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Real people, real stories of courage, endurance, and the strength of the human spirit By Priya Das
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After the announcement of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize jointly awarded to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, there was a sense of overwhelming validation at the first name and of overpowering curiosity at the second name. Yousafzai’s remarkable grit has been justifiably well chronicled: a young girl speaking out for girls’ education despite the fear of brutal reprisal. When it comes to Satyarthi, as Sandip Roy, First Post senior editor and our own columnist, so acerbically put it, “most of India went ‘Kailash who?’ before they were proud of him.” If you do a quick search for both names on Google, this is what you’ll find (as of Oct 22): 18,400,000 results for Malala Yousafzai and 8,510,000 for Satyarthi. And of the 28 pages of “relevant” results about Satyarthi, most articles have been written in the recent past, post award. These results and reactions are telling and not because we didn’t know Satyarthi before and we’re obsessively following him now. The Nobel Peace Award is one of the most controversial awards and too often the leitmotif seems to be currency, clout and connections. The list encompasses do-gooders, activists, politicians and campaigners already famous for their humanitarian and political stances. In the past, the prize has been given to
heads of state like Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Anwar El Sadat and Barack Obama; to statesmen like Cordell Hull and Henry Kissinger; and well-known, well-deserving non-violent activists like Tenzin Gyatso, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Martin Luther King Jr, yet eliding Gandhi. So who is Kailash Satyarthi? Here’s the little we know. At the age of 26, he gave up his teaching career and started Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Mission) to fight against child labour. For 34 years he has waged a crusade for children’s rights. Thirty-four years! It is people like Kailash Satyarthi, however, those silent strivers who are empowered by their own passion and persist in the face of staggering odds that too often remain a forgotten footnote in the human struggle for justice and fairness. Yes, Satyarthi shares the prize with Yousafzai, the youngest ever awardee, and that too is transformational: two courageous advocates from neighboring wrangling countries, a woman and a man, both with an overriding need to safeguard children, the future of our world. This time I believe that the Nobel committe got it right. Jaya Padmanabhan
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PERSPECTIVES
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1 | EDITORIAL Little Known Laureate By Jaya Padmanabhan
31 | BOOKS Reviews of The Story Hour and Love Potion No. 10 By Jeanne Fredriksen, Tara Menon
6 | A THOUSAND WORDS The Fourth India By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan 17 | POLITICS Corruption is Still India’s Biggest Problem By Shashi Tharoor 21 | BUSINESS Silicon Valley Elitism By Vivek Wadhwa 39 | COMMENTARY The Cent Percent Solution By Gayatri Subramaniam 44 | OPINION The Secret Annex By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty
34 | NOT FOR PROFIT Needlessly Blind By Ritu Marwah
12 | I Will Survive Stories that showcase bravery and grit when disaster strikes By Priya Das
8 | Analysis MOM: Mission Possible!
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36 | Films Reviews of Haider and Bang Bang By Aniruddh Chawda November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 3
voices Who Is a Hindu?
The title of Vamsee Juluri’s article (Who Is a Hindu, September 2014, India Currents) immediately caught my attention. I was further intrigued by “that provocative question: what does it really mean to be a Hindu today?” in the very first paragraph. Are they really such pressing issues? I thought to myself as I read on. The major incentive of the article seemed to me to be a reflection of the rise of the Hindu Right, which culminated in the overwhelming victory of Narendra Modi and the BJP in the recent elections. From the article, it may be inferred that Juluri is alluding to a religious group and its practices and not merely the inhabitants of a geographical area. I am no expert on the subject (being a humble Civil Engineer). So, I quote that according to Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu (more appropriately a follower of Sanatana Dharma) is one who believes in the infallibility of the four Vedas. In the same context, per late Prof. Bimal Matilal (exSpalding Professor at Oxford, a Chair earlier held by Dr. Radhakrishnan), a Hindu is one who is not a follower of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism or Zoarastrianism (neti, neti a la the great Shankaracharya!). This definition, I am told, is similar to that in the Indian Constitution. Now, the provocative question: what does it mean to be a Hindu today? To me, a proud Hindu for all of my life of nearly 70 years, it means no different to me today than at any other time. Admittedly, there is suddenly all round me an increased consciousness (paranoia?) that we Hindus are under attack from all sides. Much of this, I submit, is the result of increased coverage of the media and our increased exposure to it. After all, in this age of explosion of information technology, much exaggeration and hearsays compete with genuine information. I am sure, as a professor of media studies, this is not lost on him. I felt Juluri was somewhat unnecessarily uneasy about our Gods, epics and myths. Swami Vivekananda has said that all major religions consist of rituals, mythology and philosophy. So, “myth” does not need to be a condescending term when alluding to Rama or Krishna. We may perhaps find better understanding and some solace to this issue from the recent works of historians, most prominently Romila Thapar, the doyen of historians. Thapar goes on to show how history is subtly interbedded in our Puranas and epics. There are some statements in the article
4 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
that I am hard pressed to swallow. Unlike Juluri, I tend to agree that the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and later the highly deplorable Gujarat riots are part of a Hindu fundamentalist uprising and that it would destroy India’s secular fabric. Also, I cannot fathom how Emperor Asoka becomes a “non-Hindu” icon. Further, I find Juluri’s anathema to the “supposed liberal-secular vision of Hinduism” including their view of history rather disconcerting. History should not be subjective, though some interpretations may change with new information. Regarding history, Juluri is still fixated on the theory of the Aryan invasion of India, which has been discarded by mainstream historians for nearly 50 years. And there is some question regarding how badly India was hurt by the Islamic invasions. Muslims hardly ever ruled over a major portion of India and all the major Bhakti movements: Kabir, Nanak, Chaitanya, Tukaram, Ramdas occurred during their regimes under their noses. I also disagree with him in that to me, Columbus did discover America at least for the Europeans who overwhelmingly dominate its population and culture. Juluri shows great concern about the potential ill effects of poor textbooks in America regarding Hinduism on our children growing up here. He brings up the 2006 California textbook controversy. I totally fail to perceive any such ill effects on any of the many young men and women that I know, who were brought up in this country, including my two sons, who are presently well settled. To me it is essentially a non-issue raked up by some, who probably do not qualify to speak on the subject. This is not surprising, given that a large majority among us here are, as he says, in “safe” professions like me, thanks to “a major pitfall in the Nehruvian vision.” In conclusion, I would like to strongly suggest that we Hindus should, within the times available to us, and our capacities, try to use our resources to further our knowledge of Hinduism and Indian history instead of giving in to popular media hype. There are excellent authoritative books on Hindu (Vedic) philosophy written by monks of
SPEAK YOUR MIND!
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the Ramakrishna Mission and other venerable organizations and individuals. There are also books on Indian history by eminent established historians like Romila Thapar and R.S. Sharma and others. Disregarding some of them as “Marxist” historians merely on the basis of propagandist literature would be foolhardy. Partha Sircar, Concord, California
V
amsee Juluri’s attempt to review three books to find the answer to the question: Who is a Hindu?” reminds me of the folk story of three blind French men who went to “see” an elephant. One came back to say that it was flat, another said it was round and the last one said it was very stinky. The answers for the question under discussion on Hinduism vary from fundamentalist right, secular and passive, to urban cowboy. I feel more comfortable with the profile of the elephant. Misunderstandings on a profound question of this sort, innocent or mischievously implied, are normal. As President of a temple board, some years ago, one of the public enquiry letters I had to answer was simple. Scribbled on a dinner napkin in pencil, after a name and a long serial number, the letter said: “I am in a prison in N. California. I love Siva and your temple, When I get out, I will visit the temple; What is the difference between Siva and Shiva?” Genuine, no doubt. Ever since the assumption of office by Prime Minister Modi, the western media is relentlessly harping on their old slogans like, contentious, controversial, fundamentalist et al. They refer always to the riots in Gujarat but not the brutal massacre of 62 Hindu pilgrims trapped in a rail car in Godhra by miscreants before the riots. It would be charitable and fair to add the prefix: “following the fire bombing” to any discussion of the riots. Juluri also is remiss on this omission. Back to the question of Who is a Hindu? The conceptual Supreme Being of the Universe from Indian mythology does not discriminate among humans. All receive the same guidance, love and care. The answer to the question therefore is: All of us are Hindus. An oft quoted simple prayer in Sanskrit, “Akashad Pathitham Thoyam ...” explains the philosophy. Just as the water from the sky that falls on earth flows freely and finds its way to the great oceans, so do your prayers to all the Gods get directed to me. Obviously, the question of proselytization does not arise because all humans are on the same side for the Supreme Being. It is not me or you but us. (I acknowledge the benefit of discussions on some of these topics with Garimella SriRama Rao of Cerritos, CA) P. Mahadevan, Fullerton, CA
P
art of the dissonance on “Hinduism” may arise from the differences between Dharmic religions and Abrahamic religions in how they approach spirituality as relationship vs. realization of the Divine. Other than ontological differences we are also stymied by language. The Sanskrit language has a highly nuanced spiritual vocabulary that English is a poor match for. Sanskrit words are often multivalent, with the same word having several meanings. So, much can be lost in translation in the hands/ vision of the inept. Language and world-view are intimately connected. As Indian-Americans we are uniquely positioned to build bridges, expand worldviews—both that of ours and others and yes, vocabularies. Or maybe, we should all just meditate and experience the Truth behind all ontologies and languages! Mala Setty, Long Beach, California
T
he answer to the question Who is a Hindu? is nobody and everybody. All religions anchor on two fundamentals—an imaginary God and an imaginary Soul. No religion can withstand scientific scrutiny or rational judgment. Based on Blind Faith (God, Soul), all religions are same or similar. The palpable differences are created through artificial rituals. It’s time to ban all Blind Faiths (religions) to build a better world for humanity. Mohammed Shoaib, email
Spanking and the Bible
Bad advice is still bad advice, even if it has a Ph.D. after it. Alzak Amlan’s criticism of spanking (Spanking Children, India Currents, September 2014) is typical of any liberal educated in a post-modern culture, and the liberal view of child-rearing over the last 40 years has been disastrous in America. His statement “violence begets violence” is very simplistic and disingenuous. Spanking is not violence. Spanking, in an appropriate manner, is an act of a loving parent who doesn’t want their child to grow up violent, obnoxious and disrespectful to elders. King Solomon wrote in the Holy Bible 3,000 years ago, “He who spares the rod of discipline hates his child, and he who loves his child will be careful to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24). I have seen so many examples of parents trying to control their kids using the liberal approach that Amlani endorses, and the results are embarassing. Loud, outof-control children are an embarassment to their parents who think they can run around all day telling their children “No, no, no, ...” hoping their two-year old will “listen to reason.” The idea that spanking is harmful to a child is total foolishness. Some of the most
pleasant and respectful children I have seen come from parents who spanked them in a loving and Biblical manner. I urge all Indian parents to ignore the degenerate advice of liberal psychologists and continue to spank their children. May I suggest an excellent resource on the subject: Dr. James Dobson’s work, Dare to Discipline, which can be found at Focus on the Family. Ara “Lukas” Piranian, CA
The Imperative to Label
I found myself both in agreement with and shaking my head at the October editorial (Who Am I? India Currents, October 2014). It reminded me of a conversation about politics I participated in with my cousin and brother-in-law, at a time when I was a new immigrant to the States, and George W. Bush was still duking it out with Al Gore. That conversation started with my cousin stating “I would call myself a compassionate conservative,” and me thinking to myself, “That’s so American”—the imperative to label oneself. What sounds epiphanous to Jaya Padmanabhan, that identities are fluid, would be common intuition in most other places. Especially in politics, when labels serve as a starting point for framing ideology or opinion, they can often do more harm than good. Hyphenated or not, they tend to be polar. Once you’ve decided a label fits you, it’s very difficult not to look for reinforcing facts or opinions. It prioritizes ideology over merit in elections. I hold this predilection at least partly to blame for the polarized state of political discourse in this nation. For all the rap that India might get for widespread corruption, caste- and community-based affinities and immaturity in general, there is greater sanctity afforded to individual opinion, and it is more widely accepted that they are malleable and changing. Sumit Kishore, website
Stepping Up
I would like to thank you for publishing my letter about the OCI confusion at the Indian Consulate (Letters, India Currents, June 2014). We were caught during the transition from BLS International to Cox & Kings for OCI issuance. Thanks to India Currents’ prompt response in the matter, the Indian Consulate issued our OCI a month later. It was a frustrating time for our family, as we were making travel plans, which would not have happened if not for India Currents’ email to the Indian Consulate, which helped us procure the OCI cards for our entire family in the span of one month. Kudos to you and your staff for listening to your readers and stepping up to help. David/Maruska Desouza (OCI card holders and ardent readers of India Currents)
India Currents is now available on the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/IndiaCurrents/dp/B005LRAXNG Follow us at twitter.com/indiacurrents on facebook.com/IndiaCurrents Most Popular Articles Online October 2014 1) How I Met My Husband Vibha Akkaraju 2) Mixed, Chopped and Stirred Radhika Dinesh 3) Shanghai Bund Kalpana Mohan 4) 2014 Wedding Supplement 5) My Experiment with Truth Swapnajit Mitra 6) Debating the Indian-British Past Shashi Tharoor 7) Butter Chicken, My Dad’s Way Monica Bhide 8) Who Am I? Jaya Padmanabhan 9) 57th and Maryland Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan 10) An Uncommon Ordinariness: Their Story, Our Story, My Story Rajesh C. Oza
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a thousand words
The Fourth India By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
I
n A Matter of Rats: A Short Biography of Patna, Amitava Kumar distinguishes between three versions of the Indian city he once called home: the Patna of those who left (who now live “elsewhere” and treat Patna like an unwanted “leftover”), the Patna of those who stayed (who belong “nowhere else” and who alone understand daily life in the city), and the Patna of those for whom it is “a matter of life and death,” i.e., those for whom Patna either represents an activist calling or a state of abjection. Kumar also describes a fourth Patna, though he does not name it explicitly, and that is the Patna that emerges in writing—if you go looking for it. As a resident of the first Patna (which is to say, a non-resident), Kumar’s engagement with his hometown has over the years taken the form of obsessively tracking every mention of the city in literature and journalism, however obscure. He notes that the Marabar Hills in E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India are modeled on the Barabar caves, just a few hours from Patna. “Patna occurs once in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things,” Kumar writes, offering a page number as evidence. There is “a fellow from Meerut” in Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August, he laments, but “no Patna.” These tidbits of information give Kumar, an accomplished nonfiction writer, novelist, and professor at Vassar, a sense of affirmation and validation. He is at once excited that other writers have taken note of the city he once called home, and inspired to take on the challenge of representing Patna himself. Is this a self-abasing exercise, or a charming one? Certainly, it is one I was inducted into myself at a young age and which I suspect many of India Currents’ readers have participated in as well. Substitute “India” for “Patna” and this is the conventional account of what it means to be ethnic in America: to go looking for mentions of “yourself,” of India and of other Indians in newspaper articles and television shows; to delight in sightings of familiar names and places, the appearance of a brown face; to search out the subcontinent in the Booker longlist; to obsessively track mentions of “Desis in the News” in online archives like SAJAforum; to take pride in the Spelling Bee winners whose last names have as many letters as yours, and even more pride in norm-defying athletes like Brandon Chillar, now of “Beyond Bollywood” fame. I have been so deeply habituated into the game of “where’s the Indian Waldo” that I remember even now, two decades later, some of the names my mother pointed out to me when I was in grade school, and she would clip interesting blurbs from the newspaper to present to me over breakfast. Nina Shen Rastogi was a high school student who was chosen to write entertainment reviews for the San Jose Mercury News’ “Eye” magazine. Vineeta Vijayaraghavan was a Harvard business school student who published a semi-autobiographical novel about an Indian American teenager’s summer in her titular “Motherland;” her protagonist (much to my annoyance, I recall) was right around my age. Rumor had it that this Vineeta had turned down a competitive merit scholarship to Duke. Aruna Venkatesan and her older sister both scored 1,600 on the SAT; I think they lived in Pleasanton; the news brief came in India West. I remember those names and in some cases even faces, because I identified with them in an artless, aspirational way. Here was someone “like me” who had published a book; here was someone like me, who 6 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
... this is the conventional account of what it means to be ethnic in America: to go looking for mentions of “yourself,” of India and of other Indians in newspaper articles and television shows; to delight in sightings of familiar names and places, the appearance of a brown face; was going to be a doctor; here was someone like me who had been recognized by the mainstream media. I remember reading about each young woman with interest. I imagined myself in her place, just as Kumar has been transfixed by the idea of his humble Patna “as a subject for literary writing.” They were Indian, and so was I, and so I paid attention. Probably I fashioned myself in the image of this composite exceptional Indian woman: Nina Vineeta Aruna (and there were others, of course). Years later, it’s easy to criticize what academics would term the affective structure of ethnic identification, the coercive mimeticism that non-white subjects in the United States inevitably participate in, the ways in which we come to resemble prescribed versions of ourselves, all the while thinking that we have volitionally given shape to chosen lives. It’s impossible to ignore also that the identification of Indian names and faces tends to focus on exceptional and model ones, which are often meretricious and foreclose other ways of living and being in the world. Yes. These things we know. What I’m interested in is what Kumar creates in A Matter of Rats by summoning up those citations, his fleeting sightings of Patna, and that is an intertextual Patna: a Patna that exists literally and figurally between the lines of Kumar’s text, because of the other texts it brings to bear on its formation. It is a Patna that exists between Forster’s Bankipore and Gogol’s fear of Bihari bandits in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, between Shiva Naipaul’s contemptuous account of Patna as “a town without the faintest traces of charm” and Kumar’s intimate biographical account: “when I step on Patna’s soil, I only want to see how much older my parents look.” There is an intertextual India, too, not an apocryphal one, but one that comes into being in time and space (here, now) with concrete reference to other times and places (San Jose, California, 1995). Today, because we don’t always read print copies of our weekly Indian newspaper, or even go to the community library to borrow the young woman’s book, the intertextual India is also an inter-medial one. It exists not only between texts, but also between website and memory. The fourth India emerges out of the alchemy of names heard and Googled, books read and recalled. And it is manifest in fragments, something like this one. n Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a doctoral candidate in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley.
