bloom that fascinate me so much? I wonder if the answer has to do with the fact that they vividly represent the passage of seasons, which I have only recently experienced in their fullest sense.

Growing up in the Sultanate of Oman’s desert environment, I was privy to only two seasons: summer and winter. The temperatures begin to cool down in November, yet remain in the 80s till March, and that’s what we called winter. With the onset of April, the mercury would rise, ACs would be turned on and conversations would revolve around how the summer was getting hotter every year.

The combination of the binary seasons and limited desert fauna meant that the only other trees I encountered were exotic species. Meanwhile, the grudging concession the landscape made to changing seasons was post-rainfall, when ephemeral desert plants bloomed, briefly sporting green down.

As for flowers, my botanist mother planted petunias and marigolds in our garden during Oman’s brief winter before the summer heat diminished them—and only fuchsia and vermillion bougainvillea provided the splash of color during those furnace hot months.

Later, when I arrived in the United Kingdom to pursue my undergraduate studies, I was finally able to experience the gamut of seasons. It was fall at the time: the trees on campus appeared to be on

22 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

fire, the crimson and yellow and orange leaves merging with each other before disappearing altogether into their stoic winter avatars. Then, cheery yellow daffodils polka-dotted the thawing earth by March, thankfully signaling spring. I remember encountering them once jammed into the lime green and royal blue bottles that served as the table centerpieces at a cafe, the melange of bright colors encapsulating spring.

I was like a migratory bird in the United Kingdom, frequently flitting in and out of the land and thus was never able to quite appreciate the transitional aspects of seasons.

It was only years later when I moved to Pittsburgh in the middle of the winter in December 2012 that I began to relish the changing seasons in and of our lives.

The prolonged and bitterly cold winter this year made me eagerly anticipate spring’s arrival, with a sharper, renewed appreciation for the gifts it brought.

Ever since I moved into my apartment, the trees beyond my balcony have functioned as a theater providing access to the performance of seasons.

I have witnessed trees turning every shade of green imaginable; dancing in a dramatic storm; turning tomato red seemingly overnight and just as swiftly denuding themselves of dying leaves. After the fall concert, I became resigned to winter’s monochrome universe for many months.

On the rare sunny day, the trees glimmered with a sharp, bright energy despite being

unclothed. Their branches appeared like fragile lace, simultaneously appearing both strong and vulnerable in winter’s face.

And so, one morning, when I looked out of the balcony, I was pleasantly startled to spot bits of bright green tinting the branches; the next day, when I walked through the nearby lanes, I encountered two budding trees. Such were the vagaries of Pittsburgh weather that it unexpectedly began snowing and as I dashed through the flakes, I could not help but think that even if the temperatures told us otherwise, the trees instinctively knew that it was spring— and it was time to bud.

As I write this, I look up to see trees smothered in green; what was previously a galaxy of white blossoms have already begun to leaf and even fruit. When I now walk through the streets, the pavement is littered with thousands of tiny white petals, uncannily resembling unmelting snowflakes from the distance.

The other day, upon encountering a cherry blossom tree, I captured the sight on my already burgeoning phone camera roll of trees in bloom. When I turned around, I saw a delivery man leaning against his truck and smiling at me. “We waited long enough for this to happen, huh?” he said.

“It may have been long but every bloom was worth the wait,” I told him—and so it is, both for a tree and ourselves.

What we thought was an unendurable winter was in fact a time of introspection, renewal, and transformation; the cyclical processes of life were at constant work and the barrenness belied the embryos of growth and change growing within the subterranean depths. And so as the buds open and the blooms face the world, we too are ready to present our reinvented selves and get on with the business of living and loving life in all it seasons.n Priyanka Sacheti is an independent cultural writer based in Pittsburgh. Priyanka has written extensively about art, culture and gender.

She has authored 3 poetry volumes and her short stories have appeared in international anthologies.When she’s not working on her short story collection or pursuing photography, she blogs at http://iamjustavisualperson. blogspot.com/

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 23

ask a lawyer

Misdemeanor Remedy

By Naresh Rajan

Q A

Can a misdemeanor be settled by civil compromise?

In a number of criminal cases involving fairly minor conduct, the law allows the accused to resolve his or her case by redressing the damages to the injured party by obtaining an agreement from that party to avoid prosecution.

This procedure is explained in California Penal Code sections 1377 and 1378.

The first section states that when a person injured by misdemeanor conduct has a civil remedy, the offense may be settled by a compromise. It also lists the exceptions to this procedure. “Civil remedy” means that the injured party can sue the accused in civil court or small claims court to get money to offset any damages caused by the accused’s conduct.

The second section, 1378, authorizes trial courts to dismiss these types of misdemeanor cases when certain conditions have been met. If the injured person appears

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before the court and acknowledges that he or she has been compensated for any and all injury sustained by the accused person’s conduct, the court has discretion to dismiss the case and discharge the accused from any penalty. If the case is dismissed pursuant to this section, the accused person cannot be prosecuted again for the same conduct.

Practically speaking, the civil compromise is available for many types of misdemeanor cases, from hit and run cases, where the accused left the scene of an accident without exchanging contact and insurance information with the other party, to simple theft and battery cases.

The attorney for the accused person will contact the injured party and propose that the parties conduct a civil compromise to settle the case out of court. The injured party must be satisfied that it has received compensation for its damages, and must not want to go forward with the prosecution. The accused person must compensate the injured party for its damages.

The attorney for the accused usually drafts a declaration for the injured party to sign, stating that whatever harm it sustained has been redressed and that it does not desire the accused person to be prosecuted.

The attorney then will take the declaration to court and ask the judge to approve the civil compromise and dismiss the case.

The injured party does have the right to be present to acknowledge that it has been compensated, but in my experience, the injured party will waive that right when signing the document and agreeing to the compromise.

So, in the end, the attorney will take the declaration and appear in court to have the case dismissed once the injuries have been redressed and the injured party has been fully compensated. n Naresh Rajan is an attorney in San Mateo County. Email nrajanlaw@gmail.com.

finance

The Science of Uncertainty Part II Understanding the stock market

By Rahul Varshneya

A

s an investor becomes more advanced, investment analysis becomes less of an exact science and more of an art. When looking at a possible investment, financial metrics sometimes contradict one another. A good investor will be able to know which factors to use in the analysis and which to discard. Often this leads to differing opinions on the investment as the facts used are at the discretion of the investor.

There are generally two schools of thought in investment analysis—fundamental and technical investing. Fundamental investing is analysis based on quantitative (profitability and earnings) and qualitative factors (brand, management team).

Technical investing is conducting analysis based on behavior of the stock price. Fundamental investing is the more established and accepted investment approach in modern finance.

When conducting an analysis, it is essential to go beyond just the basic financials such as the P/E ratio or profitability. One needs to be aware of every single published metric on the asset as it is the more obscure ones that sometimes tell the real story.

Some of the more quantitative metrics I use are the short ratio, analyst opinion, free cash flow and leverage.

Short Ratio

Short ratio measures the amount of stock which is being sold short. The higher the short ratio, the more the public is betting for the company to fall—a warning sign for an investor. It is not to say admired companies have no one shorting them, it is common to see a 1-3% short ratio for healthy firms. Companies like Blackberry however, which is going through turmoil, is sitting at a significantly higher 12%.

Analyst Opinion

The second metric—analyst opinion, is not used often enough. Research analysts are the experts in the industry for the sector they cover. Although an individual analyst can be wrong about a stock, it is ill-advised to go against the consensus opinion as their compensation is tied to how accurate they are. It is also important to pay attention to how the consensus opinion changes on an asset. If analysts are moving from a consensus “buy” towards “hold,” it is a clear warning signal for that investment

and vice versa.

Cash Positions

Cash positions are at the heart of good management and understanding them is a part of good investment strategy. Cash positions decide the flexibility of a company—whether it is flexibility for mergers with acquisitions (M&A) activity or allowing for increased capital expenditure.

Companies with poor cash positions have no money for acquisitions or research and development (R&D). Companies in these positions tend to remain stagnant and are overtaken by firms with the resources to invest in the next big idea. Cash can also directly benefit investors in the form of dividends or stock buybacks.

Leverage

Strong cash positions tend to go hand in hand with leverage, our final metric.

Leverage is the amount of debt on a company’s balance sheet. High leverage is considered risky, but only to company’s who cannot support it. A sign of increased leverage, with the ability to support it, is a sign the company has increased appetite for risk—a good sign for investors. On the other hand, too much of it will eat up cash and is often a source of the debt spiral—issuing more long term debt to pay off the current debt.

B

eing a successful investor means knowing what not do as much as knowing what to do. There are many behaviors which plague fundamentally sound investors.

Investment Pitfalls

The first is holding onto stocks for too long.

Often when stocks go up, investors who are holding those assets lose discipline in favor of greed. The thought process is “I will hold onto it for another day and make just a little more.” This thought process is irrational—greed should not control the investment process. For this reason, investors should set a price target for their investments in the event it goes up or down.

Conversely, in the event an individual’s investment goes down, many times there is the hope that it will rebound and the losses will be recouped, when in fact the investor continues losing money. It is very difficult for an investor to admit they were

wrong. In both cases the investment should be sold at the right time established at the beginning.

The second behavioral pitfall is hindsight bias. Hindsight bias occurs when an investor believes an investment to behave a certain way without a reason and if it turns out correct—retroactively applies. It as the reason for which the investment was originally made. Hindsight bias creates a false sense of confidence in inexperienced investors and when they finally decide to enter the stock market, they are not prepared for the reality.

Finally, a pitfall even seasoned investors fall into is not understanding the investment —whether it be the sector or the financial instrument itself. Option trading has become a very popular form of “high risk-high reward” investing. What they often forget is that the “quick buck” comes at the price of it being extremely risky—a swing of 90% of value is normal in option trading. Many have gone in expecting to replicate the results that top financiers enjoy, and have been overwhelmed because the financial instrument was beyond their understanding.

You will lose money in the stock market, everyone does. Inexperienced investors tend not to know why they make money and cannot control how much they lose.

Creating a disciplined approach independent of emotions is the key to be successful. If you invest in companies you like or admire, that alone cannot be enough—the quantitative and qualitative factors have to support it. In contrast, experienced investors gain and lose money in a controlled manner—they are able to keep emotions out of it because they are work with facts.

It is up to you whether you want to control the outcome or have it control you. n This article is the opinion of the author and is not shared by India Currents or any of its staff.

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

Rahul Varshneya graduated from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University with a degree in finance and is working in the technology industry as a financial analyst.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 25

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youth

A New Bollywood Love Story

By Kunal Kamath

A screenshot of the United Nations video

“K

unal, you better marry someone Indian.”

I can hear the words of my Mumbai-born parents echoing in my ears over and over again. I’m not sure how serious this wish of theirs is, because I know they wouldn’t mind if I were to date someone not of Indian descent, but I can say with certainty that they have a checklist in mind when it comes to my marriage.

For example, in addition to being Indian, there’s an implicit understanding that my future spouse be female. So I’ve always wondered: how would my parents respond if I identified as a member of the LGBTQ community?

