Are You Really Saving Those Seats? by Gauri Sirur
A Misplaced Sense of Pride by Atanu Dey
Does History Matter? by Vamsee Juluri
INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence
The Ethnic Equation I+Vote = POWER may 2016 • vol. 30 , no. 2 • www. indiacurrents.com
A community lacking political representation is in danger of being misrepresented, or worse, forgotten. by Roshn Marwah
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 1
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An Infinite Series of Beautiful Patterns
Y
ou’ve probably heard this story, but it bears repeating: In 1918, when Cambridge mathematician G. H. Hardy visited his protégé, Srinivasa Ramanujan, in India, they boarded cab number 1729. Habitually given to looking for distinguishing patterns in numbers, Hardy felt compelled to remark to Ramanujan that he found 1,729 rather dull. Promptly disagreeing, Ramanujan responded with the number’s exceptional characteristics: 1,729 is the smallest number that can be written as the sum of two cubes in two different ways (123 + 13 and 103 + 93). When New Yorker reporter Charles Bethea asked Emory mathematics professor Ken Ono what was unique about the number 73—which represented the record number of wins that the Golden State Warriors were poised to notch for the 2016 NBA season—Ono’s response was equally inspired. “I like the number,” he told Bethea. “It is the sixth emirp.” Emirp is prime spelt backwards and emirps, Ono explained, are prime numbers that are also primes when written backwards. So 73 as well as 37 are prime numbers. The creativity behind discovering patterns in numbers and equations was brought up at a panel discussion at Stanford on the making of the film, The Man Who Knew Infinity, based on Ramanujan’s life. Ono was a panelist at the event and he used the word “artistry” to describe Ramanujan’s work. Others on the panel— Princeton professor of mathematics Manjul Bhargava and the director of the film, Matthew Brown—seemed completely at ease with this idea of Ramanujan’s work being an expressive art form. Indeed, when Ramanujan’s process of discovery is examined and compared to other great artists, so many parallels can be found. Leonardo da Vinci, the artist who gave us The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, was known to be obsessively driven to observe, record, analyze and sketch. His art form was decidedly scientific in its approach. His paintings are breathtaking observations of nature and the puissant energy of movement and stillness. So also Beethoven, Bach, and Indian artist and mandolin maestro U. Srinivas. These musicians explicated the purpose
and vitality of sound through a rigorous investigative process. Ramanajun’s three legendary notebooks contain between 3,000 to 4,000 mathematical discoveries. He had in abundance what is essential for any artist: keen insight, and a talent for persistence. Ramanujan was engrossed in the explorations of equations just as an artist would. To the exclusion of things and people around him. In a 1987 BBC documentary on Ramanujan, his wife Janakiammal says, “All I can tell you is that day and night he worked on sums. He didn’t do anything else. He wasn’t interested in anything else. Just sums. He wouldn’t stop work even to eat. We had to make rice balls for him and place them in the palm of his hand. Isn’t that extraordinary?” There’s a particular and startling beauty in finding patterns, whether in numbers, words, behavior, music or in natural formations around us. And to questions about that beauty, Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos is famously known to have said, “it is like asking why is Beethoven’s
‘Ninth Symphony’ beautiful? If you don’t see why, someone can’t tell you.” Perhaps the point is not to question whether Ramanujan was an artist or a scientist. For it is only in the intersection of the two that extraordinary works of genius are produced. Without analytical bearing, poetry is a mere collection of words set to meter. Without recognizing the exquisite skill it takes and the knowledge it exposes, math is a mere tedious process of proofs and calculations. A work of art must radiate an uncommon perception. A work of science must uncover hidden truths. And each requires a particular skill and rare imagination. Ramanujan’s equations and theories advanced our knowledge of how we relate to the world around us. He drew exceptional patterns with ordinary numbers and gave infinite color to our world. He was an uncommon artist in the pursuit of truth.