November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 7
analysis
Mission Possible! Did the art of jugaad make India’s low-cost Mars Orbiter Mission possible? By Karine Schomer
O
Facebook: Indian Space Research Organization
n September 24, ten months after its flawless launch on November 5, 2013, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) successfully entered orbit around Mars, three days after NASA’s MAVEN. India became the first Asian nation to join the global space elite of the United States, Europe and Russia, and accomplished its Mars mission on the first attempt. Most astonishing of all was the fact that India’s MOM had cost $74 million to NASA’s $671 million for the MAVEN project. What made this possible? What fundamental strength of the Indian way of getting things done and approach to innovation accounts for this technological feat on a shoestring? A few months earlier, I had been invited to brief the NISAR project team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena working on a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to design and launch a satellite with advanced radar imaging to observe the natural processes of the changing earth. The purpose of the briefing was to create awareness of cultural differences in thinking, communication, ways of working and management style that can affect India-U.S. collaborations. At JPL, I met Alok Chatterjee, Mission Interface Manager and main architect of this joint project with India. A veteran of both ISRO and NASA/JPL, he had also helped set up JPL support for ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission. We discussed at length the differences in how projects are planned and carried out in India and the United States, and how to make such project collaborations successful. The parallel development and launching of the India and U.S. Mars orbiters provided us with a high-profile case in point for a fundamental aspect of the Indian mindset that needs to be understood, appreciated and negotiated on a daily basis by all who work
8 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
with Indian partners and counterparts. This approach and way of thinking is superbly captured by the colloquial Hindi term jugaad —India’s art of ingenious improvisation. There are myriad examples of jugaad in action in India at the level of everyday work style as well as fundamental attitude and belief. What each reveals is that, in the Indian environment, flexibility and “playing it by ear” is not only habitual, and often a matter of necessity, but is considered a strength rather than a weakness. Historically, under feudalism, colonialism and—later on—the “bureaucracy raj” of the first 40 years of independent India, the ability to work around the system, to improvise (and to circumvent the rules!) was often required for any kind of success. Of course, jugaad is a two-edged sword. Social commentators and management theorists in India line up on opposite sides of an ongoing and heated national debate about the pros and cons of the jugaad approach. For some, it’s “an Indian commodity ripe for export,” while for others it’s an attitude that can mean choosing expediency over longterm effectiveness. It’s not surprising, then, to see Indian commentary on the Mars Orbiter Mission phrased in terms of the ongoing national debate about jugaad. “No Room for Jugaad on Mars” is the title of a Times of India Op-Ed piece. But for JPL’s Alok Chatterjee, “Jugaad is the Indian approach of getting the maximum out of spending the least amount of resources, including time. And while jugaad
cannot defy the laws of physics in getting a complex space mission like MOM accomplished, it is definitely a time-tested approach that has proved applicable to processes for achieving the mission’s accelerated goals.” India’s “space venture on a shoestring” was thus made possible not only by less expensive engineering talent willing to work around the clock, but also by using ingenious improvisation to cope successfully with resource constraints and exceptionally tight timelines. ISRO built the final model of the orbiter from the start instead of building a series of iterative models, as NASA does. They limited the number of ground tests. They used components and building blocks from earlier and concurrent missions. They also circumvented the lack of a rocket powerful enough to launch the satellite directly out of the earth’s gravitational pull by having the satellite orbit the earth for a month to build up enough speed to break free from the earth’s gravitational pull. In the afterglow of India’s space age triumph on a frugal budget, the strengths of the jugaad philosophy seem vindicated. But had the Mars Orbiter Mission story ended differently, in failure, as have 30 out of the 51 attempts the world has made to reach Mars, the talk in India today would be far different from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hailing of the mission as “a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation.” There would be questioning of whether the national genius for low-cost improvised innovation and ingenious workaround solutions —jugaad—is indeed the key to a successful future. n Karine Schomer, Ph.D., is President of Change Management Consulting and Training (CMCT) and leads The CMCT India Practice. She is a South Asia expert and advisor to project teams that work with India. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Schomer@indiapractice.com
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November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 9
A Moment in Time By P. Mahadevan
A British Broadcasting Corporation Image
O
ver the past decade India’s Space Research Organization (ISRO) has made very steady progress in space activity with the development of rocket engines, launch capability for multi-stage satellites, geosynchronous vehicle launch, polar satellite launch, mission planning and execution and more under the leadership of G. Madhavan Nair (2003-09) and his successor, K. Radhakrishnan as chairmen (2009-)., ISRO has now scored the first interplanetary success with the Mangalyaan in orbit around Mars as of Sept. 24, 14. It is purely coincidental that these two technical leaders hail from the same state of India, Kerala, and graduated from the same College of Engineering at Thiruvananthapuram. The Mars mission has provided a tremendous boost to the organization’s confidence index and to the morale of the Indian nation. It so happened that on Sept. 21, 2014, just three days prior to Mangalyaan going into orbit, A NASA probe MAVEN also arrived in orbit around Mars. This is the tenth NASA probe for Mars. Mangalyaan is India’s first Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Its objectives are limited by its relatively light, 15kg (~33 lbs), payload. After the maneuver into Mars orbit, its assignments include: scan photographically the Martian landscape, study morphology and mineralogy of the surface over the life of the craft, and monitor the atmosphere of Mars, particularly, its methane content. The presence of methane is an indicator of life
10 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
of some sort before. The 15 kg payload will not permit much more than these functions and maintenance of life support functions for the craft. The spacecraft has an estimated life span one year. NASA and ISRO are already working to establish a joint Mars working group. The project was accomplished on a shoe string budget of $74 million over three years. The production of some block buster movies such as Gravity, recently, cost more. ISRO succeeded in reaching Mars orbit in its first try. Others including the United States, Russia, China and Japan failed to score on their first attempts. The system was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center site at Sriharikota on Nov. 5, 2013. The craft’s trajectory to reach its destination prior to insertion into Mars orbit required a few sling shot moves, swinging around the earth several times to gain speed in earth’s gravity field. The insertion of Mangalyaan in the vicinity of Mars is a crucial maneuver with the liquid propellant engine and eight auxiliary mini rockets. To provide a crude analogy to this operation: consider the two freeways, interstate 5 and freeway 91 that approach each other, in the city of Fullerton, California. They merge into each other and run as one for about 150 yards and then separate out again. To transition from one to the other, the motorist has to be alert, slow down, and change lanes towards his destination Thousands of motorist do this right every hour, but some
fail. I avoid it. But this is not catastrophic, an extra mile of detour will put you back on your intended route. Try to scale up the transition time to 24 minutes, add a third dimension to the operating space, the distance to several thousand kilometers and forget the detour possibility. We have then the complications with the spacecraft. For the command and control center in Bangalore, therefore, failure is not an option. In an op-ed piece in the Financial Times Gurcharan Das asserted that the $74m Mars mission benefits India every bit as much as a clean water project. Virulent critics were there in 1962 when President Kennedy challenged the country to land a man on the moon and bring him back safe. The untold benefits to America are well known. India stands to gain in similar proportion from the morale boost, advance in science education, development of satellite industries to support launch operations, launch and planning services and so much more. Generations will get inspired when heroic achievements are accomplished. Now, from the sublime to the remarkable. On September 21st, just three days prior to orbit insertion of Mangalyaan, David Mitchell, the program director for the NASA MAVEN program proclaimed: “Oh, what a night! You get one shot with Mars insertion; MAVEN nailed it!” It was exciting for NASA for the tenth time as well. The team of scientists and engineers at the command center, Bangalore also were excited and ready for that one shot. They did it in perfect copy book fashion. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) snapped the mood of the team, probably a minute after the “nailing.” The snapshot went viral on the internet. It was a moment in time for the history books. Here is a congratulatory cheer to our pioneers. n P. Mahadevan is a retired scientist with a Ph.D. in Atomic Physics from the University of London, England. His professional work includes basic and applied research and program management for the Dept. of Defense. He taught Physics at the Univ. of Kerala, at Thiruvananthapuram. He does very little now, very slowly.
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cover
I Will Survive Coping with disaster By Priya Das
Dear Readers, what you will read here are stories of survival: Of the unexpected bravery when disaster strikes, of the quiet courage during the immediate aftermath, of the grit to recover, and of the ongoing effort to lead a life with an altered perspective. These are just a few stories, but India Currents salutes all the survivors and their support teams among us. Surviving a Plane Crash
I
nexplicable flight-paths, deadly viruses, natural disasters, war zones, and revolutions at a global, community, and individual level seem to dominate the news these days. It is a wonder that life, the greatest show of all, goes on at all. And yet, it is true what they say about the human spirit, that it is indomitable and stands resolute in the face of calamities. Take Balaji Ganesan for example, a quiet man in his mid-thirties. There is no telltale sign that he almost lost his life a few years ago in a plane crash. Ganesan lives in Fremont, California and was the only West Coast passenger on US Airways flight 1549 from New York City to Charlotte. 12 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
Escape From Death
Captain Sully with Ganesan at the first anniversary event
“Brace for impact.” Those are the three worst words I have heard in my life,” says Hudson “miracle,” plane crash survivor Balaji Ganesan. Ganesan lives in Fremont, California and was the only West Coast passenger on US Airways flight 1549 from New York City to Charlotte. Ganesan’s travel plans had changed because of a client meeting—but for that, he might not have been on that plane. “I was late, I got a middle seat and was thinking, “I hate middle seats!” Little did he know at the time, the back of a middle seat would be etched forever in his memory. A few minutes into the flight, Ganesan felt a jolt, there was a burning smell in the air. “People said some-
thing about an engine fire,” he says, “After that, it was eerily quiet, like all passengers were in a collective state of shock.” Then out of the quiet, the pilot announced, “Brace for impact.” “At that moment I looked out. All I could see was houses. I thought we were going to crash into them,” Ganesan recounts, “Then my head was on my knees, and I was staring at the back of 19E. I still remember that seat-cover.” Then the plane descended and Ganesan felt cold water trickling in from the floor and soon it was ankle-deep. Ganesan continues, “Some people were jumping over the seats, some were urging to move in an orderly manner. One of the attendants had blood on her face … I grabbed a seat cushion and made my way to the left front exit.” As we know, Flight 1549 landed on the Hudson river on January 15, 2009. Having made it out of the plane on the exit’s inflatable slide, Ganesan remembers looking up, “I saw the building I had woken up in just that morning, in shock,” says Ganesan. “I was shoeless, my hands were numb, it was not easy to climb up the ladder to get onboard the ferry when it did finally come by.” Once on land, he called his wife, Jyoti, who recalls, “My mind drew a blank: I am talking to my husband, he seems fine, but had been through a plane crash? I cannot forget that he had tried calling me several times that morning. When we’d finally connected, he’d joked, “What if there was an emergency
and I was trying to reach you frantically?” Ganesan and Jyoti were constantly in touch through the next day. Jyoti remembers, “My fear was about what he would go through taking another long flight back home.” “The return journey was the worst of my life, every bit of turbulence was nerveracking. When we landed and I met my daughter who was a year old at the time, that feeling was indescribable—I would actually get to watch my daughter grow now ... !” says Ganesan.
Life After Near Death
Back home, Ganesan refused all calls from the media (being the only survivor from the West Coast, he was sought after), the TV was never turned on, the family kept to themselves. Jyoti remembers, “He basically didn’t want to relive those moments again.” Ganesan did however, frequent a survivor-yahoogroup, saying, “The airline just returned some cleaned up items of baggage that they could salvage and got some paperwork signed, no psychological referrals or support was offered. There was a yahoogroup that we fellow-passengers got together on, where we had a chance to keep up with our lives. Each one of us had a different coping mechanism—A few talked to the media incessantly, two other fellow passengers got engaged, another learnt to fly an airplane. What was very noticeable though,
is the absence of some, who chose to completely stay away from all those who shared those terrifying moments with them.” Days later, he was asked whether he could travel to Chicago for work. “I knew I could not cut out air travel altogether from my life. United had a channel then that let you tune into air-traffic control transmissions—that is all I did on that long flight. The most terrible aspect of the crash was not knowing what was happening, just having to hear “Brace for impact” and then facing death.” Weeks and months later, reunions with other survivors on the Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric shows were handled with forced will rather than willingness. Ganesan also found a new interest—researching plane crashes in the history of air travel. He can now spout related trivia with ease. But “every time a plane goes down, I go through the moments of terror all over again.”