I’ve never had a conversation about gay rights or sexuality with my mom or dad.

The silence clouding this subject in our home, I believe, comes from my parents’ upbringing in a culture that highly values the tradition of arranged marriages.

The system of arranged marriages in India fosters a culture of heteronormativity that has proven difficult to uproot as the country becomes more modernized. On December 11, 2013, the Supreme Court of India overturned the 2009 ruling to decriminalize homosexuality. Being gay is now illegal in the second most populated nation in the world.

There’s no denying that a part of Indian culture today suppresses homosexuality. Rejects it, even. Living in the United States, however, gives us the opportunity as Indian Americans to show Indians the direction in which a more progressive nation is heading.

My parents became American citizens a few years ago, and I see their difficulty in facing topics like gay rights as a struggle between two identities: the traditional Indian and the newfound American. So how can the silence towards LGBTQ issues that I find happening in my own home be put to an end?

What about Bollywood?

It might seem odd to begin with a form of media so deeply a part of Indian culture, but the best place to start is at the source of the issue. Not to mention that Bollywood has a widespread global reach, inspiring German Bollywood dance ensembles and

even amateur Bollywood singers in Morocco, according to a BBC World Report.

I remember watching Bollywood films often, with my family, as a kid. The movies could usually be distilled to a simple plot: boy meets girl; boy and girl fall in love; boy and girl get married (with interwoven upbeat, coy love songs accompanied by colorful dances). The only problem with Bollywood is that the romantic duo is always a man and woman. These films uphold the heteronormativity present in the culture of arranged marriages.

However, Bollywood movies almost always contain love marriages, rarely presenting the strict rigidity of the arranged marriage world. So if these films already show love marriages, why can’t they show gay love marriages? This simple switch of a character would still produce a happy, easygoing narrative that normalizes homosexuality in Indian culture.

On April 30, 2014, the United Nations released a video doing just that. Supporting marriage equality and LGBT rights in India, the short music video depicted a marriage between two Indian men. The point of most tension in the video occurred when the family’s elderly grandmother-figure saw the two men standing hand-in-hand at the end of the wedding aisle. She froze in shock, until the lyrics of the song said, “It’s a new look. It’s a new attitude,” after which the grandmother gave the happy couple her

blessing.

On a more local level, Northwestern University’s Bollywood dance team, Anubhav, recently performed in the National Bollywood America competition with a routine that centers around a gay love story. After coming out to his mother, who tells him that she “loves him for who he is,” the male lead embraces his partner in a breathtaking finale. In an interview describing the motivation for the theme, team captain Yuri Doolan says, “We have this responsibility to portray that kind of love as just as legitimate of a love story as a typical love story.”

This is what we need to do, as Indian Americans, to break the silence within our families, within our communities. An ocean away from the politics of India, we are in a place where we can express our beliefs. We all have a responsibility to show India the values we hold as Indian Americans, and if our target audience across the world can relate to the medium we use to showcase our stance on this issue, our message of both cultural and LGBTQ pride will be heard. n Kunal Kamath is a rising sophomore at Columbia University in New York majoring in Computer Science. He is also a member of Columbia Bhangra, a competitive dance team, and interested in the issues of LGBTQ equality in the Indian American community as well as in his hometown of Atlanta, GA. June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 27

cover

Ishq, Actually

Muslim women define themselves through a discussion on love and marriage

By Zenobia Khaleel

Fatima M, a student of community psychology, conducts halaqas (religious and social discussions) with teen and preteen girls in local masjids, where adolescent challenges are informally discussed. “We reach out to one other, reminding ourselves that desires, and love are a part of life, our aim is to navigate it in the most halal and healthy way possible,” adding that “Muslim society perpetuates that guys have desires, but girls don’t.”

Many American Muslims face a double minority status due to their ethnic and religious backgrounds. The strain takes an intense emotional toll on the youth as they try to balance a fine act between the rigid demands of the faith, and influences of the culture that surrounds them. Community leaders and grassroot volunteers have identified that honest and healthy conversations are the need of the hour.

Love Stories

Every great cup of coffee has a story behind it, goes the Starbucks adage. And, sometimes a great story has a steaming cup of coffee behind it. A coffee shop chat between lifelong friends turned into a riveting discussion that paved the path for a trailblazing book: Love, InshAllah.

Nura Maznavi and Ayesha Mattu were exasperated by the portrayal of Muslim

28 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

women in the media. They could not recognize themselves (or any Muslim woman they knew) in the quiet and submissive portrayals of Muslim women in popular culture. The friends sought to alter this perception.

In Mattu’s opinion, “Muslim women are too often defined and limited to their headscarf (or lack thereof) or seen through the lens of national security. Our private

narratives include a broad spectrum of family, professions, academics, hobbies, volunteerism, and more. It’s time our public narratives began reflecting that multiplicity too.”

According to the Muslim Tribune, “a study conducted by Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus, a sociology professor at State University of New York, found an alarming increase in divorce rate among Muslims in North

Nura Maznavi and Ayesha Mattu

America reaching 31%.” Aneesah Nadir, President of the Islamic Social Services Association, believes that the core reason behind the increasing rate of divorces is that expectations are not discussed prior to marriage. “Ninety-nine% of marriages in the Muslim community are conducted without any counseling, unrealistic expectations and no conversation regarding these expectations,” says Nadir.

Islamic Social Service Association is at the helm of “the healthy marriage covenant” initiative, which advocates that imams enforce mandatory premarital counselling or advisement, before a couple ties the knot.

Nadir feels that “We’ve seen too many broken marriages and bad relationships.

This protocol is long overdue.”

“When parents choose a spouse for their children, ‘back from the home country’ it causes added challenges, due to different cultural values, different philosophies, and different expectations.” She notes that “the lack of support system for the spouse who comes from overseas intensifies the situation.”

Nadir believes that parents need counseling themselves. Often the parents struggle with the level of involvement in their children’s lives.

Love, InshAllah is an attempt by Maznavi and Mattu to begin the conversation.

Conceptualized and edited by the duo, it is an anthology of stories by 25 American Muslim women who share their personal experiences with affairs of the heart. InshAllah signifies the Islamic belief that everything happens by the will of God. The stories are connected by a common thread of love, desire, passion, or lust, but defining this collection as “love stories” or “women’s studies” would be limiting its genre.

Through love stories, the editors opened up conversations on topics that are generally swept under the rug. Issues like bigotry and racism, interfaith relationships, polygyny, homosexuality and premarital relationships that plays out with varying intensities in Muslim households.

I talked to Maznavi and Mattu, coeditors of the anthology, about the objective behind the book. Maznavi is a writer, a Fulbright scholar, and a civil rights attorney, who focuses on federal policies that target the American Muslim community.

Ayesha Mattu is also a writer, editor, an international development consultant and was selected “Muslim Leader of Tomorrow” by the UN Alliance of Civilizations.

She has worked in the field of women’s human rights.

“The objective of the book was to change the narrative of Muslim women both within and outside the Muslim community,” stated Maznavi adding that “even within the Muslim community, there is a stereotypical notion of how a good girl behaves.”

“We’ve had people across the breadth of the country—people of various faiths— reach out to us, struck by the vulnerability of the stories. These stories resonated with them as they’ve grappled with similar issues. People gifted the book to their sisters, moms and aunts to keep the conversation rolling,” beams Maznavi.

Maznavi said that the feedback from the Muslim community was largely positive. A few voices of dissent argued that the book was un-islamic in discussing private issues on a public medium.

“Our response was, ‘Love, InshAllah was not put forward as an Islamic book, this is not an Islamic dating manual, it is a reflection on the lives of American Muslims,’” said Maznavi

On her own chapter in the book, Mattu prefaced her story with a reference from the Holy Quran. “‘Al-Fatiha’ means ‘The Opening,’ and is used as a spiritual metaphor throughout my story. Sometimes an opening appears in our life, which leads us onto a new and unexpected path, as it did when I met my future husband.”

Having been raised to believe that Islam was a religion of “No,” which had no place for joy or creativity, questions, or doubts, Mattu aspires to create an “Islam of Yes” for herself and her children. “Love, creativity, joy, and hope are our Islamic heritage and birthright. The reclamation of these qualities begins from an understanding of our rich global histories as well as a recognition of the diversity within the 1.6 billion Muslims today. Within our diversity and divergence, lies our strength and creativity—the essence of yes,” said Mattu.

The book explores the journeys of the women trying to walk the line between cultural norms and personal choices as they traverse through dual identities, generational gaps, coming of age, bigotry, and self-actualization.

Each story throws a powerful lens into the women’s lives and through her, into the community’s psyche.

The characters in the book are not painted in stark black and white strokes.

Their realistic multi-hued depiction highlights layers of vulnerability beneath tough facades.

The Muslim father who read the Quran every morning and spent his nights out dancing; the mother who dishes out a feast for her visiting daughter’s Catholic boyfriend, but refuses to meet him; the teenager who makes a pact with God for his blessings as she sneaks out of home at night. The stories illustrate the clash of inner desires versus cultural identity that June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 29

prevail in most immigrant cultures.

“A Journey of Two Hearts” recounts the author’s tomboyish childhood in an atheist hippy household, and her spiritual quest that leads to conversion to Islam. Her submission to the new faith comes with a price, her future with her non-Muslim husband.

In “Kala Love” the writer, a daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants, encounters racism and disownment by her mother when she falls in love with an African American Muslim man. Painfully aware of her community’s disdain for her dark complexion, she is disinterested in desi men since she cannot be part of another family that looks down on the color of her skin. Her story is a powerful portrayal of grace and incredible faith in the face of devastating tragedy.

The writers come from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and profess varying religious devotion. Their accounts are not formulaic love stories; these stories are sincere, engaging, and heartrending, which end in happily ever-afters, unrequited yearnings, second (and even third) chances at happiness. The book does a commendable job of dispelling misconceptions about arranged marriages, inhibited hijabis, and gay Muslims.

“We are not quiet, we have desires, we are complicated, educated American Muslim women,” says the protagonist of the chapter, “Even Muslim Girls Get the Blues.”

Maznavi believes that “there is often a dearth of secular voices in Islam, for example, Islam in America is presented as an immigrant religion.”

The public response to the book has been tremendous. The book has caused a ripple effect of discussions on these issues within families, among friends and in the media. It received media coverage by all the major newspapers and media outlets.

“When we zeroed in on the stories for Love, InshAllah,” explains Maznavi, “our first commitment was to the literary quality. We looked at engaging and compelling stories, but we also wanted our book to do justice to the diversity of the American Muslim community—the most diverse Muslim community in the world. We’ve reflected that diversity in terms of both ethnicity, and religious practice (orthodox, cultural, secular).”

The authors have followed up on Love InshAllah with a second book, Salaam, Love, where Muslim men share their side of the love equation. n Zenobia Khaleel is a stay at home mom who dabbles in a lot of adventures (and misadventures), and is passionate about writing, 30 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Straight Talk With the idea of keeping the ripples of conversation growing, I asked a handful of Muslim women about their challenges and expeiences with affairs of the heart. Here are some responses.