Jaya Padmanabhan, Editor
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INDIA CURRENTS May 2016 • vol 30 • no 2
PERSPECTIVES 3 | EDITORIAL An Infinite Series of Beautiful Patterns By Jaya Padmanabhan
West Coast Edition
LIFESTYLE
www.indiacurrents.com
29 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA Five Tips to Attract a Woman By Jasbina Ahluwalia
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48 | BOOKS A Review of When Breath Becomes Air By Rajesh C. Oza
8 | WORDS AND THINGS On Writing the Acknowledgments By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
14 | VIEWPOINT Guns and Grass By Sandhya Acharya
24 | OPINION Are You Really Saving Those Seats? By Veenu Puri-Vermani
54 | YOUTH Prom Couture Desi Style By Sandhya Iyer
16 | The Ethnic Equation Any minority community that lacks government representation is in danger of being misrepresented. By Roshn Marwah (with contributions from Ajay Jain Bhutoria and Vijay Rajvaidya)
40 | ANALYSIS A Misplaced Sense of Pride By Atanu Dey
28 | Education Does History Matter? By Vamsee Juluri
50 | PERSPECTIVE Can We Get a Dog, Pleeease? By Rajee Padmanabhan
100 | ON INGLISH So Suave with Shampoo By Kalpana Mohan
102 | THE LAST WORD Dreaming of Delaware By Sarita Sarvate
90 | HEALTHY LIFE Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle By Pushkala Raju 96 | RECIPES Temple Foods By Malar Gandhi 98 | DEAR DOCTOR Reacting Strongly to Professional Criticism By Alzak Amlani
52 | Travel Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus Buildings By Kalpana Sunder
37 | Films Reviews of Fan and Kapoor & Sons By Aniruddh Chawda
4 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
70 | MUSIC Take Five, Taliban By Priya Das
DEPARTMENTS
6 | Letters to the Editor 32 | Popular Articles 30 | Ask a Lawyer 31 | Visa Dates
WHAT’S CURRENT 72 | Cultural Calendar 82 | Spiritual Calendar
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letters to the editor
A Full Package
This is regarding the cover story by Geetika Pathania Jain (“Erasing the Accent” India Currents, April 2016). I love Priyanka Chopra and her evolution as an actress. Specifically I like her roles in Barfi, Mary Kom and Bajirao Mastani. She has played diverse roles and is a full package. I am blown away by her role in Quantico, which I have watched from Day 1. Though, I feel as though the show is getting boring by the episode with the writers’ efforts to keep it continuously mysterious. I agree with all the points made in the article. I just wished the article had been shorter. Brevity is the soul of wit. When depicting Asians, Hollywood has moved from pure Chinese/Asian gangs/martial arts type to Middle East terrorists since 24 (I loved that show). For many in Hollywood, it seems as though all brown people are terrorists and Priyanka Chopra made a good call by accepting the Quantico role and playing it the way she has. Madan Ahluwalia, online Great story on Quantico and Priyanka Chopra by Geetika Pathania Jain. I’ve watched 10-15 minutes of Quantico, so I don’t know enough to comment on it. Regarding Persis Khambatta, who is mentioned in the beginning, while the author either explicitly or implicitly identifies Muslims and Hindus as such, she gives no indication that Persis Khambatta was a Parsi. So in a way she does what she wishes Quantico’s creator/producer Joshua Safran had not done to the Alex Parrish character played by Priyanka Chopra. Our miniscule Parsi community is accustomed to its erasure from the identity of international stars such as Freddie Mercury, and in general I don’t much care for labels, but in a piece about diversity maybe it would have been appropriate to mention her community somewhere? Sohrab Homi Fracis, online
How Much is Enough?
Ashok Jethanandani’s essay “Got Water?” (“Got Water?” India Currents, April
6 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
2016) offers some sound ayurvedic advice about drinking water. In particular, it emphasizes the importance of drinking the optimum amount of water. However, achieving an optimum level of hydration in practice can be tricky. Since our water needs may vary considerably from day to day, we need a strong and reliable signal that guides us continuously towards that optimum. Even though nature has provided such a signal (thirst), it doesn’t always work well for everybody. For some people, the thirst signal may be impaired—by sickness, stress, or age. Others may overlook it for a variety of reasons—they may be too busy at work, they may be traveling, or they may lack easy access to good drinking water. And some people may drink only a few quick sips of water from a water fountain thinking (erroneously) that they have quenched their thirst adequately. Given these practical challenges, it would be helpful to have an additional signal to warn us when our body’s water needs have been neglected for too long. Fortunately, such a signal exists. Paying close attention to that signal may even prevent a potential episode of severe dehydration (a medical emergency). That signal is the quantity and color of your urine. To use this signal effectively, observe the normal quantity and color of your urine on days when you are feeling well-hydrated, healthy, and energetic. After that, whenever the quantity of your urine output decreases significantly, or its color darkens noticeably, treat it as a warning that your body may be dehydrated. Promptly increase your water intake until the urine output becomes normal again.