Now
The Ganesans are now a four member family, with the birth of their son in 2010. Ganesan himself decided to became an entrepreneur and successfully sold his company in June this year. Speaking of how the crash impacted him, he says, “The crash taught me to create priorities; when hurdles arise, I can detach easily and just move on.” He has stopped listening to the in-flight air-traffic control channel, but gets on a plane “with my eyes open.” n
Surviving Cancer Being Your Own Doctor
Vijaya Hebbal (Viji), owner of the Viji Beauty Salon in Cupertino, CA, was declared “free” of breast cancer in May 2014, after a five year battle. She had seen the disease up close when it claimed her mother years ago. But knowing that she had a good chance of getting it had still not prepared her for the actuality. “I have always been regular about mammogram checkups, and every time, it was a negative result. Late in 2008 though, I felt continually feverish for a few days and taking even a few steps was exhausting. Then, I felt a lump.” The mammogram came back negative again. “My doctor said that it was all in my head! But here is what I have to say to every woman—You are the first and best doctor for your body,” affirms Viji. “So I insisted on getting a scan … the results came back positive, the same doctor who had said it was in my head announced that I had cancer. What I knew for sure was this was the start
about it and took to eating to manage the stress, slowly gaining weight.”
Serendipitous Chances
Viji at Manasarovar
of a long struggle, but I wasn’t sure whether I would survive it. I was in shock and hid myself from everybody. I did not want to talk
Around the same time, Viji had inquired about renting a station in a Cupertino salon. The owner asked her instead if she’d like to buy out the whole salon. The possibility, and later the certainty, of cancer threw the decision-making under a harsh new light. Viji was not sure what energies she would have to manage a salon and whether there was any point to it. Viji’s older son, Vaibhav, supported the decision along with the rest of the family, remembering, “She needed something to fight for, something beyond family; a goal to return to. Plus, it’s just plain hard to say no to my mom!” During the few first few days as Viji dazedly managed the salon, she stopped to say hello to a customer, who turned out to be an oncologist at Stanford, and who in turn November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 13
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introduced her to the surgeon who would lead her back to a regular life. Viji says, “My salon is my temple, God is inside. I never treat the people who come in as just customers. I try my best to keep my employees happy.”
Coping With Surgery
For 21 hours, the surgeons worked on Viji, ridding her body of the cancerous breasts and reconstructing tissue to make it whole again. For days after that, her husband woke up in the middle of the night, checking to make sure she was breathing. When she cried that death was preferable to the pain, her family rallied around her, saying, “You can die if you can (get out of bed and) take a step first.” The healing was an arduous process; the complete dependency on others—an unholy task, for someone like Viji. Hebbal says of his mother, “We came to the United States when my mom was already in her thirties. At her age and stage of life, she could just manage her home and family. But she retook her cosmetology exams and started looking for salon-stations on rent ... She’s the one who’s always pushed.” For a person like that to be bed-ridden was hard on her and those around her. Viji is unable to articulate her own experience, instead saying volumes with this reaction—“I am lucky that I don’t have a daughter. A generation has
Viji with her family
been spared this pain.” Contrary to Ganesan, Viji’s experience with support groups depressed her further. “Most support groups for breast cancer patients are frequented by older people, who are in heart-wrenching life situations. I felt bad, but needed help myself.” She recommends instead, to rely on the medical team for medical advice, friends and family for emotional support, and a personal routine outside of the home for keeping the spirits rejuvenated. “Always get the patient to focus on the promise of the future, give them something to look forward to.”
Now
People from all over call Viji for advice. She asks to meet with the newly diagnosed, “I cannot provide meaningful help if I do not see for myself what the woman is made of, how tough she is, how involved the family is,” she explains. Early this year, Viji completed a Himalayan task: A trek to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. For the five years it took her to beat the cancer, she prayed to Lord Shiva everyday, that He must give her one opportunity to visit his abode—and he did! n
Surviving a Lifestyle Change Emergency In A Foreign Country
Farhan (not his real name) was 35, his career on fast-track at a multinational in the nutrition industry, living the life as a single NRI in the US, based in Parsippany, New Jersey. January 23, 2008 started as an exciting work day for Farhan—he was visiting company offices in Switzerland. Trouble started after lunch, “I felt weird, breathless, but it passed in five seconds.” Later that night, his breathing started to get inconsistent, arms got tingly. “My thoughts overlappe and I felt confused. I drank water a few times, tried to watch TV. Finally, around 3 a.m. I called two of my colleagues who were staying at the same hotel and asked them to come to my room. Then, the right side of my mouth starting involuntarily moving side ways. That’s when I realized I was having a seizure.” It was in the middle of the night in a foreign country; help was not a convenient 911call away. The hotel-lobby was not staffed around the clock. Fortunately John, one of the co-workers, bumped into two policemen who called for an ambulance.
“I remember getting into the ambulance, that’s all,” Farhan had his first seizure then and a second one when he got to the hospital. John remembers “I thought he had bitten his tongue out, there was too much blood.” It’s anybody’s guess what would have happened if Farhan hadn’t had the presence of mind to alert his co-workers and if the police hadn’t been near by.
Provoked Seizures
The diagnosis was “provoked seizure”—a combination of lack of sleep, stress, alcohol, and de-hydration. Looking back, Farhan says, “For the next 12 weeks, life was miserable. I was anxious all the time and got frequent panic attacks. I didn’t have any family in the United States, the only friends I had were out-of-state ... so I made the decision to accept the doctor’s recommendation and start anti-anxiety medication. That was a new reality for me. Before that, I studiously avoided medication, preferring to endure colds and headaches. That I had a condition that I could not mitigate by will power alone was a humbling experience.” Farhan learnt that the only way he could
keep his panic attacks in check was to have a completely predictable schedule: No latenights, no taking on ad-hoc responsibilities at work. Dating was on hold, “I did not think it was fair to involve another person in my struggles, though having a steady relationship would have helped enormously,” admits Farhan. “You don’t expect to give up free-will in your thirties. My personality and body aged from the inside, I stopped taking chances and stayed away from every new thing, that was the only way I knew to cope.”
Now
Farhan accepts assignments carefully. Evenings out are pre-compensated by naps and hydration in the afternoon. Late-nights are made up for by taking the next day off. Wherever he goes, he makes sure he knows how to call emergency services. Dating is still doubtful, Farhan recalls, “Somebody commented on how boring my lifestyle was. And I don’t blame them, it does look that way from the outside. I’m just thankful that I can live my life rather than being victimized by it!” n November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 15
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Oh! To Lead An Uneventful Life
Perhaps the worst pain that one can ever feel is when your child is in pain. For Sajeeta Das, this has become a part of everyday life. Her daughter, Sachi, was three and a half when she was diagnosed with NF2, a genetic condition that causes tumors in the brain/spine. “In 2007, when Sachi was three, she had continuing loss of appetite, frequent vomiting, extreme fatigue, and she was complaining of headaches,” remembers Das. “When we got the diagnosis finally, my husband and I felt pretty numb. In a way, we were relieved to know why she was sick … we felt pretty desperate to just get her treated and get her better.” Right after the diagnosis, Sachi needed to undergo two surgeries to remove the tumor. This was followed by radiation for a few months. However, since the condition has a genetic cause, the tumors continue to appear. Das says, “We have to constantly monitor the tumors she has, to make sure they are not growing to a point where they need intervention. She had another surgery in 2012 and a round of radiation sessions as well, since.” The family has to be on perpetual vigil, getting her vision and hearing evaluated every few months, along with MRI scans done every six months. The impact is big for such a little body, she needs to go on IV and stay without food and water for about five hours for every MRI. Having dealt with this for the last seven years, Das is frank in admitting, “There is nothing more heart-breaking than to have a child be critically sick. But no matter how hard it gets, it is very important for us to hold it together because children often react to situations based on how their parents are reacting … We would love to lead a normal, uneventful life.”
Now
The family has a new member, Shrey, a little boy. Sachi is in the third grade now, plays board games and the piano, and is part of the school band. She is determined to learn to play the drums better; history is her least favorite subject. These are the hallmarks of a regular ten-year-old’s life, except that “Sachi hates getting poked for the IV every few months, she gets anxious about them. And she does get frustrated and wonders when the hospital visits will stop.” Like Viji, Datta has not relied on support groups either. Instead, she believes, “It is very important to make a strong bond with the doctors and child life specialists. If your child is chronically ill ... find a good doctor,
Sachi Datta
take second opinions but stick to the one if possible. Because a lot of time having that history is very important when deciding on a course of action in an emergency situation.” She advocates not hesitating to ask for help, saying, “Having people around you when you are going through a tough time, rather than bottling all the feeling inside helps. People around you, will not have time to notice what you are going through unless you talk about it.” On the whole, Das is thankful that Sachi is happy and is leading a normal life. She urges families in similar situations to “have faith and hope. No matter how hard it gets, always look at the positive side of it.” Recently, Sachi had to undergo two more rounds of surgery. Candidly, Das told me: “I have promised Sachi that I will die very old ... so I will be around for a long time to pester her, annoy her, poke my nose into her life and be there for her when she is going through tough times even if she does not want me there.” Whatever the driving force: Datta family’s stoicism, Farhan’s self-discipline, Viji’s can-do attitude, or Ganesan’s self-sufficiency, the human spirit endures. For our part, let us look a second time at people we are acquainted with and offer a helping hand if they are not. As Datta says “A pat, a hug and even a completely random person saying—‘It will all be ok’ helps a LOT!” Das herself has had to do it, saying, “I try to live in the present moment and not look back on the past or worry too much about the future.” n Priya Das writes about extraordinary nuances of everyday life, reporting on stories of personal courage and uncommon experiences.
politics
Corruption is Still India’s Biggest Problem By Shashi Tharoor
O
ne of the questions people keep asking me since my entry into politics is what we can do about corruption. What would I do, one citizen recently asked me in an on-line chat, if I became the “concerned authority” to deal with corruption? In fact corruption is a national malaise and a social ill, not just one that a “concerned authority” can solve. We are all complicit— those who demand bribes and those who give them. As one who has long urged an end to public apathy about politics, I was inspired by seeing the passion of Anna Hazare’s followers against corruption, which I share, and I have no doubt that during his mass movement, he touched a chord amongst millions of Indians. But we must remember that his supporters are not the only Indians who are disgusted by corruption. When many of his followers constituted the Aam Aadmi Party against his wishes, they could never quite come to terms with the fact that there are patriotic and principled Indians amongst their critics too, and that we must reach out to each other in good faith. Anna Hazare’s movement persuaded Indians in general, and the political class eventually, that a strong Jan Lokpal (Citizen’s Ombudsman) is a key part of the answer. Parliament finally legislated the creation of a strong anti-corruption ombudsman, with genuine autonomy and authority and substantial powers of action. It is too early to judge how well it will work, or indeed whether the unintended consequence many feared—of creating a large, omnipotent and unaccountable supra-institution that could not be challenged, reformed or removed— has been belied. If the current governmental bodies tasked with investigation, vigilance, and audit are deemed to be insufficiently impervious to corruption, it is worth asking what guarantee there is that the new institution of Lokpal will not be infected by the same virus—and if so, what could be done about it, since it would literally be a law unto itself. A number of related steps need to be taken to tackle corruption at its source. Campaign finance reform, simplification of laws and regulations, administrative transparency, and the reduction of discretionary powers enjoyed by officials and ministers, are all of the highest priority too. The Right to
Information Act (RTI) was in fact the first step in this direction. A credible Lokpal will be another. But one of the things that was highlighted by the Anna Hazare phenomenon is the extent to which corruption is a middleclass preoccupation, when in fact the biggest victims of corruption in our country are in fact the poor. For the affluent, corruption is at worst a nuisance; for the salaried middleclass, it can be an indignity and a burden; but for the poor, it is often a tragedy. The saddest corruption stories I have heard are those where corruption literally transforms lives for the worse. There are stories about the pregnant woman turned away from a government hospital because she couldn’t bribe her way to a bed; the laborer denied an allotment of land that was his due because someone else bribed the patwari to change the land records; the pensioner denied the rightful fruits of decades of toil because he couldn’t or wouldn’t bribe the petty clerk to process his paperwork; the wretchedly poor unable to procure the BPL [“Below Poverty Line”] cards that certify their entitlement to various government schemes and subsidies because they couldn’t afford to bribe the issuing officer; the poor widow cheated of an insurance settlement because she couldn’t grease the right palms ... the examples are endless. Each of these represents not just an injustice, but a crime, and yet the officials responsible get away with their exactions all the time. And all their victims are people living at or near a poverty line that’s been drawn just this side of the funeral pyre. One of the reasons that I was an early supporter of economic liberalization in India was that I hoped it would reduce corruption by denying officialdom the opportunity to profit from the power to permit. That has happened to some degree, especially at the big-business level. I am, similarly, a strong supporter of computerizing government records and applying e-governance to transactions that currently require paperwork, queues, and bribes to expedite their processing. But I underestimated the creativity of petty corruption in India that leeches blood from the veins of the poorest and most downtrodden in our society. The problem of corruption runs far broader and deeper than the headlines sug-
gest. Corruption isn’t only high-level governmental malfeasance as typified by the 2G and CWG scandals. Overcoming it requires nothing short of a change in our society’s mindset. Everyone claims to be against corruption; the debate is on the means to be used to tackle it. For it would be dangerous to reduce the entire issue to a simplistic solution which won’t end corruption by itself. Inspectors and prosecutors can only catch some criminals; we need to change the system so that fewer crimes are committed, and that means changing attitudes too. For ultimately, corruption flourishes because society enables it. Every time we agree to pay part of the cost of a flat in “black,” negotiate a discount from a store in exchange for not insisting on a bill, or offer “speed money” to jump a queue, we are complicit in corruption. Every businessman who rationalizes an illicit payment as a “facilitation fee,” or airily dismisses a lavish gift in cash or kind as part of “the price of doing business,” is complicit in corruption. When I expostulate with such friends they tell me, “if we don’t do it, our work won’t get done.” Or even more tellingly, “if we don’t do it, someone else will, and he’ll get the business, we won’t.” Corruption is spawned by the human desire to get ahead of the competition; self-righteousness alone won’t end it. Once, at the end of yet another argument about corruption, a friend challenged my suggestion that the corrupt only survive because the non-corrupt pay them. If we all stopped offering bribes, I argued, people couldn’t demand them, since no one would pay them. That’s impossible, my friend replied; there would always be someone looking to get an advantage for himself by paying someone off. “You can’t change India,” he sighed. But we must. Mahatma Gandhi did. It will take a similar mass movement—abetted by efficient systems of e-governance and firm executive action—to deliver India its second freedom: freedom from corruption. n Shashi Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram and the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, is the author of 14 books, including, most recently, Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century. This article was first published on NDTV. November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 17
Diwali Celebrations By Sirmukh Singh Manku
F
rom the FedFex Field, the home of the Washington Redskins, to Foggy Bottom, the nerve center of the US diplomacy, Diwali was celebrated across the Washington, DC, metropolitan area with pomp and festivities. Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a Diwali event at the Department of State on October 23. The first ever Diwali celebrations at the State was attended by: Indian Ambassador to the United States S. Jaishankar, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal and a number of Indian Americans serving the Obama administration. Speaking on the occasion, Kerry paid tribute to various Indian American religious groups. “As we celebrate Diwali this evening, we also hail the accomplishments of the many hundreds of thousands of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain Americans who live now all across our country in every community,” the secretary said. “And we honor their faith and their traditions and the indispensable contributions they make every single day to our prosperity, to our freedom and to our culture, to this new chapter of American history that they are helping to write.” One of the highlights of the evening was a video greeting by President Barack Obama. Diwali is “a reminder that we must each do our part to achieve that victory, by dedicating ourselves to service to others,” the president said. “If we affirm our commitments to one another and strive to lift each other up, then together, we will continue moving closer to that brighter future we all seek.” Pointing out that he was “proud to host the first Diwali celebration at the White House back in 2009,” Obama said “ Michelle and I will never forget the wonderful time we had celebrating Diwali in Mumbai with food, dancing, and the company of friends.” In his brief remarks, Jaishankar thanked Kerry for hosting the event, saying that he “has raised the bar of the relationship even higher.” The ambassador said, “When I first
18 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
Photo captions: Embassy of India.