I’m a 23 year old Pakistani-American. I grew up in a traditional household, where Islam was emphasized a lot—the rituals, as well as the wisdom behind it. I’ve been instilled to keep family involved in all my decisions; the long term repercussions of my family’s reputation have a profound influence on me, whereas, growing up in America, has given me an individualistic perspective. I try to do everything to please Allah, to keep all relationships with men on a professional level, but that doesn’t preclude the idea that I’m above crushes with Muslims and non-Muslims. But I wouldn’t act on them.

I believe marriage is the halal alternative to dating, I am at a stage of life where I would like to get married. Since I am living away from home there are lots of different variables: Should I wait for my parents to find someone? Should I find someone on my own? How do I do that? What kind of moral questions should I keep in mind when I interact with people? More questions than answers!

Fahima (Berkeley)

A conservative upbringing does not necessarily determine how a child turns out. When I went off to college, I realized that unlimited freedom comes with consequences. So I had to invent my own rules based on what I thought was right for me as I went along.

My Muslim friends who date in college are not free of cultural baggage. They tend to not follow the casual dating culture, they put more emphasis on relationships that could end in marriage. A friend who dated a white guy would constantly wonder if she was his token minority girlfriend.

Assumptions of dating and marriage are formed on one’s experiences in their own homes and circles. Some get totally blindsided by romantic concepts based on movies and popular culture, instead of ex-

amining actual relationships around them.

Ideally, I’d like to know the person before the idea of marriage is on the table.

People have different motivations for getting into arranged marriages. Some are forced by their parents, some just want to get the act done with and some want to get married for the same reasons as you do.

Because it’s hard to tell what their motivations are, you can’t be sure if what they’re saying is to get you to agree or if they actually believe it.

Nazneen (Stanford)

Going to public school in America, there were so many social pressures to dress a certain way, go to prom, and partake in un-Islamic activities. The hardest challenge was dealing with teenage hormones and wanting to have a boyfriend when I knew I couldn’t.

As a Muslim there is always heavy emphasis placed on the idea that anything having to do with the opposite gender is haram. My view on dating has changed over the years. I currently believe “halal dating” with the intention of getting married are okay, as long as parents have an idea after some time. However, relationships that don’t have a direction are inappropriate.

Marriage is a 3-minute procedure that today’s world has made into a convoluted and depressing trial. Arranged marriages could be a great option for young Muslims, but it only works for the young, pretty girls, and the guys who are engineers/ doctors, or amongst families with large networks. It does not favor the average American-Muslim.

Open communication with parents is vital. It really helps when parents express what their expectations are, and kids get to voice their opinions, too. But parents are uncomfortable with this topic; only if a girl is suspected of dating or talking to a boy will a mom talk to a daughter about it. It usually won’t be a discussion to validate the girl’s feelings but more so to shame her to a point where she won’t do it again.

Samara (UC Davis)

I grew up witnessing arranged mar-

riages and accepted this process for me as well when the time came. My parents were introduced to my husband’s family through a mutual family friend.

I was curious to find out more about him or at least have the opportunity to talk with him. So I took advantage of the social media age and snooped around till I found him on Orkut. We started talking. And after four months. When we were ready to move forward, we told our families and everything was made official.

I was fortunate to have some time to get to know my husband before jumping into a completely arranged marriage. Four months doesn’t make a big difference in knowing someone, but the time made it a lot more comfortable and reassuring for us to make the decision. We have now been married for four years and pray for many more years to come.

I think arranged marriages are the best way to go. You do not have to put yourself out there or waste time to mingle until you find the dream guy.

You can trust that your family will find someone that holds similar values, is attractive, educated and religious. With all these factors in place, it should help the marriage deal with turbulent times.

When you’re young and falling in love, you do not consider the many factors that make a marriage work. It’s all infatuation in the beginning and you’re so caught up in it that everything seems to be perfect and will remain perfect. Love comes later with time, just as it does with arranged marriages.

Zeeba

I’m not in a relationship and nor do I think I’ll ever be in one (except the married one).

I think it’s weird dating in high school and middle school because I don’t think we’re smart, mature, or exposed enough for the entailing drama and heartbreak. I don’t date. But it’s not out of choice, it’s because of my family circumstances.

I’ve faced a couple of challenges, but the same ones that other young Muslim women have faced. I wish I was asked to prom, I wish I could have stayed up late with my friends afterward. I wish I knew what I was doing, but in this household, we don’t talk about these issues.

I think arranged marriage is a great idea, with the condition that the girl has a say and she knows what she’s getting

herself into. I didn’t have much exposure to the masjid and youth groups, and I didn’t really care for them. I found them all to be hypocrites in that they would lie to their families and spend time at the masjid to get away from their parents. In theory it seemed like a good plan, but it didn’t end up that way.

Inaya (UC Davis)

In the early nineties when I first came to America, our intention was to go back to India by the time my daughter (who was 14 months at that time) went to kindergarten. But as the years passed I realized that we were here for the long haul. Slowly, I became accustomed to American culture, but I was determined to give my daughter an Islamic upbringing. I put her in a Sunday school and assumed that all was well as long as she was there.

I still remember a conversation with a friend who said I don’t mind my son marrying any girl, as long as he is marrying a girl. Eventually, my mantra changed to “as long as she marries a boy, it didn’t matter to me whether he was from any country or any religion.” As my daughter grew older, my aspirations for her future husband kept evolving. I learned to keep an open mind for all possibilities.

For now, I would like her to marry someone she likes, someone who will love and take care of her, and he should be God fearing. The last condition trumps everything else. For me it would put everything else in perspective.

The way she would meet this person is not a priority for me. He could be someone she brings to us, he could be someone we bring to her, or a complete stranger, somebody whom we trust introduces us to. I am happy if she can be happy with him and raise a family with good Islamic upbringing. I try to express my expectations to all my four children, whenever the topic comes up.

Shabnam

I attended an all-girls Catholic high school because my parents did not want me near boys for religious reasons. My challenges were maintaining friendships with boys and hiding romantic relationships from my parents (even in high school).

I was also challenged because sometimes I had to explain myself to non-Muslim classmates when I told them that I am not allowed to date by my parents or religion, but that I wanted to.

My personal view on relationships and dating in my own life is that romantic relationships and dating should be allowed only for the purpose of marriage. This view is influenced by my faith. While “dating” someone to get to know him for marriage, I do not touch nor talk to him about anything sexual. I believe love in a relationship can (but does not have to) exist before marriage, but that it should not be expressed in all ways until marriage.

I believe arranged marriages can work so long as personality compatibility is considered, and so long as BOTH spouses are personally content with consenting to the arranged marriage.

The ideal process of getting married: A suitable Muslim male will find me and respectfully pursue me with the goal of marriage. Respectful pursuit implies that he approach my family. I am very family oriented so it is vital for my family to approve of my spouse beforehand. His family must also be very excited and happy to have me—or else I will not marry him.

Alia (Berkeley)

I grew up with my fair share of crushes and love interests, so I know my highschooler is not immune to the charms of the opposite sex. But are these feelings genuine or instilled by popular culture, right from Disney and Barbie?

I am not opposed to my daughter going to prom with a set of good friends. But recently, her school hosted a “prom fair” where prom related local businesses—limo services, gown and tux stores, nail and hair spas, and tanning spas were promoting their businesses to students. Again, makes me wonder, to what extent are these “teenage hormones” fueled by consumer groups?

Zeenath

So much shame and stigma is attached to gender relations that youngsters feel like they have to sneak around. Attractions happen, its natural and normal. Keeping an open dialogue from the beginning will equip the kids to handle it well.

Nura June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 31

books

Desperately Seeking Purchase

by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

TRANSACTIONS OF BELONGING by Jaya Padmanabhan. Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd. 197 pages. jayapadmanabhan.com. Paperback. $6.00 Available on Amazon.

T

he guiding spirit of award-winning author Jaya Padmanabhan’s acutely insightful debut collection of stories, Transactions of Belonging, is found in the title. True, book titles must be meaningful. However, a closer examination of this particular title allows a far deeper appreciation of the content.

A transaction is a deal, bargain, enterprise, venture, or affair. People conduct transactions every day, consciously and unconsciously. Transactions of all manners occur between family members, colleagues, and people with whom one comes in contact, which means relationships are involved.

“Belonging represents the most valuable commodity that is at the heart of every relationship,” Padmanabhan added via our e-interview. “Belonging wraps into itself the concepts of give and take, adaptability, acceptance, rejection, inclusion, longing, yearning, hope as well as love.”

In her collection, she “examined the transactions we enter into, the compromises we make, the filters we use to justify our need to belong.” With this knowledge, the reader more intensely experiences the distress, struggles, and victories that occur in the collection under her bold but compassionate hand.

I asked Padmanabhan to talk about her two favorite stories or characters. Her response illustrated both her comprehensive empathy for the characters and her personal interaction with the writing.

“This is tough since each story evokes a different reaction from me as a writer,” she said. “My most complex relationship is with ‘His Curls,’ the story of a mother who suspects her son of being a terrorist. The process of building her character and putting words in her mouth was poignant and

32 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

felt deeply personal. This story took me the longest to write. As characters go, Sankar from the ‘Neyyappams’ story is one of my favorites. I based it on what I believed my father must have been in his youth and writing about Sankar made me re-live my relationship with my dad, now long since deceased.”

Compelling, emotional, disturbing, forceful, and poignant, but not without an occasional dash of humor, each story examines lives and situations that have no easy solutions. Characters from all walks of life in a variety of settings are smartly drawn and emotionally pitted against each other.

In “The Fly Swatter,” Rafat lands a job as right-hand man to the Bihari Minister of Social Justice. Inseparable by virtue of the position, the young man agonizes whether to act on the Minister’s subtle advances.

Mr. Raman is “Strapped for Time” by his young housemaid, who creates both extreme anxiety and sexual tension in the 81-year old man. When she demands a specific watch as a gift, he waits restlessly to present it to her only to find that time has been unkind to both of them.

In “Curtains Drawn,” young Vik lives in a household of secrets, and when the situation becomes too insufferable, he makes a difficult decision.

Shona, a young woman who strives to recapture the cultural aspects of her former life while witnessing brutality toward women, finds untapped courage in “The Blue Arc.” In the one-act play “Indian Summer,” three generations pick at each other over the tiniest of forgotten issues and an explosive family dilemma. Driven by dialogue and very little action, the reader is forced to acknowledge the inherent sadness of the conversation but laugh in recognition of the fundamental silliness that arguments realistically contain.

At one point, Shiny’s grandmother (Amooma) declares Shiny should drink more milk to lighten her complexion.

Shiny (whiningly): “Ma, can you tell her to stop. My complexion is not dark because of lack of milk.”

Ma (with a sly smile): “Are you sure? Look at all the foods we Indians eat. Everything is colored yellow and brown. Look at the food these Americans eat, white cheese, white pasta, white bread, white eggs, white fish, white chicken, white clam chowder…”

Amooma: “… and white milk.”