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In summary, if you can consistently drink the right amount of water using your primary (thirst) signal alone, that is wonderful. If not, be aware of the secondary (urine) warning signal and treat it with the respect it deserves. Your body will be glad you did. Vijay Gupta, Cupertino, CA
A Rose By Any Other Name
Regarding the April editorial by Jaya Padmanabhan (“Get the Spelling of Gandhi Right, Please!” India Currents, April 2016) A proper noun never succumbs to any spelling error. A rose by any name would smell the same. Gandhi with any spelling would designate “The Mahatma.” So, why are we so unnecessarily irritated? Mohammed Shoaib, Anaheim, CA
Unfamiliar words are parsed according to known words. Americans, for example, may hear a “handi” in the word Gandhi. Imagine saying Gandhi like an American. And that’s why they make that mistake in the spelling of Gandhi. I have always had non-Indians mispronouncing my name. They parse it as “At-a-noo”, not “Ata-noo.” The syllable “at” is common to English speakers. Latin speakers can at least pronounce the Hindi dental “t.” Atanu Dey, CA I was amused to read the editorial in the April issue of India Currents in which Jaya Padmanabhan made a reference to my uncle T. N. Zutshi, an Indian who traveled to East Berlin in 1960 wearing a placard proclaiming, “The first step toward freedom: Get rid of your fear and speak the truth!” I didn’t even know about him having made it to the Berlin Black Box Museum. Thank you for your refreshing editorials which I never miss reading. Jeevan Zutshi, CA I enjoyed reading the article on Gandhi. One of the least known facts about Gandhi is that almost every country issues a postage stamp on him except Pakistan and/or China. I have pretty much 95% of those postage stamps. Shukoor Ahmed, MD
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 7
words and things
On Writing the Acknowledgments By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
T
your life more livable during its creation? his month, I finish my Ph.D It’s hard to quantify the mark How do you thank the people you have dissertation (a dissertation that to thank, but don’t want to, versus those is really speaking only the first that this magazine, and you you want to, but who may not want the draft of an eventual book, and therereaders, have had on my aca- acknowledgment? In what order do you fore not “finished” at all). Throughout proceed? this process, I’ve thought often about demic work, but I’ll try. In academic books, the often pagesthe acknowledgments I will write. long acknowledgments sections alternate Who will I thank, and in what words? between perfunctory (and in some cases contractually obligatory) How clever should I be? How sentimental? How brief? listing of funding sources and previous publications, mixed with People remember these things. When I was deciding between glowing words on everyone the author dined with during the doctoral programs, a colleague advised that I choose Berkeley decade it took to complete the book. Rhetoric because the majority of students thanked the Graduate There’s a lot of name-dropping, as a matter of course. AcStudent Services Advisor in the acknowledgements of their disknowledgements create an aura of celebrity and credibility by sertations. This, it seemed to my colleague, was a remarkable sign association. Who you have to thank says something about who of a generous community and infrastructure of support. (Whether you are, who you can ask for help, and who’s willing to give it. or not it was is beside the point.) And it says other things, too. I’ve used the acknowledgements Recently, during a conversation about academic books (like, sections in other people’s books in order to figure out who’s who ever reads them, anyway?), a friend recalled a line from a married to whom, who has kids, who is friends with whom—in 2009 monograph by Eric Hayot: “I want to acknowledge, finally, other words, as a guide to figuring them out. the people who constitute the first concentric circle of my address You notice when you don’t get thanked. You notice when ...” Seven years later, my friend was still chewing on those words, you do. as he contemplated who he was writing for and what forms of adLet me take this opportunity, then, to thank some people dress would be adequate to the task. who can’t really be thanked in my dissertation, because I don’t I’ve written here before about the acknowledgments from really know who they are. Call it the opposite of name-dropping. Inderpal Grewal’s book, Transnational America: “[B]ecause there Thank you to: are communities to care about, there is something I care to write …the neighbor downstairs, whose full name I don’t know, about.” I read the book in 2005, but I remember that line even who hung around my living room while Mrinalini slept and I ran now. Her words still sound to me like the most sensible and sucout to buy a suit the night before a major job interview. cinct causal explanation of the relationship between life and work, To the skeptical interviewer who wouldn’t let up and probthe subject of the writer and the object of the prose. ably lost me that job. Because of him, I doubled down on the I think, too, of how my undergraduate advisor, Robyn Wiegnascent arguments in my dissertation and got a better job. man, thanked in her most recent book “a string of vibrant English To the anonymous peer-reviewer who rejected the not-good teachers in public schools in Miami, Florida” for her first, elemenarticle and didn’t mince words. tary-school lessons in the grammar of “subject” and “object”— To the anonymous peer-reviewer who cheered the masterful, which were also lessons about the grammar of life. poetic rewrite. And then there are the words from