A group of artists performing at the Diwali function at the Embassy Residence
Photo captions: Embassy of India.
Rajan Natarajan handing over a proclamation from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to Deputy Chief of Mission Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Maryland House Majority Leader Kumar Barve is in the middle.
Pratham DC Fundraiser
I Photo captions: Embassy of India. Ambassador S. Jaishankar speaks at a Diwali function at the Embassy Residence
served in Washington three decades ago, it would have been hard to imagine a gathering like this—that too hosted by the Secretary of State. That it takes place says much for our relationship today as it does indeed for our societies.” Recalling how her family celebrated Diwali while she was growing up, Desai said, “It is particularly exciting and poignant that today we are here to see the celebration of Diwali become of a part of the tradition at the State Department.” Priest Narayanachar of Sri Siva Vishnu Temple led the invocation and lit the diya, the traditional Diwali lamp. The Hindu American Foundation, the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple and the Hindu American Sewa Communities Foundations helped put together the event. The State Department event was not the only Diwali reception with huge political presence. Ambassador Jaishankar hosted a Diwali reception at Embassy Residence in northwest Washington on October 26. Some 300 dignitaries, including prominent Indian Americans, attended the event. During the occasion, Rajan Natarajan, Deputy Secretary of State of Maryland, read out a special proclamation from Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, which was handed over to Deputy Chief of Mission Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The best-attended Diwali event in town was a Diwali Mela organized by the Association of United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, DC. More than 5,000 people gathered for that event at the FedEx Field in Landover, MD, for the event, on October 12. Seventeen temples were part of the Mela—which was first started 20 years ago.n
ndian American CEO of MasterCard, Ajay Banga, headlined Pratham DC’s 2014 annual fundraiser held at the Gannett headquarters on October 4. More than 200 people attended the gala, which raised over $210,000 for Pratham DC. Banga, who is also the chairman of the US-India Business Council, referred to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said India is undergoing a transformation under the new premier. Banga had shared the stage with Modi on September 30 at the reception USIBC gave in honor of the prime minister. Indian American actor Omi Vaidya, Pratham DC President Ramesh Mahalingam and the organization’s National Board of Directors Executive Chairman Dinyar (Dinny) Devitre also spoke on the occasion. The Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, lit the ceremonial lamp. Among the guests was Director General of the U.S. and Foreign
Ajay Banga with Deputy Chief of the Mission, Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Commercial Service and Assistant Secretary for Global Markets at the Department of Commerce Arun M. Kumar. One of the highlights of the evening was a performance by the New York-based Indian American bhangra artist Bikram Singh. Pratham DC’s goal for the year is to fund the education of 8,000 children in India and transform their lives. n
Actor Omi Vaidya
Ajay Banga
November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 19
Indian Delegation Visit
A
large Government of India delegation was in town for the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in the second weekend of October. Finance Secretary Dr. Arvind Mayaram, Reserve Bank of India Gov-
ernor Raghuram Rajan, Deputy Governor Urjit Patel and State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya were part of the high-level Indian delegation that attended the meetings. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
Bhattacharya with Deputy Chief of Mission, Taranjit Singh Sandhu
State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya (sitting, middle) and other high-ranking bank officials at the SBI reception.
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business
Inside Silicon Valley’s Boys Club By Vivek Wadhwa
A
few years ago, if you had asked me about Silicon Valley’s gender imbalance, I would have wondered what planet you were from. I believed it was a perfect meritocracy that was open and diverse. My research had documented that the majority of Silicon Valley’s startups were founded by immigrants and that powerful and inclusive networks gave it a global advantage. That was until I moved to Silicon Valley and started noticing the gender composition of technology companies. I learned that it was a boys club. Even the immigrants left women out of their networks and support systems. I have since researched the problem extensively and crowd-created a book about the challenges that women have faced and how they are surmounting them. For this book, Innovating Women, which was released on Sept. 2, hundreds of women shared their stories and the secrets of their success. Here are some of the most common challenges that the women said they faced:
Preconceived and Unchallenged Cultural Notions of Gender
The women often found themselves to be either the only woman, or one of very few women, sitting at the decision-making table. Many also said they had been mistaken for the “coffee-getter.” “On my very first job as a scientist, I arrived early at work to set up my presentation. Just then, the big-big-big boss arrived and asked me where the coffee was located and, wherever it was, could I get some for him,” said Susan Baxter, executive director of the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology. Sunny Bates, CEO of Red Thread, shared a conversation she had had with a new mother: “When she had a girl, everyone was, ‘Oh she’s so pretty, she’s so beautiful,’ and all these dresses came. Then when she had a boy, it was all about the San Francisco Giants and the future president of the United States. No one once said, ‘Oh he’s beautiful.’ ”
Negative Stereotypes and Discouragement
Emily Fowler, co-founder and vice president at HeroX, recalls her high-school experiences: “The stereotypes were your traditional comments like ‘nerd,’ ‘dork’ ‘loser.’ Oh, and
my personal favorite was ‘lesbian.’ Fortunately, I didn’t care and I had a sharp enough mouth at a young age that when people— and by people, I do mean guys—said that to me, I would just retort with, ‘First of all, being a lesbian is not an insult. Secondly, being smart or curious doesn’t make me a lesbian. What did you learn at football camp?’ Girls teased me as well and that was a bit hurtful. Mostly, they were concerned that I would be seen as a lesbian.”
Educational Bias Against Women and Girls
The Bayer Corporation ran a survey in 2010 that found that 40% of women and ethnic-minority chemists and chemical engineers had been discouraged from pursuing their field, most often by college professors. The survey respondents identified three top factors that helped keep women and minorities from majoring in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics): lack of quality educational programs in those fields in poorer school districts (75%); persistent stereotypes that say STEM isn’t for girls or minorities (66%); and financial issues relating to the cost of education (53%). Pam Barry, co-founder and chief operating officer of Customerforce.com, said: “My father suggested I had the aptitude to be a computer programmer. I was told by my career-guidance counselor that I would be lucky if I could get a job as a computer operator, never mind programmer. My mother was furious with her, and my parents set out to help prove her wrong. At age 17 I took two aptitude tests for two different organizations and was offered a position with both as a programmer. Chose one of the offers and dropped my applications for university.”
Lack of Resources and Role Models
Whether in finding female role models or in obtaining funding, women have always been at a disadvantage. Ann Winblad, who has become one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capitalists, recalled how she started her financial and accounting software firm, Open Systems Inc., in 1974, just 13 months out of college, with a $500 loan from her brother. Believing in her ability to write software, she convinced three friends to go on
sabbatical or quit their jobs to join her. She negotiated free access to the computers of a local computer reseller in the evenings, and persuaded a bank to lend her $25,000 and her teammates to accept salaries low enough to allow them to qualify for food stamps. Sian Morson founder of Kollective Mobile, said of the lack of role models: “Black women at the agencies I worked at were in [human resources] or some other administrative or supporting roles … No one took me under their wing and showed me the ropes, and if they did they looked more like James than like me. I carved my own path up the ladder of success, buoyed by the beliefs instilled in me by my family and by having a strong sense of self.”
The Age-old Question, “Can Women Have It All?”
Balancing work and home life was one of the liveliest conversations on our discussion boards. Consultant Anne Hartley summarized the challenge by saying: “Until we get completely comfortable with ‘dads’ in roles that have been traditional ‘mom’ roles as the norm, young women who get all the right education and then retreat will continue to feed the gap we are trying to address. When society and cultural norms evolve to where women do not feel that they must ‘choose’ their place in the family over fully applying their education and themselves for the benefit of humanity or that they are ‘bad mothers’ to manage their career at the same level of importance as their family.” Women are now achieving extraordinary successes. And this is causing the face of Silicon Valley to change. November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 21
Changing Silicon Valley’s Frat Boy Culture
W
hen I started writing about the gender disparity I saw in Silicon Valley, I took intense fire from the boys club. I received a barrage of hate mail and personal attacks on me over Twitter. They could get away with this because such frat-boy behavior was considered acceptable in Silicon Valley. But things are changing for the better. There is outrage at the sexism that is coming to light in Silicon Valley; solutions are being discussed and implemented; women are beginning to help each other; and the venturecapital system is looking at itself critically and mending its ways. This was a view upon which most of the hundreds of women who helped crowdcreate my upcoming book Innovating Women agreed. Each had followed a different path to success, because there was no single problem or solution. There were some common themes, however.
Support System
Many women said that they had a great network of family and friends who believed in them that proved essential in dealing with problems such as funding and hectic work-hours. Phaedra Pardue, cloud and content consultant for Sohonet Media Network, said: “My close network includes my colleagues and my mother-in-law Madalene Simons, who was one of the first female stockbrokers. While she always looks picture perfect in her lovely suits and petite frame, she packed a powerful presence that was undeniably a game-changer in her industry. In fact, I knew her long before I ever met my husband, as we both belonged to Portlandia, a women’s networking group for female business executives in Portland, Oregon. If I could give any advice to those starting their career, find a group of like-minded people to connect with. It has made all the difference for me.”
Mentors
Megan Groves, a digital-marketing consultant, said: “I’ve had a long list of mentors over the years myself, in academia, business, and for general life guidance, and most have been men. Several live in different cities, but we’ve kept in touch with regular Skype calls and in-person meetings when we find ourselves in the same area. I’ve seen that many men have a genuine interest in helping bring out the best in the women around them, even when other women may or may not share that desire. I think it’s important to seek out women to trust and learn from, but I also believe in accepting support where
22 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
we can find it.”
Educational Tracking
Xerox Chief Technology Officer Sophie Vandebroek shared her shock at finding out that only one girl at her daughter’s school was put in the advanced math program, and that her daughter and her daughter’s friends were put in the regular level despite their achievements. “I called the other moms and we complained and then they put the girls back in advanced math. So even schools unconsciously put the girls into less scientific fields, and once you do that in the middle school, you lose them. So you have to really be on top of them. It was the same girls that got into advance math in the middle school that then ended up all getting into science, three of them engineers and the fourth one is now in medical school.”
Giving Back to the Community
Kay Koplovitz founded USA Network and turned it into a leading cable network. After exiting from it, she went on to found Springboard Enterprises, which has helped more than 550 women-led companies get off the ground. These companies have raised more than $5.5 billion and created more than 10,000 jobs since their inception. Lynn Tilton, who now owns a holding company that manages 75 companies with a total of more than $8 billion in annual revenue, faced grueling obstacles on her road to success. Yet she now obsesses over helping others. She wrote: “My dream is to end the plague of joblessness. But my new hope is to inspire women to unearth their collective strength, deeply rooted in female creativity and compassion, so that we might find a way to unite on our journeys. We can be smart, sexy, and sophisticated and still rule the world. Perhaps this evolution must start with young girls before they grow jaded.” “I have reintroduced an old cosmetic brand—Jane Cosmetics—for younger women, where for every one cosmetic item that is purchased, the company gives one to a shelter for battered women in your community—‘buy one, give one to a neighbor in need.’ It is my confidence that through this company we can help teach a younger generation of women that compassion is contagious and that kindness can be the new cool. I have dedicated my efforts and my companies’ sponsorship to support Dean Kamen in his FIRST robotics competition in order to attract a larger populace of girls by making certain they never feel the need to choose between brains and beauty. I am in the process of posting the X Prize that I have designed and funded, that which will offer an extra $5 million to any winning X Prize team
that boasts a female CEO and women in half its leadership roles in women. Perhaps the size of the prize will inspire the drafting of brilliant women to the technology teams advancing solutions to the world’s largest problems.”
Conviction and Defiance
The discussions made clear that women entrepreneurs all understood that sacrifice and risks were involved but remained determined to achieve their goals. They knew they would have to think smarter and work harder and deal with sexism. Heidi Roizen described how, when she was an entrepreneur, a PC manufacturer’s senior vice president, who had been instrumental in crafting a large deal she was about to close, asked her to accept a gift—in his unzipped pants. She let the deal fall apart. Another time, while she was pitching a Boston-based VC, “one of his partners engaged in a pantomime in the corridor, making a circle with the fingers of one hand while poking his other fingers through the circle, then thrusting his hips in a sexual fashion,” wrote Roizen. She says she found it rather hard to concentrate on her pitch and did not get a term sheet from that firm. And once, while pregnant, she was asked by a male Silicon Valley investor how she’d be able to perform after her baby was born. According to Roizen, he said: “My partners are concerned that when you have this baby, you are going to lose interest in the company and not be a good CEO. How can you assure us that won’t happen?” Yet Roizen persevered. She obtained financing from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and became a partner herself at that firm. Because of the success of women such as these, there are strong role models.Because women are now outnumbering men in higher education, advancing technologies are making it possible to start worldchanging companies without the need for venture capital, so the playing field is becoming level. And because of the maternal instincts and resulting empathy that many women have, they are best positioned to solve the biggest problems of humanity. This is why I believe it is so important to support and encourage women to join the innovation economy. 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 Wall Street Journal.
The blush of romance, the glow of love, a kaleidoscope of color, sumptuous banquets, and a bouquet of good wishes—that’s what weddings are about!
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Indian Wedding Planning Guide 12 Months Before Imagine. Work with your partner to visualize a theme and color palette for your wedding. Guests. Start collecting your guest list, their contact information and mailing addresses for invitations. Budget. Discuss your budget. Wedding Date. Choose a wedding date. Figure out your additional ceremonies, such as sangeet, garba, henna and recep tion. Wedding Planners. Begin researching wedding planners.
11 Months Before Planners. Find a wedding planner with an expertise across many sites and ven dors. Venues. Finalize your wedding venue. Start thinking about the logistics for decoration, transportation and setup. Check fire codes and alcohol policies. Research. After choosing your wedding planner, look for vendors who reflect your style and mood. Guest List. Start a spreadsheet with fields for names, addresses and events they will be attending, with tracking for RSVPs and thank-you notes.