Aside from creating remarkable and diverse characters in ordinary and extraordinary circumstances, Padmanabhan employs different methods of delivery and dissimilar points at which the stories end. Very often, she eschews the neat and tidy, obliging the reader to take part in the story through debate and interpretation.

“I like the challenge of experimenting with different styles and methods,” she says. “It’s interesting how each method brings out a different aspect of the narrative, sets the pace and carves out a slice of life that then frames the story … I was most

gratified with the prose poem, ‘Mustard Seeds.’ I wrote it out in longer sentences first, and then started chiseling and shaping. It was tremendously exhilarating.”

“Mustard Seeds” is a personal favorite, hooking me with the first line: “Fire is like a Fibonacci sequence.” From that point, the story becomes a pendulum of emotions, swinging between sweet and painful reminiscences and the urgency of the moment.

Building to an end that left me breathless and curious, I was charged to weigh all possible outcomes.

As a political activist lives what may (or may not) be his final moments, some of Padmanabhan’s fervent and reflective writing is evidenced in “Mustard Seeds.”

“In my careless naïveté, I assumed that the lyrics of nationalism and courage would shield the anagrams of combat and conflict hidden in the songs. But the government spoke the same language we did. They solved our anagrams, parsed our rhetoric and deciphered our allegorical references.

They threatened us with obey, adhere, respond and surrender.”

Later, Padmanabhan chooses vivid imagery in the present: “Each flame will rise up a little higher, curling at the very tip like a batik pattern across space.”

For each character in every story, Padmanabhan’s sharp blade exposes cavernous wounds, allowing emotions, desires, inabilities, regrets, and bravery to surface and find their appropriate state of being.

When asked what she would like her readers to take away from her collection, Padmanabhan replied, “That there’s a pervasive sense of loneliness among us. This is despite all the social channels of communication. That loss in connection and belonging is what I’ve tried to canvass in the stories.”

Currently, she is writing her first novel, which is inspired by one of the stories in her collection.

“I’m working on a novel called The Eleventh Letter,” she revealed. “It features Sankar from the ‘Neyyappams’ story and I’m temporally placing it within the confines of a socio-political uprising in Kerala, India.” n Jeanne E. Fredriksen lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where she freelances in advertising and public relations. Between assignments, she writes fiction, enjoys wine, and heads to the beach as often as she can.

A Vulnerable World

By Dilnavaz Bamboat SALAAM LOVE Edited by Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi.

Beacon Press. February 2014.

248 pages. Availability: paperback, kindle. $12.61

T

wo years ago, aboard a Eurostar train to Paris, I spent a two-hour journey reading a collection of essays called Love, Inshallah.

The book was a pioneering effort for two important reasons: it showcased Islam in America in all its glorious diversity, and it projected a strong female voice, breaking cultural and religious stereotypes of docile, homogenous, powerless women trapped in a world not of their choosing.

When I blogged about Love, Inshallah, I did not know the women behind the book.

Turns out Ayesha Mattu, one of its two editors, had read my post and knew who I was when we met as part of a writers’ circle.

Why am I telling you this? Because I need to insert a disclaimer that by the time I read Salaam, Love last month, Ayesha was (and is) a friend.

Islam. Is there any other word you can think of that conjures up stronger images, reactions, and sentiments across the world?

The faith of 1.6 billion people around the globe is the subject of debate, attack, defense, paranoia, curiosity, and wild conjecture. Stereotypes are split sharply by gender, and the men usually get a bad rap.

My own experiences with the faith are best reserved for a longer post, but know this: I have formally studied both the religion and its early culture, so I speak from a platform of at least some knowledge.

Salaam, Love is a sort-of sequel to Love, Inshallah. This collection of 22 deeply personal and frequently heartrending narratives by American Muslims smash the supposed monolith that Islam is perceived to be, and are shared by those who are typecast perhaps more than any other group I know: men. Frequently believed to be a conglomerate of beards, skullcaps, and patriarchal tyranny, Muslim men are the mythic bogeyman that women not of the faith are warned about. Looked at askance by even their own gender, it is often thought they have nothing to say, let alone feel or reflect.

Related from their perspectives and experiences as men, as Muslims, and just people, the book shares with us the passion, heartbreak, loss, confusion, imperfection, and intimacy that comes with being human.

From within the framework of personal definitions of the faith to far outside it, these men: native-born Americans and immigrants, gay, straight and every orientation in-between, Caucasian, Arabic, South Asian and born into other faiths, tread delicate territory as they navigate their relationship with themselves, loved ones, and their identity, all the while leaving the door wide open for us to follow their journey. From infertility to infidelity, sexual confusion to questioning tradition, the gamut of their experiences leave us enriched, educated, and often plain agape.

The “unfeeling male” stereotype evaporates before our eyes. The “benevolent patriarch” melts into an unrecognizable puddle. And the “men don’t talk about their feelings” notion? Smashed beyond smithereens. Where is the seemingly violent man who forces his will on life and women? And the pious one who holds dear his prayer mat? We meet agnostics, antitraditionalists, believers, and those crippled with self-doubt. As we lurk, voyeurs in their vulnerable worlds, we soak in their reflected humanity, feel their pain, and exult in their expressions of happiness.

Gender lines dissolve, and all that is left is unabashed, universal emotion and a strong sense of being people.

It is to the book’s credit that it allows us to build absolutely no preconceived notions and offers the literary equivalent of openheart surgery. This is a brave, groundbreaking, and compelling collection that more people need to read, not just in America but around the world. n Dilnavaz Bamboat manages communications and social media for a Silicon Valley non-profit, is a scriptwriter for iPad applications for children, a writer and editor at IDEX (idex.org), a section editor at Ultra Violet (ultraviolet. in), a feminist blogger at Women’s Web (womensweb.in) and a founder member of India Helps (indiahelps.blogspot.com). She lives in the SF Bay Area.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 33

music

Zakir Hussain Throws a Party

By Priya Das

ZAKIR HUSSAIN—The SFJazz Sessions. A Moment Records and Route 66 AR Production, DVD. www.amazon.com, $22.

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ne of the most enthralling experiences in a music lovers’ life is to be there when melodies and rhythms are brought to life, to see the spontaneous combustion between musical talents, to witness the making of great music.

Moment Records’ latest DVD release, called Zakir Hussain—The SFJazz Sessions is just that. It is a presentation of the extraordinary four days and nights in March 2013, during the inaugural season of the San Francisco Jazz Center, when Zakir Hussain threw a party for his friends to meet his other friends (paraphrased from an interview in the DVD).

The line up includes Bela Fleck, banjo; Edgar Meyer, bass; Eric Harland, drums; Ganesh Rajagopalan, violin; George Brooks, saxophone; Giovanni Hidalgo, conga; Niladri Kumar, sitar; Rakesh Chaurasia, flute; and Steve Smith, drums.

It is to the credit of the directors Anisa Qureshi and Taylor Phillips that we feel the presence of Hussain as the host of this party. Throughout the three hours of the DVD, we get to see him performing and talking: Excerpts from an interview, behind-the-scenes, back stage before show time, even driving. When the audience sings for him on his birthday, we get to hear him say sheepishly, “Don’t ask me my age!”

The DVD is a compilation of excerpts from 12 performances, the first of which is the electrifying “Naubat.” Smith paces the rhythm by vocalizing the beats. Even as one’s mind tries to compute this, Hussain renders an answering salvo of his own bols, sets the house on fire with his tabla and invites Hidalgo to join in. He does, resoundingly so, ably matched by Harland. This piece is a frenzied jugalbandi—the tempo does not let up, you can see the energy reverberate off the musicians.

“Aarambh” is aptly introduced by Hussain ruminating about his own beginnings- his father whispering rhythms in his ear when he was two days old, his time performing as a young teen, and finally saying, “You are born to do something in this world, and you come down and you do that.”

This piece features Rajagopalan, of the

34 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Zakir Hussain Photo Credit Jim McGuire

Ganesh-Kumaresh violin duo. The camaraderie between him, Kumar, Chaurasia and Hussain is highlighted by the interlude when ripples of notes and half notes are seemingly intuitively passed around in true sawal-jawab style.

“Bubbles” is an enchanting reprise from the Fleck-Mayer-Hussain album “The Melody of Rhythm.” “Rapt, No Strings, Part 1” has jazz singer Molly Holm singing Rumi’s verses to Brooks’ saxophone, while Antonia Minnecola, Hussain’s wife, enlivens the poetry with a crisp Kathak rendition. “Rapt, No Strings, Part 2” is a celebration of the guru-shishya bond, with Hussain challenging his students (including Dana Pandey and Salar Nader) while at the same time gently guiding them along.

Hussain comments on the improvisational nature of Indian music, wondering what kind of music will unfold, but adding at the start of “Sangat” that, “I am content in the feeling that the musicians I have with me will carry me through.” The magic of unrehearsed events, especially music, is in the first few minutes, when you hold your breath only for it to be taken away by the brilliance of combined melody or rhythm.

With “Sangat” you forget to breathe altogether after.

Chaurasia, featured here, starts with a compelling call to your inner self, his music displaying and commanding a refreshing honesty. He then breaks up the melody with staccato breaths on his flute, inviting Hussain to accompany him. Continuing to be the enigmatic sutradhaar, he invites Rajagopalan and Kumar to follow them into a complex weaving of notes.

“Taalkonakol” starts with Smith bold on the drums, summoning your undivided attention. The name is derived from taal (rhythm) and konakol (the art of reciting drum beats in Karnatik music, which Smith practices). He urges the audience to “repeat after me—ta ka dhi mi, ta ka dhi mi ...” transforming the audience into an a cappella orchestra echoed by the various drums of Hussain and Smith.

By way of introduction to “Karvan,” Hussain says, “… these (fabulous) players will join me to show you what young India is all about.”

“Karvan” features Chaurasia, Rajagopalan, Kumar, and, of course, Hussain.

The scene that is brought to life through their music is that of dawn: birds aflutter, dew-moistened breezes, women and their pots undulating along similarly undulating waters. Hussain’s solo is like thunder and a misting spray of raindrops at the same time. He invites each artist to challenge him while setting up a challenging premise himself.

The DVD is a must-have for those who want to witness and relive the creation of limitless moments and innovative music. n Priya Das is an enthusiastic follower of world music and avidly tracks intersecting points between folk, classical, jazz, and other genres.

Ganesh and Kumaresh, Niladri Kumar, Rakesh Chaurasia

A compelling collection of short stories

By Jaya Padmanabhan Editor of India Currents Award-Winning Author and Journalist

Order Your Copy Now!

In this debut collection, Jaya Padmanabhan has brought together a diverse and memorable group of characters from many kinds of backgrounds. With meticulous details and keen observation, she brings them to life and makes us care about them - their poverty, their loneliness, their tragedies and their triumphs. - Chitra Divakaruni, author of The Mistress of Spices and Oleander Girl ... the soulful writing drew me in - Laurel House Creative ... a saccade of epiphanies limned by light and shadow, delightfully woven in exquisite language!