my grandmother, Lily ThaTo the administrator who wouldn’t let me give back my felroor, who’s more thrilled than anyone that I’ve finished the Ph.D. lowship when Mrinalini was in the hospital. When she published her first book, Household Hints (excerpts from To the editor who cold-called me from across the country which appeared in this magazine in 2008), she scrawled an extra with praise for an article I didn’t realize anyone had read. line of dedication in my copy: “To Ragini, who didn’t help me Finally, to the readers of this column. Next month, June with this.” I had promised to type up her manuscript and failed, 2016, marks the 15th anniversary of my regular contributions to so I deserved it. What’s more, I won’t soon forget it. India Currents. It’s hard to quantify the mark that this magazine, Acknowledgements often begin with the disclaimer that all and you readers, have had on my academic work, but I’ll try. You cannot be acknowledged, too many must be thanked, the errors have given me a space to which to return—a space of literal colare mine, everything good comes from everybody else, etc. Pullumn inches and virtual relations. You have presented “India” as a ing this off in a way that is honest and generous, humorous yet provocation. And you have given me time. Acsincere, humble and alive to the privilege of having people to thank knowledging you is a pleasure long overdue. n in the first place, is no easy art. A truly outstanding dedication can sometimes redeem even a very bad book. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a doctoral candidate Do you thank only those who contributed ideas or feedback in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley. directly pertaining to the book? Do you thank those who made 8 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
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viewpoint
Guns and Grass By Sandhya Acharya
T
here is an interesting story in the Mahabharata, not as often retold. It is the story of how the illustrious, valiant clan of the Yadavas to which Krishna belonged, destroyed themselves. Fearing bad omens surfacing in his land, Krishna and the Yadavas go on a pilgrimage to Prabas—a holy town near the ocean. A fight breaks out between factions that cannot agree, assumedly on what had transpired in the great Kurukshetra war featured in the Mahabharata. Words lead to blows. In a fit of anger, Krishna reaches out to a blade of Eraka grass that miraculously turns into an iron weapon and kills the miscreants. Taking a cue from Krishna, everyone reaches out to the blades of grass around, which turn into lethal weapons. They are intoxicated and overcome by anger, rage, passion. It is only too easy to “pull the trigger.” They aim the weapons on each other. Quickly, the situation escalates into a full-fledged bloodbath and in the ensuing skirmish the Yadavas manage to wipe out their entire race. A part of this weapon finally causes the end of Krishna too. It is a tragic end to a glorious people. It is hard to comprehend how in one instant, harmless grass becomes a stockpile of dangerous weapons. In the hands of an inebriated lot, the weapons become nothing short of complete annihilation machines. What haunts me, in particular, is how easy and quick the decimation is. How fickle our natures are. Even Krishna the exalted one, instead of conducting himself with grace gives in to anger and violence in a moment of madness. The weapon brings out the ugly in the most beautiful of people. When I hear about tragedies of Sandy
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Hook, Columbine and San Bernadino, I am reminded of this story. Weapons in the arms of a chosen few is permissible in a society where we wish for collective law and order to prevail. Weapons freely available to anyone and everyone is a different story. I have trouble accepting the argument of defence as justification. Life is not a video-game where we are Jedis fighting the Dark Forces. There is real blood spilled and real loss of life. Innocent lives can be lost with one wrong move. If we own a firearm, when do we decide that it is the right time to discharge it? Have we been trained in ways of dealing with and de-escalating situations? Shouldn’t discharging firearms be the last resort? Cops and army-men go through that kind of rigorous training. Why then is it so easy for us, the general public, to circumvent this kind of vigilance and conscientiousness. Even so, I digress from
the current debate. People can have their light sabres if they are qualified to carry them. I can accept that. We are expected to pass a driver’s license test before we drive a car. Whether we buy a firearm, in a shop or a show or online, why are basic background checks so hard to accept? There are, by some measures, at least 300 million firearms in the United States. Roughly one for each person. Freely rampant all around us, as common as grass. When I first heard this statistic on the radio, I remember getting down from the car feeling wary and skittish of every person I saw on the road. Who knows who was walking around with a gun. As history shows, it is only too easy to pull the trigger. n Sandhya Acharya worked in the area of corporate finance and is now actively pursuing her passion for words. She is a mother of two boys and a dance enthusiast living in Santa Clara
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cover
The Ethnic Equation I + Vote = Power (#iVote4Power) By Roshn Marwah
At a time when polarizing language about immigrants floods media channels, any minority community that lacks government representation is in danger of being misrepresented, or worse, forgotten. Unless Indian Americans unite for political activism, we will see opportunities for advancement pass us by.