10 Months Before Website. Create a wedding website. Up date it frequently because the informa tion will be important to your out-oftown guests as they finalize travel plans. Photographers. Check your photogra pher’s portforlio and make sure that your photographer is familiar with your particular ceremony and the specific shots you want. Videographers. Begin researching videographers. Ask your photographer for recommendations. Wedding Party. Begin thinking about your wedding party, bridesmaids and groomsmen. 28 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
Engagement. Go ahead and throw that engagement party.
tion for you and your guests. 6 Months Before
9 Months Before Videographer. Get your engagement video done, telling the story of how you met to play at your wedding. Baraat. Look into animal options (hors es, elephants) for your baraat. You will also need the appropriate permits from your city and venue. Cocktails. Have you thought about creat ing a signature cocktail that signifies a blend of you and your partner’s person alities? Hotels. Research hotel options for you and your guests. This is particularly im portant for a destination wedding or if your guests will be coming in from out of town.
8 Months Before Photographer. Hire the photographer and finalize the contract and dates. Entertainment. Book your entertain ment acts, particularly the dhol player or band for the baraat. Caterers. Check out caterers. Arrange for tastings and review possible menus. Hotel. Reserve hotel rooms. Provide price options for your out-of-town guests. Registry. Begin your bridal registry, fous ing on at least 3 retailers. Also provide a charitable option for your guests if they choose.
Honeymoon. Begin looking at honey moon options. Beach? Scuba diving? Hiking? Food? Timetable. Prepare tentative timetables for each of your events: sangeet, garba, henna, haldi, reception and wedding. Officiant. Meet with your officiant, Imam, Pandit, Pastor or Priest. Ask if any special ceremonial items are needed. Invitations. Work with your invitations expert to finalize the invitations and mail out. Cake. This is the yummy part. Go to cake tastings with themes in mind. Henna. Finalize your timetable with your henna artist.
5 Months Before Bridal Shower. Share your potential guest list with the person organizing the shower. Hair & Makeup. Interview hair and makeup artists and book an initial con sultation. Music. Work with your DJ on music selections. Lighting. Lighting is becoming increas ingly important in creating mood and theme. In addition, lighting ensures good photos. Name Change. Look into documenta tion needed if you are choosing to change your name. It’s perfectly okay to keep your name.
7 Months Before The Dresses. Begin looking for your out fit options, including stores and bou tiques. Bridesmaids’ Outfits. Ask your brides maids to choose or try on their outfits. Invitations. Send out save-the-date cards. Flowers. Choose your florist. Transportation. Figure out transporta
4 Months Before The Dresses. With fashions for the new season now available, look for your outfits. Jewelry. Now with your outfit chosen, it’s time to choose the jewelry, including fine jewelry and accessories.
Schedule. Send your event schedule to vendors. Giving them a first draft now allows ample time for adjustments and feedback. Honeymoon. Now is the time to finalize your honeymoon plans, including travel and hotel options.
3 Months Before Guest Book. Choose your guest book. This is the book placed at the entrance that all of your guests sign and for your r ecord so that you thank everyone who attended. Toasts. Finalize the order of the toasts. Groom’s Clothing. Finalize clothes for the groom and grooms men to allow custom ordering and sizing. Menu. Finalize and print menu cards. Rings. Purchase your wedding rings to allow time for resizing and engraving.
2 Months Before Guest Packages. Put together care pack ages for your out-of-town guests. Gifts. Work with local artists to create customized take-home gifts for your wed ding party. Henna candles make the perfect thankyou gifts, customized with your initials and wedding motifs. Insurance. Confirm with your vendors and venues that all have the required in surance paperwork completed. Honeymoon Suite. Make reservations for your wedding night.
4 Weeks Before Marriage License. Check expiration dates and ensure that your ceremony happens within the correct timeframe, which varies by state and locality. Florist. Work with your florist to make sure all floral needs are taken care of, in cluding boutonnieres, centerpieces and bouquets. Shoes. Be sure to break in your shoes— you’ll be in them all day on your wed ding day. Hold Mail. If you will be traveling, ask the post office to hold your mail. Guests. Check your database again and confirm all entries are current to ensure an accurate headcount. Samyukta Suresh
2 Weeks Before Vendors. Your vendors need the final headcount, including the caterers for \ food and alcohol. Venues. Work with your venue to coor dinate logistics and arrival of your ven dors. Seating Chart. If catering a sit-down dinner, a seating chart for all guests is essential. Share the final seating chart with the relevant vendors. Transportation. Finalize all transporta tion for your events, including schedules and maps. Thank-You Notes. Go through your reg istry gifts and start on your thank-you notes.
1 Week Before
Vendors. Reconfirm dates, times and planning with all vendors, including ca terers, venues, stylists and transportation. Decide how returns will be handled after the event. Photographer. Meet with your photogra pher and outline specific photos. Music. Review your playlists with your DJ. Invitations. Make sure all of your invita tions have been sent. Continue checking on RSVPs and update your database. Take Time for Yourself. Enjoy your bach elorette/ bachelor party.
Vendors. Address envelopes containing payments for each vendor. Be sure to include tips. Hand these to your wed ding planner for distribution. Rehearsal. Run through the main parts of the ceremony with your officiant and wedding party. Honeymoon Suite. Confirm your wed ding night reservations and pack your overnight bag. Honeymoon. Pack for your honey moon: passports, bathing suits and sun screen. Enjoy your big day! Congratulations on your Happily Ever After!n Contributed by IndianWeddingsMag.com.
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books
Talking Heads by Jeanne E. Fredriksen THE STORY HOUR by Thrity Umrigar. HarperCollins:New York. 2014. 336 pages. $25.99 Harpercollins.com umrigar. com Available as hard cover book, digital book, audio CD, or Audible book download.
T
elling stories is a method by which we preserve our histories, relate to others on a personal level, and learn from each other. It is also how we divulge secrets and heal our emotional injuries. In The Story Hour, Thrity Umrigar brings together two dissimilar women who, through storytelling, forge an unconventional friendship that is tested more than once. Dr. Maggie Bose, an African-American psychologist married to Sudhir, “an Indian immigrant who taught at the university,” is assigned to Lakshmi Patil’s case after the young immigrant’s suicide attempt. In Lakshmi, Maggie sees a woman who has everything going against her: a marriage bereft of love, an abusive, controlling husband who calls her “Stupid,” and a world confined to their apartment, restaurant, and grocery store. Even contact with her family in India is prohibited. Profoundly affected by Lakshmi’s dilemma, Maggie offers pro bono treatment in her home office with the goal of helping Lakshmi gain confidence and a measure of independence. Early in their sessions, Maggie recognizes that the 32-year old woman before her is acutely lonely and more in need of a friend than a therapist. As soon as Lakshmi comes to Maggie’s office, the doctor-patient relationship changes. Lines are crossed. Boundaries crumble. Maggie allows Lakshmi freedoms that are not extended to other patients, and Lakshmi—who doesn’t understand the purpose of the therapy sessions—interprets Maggie’s interest in her as friendship. After all, wasn’t she invited into Maggie’s home? As their friendship progresses, Lakshmi begins to take control of her own life. With Sudhir’s encouragement, she caters parties, cleans houses, learns to drive, and generates her own income, thus helping her marriage.
But Lakshmi has a closely-guarded secret that gnaws at her, and when her secret is shared, Maggie is stunned and appalled. As Lakshmi heals, Maggie begins to lose control of her own life. Her actions put her relationship with Lakshmi and, more importantly, her enviable marriage to Sudhir at risk. She just can’t say no to the lover she vowed never to see again. Umrigar created an emotional roller coaster in this novel filled with joyful highs and mournful lows, misunderstanding and forgiveness. The dynamics between characters yields tension of varying degrees for so many reasons that they had to have been choreographed carefully to facilitate the smooth transition in which the patient heals and the doctor requires healing. However, Umrigar believes otherwise. “I guess I (trusted) my instincts on this,” she said. “It seems to me that there are highs
and lows in every individual’s life and if I depicted them in an authentic manner, the balance would take care of itself.” Lakshmi’s healing begins with Maggie saying to her, “Tell me about your village. Tell me about where you grew up.” To Lakshmi, this becomes personal. Talking about her village, her family, the people, and even the elephant that lived there allows Lakshmi to realize that she is worth more and smarter than she is made to believe. Umrigar herself is a master storyteller, bringing to life characters such as these that experience emotions to which we’re often too afraid to admit. “I suppose most of us believe that talking to another human being, telling your story and secrets to someone else, is a way of healing,” Umrigar said. “The thing that I learned in writing this book is realizing that talk therapy is ultimately the act of storytelling. And it made me realize the power of storytelling. We all have a meta-narrative about our own lives. In some ways, you could look at therapy as a means to change or rewrite that narrative. (Once) we tell ourselves and others a different story about ourselves, change and healing become possible.” Interestingly, there are distinct similarities between The Story Hour and The Space Between Us (India Currents, January 2006). The main characters in both novels are vastly different from each other yet find things in common that eventually bind them. I asked Umrigar how much of an influence The Space Between Us was on The Story Hour. “I was not aware of the parallels between Space and The Story Hour until I began editing the first draft,” she revealed. “It was only then that I saw the similarities between the two books. Lakshmi and Maggie, much like Sera and Bhima, have very little in common. They come from different classes and education backgrounds. In the new book, they are also divided by race and nationality. And yet, instead of focusing on the differences, they realize the things that they have in common and this becomes the basis for a kind of friendship. Much like in Space, it is not a classic friendship between equals. And in this November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 31
book too, that bond that the women share is severely tested and their response to that test determines the course of their lives.” Aside from parallels in characters, the theme of loneliness is prevalent from cover to cover and not unique to The Story Hour. Umrigar, in book after book, opens windows to her characters’ souls, allowing the reader to feel and understand the pain and suffering of being lonely. In Lakshmi’s case, it is the most heartbreaking and most primal: “In Lakshmi’s crying,” Umrigar writes of Lakshmi’s opening up to Maggie, “was the sound you’d make if you were the last person left alive on the entire planet.” To one degree or another, this theme found its way into Umrigar’s six novels as evidenced by Nishta/Zoha in The World We Found (India Currents July 2012) and Tehmina in If Today Be Sweet (India Currents July 2007). “It’s a good observation even if it’s something I’m not terribly aware of while writing,” Umrigar said. “I suppose because of the subject matter that I am usually drawn to, loneliness is an inevitable subtext. I think many of my books are about human beings struggling and looking for love, hoping to shed the confines of their own skin and build community or make some connection with another.” Another theme that often appears in Umrigar’s fiction is the challenges facing immigrants. Umrigar knows first-hand the process of coming to a new country and finding one’s place. In that regard, she hopes her readers will “... gain an insight into how heart wrenchingly difficult the act of immigration truly is.” “I would like them to show some compassion towards immigrants like Lakshmi, who come to this country with poor or little English, little education, little money, very little community support, who live lonely and isolated lives in America. Because there’s so much news about people crossing the border illegally ... people sometimes forget how gigantically difficult it is to voluntarily give up country, family, friends, language, and go to another land. “Nativeborn Americans don’t appreciate the sheer desperation that makes people do this. If the next time they see a newspaper headline about immigration, legal or illegal, if remembering Lakshmi’s struggle makes them feel a little more kindly towards the immigrant, it would make me happy.” n Jeanne E. Fredriksen lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where she freelances in advertising and public relations. Between assignments, she writes fiction, enjoys wine, and heads to the beach as often as she can. 32 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
Love Connection by Tara Menon
LOVE POTION No 10 by Betsy Woodman. Henry Holt and Company, 2013. 320 pages. Hardcover $16.48.