- Writers’ Village

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 35

films

Burning Man

By Aniruddh Chawda

KOYELAANCHAL. Director: Ashu Trikha.

Players: Sunil Shetty, Vinod Khanna, Vipinno, Roopali Krishnarao. Hindi w/Eng. Sub-titles.

Theatrical release: AMA Entertainment.

T

he massive coalfields of northeastern India have figured in as gangland battlefields in a surprising number of recent Hindi movies, including the big budget entries Gangs of Wasseypur and Gunday, and the notable documentary Coal Curse, which was co-sponsored by Greenpeace. As Asia’s energy consumption increases, India’s coal reserves will no doubt figure prominently in regional geo-politics and continue to fuel movie scripts. Even though entering into this conversation somewhat belatedly and toosmug in its B-movie framing, small-time filmmaker’s Trikha’s Koyelaanchal pulls a couple of lightweight punches to actually provide a few thought-provoking pauses.

Set in a fictitious terrain called Koyelaanchal, which loosely translates into “land of coal,” while the coal miles are nominally and legally nationalized, the infrastructure is heavily controlled by former mine-owner and current mafia honcho Saryu Bhan Singh (Khanna), an old-school warrior with an extensive reach. Bhan Singh’s hegemony over the lives and livelihoods of locals attracts the attention of a team of Indian federal investigators, led by Nisheet Kumar (Shetty). As the battle of wits and muscle gets under way, Bhan Singh must increasingly rely on his stoic, die-hard enforcer Karua (Vipinno).

While the premise—will Kumar and company be able to dislodge Bhan Singh from his comfy well-jaded criminal perch —may not be original, the story carves out some noteworthy and stark realities about this remote part of the country. The farther one gets from India’s power-centers, Delhi, for example, the weaker the reach of India’s federal authorities. This local power vacuum gives parts of India and the playing field of Koyelaanchal a distinct no-man’s land feel. It is truly a scary place where the rule of law has little hold. Trikha deserves kudos for capturing upcountry anarchy with such modest means.

Having no rules to play by, Bhan Singh makes up his own and unleashes Karua to vanquish anyone who disobeys—in this 36 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

case, anyone who collaborates with investigators from Delhi—into brutal submission that is sometimes difficult to watch.

Kumar learns that he can’t take his own safety or that of his wife and toddler son for granted any more. The steepest toll indeed comes from Karua doing exactly and precisely as he is told.

Veteran Khanna has come full circle in again playing antagonist roles he started with, especially in Gulzar’s Mere Apne (1971) and Raj Khosla’s Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971). Shetty is sedate and in line with what is essentially a supporting role.

As the strong-silent Karua and village prostitute Roopmati, it is newcomers Vipinno and Krishrao, respectively, who inject an unpredictable unevenness. Their fresh faces provide no clue as to where they will end up, making the outcome that much more interesting.

Trikha’s success comes not from great histrionics or script or music or special effects. Instead, it comes from depicting coal as a way of life and having that reality etched into the faces of the actual locals used as minor characters in the narrative.

This authentic touch goes a long way in giving credibility to stories about underground mine fires that have gone unabated

for over a hundred years. Lack of mine safety, social services or the welfare of children take back seats—if they get seats at all.

An image of a school-age boy having to wash the blood off a soccer ball following a gangland tussle so he and his buddies can resume playing kick-ball in a dusty field leaves behind a horrific snapshot of the daily grind in this hot-underfoot and yet cold world.

As far as similar gangland movies go, Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur set an impossibly high bar which is nowhere near where Koyelaanchal is aiming. With an incongruous approach, using a veteran cast that had sell-by dates pass a while ago along with untested newcomers, however, Trikha come up with two-plus hours that are a somewhat cheesy trial-by-fire that is not entirely unsatisfying. n EQ: BGlobe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.

Ghost Capture

By Madhumita Gupta

BHOOTHNATH RETURNS. Director: Nitesh Tiwari. Players: Amitabh Bachchan, Parth Bhalerao, Boman Irani, Sanjay Mishra.

Music: Ram Sampath, Meet Bros Anjann, Palash Muchchal, Yo Yo Honey Singh. Hindi w/Eng. Sub-titles. Theatrical release: BR Films.

I

s it a fantasy? Is it a fairy-tale? Is it a children’s film? Yes! And it is a pertinent commentary on the general state of the electoral machinery in the world’s biggest democracy—India.

Bhoothnath was about Kailashnath Bhootnath making friends with a mischievous youngster, Banku, and returning to meet him on the earthly plane even after the final rites were supposed to have freed him from the world.

The story in Bhoothnath Returns begins in a startlingly Hogwarts like mansion surrounded, for some reason, not by an Indian village but a quaint English one instead.

This is the idyll where all Indians go after death—the ghost HQ, so to speak. This is also the place where souls are allotted their next births. However, merely the décor of this grand office is Western for it functions like a typical Indian sarkari daftar (government office) so getting your desired next birth can take literally lifetimes!

The inefficiency of the office sets the tone for the film as we come across ghosts laughing at Bhoothnath (Bachchan) for his failure in scaring a child.

A nettled Bhoothnath barges into the main office demanding a second chance to redeem himself.

This time he meets Akhrot (Bhalerao), a street-smart urchin who, like Banku in the prequel, can also see Bhootnath—the mild, gentlemanly ghost and is consequently completely unafraid of him. An unlikely friendship develops between them and they form a team to help the needy with Bhoothnath’s ghostly interventions.

One thing leads to another and they find themselves fighting the election against the local goon Bhau (Irani).

Bachchan is in his element, singing, dancing and thoroughly enjoying himself. His comic-timing is as impeccable as ever. His spoof on his own gobbledygook speech from Amar Akbar Anthony: “You are a sophisticated rhetorician intoxicated

with the exuberance of your own verbosity,” metamorphosing into the equally tongue-twisting pot-shot at India’s electoral system today, is worthy of a standing ovation.

I must tip the hat to Parth Bhalerao, the child-actor, who holds his own against Bachchan.

One wonders how much more effective this young actor would’ve been had he not been made to overact and hence rendered highly precocious in many scenes. Taking his own line from the film, maybe “India mein yehi chalta hai.”

Irani is convincing as the vile politician and has done justice to his character.

The music of the film is quite catchy, especially “Party toh banti hai.” A word of appreciation for the cinematographer and art-director for re-creating a realistic slum of Dharavi—a little cleaner than the original perhaps, but still quite authentic in replicating the narrow lanes and the general chaos.

The problem with Bhoothnath Returns is that there is a serious message to the electorate buried in a light-hearted comedy. If this movie had been a documentary it may have worked better. The movie, however, serves as a timely reminder (as the movie’s release coincided with the elections in India) of the rampant corruption prevalent in our society, and our own growing apathy.

Though it has some laugh-out-loud moments, it lacks the action punch and fast story which is a pre-requisite for a children’s film. And since it was publicized as a children’s film, the relevant group—the voting youth of India, predictably stayed away from it, thus nullifying the significant impact it may have had on the current electorate.

The predictable end of the film brings home another bitter truth—what with criminals and goons forming a significant

number of our representatives, we’re so very impoverished that a ghost becomes a viable candidate in our country. n EQ. B+ Madhumita Gupta is a freelance writer and a teacher.

L ATA’S

FLICK PICKS

2 States ath Returns Bhoothn Ghosts Gang of Heartless ay Highw o H i Ja  Karle Karley Pyar ra Hero Te n Mai O Teri MMS 2 Ragini Ya Rab

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 37

travel

Hyderabadi Splendor!

By Arundhati Nath

Inside Chowmahallah Palace

H

yderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, epitomizes the perfect blend of diversity, both in culture as well as age, seamlessly integrating the ancient with the modern.

I decided to devote a few days of my summer vacation in 2013 to exploring this historic city, which is known for its magnificent forts and palaces, gardens and lakes, and of course the delectable Hyderabadi biryani, shimmering pearls and colorful glass bangles.

I began my trip with a visit to Charminar in the old city area. The most identifiable monument in Hyderabad, the Charminar is a majestic structure built in the year 1591 CE by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah. An imposing edifice of four ornately decorated minarets and four grand arches facing onto different streets, the Charminar exudes the grandeur of Indo Islamic architecture. It has a profusion of balconies and balustrades, with a mosque on the fourth floor of the structure.

There is an interesting anecdote associated with the construction of this grand monument. It is widely believed that Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah promised to build a mosque at the center of the city where he prayed, on the eradication of a plague that had been ravaging his city.

38 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Charminar

Thus, the Charminar was built to celebrate the end of the dreaded plague.

Gazing at the tall imposing monument made me feel as if I was looking at a signature icon of the city somewhat like the The Gateway of India is to the commercial capital, Mumbai.

Adjoining the Charminar area is the popular market called the Laad Bazaar, where I found rows and rows of shops selling lacquer and glass bangles studded with many hued dazzling stones. I entered one of the stores to take a closer look and the salesman filled my wrists with the dazzle of multi-colored bangles! It was, indeed, very difficult to choose and buy one or two pairs of bangles out of the many lovely designs and colors available.

Close to the Charminar is the Chowmahallah Palace, which was our next experience of Nizami grandeur. I was awestruck at the sheer brilliance of the architecture and the lavishness of its appointments. The Chowmahallah Palace was once the throne of the Asaf Jahi kings and was believed to have been inspired by the Shah’s Palace in Tehran, Iran.

The Chowmahallah, which literally means four palaces, was originally spread over an area of fortyfive acres (of which only twelve acres remain), consists of the

The Museum inside Chowmahallah Palace

Glass bangles on display

Afzal Mahal, Mahtab Mahal, Tahniyat Mahal and the Aftab Mahal. Though the palace’s construction was originally started

by Salabat Jung in 1750, it was completed in 1869 through the efforts of Nizam Afzar ud Dawla Bahadur. The Chowmahalla palace has two courtyards—the northern and the southern. The southern courtyard is the oldest part and has four palaces in it.

The Khilawat Mubarak contains the royal throne with the richly decorated chandeliers and architecture complementing the grandeur.

At the time of Indian independence, the Nizam of Hyderabad was said to be the richest person in the world. On September 17, 1948, the Nizams lost Hyderabad to the Indian union. At present, Princess Esra, the last Nizam Mukarram Jah’s wife, is overseeing the renovation of the Chowmahalla along with the government.

The fine intricate carvings on the walls of the palaces; the huge ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the royal throne of the king give a perfect glimpse of royal Nizami setting of a bygone era. The Chowmahallah Palace also houses different items of daily use owned by the Nizams.

Ornate items of furniture, exquisite cutlery, pieces of royal clothing, lethal weapons and much more can be found on the upper floors of the palace.

Lingering at the Chowmahallah, we didn’t realize the passage of time. It was past two in the afternoon when we left. To set our hunger pangs at rest, we hailed an auto and arrived at Paradise Food Court; which is well known for its special Hyderabadi biryani.

Hyderabadi biryani is made from a superior quality basmati rice and is flavored with a number of spices and condiments.