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W
hen Vivek Murthy was appointed to the post of Surgeon General, and when Aneesh Chopra became the Chief Technology Officer of the United States we secretly rejoiced. Our eyes lit up, a smile hovered on our lips, and our fingers reached for the share button. Many of us didn’t know the person. We only knew that the name is of Indian origin and therefore they became aspirational models for us. But the real aspirational question to 16 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
ponder is why, in a country where upwards of 2.8 million Indian Americans reside, is there not more of us occupying seats in Congress? And why should we care. The prototypical Indian American is part of a nuclear family and has a well to do job in one of the STEM/Computer related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) industries. Indian American children according to census data generally come from two-parent, highly educated households and get traditionally employ-
able degrees. The Indian American community contributes a large part to both job and wealth creation in the Valley and around the country. Studies typecast the Indian voter as socially liberal, fiscally conservative, and willing to give money to political campaigns. Despite the emergence of the Silicon Valley as a Democratic campaign-funding hub (the Hillary Clinton campaign has raised a significant portion of funds from
the Valley), Indian American voters have yet to mobilize behind a candidate at the polls on Election Day. And, despite the increase in the political potential of the community, candidates do not reach out and address Indian American voters directly. This is because Indian Americans do not vote together en bloc. The ultimate goal of voting en bloc is to politically empower by making members of a community vote and donate together, thereby amplifying their voice. Unless Indian Americans unite in the name of political activism, we will see opportunities for advancement pass us by. Indian American voters have the potential to become a key voting demographic in California’s 17th district, an area with a very high Indian American population. The two congressional candidates in the 17th district are no strangers to this community. Young, hardworking congressional candidate Ro Khanna is dedicated to increasing the political clout of the Indian community. Longtime congressional incumbent Mike Honda has served the district for many years and is in tune with the Indian American population that makes up his district. Yet, in the last congressional election for California’s 17th district, an election in a highly concentrated Indian American district with an Indian American candidate, the number of registered Indian American voters was 20,000, but only 3,000 of those voters showed up at the polls. So, let’s look at the kind of voters we are and why we behave the way we do.
Abhinav and Priyanka—Those Who are Ineligible to Vote in the United States
Abhinav is ineligible to vote. He has only recently moved to the United States
and has yet to become a citizen. This does not stop Abhinav from donating or volunteering towards political campaigns. The same can be said for Priyanka, who is too young to vote in the current elections. It is people like Priyanka and Abhinav who are in need of assistance rather than the more stable established members of the community.
Tarun—Those Who are Eligible to Vote But Do Not
Tarun has no voting history and may have no interest in politics, but is still helpful in answering the question “what is the psyche of the Indian American voter?” Tarun sees the large complicated political system as something daunting, something that he does not understand. With political parties and lobbyist groups changing around districts and confusion as to how one registers to vote, it is easy to feel overwhelmed before even starting. In order to be an informed voter, he must choose a political party; understand the process of primaries, state elections, the Electoral College; and know how all these things tie in together to make the political machine that governs the United States. Moving past the challenge of gaining an elementary knowledge of the political system brings us to the second obstacle facing the unregistered and novice Indian American voter: a lack of active political discussion in the community. It is often through political discourse and friendly debate that people understand the current issues, side with a candidate,
... and the discussion that comes along with it [democracy] are concepts deeply rooted in Indian culture and are not intellectual gifts given to India from the West. and ultimately go out and vote. With such a large Indian American population in the Silicon Valley, it is not hard to imagine that Tarun’s social circle lacks diversity. Such a situation makes it hard for the unregistered voter to get a firm grasp of issues. Tarun is likely focusing on things that are more relevant to his social group, i.e. the newest technology, the Warriors amazing season, or the hottest new restaurant. This allows Tarun to avoid the political frenzy, but strips him of his inherent democratic power. Tarun must first educate himself on the voting process. Indian American leaders should then create a platform for community discussion and rally community members together behind candidates on Election Day. This strategy amplifies the Indian American voice on issues such as education and immigration.