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etsy Woodman, who spent most of her childhood in India, has created a series revolving around a widow of Scottish descent, Jana Bibi. Her debut, Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes, (India Currents, October 2013) set in 1960, introduced the eponymous character. Hamara Nagar is a fictional hill station that Woodman has imbued with history and considerable charm. As a tourist destination it is considered to be second-rate; the government considers it dispensable enough to destroy and construct a dam in its location. In the first book, its denizens conspire to save Hamara Nagar and the newcomer Jana does her part by becoming a fortune-teller. Woodman’s follow-up Love Potion Number 10 is set a year later in 1961. The preoccupations of her sequel are interest and speculation in a suitor for Jana and protect-
ing Mr. Ganguly, her pet bird, from birdnappers. The two themes are slow to build up and are diffused by the parade of characters and incidents that offer plenty of exoticism. At the beginning of the novel, Jana reminisces about her life and how she acquired her parrot. She was orphaned at a young age and deprived of her adopted country, India, when her grandfather took her to live in Scotland. She married a clergyman she barely knew in order to return to India. Her daughters died of smallpox and twelve years later her husband, too, passed away from the same illness. In the second chapter, the protagonist suffers a toothache and travels in Mr. Kilometres’s taxi to a dentist in Dehra Dun. After the effect of Dr. Sahni’s painkillers wears off, Jana goes to Abinath’s Apothecary, where the owner gives her a potion named after a song he claims “works equally well with an aching jaw and an aching heart.” Love Potion Number 10 is a wonderful Woodman invention that was inspired by old advertisements for patent medicines in The Illustrated Weekly of India. After a sleepless night spent perusing Dr. Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, Jana overhears her household chatter about the possibility of her remarrying. Mary, her children’s former ayah, thinks of Kenneth StuartSmith, an American diplomat, as a suitable suitor, but she also considers another missionary as husband for her employer, which leads the protagonist to reminisce about a hilarious but alarming episode involving an unwanted proposal by her husband’s successor. To press his suit, Reverend Fester had said, “I’m not much older than you, and healthy, and my own dear wife has been in her grave for two months. Don’t you believe that it is Divine Providence that has brought us together?” The reader can assess Stuart-Smith as a potential husband through Jana’s eyes when the couple have dinner together at Victoria Hotel. “Jana had always assumed that divor-
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ce would show on a person in a negative way, like the sallowness of a liver condition, but here was Kenneth Stuart-Smith, robustly healthy and happy, divorced, and rather glamorous for it. Otherwise, he was the same Kenneth, his thoughtful blue-gray eyes inspiring confidence.” There isn’t any romance in the air though they have something in common: Indian childhoods and one marriage each behind them. Jana talks about her fears for Mr. Ganguly. She was visited by a man who posed as a reporter, took photos, and got information from her about her household. Later she received a letter claiming the parrot was stolen property and that she was to return the parrot to his rightful owner with adequate compensation. When she learns that Lily, her friend in Bombay, Lily’s husband, and her cousin Max are coming to Hamara Nagar to buy Victoria Hotel, her thoughts turn to Max and the accidental kiss they once shared at a party. “And what should be her first words to him? Condolences on the death of his wife, she supposed, although saying, ‘I’m so sorry’ seemed like rank hypocrisy. ‘I’m so glad’ would hardly do, though.” After Jana and Max meet, it’s clear the magic between them still exists. Though I cannot help liking the heroine, I felt indifferent about Jana’s potential suitors. What I do feel concerned about is whether Miriam, a quaint Anglo-Indian teacher at Fair Oaks boarding school, will marry her pen pal who lives in Australia. Miriam’s love story is sparingly dealt with, which means, perhaps, that it may not be the number of pages devoted, but rather more deft pen strokes that were necessary to instil that curiosity and connection in the reader. When an intruder climbs over the wall into the Jolly Grant House’s property, Mary comes up with a scheme to save Mr. Ganguly. Again, the reader might not get caught up in this plot twist either, though the parrot is another endearing Woodman creation. Woodman’s love for India results in an array of characters we feel empathy for and an exotic place, Hamara Nagar, we are drawn to. She tastefully takes us back to the early sixties in her novels. For diversion from this busy and violent world, dips rather than immersion into Love Potion Number 10 will work well, just as a reader may prefer to read a collection of short stories in fits and starts rather than devour the tales in a single sitting. n
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Tara Menon is a freelance writer based in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her fiction, poetry, and book reviews have been published in many magazines. November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 33
Needlessly Blind
not for profit
Sankara Eye Foundation’s 20/20 vision By Ritu Marwah
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s she groped her way around the floor of a house in Kanpur, India, swishing the wet mop from side to side, missing a spot here and accidently spreading a spill there, Channo had little idea that her impending blindness could be halted in its tracks, stopped from plunging her into total darkness. She was the main breadwinner for her family. While her husband spent his salary in hooch, she cleaned houses to feed, clothe and raise her four young children. Blind, she and her children would quietly slip below the poverty line, forever becoming a statistic in government records. A cataract surgery, at a cost of thirty dollars, could halt the impending doom. Meanwhile at Sankara Eye Foundation’s (SEF) dandia fundraiser at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, Alkesh Chaudhary’s seven-colored lehenga ballooned as she twirled to the beat of Preetysha’s lyrical voice. The tiny mirrors on her skirt reflected the throbbing bodies of six thousand SF Bay Area residents as they clicked their sticks and rhythmically swung their feet. Their festive energy would turn the lights on in a hospital close to where Channo cleans houses. Sankara’s vision 20/20 is to establish twenty hospitals across India by the year 2020, and thereby provide free eye care to a million people every year. Half a million would be surgical procedures and the other half a million would be glass corrections, lasers and medical management. “An anonymous donor has pledged a million dollars,” rang out the voice from the stage. It belonged to Anil Lal, a SF Bay Area entrepreneur and the first “Partner-in-Service” for a Sankara Eye Hospital. By the end of six years Sankara Eye Foundation plans to have eleven new hospitals. Next stop Jodhpur, Indore, Chhattisgarh and Bihar/Orissa. Six thousand dandia dancers rocked in a rhythmic trance, their dazzling Indian dresses shimmering with excitement. “It’s a people movement,” says Seema Handu who rings in the festive season every year with the SEF Dandia. “Unlike other non-profits in the Bay Area that were started by wealthy individuals, this charity was started by volunteers and had no initial godfather,” says Anil. It is an organization started in the living room by three committed volunteers and retains the character of a people’s movement. Over thousand volunteers service the fifty
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SEF Dandia Aarti
A patient waiting for surgery
thousand plus SEF donors with meticulous attention to detail. The grass roots organization is flat where any volunteer can propose, take the lead and run with a project and it is seen as a collective achievement. “Back in 2000, our volunteer Rajiv Chamraj, who had just completed his executive MBA from MIT proposed “Vision 20/20 by 2020,” meaning perfect vision for all by the year 2020. I thought how is it possible for us to achieve this? Swami Vivekananda says every individual is potentially divine and can do anything and everything. Any limitations are only in the mind. Think big. So SEF put it’s weight behind it’s volunteer’s vision,” says Murali Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive of SEF. The entire organization moved as a behemoth behind that vision. Anil Lal requested guests at both his sons’ weddings to give the newlyweds “blessings, not blenders.” They donated to SEF to open a ward in Anil’s children’s names. In the delivery of its vision it became imperative for SEF to manage the use of funds in an efficient manner. Cost of building a hospital, not including the cost of the land, is four to five million dollars. Once the capital expenditure is incurred, it is imperative that the hospital become self-sufficient and run on it’s own steam. By following the eightytwenty rule, within five years a hospital is able to bear all recurring expenditures. For every two paying patients, eight patients are treated free. “By having your surgeries at Sankara Eye Foundation, apart from getting a world
class eye surgery for yourself, you are also indirectly helping needy rural patients for his/her free eye surgeries,” says Dr. Ramani a Rotarian who started Sankara Eye Foundation in India and in 1998 prevailed upon nephews in the SF Bay Area to get involved. Little did Murali Krishnamurthy, his brother K. Sridharan and their neighbor, Ahmad Khushnood Kazi know the juggernaut they were rolling out! Forty five million people in India are visually handicapped, twelve million are totally blind, one fourth of the world’s blind population lives in India, and a majority lives in villages. “SEF needs to grow from our current $3M to $4M per year annual revenue to at least $8M or $9M revenue per year to meet the Vision 20/20. I am very positive we will get there,” says Murali Krishnamurthy. The clock struck eleven in Santa Clara California. Alkesh and Seema along with six thousand dancers raised their voices in unison to sing the aarti. At the very same moment the board of SEF inaugurated their ninth hospital in India. Channo stood in a line outside the new hospital in Kanpur. This Diwali she too would see the colors of the festival in their entire splendor. n Ritu Marwah is a resident of the Bay Area where she has pursued theater, writing, marketing, startup management, raising children, coaching debate and hiking. Ritu graduated from Delhi with a masters in business, joined the Tata Administrative Service and worked in London for ten years before moving to the Bay Area.
November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 35
films
Kashmir Winter Discontent By Aniruddh Chawda
HAIDER. Director: Vishal Bhardwaj. Players: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Shraddha Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Music: Vishal Bhardwaj. Hindi w/ Eng. Sub-titles. Theatrical release (UTV). hardwaj has a preoccupation—some would say obsession—for translating Shakespeare’s tragedies onto a broad Indian canvas and to date, doing so very successfully. First with Maqbool (2003), based on Macbeth, and then with Omkara (2006) based on Othello, Bhardwaj established himself as a premier modern Indian filmmaker who achieved classic story re-telling prowess. With Haider, a re-envisioning of Hamlet, Bhardwaj once again comes up roses by absolutely nailing the alignment between ageold soul searching and modern sensibilities in an Indian milieu. Central to this plot, as it has been for
Meer (Menon) has a hand behind the doctor’s disappearance. Against the backdrop of an Islamist insurgency brewing locally, Haider goes about retracing the truth behind his father’s disappearance. While Pankaj Kumar’s strikingly lush cinematography using starkly beautiful mountain vistas to add layers of shadows outdoors as well as to a key graveyard scene, it is ultimately some amazing characterization that makes it all come together. Shahid Kapoor nicely underplays Haider’s would-be princeling and is able to command focus on his plight as the story’s primary motivator. Tabu’s Ghazala is the embodiment of uncertainty at the choices she has made in life and now must fess up to. As the villainous uncle, Menon’s Khurram Meer is a wily opportunist able to shift allegiance at a moment’s notice. And what about Khan’s strange and shadowy
centuries, is Haider Meer (Kapoor), a college kid who returns to his family home in Kashmir many years after Haider father (Narendra Jha), a doctor, mysteriously disappears while on duty. In addition to Ghazala Meer (Tabu), Haider’s devoted mother, he is also welcomed back by Arshia (Shraddha Kapoor, no relation), the daughter of head of the local constabulary. Haider suspects, and can’t prove yet, that Haider’s uncle Khurram
Roohdaar? Is he a former cellmate of Haider’s father, a principled insurgent turncoat or a criminal benefactor? Strangely, it is his mere shadowy presence that helps solve some key riddles. To Bhardwaj’s credit, his script makes no attempt to water down the oedipal drama at the heart of the story. Haider is, as Hamlet was, a love triangle that has for its vertices Haider, his mother, and the uncle both the
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son and mother either suspect or know had a hand in the disappearance of Haider’s father. From this perspective, Haider’s angst is fueled more by losing a potential lover —his mother—than by a search for avenging a grievance against an uncle. In a cleverly staged scene where Haider confronts his fate, the director cunningly exploits both the revenge and the love-triangle motifs, simultaneously solving everything and yet nothing. The debate between the dramatists and psychoanalysts will rage on, no doubt. Bhardwaj’s score, with a hand from Vishal Dadlani and lyricist Gulzar, is a sensory feast in itself and a knockout musical soundtrack. Gulzar’s lyrics reinforce an unsettled landscape where bloodletting could start anytime. Vishal Dadlani’s “Aao Na” reignites the undying embers of vengeance, while Sukhwinder Sing’s uptempo “Bismil” foreshadows the death of a songbird that strays too far from home. The most bittersweet tune, one that thematically sums up the script, is Bhardwaj’s rendition of “Jhelum,” outwardly a somber quest for the famed river’s coast, is allegorically about dead bodies buried on the shore. The tides in the river turn salty from the tears cried on its banks. Very good stuff! Finally, Bhardwaj also wins points for using the Bard’s framework against richly (and oft sadly) pervasive vignettes from India’s unique national experience. While Maqbool tapped into the Mumbai underworld and Omkara toured rural official corruption, Haider reaches for the Islamist insurgency in Kashmir. Other contemporary Hindi filmmakers have also found success in adapting Shakespearean tragedies. Mansoor Khan’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela (2011) both succeeded at loosely re-spinning Romeo and Juliet. As a thematic discipline, however, they were not able to match Bhardwaj’s powerful story-telling and artistic prowess. Here’s hoping that Bhardwaj will continue to return to the well that for him at least, keeps on giving. n EQ : A
Mojo Rising
BANG BANG. Director: Siddharth Anand. Players: Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Danny Denzongpa, Javed Jaffrey, Jimmy Shergill, Dipti Nawal. Music: Vishal-Shekhar. Hindi w/ Eng. Sub-titles. Theatrical release (Fox Star).
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fter the successful Roshan-Kaif pairing in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, it was only a matter of time before another big budget vehicle roped them together again. Floated on an incredibly huge budget—the actual figure being somewhat persnickety to pinpoint—the roulette wheel stopped at Bang Bang, an international action-adventure Roshan-Kaif joyride that explodes from almost the get-go. Even though the script stretches credibility more than once, this mindless high-seas and high desert romp works because the overall gig is somewhat plausible and the cast appears to be having genuine tongue-in-cheek fun. For Fox Star studio, getting rights to formally remake the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz 2011 thriller Knight and Day was not nearly as difficult as skewing the story in an Indian direction to give it sub-continental flavor. Not to worry—this all turns out so-very-Indian! Rajveer Nanda, a dastardly international jewel thief wanted for siphoning off with none other than the famed Kohinoor diamond from its Tower of London keep, ends up in Shimla (see, Indian flavor already!) where he has an unanticipated encounter with Harleen Sahni (Kaif), the virginal bank teller who is very Indian-shy and yet very not afraid to show off her leggy physique. Before the stolen gem can be recovered, Rajveer and Harleen are on the run from both Interpol and from criminals unleashed by underworld mastermind Omar Zafar (Denzongpa), who wants the Kohinoor at any cost. Playing off one side against the other on a backdrop of the afore-mentioned high speed chases, our winsome twosome find themselves running out of hideaways as the chase takes them from North India to Europe to Australia. Director Anand, whose usual forte is rom-coms (Anjaana Anjaani, Salaam Namaste, Bachna Ae Haseeno), to his credit here manages to keep the romantic aspect of the runaway bank-teller jaunt sufficiently grounded to give the plot a watered down third-dimension. In a nod to ever-improving delivery of visual effects in Hindi movies, the action sequences are highly fluid. There are no
telltale jumper-cables following Roshan as he defies gravity and appears to stroll up the walls of Zafar’s desert oasis lair. A high-seas chase with Roshan taking dolphin-like leaps in and out of water while being chased by Zafar’s henchmen who are on jet skis is a thrilling testimonial to how much, um, bang can delivered for the big-budget visual gimmicks buck. There are also other connections and noteworthy names who help make the story gel. Nawal as Rajveer’s mother, Shergill as Rajveer’s brother and Jafrey as a clumsy underworld overlord add texture to the casting. Vishal-Shekhar’s music score does well with both the title track and the “Maherban Maherban” tracks. Since Hindi film actors still serve as pinup fodder for millions of fans—in oh-thethings-I-do-for-India moves—Roshan goes shirtless while Kaif bares enough mid-riff epidermic acreage to meet demanding prurient quotas set by the masses. As modern update to the traditional wet-sari-in-a-downpour scene, we also witness Kaif-in-miniskirt lounging on a plus-sized swing against an icy cold Himalayan backdrop. Roshan, after his highly acclaimed turn as Emperor Akbar in Jodhaa-Akbar (2008), may not get into a serious role again until Ashutosh Gowariker’s historical epic Mohenjo Daro unspools in 2016. Along the way, Roshan appears to be merrily lining up both box office hits and his pockets. A record-seeting 5000+ theaters global release? Check. State of the art special ef-
fectis? Check. A scantily-clad, nubile Kaif? Check. A scantily-clad, pumped up Roshan? Check. Huge budget? Box office in the top 10 of all time Hindi film box office grosses? Biggest box office of any Hindi movie in North American in 2014? Check, check and check. Drat—curtains! Now, quick—sneak out before someone sees you! n EQ : BGlobe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.