While cooking, the edges of the vessel are sealed with dough to keep the aroma intact.

Hyderabadi biryani has a spicy, tangy taste which lingers on the palate for long afterwards! After the sumptuous biryani, it was my turn to tuck into the delectable double ka meetha. This dessert is a tasty bread and milk pudding topped with dry fruits and is a must for anyone with a sweet tooth.

A visit to Hyderabad would be incomplete without shopping for pearl jewellery.

Today Hyderabad is the world leader in the pearl trade and pearls of different hues and designs can be found here. I headed to the showroom of Mangatrai Pearls and Jewellery at Basheerbagh. The extensive collection of pearl earrings, pendants, bracelets, necklaces and finger rings tested my resolve.

Satisfied with the pearls I finally bought, I hired an auto and whizzed off towards Hussain Sagar Lake along Necklace Road.

This lake was excavated in 1562 by Hussain Shah Wali during the rule of Ibrahin Quli Qutb Shah. This lake offers facilities for water sports like boating and paddling among others. At the center of the lake stands a majestically built monolithic structure of Gautam Buddha, which is 18 metres (~60 feet) tall. It was carved out of a single white granite stone weighing 496 tons and was erected in the year 1992.

I strolled through Lumbini Park and bought tickets for a boat ride to the Buddha statue. As our boat steered towards the huge statue, a mild cool breeze touched our faces. On reaching the statue and the enclosed garden, I marveled at the serene atmosphere prevailing there.

A visit to South India must accommodate the delicious food of the south.

Though usually taken for breakfast, I had a masala dosa for dinner and topped it with a tall glass of lassi at Chutney’s a vegetarian restaurant I had heard so much about Ramoji Film City that I could not resist verifying it. A drive of one and a half hours from Hyderabad, Ramoji Film City has been acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as the largest film studio complex in the world. A wonderland to the eyes, the film city left me mesmerised. The Mughal gardens, the Japanese gardens and the Hawa Mahal are all here at Ramoji. A movie makers paradise, it has everything from the settings for every scene of a film to the technical support required to make it happen. Our friendly guide, Halder, informed us that scenes of the recently released blockbuster Chennai Express were shot here.

Ramoji Film City also has a number of restaurants, shopping centres, hotels and rides. Different cultural programs, which include an opening and closing ceremony, stunt shows, and dances are performed live throughout the day at several theatres and at the central court. There was also a session dedicated to the art of film making, which showed how sound mixing and video editing is done in films.

The world class environs, the magical world of films and the many fascinating sights and rides of Ramoji lure thousands of people to this wonderland of cinema.

Even as I left Hyderabad, the sights, smells and sounds of this Nawabi city lingered on my senses. Hyderabad was an unforgettable blend of history with modernity. n

Royal thrones inside Chowmahallah Palace

Ramoji Film City

Budhha’s statue

Arundhati Nath is a freelance writer from Guwahati, Assam. She has written for publications like Child, Crystal Quest, Pulse and Sterling World. She can be reached at natharundhati@gmail.com.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 39

events JUNE

Your Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! JULY issue deadline: Friday, June 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and fill out the Web form

Check us out on

special dates Father’s Day

June 15

Ramazan

June 28

Ratha Yatra

June 29

U.S. Independence Day

July 4

Guru Purnima

July 12

CULTURAL CALENDER

June

1 Sunday

Sitar recital by Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, June 13

Spirituality, The Sure Way to Inner Fulfillment. Spring Retreat with Swami

Nirviseshananda Tirtha (Nutan Swamiji).

Lunch or dinner (Bhakti Bhoj) will be served during these events. Organized by Center for Inner Resources Development North America. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Stone Manor Vineyard and Orchard, 13193 Mountain Road., Lovettsville, VA 20180. Free. Prior registration required. (703) 861-4320, (703) 642-8593, (703) 748-8405. events@cirdna.

40 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

org. www.cirdna.org/Spring2014.html.

June

7 Saturday

Human Development Network’s Annual Fundraiser. Chief guest is

Anwar Maqsood, Ambassador of Pakistan to U.S. Bushra Ansari will perform. Orga-

nized by Human Development Network.

6-11:30 p.m. The Marriott, 8028 Leesburg Pike, Tysons Corner, VA 22182. $100. (703) 626-5883, (410) 409-5057.

Just Dance, Official Bollywood Summer Party. With an open bar from

10-11 p.m. Organized by Manan Singh Katohora and Shalabh Entertainment

events

Best Guide to Indian Events

Present. 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Club Tattoo, 1413 K St NW, Washington, DC 20005. $18-$12.

(202) 656-3374.

June

13 Friday

Sitar Recital by Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan. An intimate baithak style

sitar concert. Light refreshments will be served. Organized by Saath Sangeet and JDK Audio. 8:30 p.m. 22131 Quail Pond Pl., Ashburn, VA 20148. $30. (443) 7398783. saathsangeet@gmail.com.

June

14 Saturday

Bollywood Karaoke Contest 2014.

Contest for Best Solo Male, Solo Female, and Duet. Special performance by 2008 Sa Re Ga Ma Pa finalist Deeti and Krushany Majumdar. Organized by Ceasar Productions. 2-6 p.m. John Hopkins University Rockville Campus, 9605 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD . General $10, participant $25. (240) 477-3700, (301) 529-8008, (240) 252-9877. mangeet8490@gmail.com. www.ceasarproductions.net.

Chaturanga—A Dance Drama. Portraying the life and seasons of Bangladesh.

Organized by Priobangla, News Bangla and Dhroopad. 7 p.m. Gunston Theater, 2700 S Lang St, Arlington, VA 22206. $10, $25, $50. (571) 225-0755. priyalal@gmail. com.

June

15 Sunday

Bollywood Dance Summer Class.

For kids 5-11 and 11-15. 1 p.m. Smisha’s Fusion Dance Academy, Duxbury Terrace, Ashburn, VA 20147. (703) 953-3052.

June

20 Friday

Bollywood Dance Party. Organized

by Movida Entertainment. Sitara Banquet Hall, 44260 Ice Rink Plaza, Ashburn, VA 20147. $15, $20. (703) 728-0094, (703) 717-3239.

Bushra Ansari performs at Human Development Network’s Annual Fundraiser, June 7

June

22 Sunday

Asian Mela. Cultural show, fashion and jewelery stalls, kids talent competition and face painting. Food, fashion show and raffles. 11 a.m. Holiday Inn Leesburg at Carradoc Hall, 1500 E Market St, Leesburg, VA 20176. Free. (703) 332-5189.

June

24 Tuesday

The Art of Living Happiness Program. Includes a special session with H.

H. Sri Sri Ravishankar. Organized by The Art of Living Foundation. Hyatt Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202. tinyurl.com/lh2znu3.

July

1 Tuesday

Meet Amma Mata Amritanandamayi. Ends July 2. Organized by

Amma DC. 10 a.m. Crystal Gateway Marriot, 1700 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202. (240) 696-1927. www.ammadc. org.

July

3 Thursday

2014 Young Jains of America Convention. The theme for this year’s con-

vention is “Young Jains: Today’s Learners, Tomorrow’s Leaders.” 9 a.m. Marriot Crystal Gateway, 1700 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202. convention.yja.org.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 41

events YOGA & SPRITUAL CALENDAR

Best Guide to Indian Events Sanskrit Class. Emphasis on Sanskriti

Saturdays

(culture). Taught by Moti Lal Sharma.

Organized by Rajdhani Mandir. $60. 3-4 p.m. 4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA 20151.

Balaji Suprabhatha Seva. Group

Yoga Classes. Self-guided and instructor

Share your health stories with India Currents readers!

Prarthana, Satsand, Prabachan. Fol-

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

chanting of Balaji Suprabhatam. Vishnu Sahasra Namam, Balaji Astothram, Lakshmi Astothram and Balaji Govinda Namam. Followed by prasad. 9:45-11 a.m. Rajdhani Mandir, 4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA 20151.

Yoga Classes. Self-guided and instructor assisted. 7-9 a.m (Self-Guided), 9-10 a.m. (instructor assisted). Rajdhani Mandir.

4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA 20151. (703) 378-8401.

Balgokul. Help children learn and

appreciate Hindu values through participation in Hindu festivals held at the temple, yoga, games, bhajans and shlokas.

10:30 a.m. Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, 6905 Cipriano Road, Lanham, MD 20706. (703) 338-5637, (703) 732-4732. ssvt.balgokul@gmail.com. www.ssvt.org.

Yoga Classes. Organized by Dahn

Yoga. 10 a.m. 700 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005. (202)393-2440. washingtonDC@dahnyoga.com. http:// www.dahnyoga.com.

Sundays Bhajans. 6-7:30 p.m. Mangal Mandir, 17110 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905. (301) 421-0985.

assisted. Organized by Rajdhani Mandir.

7-9 a.m (Self-Guided), 9-10 a.m. 4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA 20151. (703) 378-8401. lowed by prasad and Priti Bhoj. Organized

by The Hindu Temple of Metropolitan Washington. 5 p.m.10001 Riggs Road, Adelphi, MD 20783. (301) 445-2165. http:// www.hindutemplemd.org.

Balagokulam. Learn and appreciate

Hindu values through games, shlokas, story-telling, music, and group discussions.

Organized by The Hindu Temple of Metropolitan Washington. 5:30 p.m. 10001 Riggs Road,Adelphi, MD 20783. rsdiwedi@ comcast.net. (301) 345-6090. http://www. hindutemplemd.org.

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

Š Copyright 2014 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited. 

/ indiacurrents @ indiacurrents

60+ Senior Citizens Club. 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mangal Mandir, 17110 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905. (301) 421-0985.

Geeta Discussion. Explanation of vari-

ous chapters of Karma and Bhakti Yoga.

Organized by Rajdhani Mandir. 4:15-5:30 p.m. 4525 Pleasant Valley Road Chantilly, VA 20151.

Gita Study Group. Organized by

Chinmaya Mission. 10 a.m. Vision Learning Center, Grove Park Square 11537A Nuckols Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23059. (804) 364-1396. http://www.chinmayadc.org.

INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 27 Years of Excellence

42 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

On Inglish

Down From the Tonga

By Kalpana Mohan

ton·ga [tong-guh] noun a light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle used in India.

Origin: 1870—75; Hindi tanga

O

n a cool morning in November 1943, my father dismounted from a tonga outside his cousin’s home on Ranga Iyer Street in the city of Chennai, then called Madras. That week my father, then barely 20 years old, would join duty at the local Accountant General’s office as an entry-level clerk on a salary of fifty rupees.

I can imagine my father pulling out his luggage, reminding himself to embrace the newness, to stanch his fears of the unknown. He told me how Madras Central Station had awed him.

He had gaped at its cavernous interior. Outside, he had marveled at the building’s Gothic towers and Romanesque arches in terracotta and white. From the tonga, he had taken in the sign for “Murphy Radio,” the clock tower, its flagstaff, and then—as he inhaled the dung-breath and horsehair of the animal that trotted ahead of him—the town’s broad roads, its spacious parks, its street lamps and the big shops.