Puja—Those Who Do Possess a
Voting History
Puja is, perhaps, just too busy on Election Day. Puja is constantly rushing between work, children’s activities, cups of chai, and whatever other hurdles the world puts in her way. In this whirlwind of scheduled and unscheduled activities, Puja
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 17
cannot carve out time to go to the polls and vote in an election. This holds even truer when Puja feels that the results of that election won’t directly impact their lives. Indian American voters tend to be financially established and are not pushed to the polls by a personal reliance on the Creative Commons Image living wage or the prospect of social security. Candidates like Ro Khanna who are in need of the InWe have a choice to be engaged dian American vote are urging or enraged but not the choice to members of the community to sign up for absentee ballots. be uninvolved. Absentee voting allows Puja to mail-in her ballot rather than drive to the polls. These ballots also allow for a couple of The Why weeks of extra time. Candidates emphasize Soon, the nation will decide which the issues that can be dealt with on a local issues are important and in which direclevel in an attempt to show Puja that her tion the nation shall sail. Without coming vote does have a tangible impact. Topics together as a community, Indian Amerisuch as road congestion, pollution, and cans are in significant danger of being left local level projects are often highlighted. out of the national conversation or worse For candidates who are expressly attemptbeing slandered with no political voice to ing to reach Indian American voters, there defend them. We have a choice to be enhas been an effort to show that the current gaged or enraged but not the choice to be policy making will affect future generauninvolved. Once we have made our way tions. to the country of our choice we have to lay Puja and people like her who cannot deep the foundation on which our heritage identify with the American political system home is being built. significantly decrease voter turnout. On the one hand, Puja still feels a Voter Education strong connection with Indian politics. Understanding a new set of rules is In speaking with members of the Indian especially difficult when the rules are conAmerican community, it is clear that given stantly changing. For example, this year the chance many of them would choose to voters in California are able to register vote in the Indian election, revealing that at the DMV, which was previously not they are politically conscious. Yet these possible. When registering to vote, each same people do not vote in American eleccitizen is given the option to register as tions. Some like Puja feel more comforteither a Democrat, a Republican, or as a able using the Indian political infrastrucnon-partisan. This decision then dictates ture than the American one. The Indian whether or not one is allowed to vote in system provides infrastructure familiarity, certain primary elections. The state sends process familiarity, connection to political a letter in the mail giving proof of regisparties, a larger sense of impact by voting tration. in India, more political discourse among Polls are open in most states from friends, and ultimately a larger connection seven in the morning to eight o’clock at with India as being one’s “home” country. night, and each voter must be registered Creating an Indian American bloc vote at least fifteen days prior to Election Day. that brings together Abhinav, Priyanka, A successful voting infrastructure ensures Tarun, Puja, and the groups that they repthat everybody understands the voting resent should be a priority in these months process and marks their calendars. leading up to the election. 18 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Debate and Discussion
Democracy is said to flourish through debate and discussion. Many things factor into the final voting decision of every American. George Lakoff, a cognitive science professor at UC Berkeley, found that people’s voting tendencies are dictated by the metaphors they use to describe politics and the government. Professor Lakoff identified the metaphor of “the nation as a family,” as the metaphor used by Anglo-Saxon Americans when deciding which political party they associate themselves with. Those who believe the best way to run a family is by centering the family around a strong father, who believes in teaching children the strict difference between right and wrong, tend to vote conservative. While, those who view family as a nurturing loving force in which the objective is teaching children the values of love and inclusiveness, tend to vote democratic. Lakoff ’s analysis about the importance metaphors play in the way voters behave can be used to understand the psyche of the Indian American voter. The argumentative Indian, a phrase taken from Amartya Sen’s The Argumentative Indian, among other things refers to the Indian American community’s reluctance to back a majority candidate. Indian Americans are less likely than other minority groups to rally behind one candidate. Sen makes clear that democracy and the discussion that comes along with it are concepts deeply rooted in Indian culture and are not intellectual gifts given to India from the West. The history of democratic discussion and an emphasis on reason within the Indian community shapes the way Indian American voters address the political system. Indian Americans have established themselves as well educated, intellectual leaders in a variety of industries, however constant political discussion from a philosophical perspective may have stunted the community’s ability to make a tangible impact. Discussion with inaction has become the hallmark of the community. Paralysis by analysis freezes some while laziness and differing priorities hamper others. The result being we run the field but don’t score the goal. Voters feel their vote does not affect their lives. India’s rapid shift first towards
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 19
20 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
independence and then towards development has made the Indian voter accustomed to feeling as though they are voting for large causes. This leaves the Indian American voter reluctant to vote unless driven by a very significant and immediate call to action.