L ATA’S
FLICK PICKS
at-e-Ishq Daaw Fanny Finding y Sharma ki Humpt a ni ha Dul al ak Humsh surat Khoob il Deewaana D Lekar Hum Kom Mary ani Marda Returns Singham undred-Foot The H Journey November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 37
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commentary
The Cent Percent Solution By Gayatri Subramaniam
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few years ago, I took a class with a professor who was known as a tough grader. A lot of people thought he was too exacting, but I actually valued his feedback since he would write neat and elaborate notes next to anything he thought was good or worth improving. I finished his class with a 97% and felt very good about it. That was until my daughter saw my final paper lying around and said, “What happened to the other 3%?” She was 10 at the time, and I laughed and told my professor later, “Who needs Indian parents? I’ve got a child who asks me the devastating questions!” My mother is visiting as I write this, and I think about that other 3% a lot when she is around. You see, when I cook around her, I’m never going to get that 3%. Let me start by saying that I was (and in my heart will forever be) a tomboy. I played sports, never grew my hair long or stuck a single flower in it, and tried my hardest to stay out of the kitchen. When I came to the United States at the age of 20, I could make a cup of tea. Yes, that was my repertoire. Tea. Perhaps served with a biscuit if I could summon up some hospitality. At 20, my mother had been married, had a one-year-old, and could cook well enough to please the in-laws, who believed fondly that “she could almost be from Palghat,” though her family was from Tirunelveli. So you know she must have had the culinary touch, but apparently she failed to pass it on. This week, I pulled out my Madhur Jaffrey book and decided to follow her recipes to the letter. Well, said my mother, the cauliflower was fine, but the dal “needs to be a little softer.” The other day, it was rice where “the grains could have been a little more sticky” if I had only added more water. I hissed sotto voce to my husband, “Why is Gayatri not confident with her cooking? Exhibit A: Amma!” He made some soothing noises about how she had told him years ago that his aviyal was fine, but “it just needed a little more salt.” That 3% again. My mother owns a cookbook or two, but it appears to be beneath her dignity to
A Creative Commons image
actually follow a recipe through from start to finish. I’ve tried to ask for recipes when I’ve particularly enjoyed something, and her response usually sounds like this: “Oh, it’s nothing, Gayatri. I just took some rice, added some vegetables, a bit of that persimmon and mint chutney I made yesterday, and a few spices … and it all came together.” And I’m supposed to replicate this? Where will I find “yesterday’s persimmon chutney?” Children of creative culinary geniuses stay out of the kitchen for a reason. I remember when she tried to get me to roll chapathis. I think I got as far as flattening out the ball of dough, when she said, “Ok, let me do it,” grabbed it back from my hands and whipped out a meal in five minutes flat. At the time, I was glad to flee the kitchen, but I should’ve seen the big picture. It just killed her to see the ineptitude! She decided to send me instead to the Cultural Academy in Santhome, Chennai one summer, to get some … well, culture, I suppose. Cooking was singularly boring, and I’m pretty sure the sewing teacher hated me. I suspect they sent me off with a certificate, because, horrors, I might return if they failed me. I never told my mother that the saving grace that summer was my father’s office being round the corner from the Academy, and I dashed over every day for lunch and a chat with him, instead of hanging out with the other home-making prodigies. Don’t get me wrong. I can make more than tea now. I have amassed a nice collection of cookbooks representing cuisine from every corner of the world. After some complaints
about how I “boiled meat,” I even learned to cook fish and chicken to please my husband’s western palate. But then Amma comes along and I turn into a hopeless and helpless weakling in the kitchen. And finally, there’s South Indian coffee. I’m just not a fan. My taste buds are fine-tuned to a particular tea from the Nilgiris, which this very same mother served me as a youngster. My husband uses the filter and makes the decoction coffee in this house, and serves it to any visiting Indian (or anyone, really) as proudly as if he had fashioned the contraption himself and as if it was his heritage. I consider it a nice balance in our marriage. I bring the spaetzle and he brings the coffee. But my mother, who was otherwise quite liberal with my upbringing, decided this summer that I must get a lesson in being a good hostess, and what kind of hostess would I be, if I, a South Indian woman, could not serve coffee? Maybe my friends are being polite, but I have not seen anyone leave my social gatherings with “Gayatri, that’s it. No coffee, no friendship. Goodbye!” I tried pointing out to my mom that if I had said, “I don’t drink alcohol, so I won’t serve beer,” nary a protest would have been heard. Well, logic is not her strong point, so she continued to say, “But, you’re South Indian!” And then she committed the worst crime—she brought her coffee over to where I sat with my wake-meup cup of tea non-pareil, and tried to give me a lesson in coffee making. I will say no more, but invite you readers to picture the best Diwali fireworks you can! Apparently, when my professor holds on to the precious 3% I say, “I learned a lot from his comments,” but when my mother does the same, I slowly inch towards insanity. By the way, I just graded her. Anyone who sullies my morning tea simply does not get cent percent. 97% perhaps. n Gayatri Subramaniam is a San Jose-based instructional designer and writer. She is an ardent tennis fan who believes that if she had only been taller, stronger, faster, and blessed with more talent, she would’ve been a Grand Slam champion. November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 39
events NOVEMBER
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! DEC/JAN issue deadline: Thursday, November 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and fill out the Web form
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special dates Guru Nanak’s B’day
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CULTURAL CALENDER November
1 Saturday
Guided Meditation and Introduction to Happiness Program. Organized by Art of Liivng. 12:15 p.m. Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn, VA 20147. Free. (703) 723-8181.
Dance Performance by Radha Dutta. 4:30 p.m. Murugan Temple, 6300 Princess Garden Pkwy, Lanham, MD 20706. Free. (301) 581-0323.
Gujarati Samaj—Diwali Mela. Organized by Gujarati Samaj of Metro DC. 6 p.m. Laurel High School, 8000 Cherry Lane, Laurel, MD 20707. $30-$60. (301) 6747880. 40 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
Screening of Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi and a live music performance, Nov. 6
Semi Annual Shaadi Showcase. Food and cake tasting, clothing and jewelry. Organized by Dream Shaadi. 1 p.m. Marriott Westfields Washington Dulles, 14750 Conference Center Drive, Chantilly, VA 20151. Free. (571) 477-1605.
November
2 Sunday
Bihar Brothers Dhrupad Vocal Performance. Vocal Duet by Sanjeev and
Manish, students of the Gundecha Brothers, accompanied by Ramesh Joshi on pakhawaj. Organized by Gandhi Memorial Center. 4:30 p.m. Golden Lotus Temple, 4748 Western Ave., Bethesda, MD 20816. $20. (301) 3206871. info@gandhimemorialcenter.org. www. gandhimemorialcenter.org.
November
6 Thursday
Film Screening and Live Performance. Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi, with Vijay Iyer and the ICE Ensemble performing
live in a two-part program alongside music from Iyer’s ECM leader debut Mutations I-X. Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi is a vivid multimedia collaboration by composerpianist Vijay Iyer and filmmaker Prashant Bhargava, who were inspired by the centennial of the Stravinsky-Nijinsky Le Sacre du Printemps to explore another rite of spring: the Hindu festival of Holi, famous for its revelry of color in celebration of the love between the divine Krishna and mortal-born Radha. Organized by Carolina Performing Arts at The University of North Carolina at Chapel. 8 p.m. The Music Center at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD 20852.
November
7 Friday
Art of Living Happiness Program.
6:30 p.m. Art of Liivng Ashburn Center, 43618 Millay Court, Ashburn, VA 20147. Free. (703) 723-8181. secure.artofliving.org/ course_details.aspx?course_id=17482.
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Sundays Bhajans. 6-7:30 p.m. Mangal Mandir, 17110 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905. (301) 421-0985.
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 various 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.
Salim Sulaiman live in concert, Nov. 21
November
9 Sunday
Sanskrit Class. Emphasis on Sanskriti
SPIRITUALITY & YOGA
Krishna, Love Re-Invented. Led by
artistic director Ramli Ibrahim, the Sutra Dance Theatre of Malaysia performs an Odissi dance that portrays the Hindu god Krishna as the ultimate embodiment of love. Organized by Kalanidhi Dance. 7:30 p.m. The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., NW Washington, DC 20566 . $40. (800) 444-1324. www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=RPXAT.
November
14 Friday
Bollywood Edm Night. Organized by
Kavila Entertainment. 7 p.m. Dirty Martini, 1223 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 246-2285.
November
21 Friday
Salim Sulaiman Live in Concert. Organized by Manish Sood. 8 p.m. GMU Center for the Arts, Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030. $39-$159. www.intensedmv.com. © Copyright 2014 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
Balaji Suprabhatha Seva. Group
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.
(culture). Taught by Moti Lal Sharma. Organized by Rajdhani Mandir. $60. 3-4 p.m. 4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA 20151.
Yoga Classes. Self-guided and instructor
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.
Prarthana, Satsand, Prabachan. Fol-
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.
Check out IC online at www.indiacurrents.com.
November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 41
Flavors of Philly
travel
Food is our common ground; a universal experience—James Beard By Meera Ramanathan
T
he best and most authentic way to experience Philadelphia is to taste the city’s signature philly cheese steak. As your taste buds delight from the flavor overload and your senses revel in this gastronomical marvel, the history and sights become the dessert to the main course. Philadelphia or Philly to locals, called the city of brotherly love, is the second most populous city in the north eastern United States. Founded by William Penn in 1682, this colony was to house people irrespective of their faith. As a Quaker (commonly referred to as the Religious Society of Friends), Penn suffered from religious persecution and was adamant in nurturing Philly as a society that would house residents with spiritual and religious freedom. After William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, was instrumental in developing the city and designing its architecture. Philadelphia’s central location made it a natural choice for America’s revolutionaries and it served as a capital of the United States from 1790 until 1800. Philadelphia also hosted the convening of the Continental Congress as well as the writings of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The Independence National Historic Park, which houses the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, stands testimony to this. Today, Philadelphia is renowned for its prestigious cultural scene and its sporting legends—Phillies, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers. Although Philadelphia provides numerous sights for the regular tourist, the best and most pleasurable way to capture the city’s rhythm is by journeying through the culinary scenes. The city conducts several tours to tantalize and educate us of the city’s culinary sights. The tour guides are extremely accommodating (as Christine was with our toddler) and are experts at weaving together fascinating stories about the city’s landscape and food culture. The tours promise behind the scenes looks at restaurant kitchens, undiscovered food meccas, home brewing experiences, sneak peeks into a Buddhist shrine, scrumptious Vietnamese hoagie tastings, luscious gelato and decadent chocolate truffle tryouts. 42 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
Philadelphia City Hall
Every morsel is peppered with fun facts and the guides are known to be local foodies with perfectly amicable personalities.
W
e narrowed down our food tour choice to Flavors of Philly as this was child friendly and highly recommended for first time visitors. The tour was from 1:30pm-4pm giving us plenty of time to do some sightseeing on our own. Plus the promise of a bona fide Philly cheese steak motivated us into signing up. (The tours are $39/adult; $29/child ages 10-14, nonrefundable and can be reserved online.) The short walks and minimal stops were ideal for our toddler and the groups were small (four couples). We started our trek at Saxby’s Coffee Stand located in the Shops at Liberty Place. Christine, the tour guide, showed up early and eased us into the tour with a bright smile and chilled water bottles. (Throughout the tour she would indulge us with second servings and more bottles of water). From the first stop, our history lesson began. Liberty Place was constructed amidst widespread opposition. It was considered a violation of the gentleman’s
Reading Terminal Market;
A Creative Commons Image
agreement that no structure would be built in the Center City that would be taller than Philadelphia City Hall, which bore the statue of William Penn. Despite public resistance, officials considered this a viable opportunity that would bring needed business and jobs. With the Mayor favoring the project, Liberty Place began construction in 1985 and was open to the public by 1990. Liberty Place stood high and tall dotting the city skyline but it would also bring about the Curse of Billy Penn. The curse was used to explain the failure of major professional sports teams based in Philadelphia to win championships since the construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper. The curse was lifted only after ironworkers raised the final beam in the construction of the Comcast Center at 17th Street in 2007. In an attempt to end the curse, workers fashioned a figurine of William Penn to the tallest beam along with an American flag and a small evergreen tree. The Phillies won the World Championship on October 29, 2008 much to the relief of sports fans in Philadelphia. With this interesting history tidbit, we strolled outdoors and set foot in the first restaurant for the day.
Middle or Corner?
That is the question you often encounter when ordering the tomato pie from Joe’s Pizza. Tomato pie, a Philly staple, is a rectangular sibling of the famed pizza minus the cheese. (Unlike the typical pizza, the tomato pie is derived from the Sicilian pizza). Philly prides itself on its unique pizza sauces and the one at Joe’s Pizza was a winner. The tomato pie traces its origins in Philly to at least 1910, when Iannelli’s opened. The best tomato pies have a thick bready crust, a generous layer of tomato sauce (or “gravy,” as it’s known in South Philly), and are cooked in a brick oven. Joe’s Pizza boasts of a traditional family recipe (as is the case in most places) and the luscious taste vouched for their proud legacy (We even said no to offers of grated cheese). Our next stop was the celebrated Philly Pretzel Factory. The average Philadelphian today consumes about twelve times as many pretzels as the national average. Soft pretzels which are unique to this city were first introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers. The Factory was teeming with patrons and instead of waiting for the crowd to thin, Christine ushered us to a steakhouse that held many surprises. Del Frisco’s, the double eagle steakhouse restaurant was housed inside a historic landmark that was once First Pennsylvania Bank. The Vault Room, once the location of the bank’s safe deposit boxes, was now transformed into a private dining enclosure.
The Vault Room
Although this was amusing, what took our breath away was the centerpiece—a two story wine vault (armed with 2,500 bottles). The interiors were lavishly decorated and the ambience was in tune with the numerous accolades this fine dining place has been bestowed with. Still reeling from the staggering decor we stepped outside to a view of the City Hall. This masonry building, as mentioned before, has a bronze statue of the city’s founder William Penn atop it. We went back to the Pretzel Factory where the crowds had thinned and we were able to try the delicious soft pretzels. Next stop Pat and Geno’s for the famed philly cheese steak. A city icon and an obsession, a cheese steak is a long, crusty roll filled with thinly sliced sautéed rib eye beef and melted cheese. For vegetarians the beef is replaced with fried peppers and onions. First time patrons are also treated to Pat and Geno’s story. Pat Olivieri was a South Philadelphia hot dog vendor who once decided to put some beef from the butcher on his grill. A cab driver seduced by the aroma came in asking for his signature steak sandwich. And so the philly steak began its run. The cheese addendum is a topic of endless debate between Pat and Geno loyalists. The final lap of this tour commenced from the Reading Terminal Market which is an important tourist landmark and serves as a place of culinary treats and unique merchandise. The Flying Monkey Bakery was a sweet sensation and the truffles and cookies were sinfully delicious. Be sure to try a slice of the pumpple cake which is a cake pie hybrid and is sure to send your senses into a spiral. After bidding adieu to Christine we plopped on the Market’s seating area. The bite size portions promised everywhere combined together to form a neat meal. With
Joe’s Pizza; A Creative Commons Image
Pumple Pie; A Creative Commons Image
our bellies full, we reveled in the aromas and sights around us. Food holds an important key to understanding a city’s psyche. With Philly offering an impressive and unforgettable gustatory experience, you simply have to submit to its culinary extravaganza. n Meera Ramanathan is a columnist focusing on her dual passions—food and travel. A voracious reader, she also writes about immigration melodramas, cinema and parenting woes. She tweets at @meeraramanathan and blogs at Lost in Thought.(http://dreamzwild.wordpress.com) November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 43
The Secret Annex
opinion
Keeping a diary gives an insight into our personalities By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty
M
y grandmother’s diary was so not like Bridget Jones’. When my grandfather died, leaving her a widow at the age of 37, she began writing. A small, slender, self-effacing woman, her life centered around her children and her grandchildren. By then, I— her first grandchild—had already been born and when my sister came along a couple of years later, the event was duly recorded in her diary. Her writing was not about analyzing her inner angst but was outward focused, on us and on the daily occurrences at home. She did not wallow in her pain or anxieties; there was too much to do. Much later, when she travelled to Canada, the United States, and Brazil to visit her now grown children, she wrote also of her travels and the fascinating things she saw. When she visited New York City, she stayed with a relative. “I loved showing her around,” he said. “She was interested in everything she saw and later that evening when she wrote in her diary, she would ask me questions to get the details right.” People write diaries for different reasons. The fundamental one is that it makes the writer feel good. Its therapeutic benefits have even been scientifically proven. A study done at UCLA by psychologist Mathew Lieberman showed that writing a diary is emotionally calming and furthermore, writing by hand has more effect than typing it out. Writing a diary can also be used to vent feelings that are not sharable with others—at least not at that point in time. Later, it can knowingly or unknowingly inform others about an individual, event, or time. Anne Frank’s is a famous example. What began as an ordinary and secretive personal diary of a young girl has now come to represent a poignant story of Jewish persecution during the Nazi era that is read world-wide. And over time, the reasons themselves can evolve. My father-in-law has been writing a diary for years. Initially it was to nostalgically reminisce about the past. Now, at the 44 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
A Creative Commons Image age of 85 and with his memory fading, it is to remind himself of the past and of himself. If he can’t remember what he did yesterday, he looks in his diary. Today, with the Internet, what used to be a largely private pursuit has become a public activity. Searching under “writing a diary” brings up 158 million results. An About.com webpage tells you why you should write a diary. WikiHow explains how to write a diary. YouTube offers an animated film on the topic. Answers.yahoo.com debates whether writing a diary is good or bad. Wikipedia differentiates between a diary (written daily) and a journal (does not have to be regular). Yesterday’s diary may be today’s blog, and yet the two are very different. A diary is personal, secretive, and a unique window to our real selves—one we do not usually show the world. As Amadeu do Prado wrote in his journal in the film Night Train to Lisbon, “The way I looked and appeared … I had never been that way for a single minute of my life.” As Otto Frank said after reading his daughter’s diary, “It was quite a different Anna I had known as my daughter.” On the other hand, a blog is a shoutout to the world and presents the image we wish others to have of us. Even today, Anne Frank would have written a diary, whereas Bridget Jones—like Carrie Bradshaw of Sex in the City—would definitely have gone for a blog. When my daughter was born, I began writing a diary for her, full of details of
her early years that she would not remember herself but may hopefully enjoy knowing about when she’s older: where we lived, what we did, and most importantly what she did. It may give her an insight into her own personality and, if she has children of her own, into theirs. It may show her how much she has changed. And when she’s much older or going through a difficult time in her life, she can read through it and know how immensely loved she was. During the last few years, now that she’s old enough to have and make her own memories, it has become more of a journal where I write down my thoughts on her birthdays. I’d like to give it to her in person, when she turns 18, just before she goes away to college. Only thing is, I wonder if it will get lost among the piles of other books she always has lying around her. I also began such a diary for my son, but he died before he was four years old of an inoperable brain tumor. I doubt he needs a diary anymore to inform or remind him; I feel he already knows its contents and much more besides. Even so, I hope to one day give him his diary, in person too, along with a big hug. My grandmother did not write for an audience; she wrote for herself. Or perhaps she wrote for my grandfather. For her, writing a diary was not a temporary activity to pass the time or tide over a bad patch. It was a part of her quotidian life. Towards the end, she would fill up the remainder of a page with the words “Narayana, Narayana, Narayana, …,” her call to God. She wrote in her diary every day until she went into the hospital, where she died soon thereafter. My grandmother wrote in the Tamil words she spoke at home, but using the Malayalam script she had learnt at school. I can’t read Malayalam so her words are still a mystery to me—and maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be, with a diary. n Ranjani Iyer Mohanty is a writer and editor, based in New Delhi.