My father had reached his destination on a carriage that was once a popular mode of transportation introduced into India by the British. A Hindi word, tonga entered the language late in the 19th century when this light two-wheeled vehicle became popular on all the roads leading to hill-stations like Simla and Darjeeling.

During the British Raj, Delhi was famous for its thousands of tongawallahs who galloped between the ancient walled city and the bungalow-buffed boulevards of Sir Edwin Lutyen’s city.

The tonga, which once was a luxury ride during the wane of the Mughal Empire, became popular with the middle classes following the emergence of British India. In the 1920s, British soldiers stationed at the Red Fort would ride the tonga to the fashionable Connaught Place to go shopping on Sundays and the English ladies would ride in them for picnics out in the woods.

Even though auto rickshaws surpassed them in popularity in the India of the 80s, tongas still color Indian cities in some parts, as do bullock-carts. In the historic parts, an occasional tonga is still a tourist attraction and can be a charming alternative to wend one’s way through the alleys of an old town.

Just as old Indian towns still have tongas, so does one rambling town filled with characters I’ve loved all my life. Almost daily, the tonga runs smoothly through the streets of Malgudi. R. K. Narayan’s fictitious town located a few hours away by train from Madras on the shores of the fictional river Sarayu. Beyond the river a man-eating tiger roams in the forests of Mempi Hills.

Captain, a plucky character in The Tiger for Malgudi, buys the possessions of a luckless Irishman called O’Brien who is brownskinned and speaks neither English nor Irish: “He dispensed with his pony, selling it off to a tonga owner, and managed with the parrot and the monkey, which became his sole assets … He had a portable signboard painted, GRAND IRISH CIRCUS, and set it up in the town hall compound, street pavements on market square and attracted a crowd.” Captain buys O’Brien’s remaining assets to apply for a job at the majestic circus of Malgudi.

Like many of Narayan’s characters who passed their days in bucolic Malgudi, my father had rarely spotted motor cars in his village in Palakkad. The day he arrived in Madras, he watched wide-eyed as big cars lumbered through the roads of the town; he counted at least ten cars—they seemed to sail like ships—on the five-mile ride into T. Nagar from the railway station. He noticed how in Madras, the tonga that had carried him from the station to his cousin’s home seemed to have so little heft.

Back in the village there were then only two other options for transport—one’s feet or two wheels pulled by a buffalo—and so the horse had style. In what would be a proud moment for the family in those years, a horde of our relatives traveled, in four horse-drawn carts, to the railway station in Palakkad on the occasion of my parents’ marriage in 1944.

But one time my aunt Vijayam, her younger sister Samyukta and my cousins didn’t feel so proud after all.

In 1966, they were returning home from the theater in Palakkad town after watching Anbe Vaa, a Tamil movie that had racked up huge success at the Box Office, when the horse decided to act beastly. It simply ejected them—like James Bond might the villainess in his Alfa Romeo.

The four women spilled out of the tonga on to the road “Like balls. We rolled like balls,” Vijayam said. The women were shocked and disoriented for a few minutes but not hurt in any big way. While the tonga man apologized, the horse watched them with sticky lashes, swished its tail, blew noxious air from its orifices and neighed furiously. Meanwhile the four women quickly scrambled to cover their ankles and any exposed skin.

What the lot of them did next flummoxed me. They actually trusted the horse to take them back home. “We dusted ourselves and got back on the cart and returned home to Double Street in our village.”

I told my aunt I would have stood a mile away and poked the behind of the demented horse with the nib of a fountain pen attached to a bamboo pole and fled the scene as fast as my legs could’ve carried me. My aunt laughed. My father’s sisters are a feisty breed. There was, of course, another reason why the brood returned with the horse. Despite the bruises, there was the matter of prestige as they descended from the tonga. People would take note from their porches. And that counted for something.

“Whenever we got the opportunity to ride in a tonga, we looked around the village with a very snooty air,” my aunt said.

In those days, the tonga was the Lexus to the bullock cart which was, I suppose, its lesser cousin, the Toyota Corolla. n Kalpana Mohan writes from Saratoga. To read more about her, go to http://kalpanamohan.org and http://saritorial.com.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 43

healthy life

Myths About Palliative Care New America Media n Richard Springer

M

ajor misperceptions about palliative and hospice care persist in immigrant communities, including the Indian American community, according to palliative care health professionals.

“It is a major concern that those in immigrant communities equate palliative care services with near death and end-of-life treatments,” said Suresh Reddy, M.D., section chief and director of education of the Department of Symptom Control and Palliative Care at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

“And a lot of [Asian immigrants] don’t even want to hear the term hospice. They definitely view that as a death place,” he said. Hospice care is a type of care and philosophy of care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill or seriously ill patient’s pain and symptoms, and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs.

Many Too Late to Benefit

Physicians Mihir M. Kandar, Jacob J. Stand and Elise C. Carey, writing in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 2013 noted, “Palliative care was often errantly equated with only providing end-of-life care. In practice, this led (and unfortunately still leads) to palliative care involvement occurring late in an illness.”

At that point, he said, it’s too late for patients to benefits from many of palliative care’s interventions, such as reducing pain and symptoms in ways that stabilize the illness and minimize the need for emergency care.

Reddy said he frequently has to educate Asian immigrant families about palliative care.

However, after realizing that a key part of palliative care is management of pain in the “early trajectory of disease, “they are okay with it and are quite satisfied,” he said.

Immigrant families are also more likely to resist taking drugs for pain, 44 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Vyjeyanthi “VJ” Periyakoil, MD, directs Stanford University’s Palliative Care Education and Training Program. Photo Credit: Richard Springer

because they have misconceptions about “psychological addiction” to narcotics, the Houston physician said.

Many in the Indian American community fail to look for palliative care options because they don’t know about low-cost resources available.

Ratan Kumar, who is involved in hospice nursing in the San Francisco Bay Area, explained, “Overall, we need to teach, or make our Indian community aware of all the benefits of health care that can be provided to them at low cost or no cost. I think due to lack of knowledge and [being] afraid to pay the high cost of medical bills, some elderly people are not getting the care they need.”

“I remember talking to this nice [Indian] lady I met in a family event. She was 70 years at the time and was visiting her family here in the United States and extended her stay. She didn’t have visitors insurance because she couldn’t afford that, and she needed her blood pressure medication. Due to the cost, she would try to

cheat herself and take it only if she thought it was needed.”

How United States, India Care Differ

Another problem in the Indian American community, mainly with older adults and recent immigrants, is that they persist in expecting to be treated in the United States how they were treated in India.

Vyjeyanthi “VJ” Periyakoil, M.D., director of Stanford University’s Palliative Care Education & Training Program, is the co-author with Shalini Dara , M.D., of the paper, Health and Health Care of Asian Indian American Older Adults.

This report notes, “Older [Asian Indian] patients may complain about or criticize the extensive diagnostic tests they have to undergo in the U.S., because, different from their home country, many older physicians prescribe medications without any diagnostic tests.”

Reddy, who will be working with Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai this sum-

mer on a study of end-of-life care in India, said patents in India are even more resistant to being treated with drugs like morphine due to addiction fears.

Families of those with terminal illnesses in India are also more likely than Indians in the U.S. to shield patients at the end of life from knowing about their medical conditions or talking about death or dying with physicians, he said.

“And anxiety and depression are underdiagnosed [in India]. That is another issue we need to crack there,” he added.

Another factor that hospitals, hospices and palliative care training programs need to emphasize is that spirituality gives comfort to many Indian Americans at the end of life.

Indian Spiritual Traditions

“Asian Indians typically tend to value spirituality and traditions,” Periyakoil stated.

“Many older and more traditional Hindu adults may believe their illness is caused by bad karma from a past lifetime, and they may not entirely believe in the organic etiology propounded by Western biomedicine,” says the Stanford report.

“As a result, an illness may be viewed as something to be accepted and endured,

rather than fixed or cured. In some situations, these beliefs may induce a quiet fatalism that can result in therapeutic nonadherence,” the study adds.

“From what I have experienced,” said Kumar, “I think hospitals are sympathetic towards dying family members. In our culture, we normally have our priest or a recording recite our holy book, the [Bhagavad] Gita.”

“It is supposed to give peace to the person leaving this world and to family members. Now hospitals are allowed to do this—which is a big step in learning and understanding our culture,” Kumar explained.

But Reddy said a support system for end-of-life care is still lacking in immigrant communities, particularly for advance directives enabling people to write out their treatment wishes if they become unable to communicate or other areas of decisionmaking.

“And, it doesn’t matter which religion you practice, we suffer equally. We think we are prepared for death, but we are not,” he said.n Richard Springer wrote this article through a California Healthcare Foundation Journalism Fellowship, a project of New America Media

in collaboration with the Stanford In-reach for Successful Aging through Education Program.

Resources California State Hospice Association.

Provides technical resources to members, advocate on and monitor legislative and regulatory activities, provide continuing education to providers on end-of-life issues and collaborate with other organizations that share an interest in end-of-life care. www.calhospice.org.

Asian Network Pacific Home Care and Hospice. Provides culturally sensitive end of life care and home healh to the Asian community in the greater Bay Area. 3487 McKee Road, Suite 55, San Jose. (408) 272-8882 212 9th Street, Suite 205, Oakland. (510) 268-1118. http://www.anphc. com.

Pathways Home Health and Hospice.

A community based, not-for-profit organization that provides a family of health services at home to families in the Bay Area. 585 N Mary Ave., Sunnyvale. (408) 730-5900. www.pathwayshealth.org.

relationship diva

Selective v. Picky

By Jasbina Ahluwalia

Q

My friends and family tell me I’m being too picky. While I do have a long list of what I want in a partner, isn’t it important to be selective? Is there a difference between being picky and being selective?

A

You are not alone in wondering about this. There is an important distinction between being selective (wellserving) on the one hand, and being picky (counterproductive) on the other.

In my view, being selective is having clarity about what is most important to you, with respect to a partner, and being as flexible as possible in order to optimize your chances of a partner meeting your criteria.

Being picky involves having a long checklist, which can be counterproductive, in the search for a partner by both dramatically narrowing the pool of possibilities, and enhancing missed opportunities with prospective partners who may come in unexpected packages.

Regarding the criteria, I encourage people to be as thoughtful as possible with respect to needs versus wants. Over the years I have asked clients to identify three essentials, as well as helped them explore the “why” behind those essentials.

It was interesting to learn from Ty Tashiro, author of The Science of Happily Ever After, that three is the magic number when it comes to essentials in one’s search for a partner: “Consider the following example to see how quickly it becomes improbable to find a person with the traits you want. Choosing someone average (fiftieth percentile) on three different traits would narrow a field of one hundred potential mates down to thirteen potential mates.

Wanting a partner in the top fifth percentile on three traits gives you just a one in ten thousand chance of finding that partner, and if you do not find that partner, then what do you get?

Not only do most people not get what-

ever traits they prize the most in romantic partners, but they are also then left with a partner possessing a haphazard collection of traits … If a fairy godmother suddenly appeared and granted you three wishes for an ideal partner, then how would you spend your three wishes?

Wisely wishing for the traits could greatly increase the odds of having a satisfying and stable relationship. The best strategy is to know the odds, accept the limitations placed on partner selection by those odds, and then make the best decisions possible to get the three traits you want the most in a partner.” 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.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 45

recipes

The Scent of a Green Papaya

By Praba Iyer

I

t was a pleasant, sunny afternoon in December. I was in Chennai visiting the neighborhood where I had grown up. The temples were still there, and I could still recognize the place, but the character of the street had changed. The large playground across from our street had become a huge shopping complex, and my own home had been turned into a multistorey housing unit. Sadly, my neighbor’s home looked dilapidated and out of place.

But the few papaya trees lining the front of his house were still thriving in the hot sun.

The sight of the papayas triggered memories of my home.

We used to grow our own papaya trees, along with mango, moringa and henna trees. The sweet smell of green papaya thoran (sauteed with coconut) that my grandmother loved to cook came flooding back.

She would let some papayas ripen on the tree for us to eat as an evening snack with red pepper and salt. Yum! The “fruit of the angels” as Christopher Columbus called it, the papaya is native to the tropical Americas, Mexico and Costa Rica. It is fascinating to trace the papaya trail around the world. From the Americas, the seeds were taken to the West Indies and Bermuda in the early 1500s. Then the Spaniards took the seeds to Philippines in the early 1600s. There are conflicting theories of whether it was the Spaniards or the Portuguese who brought the papaya

plant to India in the 1600s. From India the seed was exported to Italy. Due to its adaptability the papaya plant grew all over the tropics from West Indies to South East Asia and Australia.

Here in the United States, the seeds were brought to Florida from the Bahamas around 1559 and grown in home gardens until the 1960s. Now it is grown commercially in Hawaii. According to the National Horticulture Board, India is the largest producer of papaya in the world today.

Papaya is an excellent source of antioxidants, Vitamin C, A and B, flavonoids and folate. It is also a great source of potassium, magnesium and pantothenic acid. Thomas Pennington Lucas, a well known botanist and medical scientist called the papaw (papaya) “the world’s greatest healing agent.”

He went on to start an hospital called Vera Papaw, in Brisbane Australia where patients were treated with nothing but papaya to cure ailments.

There are innumerable benefits of using papaya in our diet. In Chinese medicine the raw papaya is given to patients with digestive and stomach ailments, and to increase breast milk in nursing mothers.

The fruit is used to cure constipation and dysentery and urinary ailments. In Hawaii, the latex is used on open wounds to heal it. The seeds are given to early stage cancer patients. Studies show that the antioxidants in papaya help reduce the oxidation of cho-

Green Papaya Thoran

coconut, green chilies and saute. Then add the raw papaya and mix. Lower the heat and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until the papaya is soft yet crunchy.

Ingredients 2 cups green papaya (peeled, seeded and cubed) 1 tsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp urad dal (split black gram) 2-3 shallots chopped fine ¼ cup fresh shredded coconut 2-3 green chilies chopped fine salt to taste.

Method Heat oil in a skillet and add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters add the urad dhal, curry leaves and shallots Then add the 46 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Season with salt and serve. n

Papaya Hair Mask I make this mask for my wispy, dry unhealthy hair with split ends and dandruff.

It is like a natural steroid boost that makes your hair come alive.

Ingredients Half a ripe papaya 1 banana

lesterol that causes it to stick to the arteries as plaque, causing heart attacks and strokes.

Being a good source of fiber, papaya reduces the buildup of cholesterol in the body. As a great source of fiber, papaya is also helpful in preventing constipation.

The latex of papaya contains two proteolytic enzymes called papain and chymopapain. Papain is used as an antiinflammatory agent in reducing arthritis and in healing infections and reducing fluid retention during trauma and surgery. The main ingredient in toothpastes as a whitener and digestive is papain. In many countries papaya is used as an immune booster to fight against hay fever, dengue fever, flu and cold and the leaves have been used on wounds to quicken healing.

In some cases papaya is said to have caused abortions in pregnant women. Latex allergies have also been associated with papaya latex and papaya skin.

The anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties are also well documented.

According to the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, papain along with green tea helps reduce colon and prostate cancer.

Even to this day, the papaya is used as an antidote to insect bites, used as a cleanser in cosmetics, and a natural meat tenderizer. n Praba Iyer teaches custom cooking classes around the SF Bay Area. She also blogs about cooking at rocketbites.com. ½ cup yogurt 1 tbsp of coconut oil Method Blend these ingredients to a smooth paste in blender to a soft smooth paste.

Apply it on the hair. Wear a cap and let it soak in for ½ an hour. Then wash it off well with water. n

Anti-Aging Face Pack I don’t throw the papaya skin without it exfoliating my face. Just rub the inside part of the papaya skin all over your face and keep for 15 minutes before you wash it off. n

viewfinder

Waiting

By Shyamala Parameswaran

r

winne

A

ll of life involves waiting for something or the other. Sometimes it is a lonely sort of waiting. Here the lady awaits the return of her family in the evening. This picture was taken on a visit to Kodunthirapulli agraharam, Palakkad, Kerala. Agraharams or traditional housing alongside temples are fast disappearing with modern day constructions replacing them. Here is an old spa-

cious airy one with tiled roof and skylight. n Shyamala Parameswaran is an avid photographer and freelance journalist. Her reports on real estate development in India can be found in India West issues in past weeks. She is passionate about capturing illuminating moments of people. She is active in the social media.

India Currents invites readers to submit to this column. Send us a picture with caption and we’ll pick the best entry every month.

There will be a cash prize awarded to the lucky entrant. Entries will be judged on the originality and creativity of the visual and the clarity and storytelling of the caption. So pick up that camera and click away.

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

Deadline for entries: 10th of every month.

June 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 47

the last word

Showing Up is Eighty Percent of Life

T

By Sarita Sarvate

he other day I was driving along, daydreaming to the rhythm of NPR, when a voice from the past jarred me out of my reverie. It was John Holdren, President Obama’s top science advisor, discussing the administration’s recent report on climate change.

But I could start the story another way and tell you that one day, when I was a young woman living in India, I came across The Daily Cal, a student newspaper from Berkeley. My life could not have been at a lower point then. I had dropped out of the Ph.D. program in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur; I had had an arranged marriage that was not quite fulfilling; I was about to turn twenty-five, the magical age at which all government and corporate jobs would close for me. But I had not given up. I was studying for competitive exams like the Indian Administrative Services; I was trying my hand at writing, publishing letters in the Times of India. Most of all, sitting in my garden in Bhopal, I was reading.

When, in The Daily Cal I read about a new graduate program in Energy and Resources in Berkeley, I thought nothing of it. I was totally disenchanted with ivory tower institutions, the sexual harassment at the hands of male students in IIT who outnumbered females by orders of magnitude, the “foreign One returned” professors who were only focused on publishing research papers, and life the harsh climate of Kanpur. promised Berkeley could only be worse, bouts with ma- I thought. As a young girl, I had dreamt of America, but it had laria, a bad mar- become a distant Shangrila. But a riage, and a job pen pal who lived in the United urged me to apply. So I rife with politics; States hand-wrote the application, purthe other, divorce, chased a fortune worth of postage stamps, and after mailing it, minority status, promptly forgot about it. and loneliness.

One cold winter morning, I traveled to Delhi by train; out of thousands who had taken the competitive exams, I had been chosen for an interview for the position of Probationary Officer for the Bank of India. As I listened to my competitors chatting in convent school accents in the hallway, I felt I had no chance. My wedding necklace of black beads was enough to disqualify me; the bank never appointed married women to such executive positions.

But then fortune smiled upon me; the chair of the interview panel asked me the one question I could wax eloquent about, the significance of T.S. Eliot’s play, “The Confidential Clerk.” And lo and behold, I secured one of the most coveted jobs in the country, becoming the first woman in the State of Madhya Pradesh to acquire such a position.

My application to Berkeley had bounced back in the meantime because I had not written an essay explaining why I wanted to study there. Why did I want to study energy and resources?

Because alternative energy was the only hope for India’s future?

Because the country’s poor could become self-reliant with the aid of biogas, biomass, and solar energy projects? Because Gandhi himself had advocated such small scale rural development? I channeled Jawaharlal Nehru, John Kenneth Galbraith, and my father Dada to write my essay, by hand.

48 | INDIA CURRENTS | June 2014

Soon, I became a banker. I attended an executive training session in Mumbai. Once I passed probation, I would get perks like interest-free loans for houses and vacations at hill stations.

I had forgotten all about Berkeley, when, out of the blue, I received a letter from Professor John Holdren, the very same John Holdren who was on the radio the other day. “I believe we can benefit from the perspective of someone from the third world,” he wrote. I was elated. I had made the cut. I had been seen as good enough to enter Berkeley. The knowledge alone was enough for me. I did not actually plan to go there.

So I thanked John Holdren for accepting me into the program but regretted that I could not attend because I had no money to survive in the United States; without financial guarantees, the United States Consulate would not grant me a visa.

One afternoon, I began to shiver. I put on sweaters, I piled blankets on top, but the cold and fever would not go away; I had malaria. The local quack, who allegedly had purchased his medical diploma, could not help. The attacks continued, each one leaving me more debilitated than the one before.

I was in this fragile state when I received another letter from John Holdren. Unbeknownst to me, he had arranged a research assistantship at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab; I was to work on a Department of Energy project to improve energy efficiency in buildings.

Panic gripped me. I would fail in Berkeley, I thought. I was reluctant to abandon my successful life for one filled with unknowns. I was sure my marriage would not survive a move across continents. I was at the proverbial Morton’s fork. On one side were my family, my country, and my security. On the other were risk, adventure, and the foreign land I had always dreamt of. One life promised bouts with malaria, a bad marriage, and a job rife with politics; the other, divorce, minority status, and loneliness.

In the end it was my father who said I should go. “Who gets such an opportunity?” He said. The year was 1976.

Why am I telling you this story? I am not writing this because I want to boast about my achievements, but because, looking back, what stands out is the persistence of the young woman who dared, who showed up every time, who never gave up. I see the tale now, not as a part of my life, but as something that happened to someone else. All my friends were married by the time these events happened. Most took the easy way out, by earning the other “MA” degree, as in ma, or mother. I could easily have settled into the life of a housewife; I could easily have raised a couple of kids; I could easily have relegated my dream of America to a corner of my mind, to examine it every now and then with wonder. Instead, I struggled; I ventured; I persevered.

Along the way, people like the bank panelist, my pen pal, and John Holdren, helped. John, in particular, had the vision to see beyond my degree from the unheard of Nagpur University, to a world where all countries could join together to wrestle with problems like climate change.

But I did my part. “Showing up is eighty percent of life,” Woody Allen is alleged to have said.

That young woman showed up, every single time. It is a lesson I myself need to learn all over again. n Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has published commentaries for New America Media, KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publications.