recipes
Cooking with Quinoa By Nirmala Garimella
Q
uinoa, the magic grain is a must for many households focused on healthy eating. What was a relative-
ly unknown grain just a decade or so ago, is now in such demand that farmers in South America are unable to sell locally because the crop is exported and the prices have soared. Although the history of quinoa is deeply rooted in South America, it crossed the Atlantic in the early 21st century according to the United Nations. The Food and Agri-
Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties
cultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially declared that the year 2013 be recognized as “The International Year of the Quinoa.” Described as a food with “high nutritive value,” it is considered an excellent source of protein, containing all essential amino acids, and phosphorus, copper, magnesium, dietary fiber, folate, and zinc. A cup of cooked quinoa has less than 250 calories with a low glycemic index. The word “quinoa” is pronounced “KEEN-wah.” It comes from the Spanish
word, quinua, which itself comes from the word “kinwa” or “kinua” in the Quechua dialect. My experiments with quinoa started a few years ago when I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy. Looking to adapt to new grains for my staple diet, quinoa is now my favorite and here I present several delicious recipes from the Indian repertoire. n
Quinoa Dosa
Quinoa Khichdi
Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties
Quinoa Dosa
Ingredients: 1 sweet potato boiled 1 cup cooked organic quinoa (cook according to instructions of package) ½ tsp flax seeds 1 tbsp chickpea flour ¼ cups cashews or peanuts chopped (optional) 1 medium onion finely chopped 1 green chili finely chopped ½ cup chopped cilantro 1 tbsp chopped ginger ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp red chili powder 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
Ingredients 1 cup organic quinoa 1 cup urad dal ½ cup brown or white rice
Method: In a large bowl, peel and mash the sweet potato. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Shape into patties and pan fry them with a little oil on medium heat until both sides are golden and crisp. Top them with chopped onion and cilantro. Use them creatively as a side dish, on a loaf of bread, over lentils or as ragda patties.
Method Soak the above ingredients for at least eight hours and grind them in a blender smoothly (I use the Ultra Grind blender). Add salt and leave it overnight. This gives the batter time to ferment and rise to make dosas the next day. Heat an iron pan or griddle, sprinkle water, pour a spoonful of batter and spread it evenly in the shape of a dosa. When it is brown and crispy, remove and serve with peanut or coconut chutney.
Quinoa Khichdi with Vegetables and Masoor Dal Ingredients 1 cup quinoa 1 cup masoor dal (red lentils) ½ tsp turmeric powder ½ cup chopped onions (optional)
Nirmala Garimella writes from Lexington, MA.
½ tsp grated ginger 2 chopped green chillies 1 tsp cumin 2 cardamom pods whole 1 cinnamon stick 1 bay leaf ½ cup chopped green beans ½ cup chopped carrots 2 tbsp fried cashews pieces (optional) 2 tsp salt Ghee or oil Method: Add a teaspoon of ghee or olive oil to a deep bottomed pan. Once it heats, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and chopped onions. Saute till the onions turns translucent, add ginger, green chillies, turmeric, vegetables, quinoa and masoor dal. Toss for about three minutes to immerse the grain and the vegetables with the spices. Add four cups water and salt and simmer on a slow flame till cooked and the water is all absorbed. It should be light and fluffy. Add crushed cashews as garnish to give it a nutty flavor. Serve with pappad, and tomato chutney. November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 45
On Inglish
So Naked Without Bangles By Kalpana Mohan
bangle [bang-guh l]: noun, 1780-90; < Hindi bangli, var of bangri < a rigid ring shaped bracelet or anklet usually made without a clasp
A
t every social occasion, a dear friend of mine is turned out in a simple and elegant sari. She wears the same diamond earrings and the same gold chain. Her sari blouses are always sleeveless and always cut in the same way. Almost always, however, one accessory stands out on her wrists: a two-inch procession of metal bangles that reflect the colors of her sari. Although the concept of the bangle as an item of jewelry was around long before the Indus Valley civilization and even during the upper Paleolithic period some 8,000 years ago, the word bangle was first heard used only in the late eighteenth century in the English language. A bangle is simply a ring of colored glass worn on the wrist by women. Today, the word itself—originating from the Hindi bangli—applies to “a ring-bracelet or an anklet of any kind worn on the ankle or leg.” In my home, you can hear the clink of bangles all the time—as I type, read, cook or clean. It’s a tinkle that’s as banal as it is momentous. It means that everything is all right with my life—even though in many parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the glitter of Indian finery is now tantamount to an all-points bulletin attracting a gold rush among local burglars. Petty thieves have been fishing out their guns and making off with gold worn by women of Indian origin disrupting the peace in what once was a safe community. But fears of personal safety never stopped those of us who grew up in India from displaying our gold glitter. The reasons for doing so are rooted in tradition and beliefs about womanhood. Like most mothers from my part of India, mine too instructed me to never leave my forearms bare. “Girls mustn’t be seen without bangles,” she would say. “You’re not going out without wearing something on your wrists, are you?” she would ask if she ever caught me barehanded. While the preferred choice of bangle was gold, of course, glass or metal bangles were acceptable, especially if we wished to match an accessory to an outfit. The feminine mystique of the bangle has survived through civilizations in different forms. A few decades ago, archeologists who excavated sites in what is today’s eastern Pakistan uncovered evidence of the existence, in antiquity, of different types of bangles manufactured from exotic materials such as marine shell, ivory and terracotta. More than their use as ornaments, bangles were believed to have been protective bands. One of the most telling images of a bangle invokes the legend of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra who is thought to have worn the coiled bangle of a snake that reached for its own tail. In India, wearing a band around your wrist made with panchaloka (an alloy of five metals—gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc) is believed to shower balance in one’s life, bringing daily energy, self-confidence, good health, fortune, prosperity and peace. Conditioned by the influences of my early years, I too began believing in the latent power of a gold bangle on my wrists. I believed it would bring me luck although I had no proof of its magical properties. In June, when I had to fly to India to be with my father 46 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
through the last week of his life, I made sure to wear my favorite four gold bangles—the first two that my late mother bought for me as part of my trousseau and the last two that she insisted I buy a few years before her death. The four bangles seemed to exert a magnetic force on me during the last days of my father’s life. They gave out a reassuring jangle as I hovered by my father’s bedside. The sound of security. Bangles offer that to the listener. In the Indian custom, a married women wears bangles as a charm representing safety and good luck for her husband. Their color and material often bear a special significance. In Bengal, for instance, red coral bangles symbolize energy. White shell bangles represent purity or innocence. Bangles are auspicious also during childbirth. They are gifted to women during a baby shower because the tinkle of bangles is believed to offer acoustic stimuli for the baby while allaying the expectant mother’s stress. The symbolism associated with the bangle, especially with regard to marriage, has been exploited by Indian cinema and television. In the sappiest regional language and Hindi serials that I’ve followed, the heroine weeps copiously while her forearms glitter with colored glass bangles. She often runs away from a tumultuous showdown into the confines of her bedroom. The force with which she throws herself on her bed (or gets thrown by someone) causes her bangles to chip or crack. The sound of broken bangles is portentous of tragedy. The man in her life has run away with another woman or there’s a divorce looming or the man in question is about to meet his end. That notion of beauty and sentiment in a specific object does not always translate into another culture. I’ll never forget an incident that took place at the local library where I had walked in to work in silence. An hour after I sat down, a Caucasian women seated at the table next to mine turned around to catch my attention. “Your bangles. Do you mind? They’re making too much noise,” she said in an exasperated, yet apologetic, tone. “Absolutely,” I replied with a smile, removing them and tossing the four bangles into my bag where they stayed until I walked out of the city library pondering the entitlement of the woman who protested the environmental pollution of a sartorial preference. That afternoon at the library, I found myself apologizing even though I had been quite offended at having lost, temporarily, at any rate, my freedom under the flag to which I now owed allegiance. I wondered how my friend with her deck of bangles might have reacted to that stranger. I suspect she would have told her to purchase noise-canceling headphones from Sony. n Kalpana Mohan writes from Saratoga. To read more about her, go to http://kalpanamohan.org and http://saritorial.com.
viewfinder
BONDING By Hamid Daudani
r wi nne
L
ife is so beautiful at this age! One can smell the innocence all around. Our two granddaughters seem to be saying, “We will grow with the love that we receive like this strong tree.” The picture was taken on our recent visit to Richmond, Virginia. n Hamid was recognized with an award in 2013 from the Mayor of San Diego
for his services to the community for over 20 years. NetIP organization also honored him in February 2014 and gave an award for “Leadership in Cultural Awareness.” He is a well known artist and has written, directed and produced over 20 plays. He is currently on the board of San Diego Indian American Society. Hamid is a financial officer by profession.
India Currents invites readers to submit to this column. Send us a picture with caption and we’ll pick the best entry every month. There will be a cash prize awarded to the lucky entrant. Entries will be judged on the originality and creativity of the visual and the clarity and storytelling of the caption. So pick up that camera and click away. 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. November 2014 | www.indiacurrents.com | 47
the last word
Watch The Wire This Election Season By Sarita Sarvate
N
ot long ago, I announced in these very pages that a TV show like Breaking Bad will never come again. Well, I have to eat humble pie and say that there is a show just as good as Breaking Bad, if not better. I am talking of The Wire. I came late to this acclaimed show, partly because it was created before the advent of online streaming and partly because the show’s use of African American street slang made it somewhat inaccessible. But this summer, I discovered that it did not take more than a couple of episodes to get hooked. The world of The Wire, unlike that of the Sopranos or Breaking Bad, is one that we all live in. This is a show, not just about kids dealing drugs on the streets, but about the social and political system that makes it necessary. David Simon, creator, producer, and writer, does not deliver his message through preachy rants delivered Ironiby self-righteous characters, but through a suspenseful, tightly cally, in the woven mystery that keeps the middle of watch- viewer on the edge of her ing Season Four, I seat. Apart from the excellent writing, the wonderful attended a political directing, and the realisfundraiser and was tic locations of Baltimore, proudly informed by what hooked me onto the show was the acting by an East Bay mayor its young African American cast. Never have I seen that the murder a major production give so rate in her city much opportunity to black actors. From the young kids who had fallen from start selling “packages” at street sixty to corners at ages as young as ten, to the police officers, church minissixteen. ters, politicians, boxing coaches, petty thieves, thugs, drug addicts and drug lords, the show captures the non-Cosby-show like reality of black inner-city life in America in the new millennium. For Indian Americans, who mostly live in suburbs, the show should be an education. David Simon does something rare in The Wire. Instead of limiting himself to the riveting tale of drug lords, their child soldiers, and the cops who chase them, he expands the circle to include the dockworkers, the schools, the politicians, and the media, while keeping some of the main characters weaving in and out of the story. He has said that he wanted to build a city, but what Simon has developed instead is a mini America itself. When you remember that these stories are not simply products of his fertile imagination, but based on real events that Simon, as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, and his co-writer Ed Burns, a former Baltimore cop, witnessed, your blood chills. What takes your breath away is the complexity of the plot 48 | INDIA CURRENTS | November 2014
and the characters. No one person is the bad guy here, rather, everyone, from the drug boss to the street dealer to the corrupt dockworker to the police chief to the politician, is a victim of his or her own circumstance. The kids grow up in the ghetto, attending poorly funded schools where the teachers are unable to remedy the lack of parenting at home, and become drug kingpins or pawns in the game, falling casualties to gang violence. The cops, who are instructed not to target the big culprits, but to round up petty dealers at street corners in America’s so-called war on drugs, drown their stress in alcohol; a few are corrupt but most are just following orders. Their chiefs are asked one minute to bring down the stats—as in statistics on homicides —the next, asked to ignore them to avoid bad publicity. The politicians, who come into office with good intentions, are persuaded by strategists to please the voters during election cycles, and often drop the pursuit of real perpetrators who fund their campaigns. What moved me the most was Season Four, in which, focusing on the inner lives of four kids, the show made the viewer root for them. One kid looks after a younger sibling and an addicted mother and is driven to become a hit man in order to earn a living; another is pushed to deal drugs by his materialistic mother while his father serves life in prison. The third one is a social outcast whose only friend is the hit man, a fourth a foster child who unwittingly becomes witness to a murder. The scenes with the kids and their caring teachers who wash their clothes or take them into their homes are heartbreaking; so is the cop who tries to protect the witness. Ironically, in the middle of watching Season Four, I attended a political fundraiser and was proudly informed by an East Bay mayor that the murder rate in her city had fallen from sixty to sixteen. That was when I realized how brilliantly realistic The Wire really is. What makes the show bearable is the wry humor sprinkled in with the blood and gore. Take the scene with Stringer Bell, played by Idris Elba, for example, who adheres to Roberts Rules to conduct a business meeting with his gangster underlings, but exclaims, “Are you effing taking notes of a criminal conspiracy,” when his associate begins to take minutes. The show begs the question as to why white drug users are left off the hook while small time black dealers are targeted. I also wondered who is sheltering the white drug lords and their downtown lawyers like the fictional Levy. During this election season, which will start with the midterms and continue onto the presidential contest, you should watch The Wire. But don’t expect pat happy endings like in Hollywood. n Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has published commentaries for New America Media, KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publications.