Campaign Funding
Campaign funding is an integral part of any successful political campaign. Communities that can raise large amounts of political donations with alacrity become very powerful politically. Indian Americans have the financial ability as a community to raise large amounts of capital, but lack the necessary organization to make a large-scale effect. Many Indian Americans are currently donating substantial amounts of money to a variety of campaigns, but there is no system in which community leaders can help pool and strategically guide resources.
Mobilizing Voters
The most important part of any election is mobilizing voters. This includes registering voters that are not registered, convincing registered voters to vote, and persuading voters to vote en bloc. This
maximizes and increases the political clout of the community. Registering new voters can be achieved through citizen outreach and new voter education. Members of the Indian American community must come together, create volunteer groups, and formulate outreach programs. Grass roots organization is easy, thanks to thriving hubs like the India Community Center. Other groups in the region have been successful at this. The Bay Area Jewish community has utilized community centers, youth programs, and areas of religious congregation as platforms for reaching potential voters. A 2015 study done by Bernard Fraga at Indiana University showed that minority voters are not drawn to vote solely based on the ethnicity of the candidate. Minority voters were more likely to vote if they resided in a majority-minority district. This means that if minority voters live in a congressional district that is largely made up of the same minority group as them, then they are less likely to vote versus if they lived in a district that was mainly made up of Anglo Saxons. These two findings play a large role in the mind of the Bay Area Indian American voter, due to the Silicon Valley’s high In-
dian population in relation to other parts of the country. The question remains, what is the point of voting en bloc? Successful en bloc voting inspires the next generation, creates an avenue for future candidates, shapes a platform for issues important to the community, and brings attention to community events.
Inspiring Our Children
Indian American children growing up in the Bay Area can see Indian leaders in nearly every industry. However, children of Indian descent may struggle to envision life as an active member of the political community, because there is a cohesive lack of political engagement. A strong community presence in politics can provide possibilities to the next generation. In the same way that the political engagement of the Latino community paved the way for minority candidates, such as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
Paves the Way for Candidates
Since the first inauguration of President Obama, the number of Indian Americans in high-level political positions has increased. Following the death of Supreme
For voting details and election resources, please visit www.indiacurrents.com/elections2016
Why I Am Not a Passive Political Observer, But an Active Participant
W
e understand the obvious benefits of voting which include being noticed and counted in the decision making. However, not voting doesn’t limit the damage to not being noticed or not being counted. It is a lot more damaging than that. Indians of Hindu faith are increasingly and frequently facing the result of non-participation in local elected bodies. It’s becoming very difficult to correct misrepresentation of our faith. Take the case of the California school text books, where “India” and “Hinduism” are being redefined in a non-representative way. In the past, I experienced dismay when my children came home from school in anger and disgust when their faith was de-
By Vijay Rajvaidya scribed in negative terms. It has been hard to mobilize Hindus to support those few who are leading the struggle to correct this misrepresentation. By not participating in the democratic process we abdicate our space to others who are eager to fill it. Be that an innocent “other” or a highly motivated person who disagrees with everything we believe in or cherish. It could be a person who is given to extreme political ideology or he could be a religious demagogue. By not participating in the electoral process we perpetuate the polarity of society. This is true because nature abhors vacuum. If we leave our political and social space to a stranger whose beliefs run counter to ours, we are creating a distortion
in our political space. We are forcing the whole process to become unrepresentative. I started with the example of California text books. By not fixing the physical anomaly of misrepresentation of our religion in text books we allow this anomaly to lodge in the minds of our children who undergo conflicts of faith every day when they switch between school and home. Are we punching our weight in the elections to the U.S. Congress or State Assembly? It’s not important who represents us in these bodies. But it’s important that whoever does, understands the value of our votes and serves our needs. n Vijay Rajvaidya is the Managing Director of India Currents.
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 21
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Highlights Community Issues
Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the Indian American community had the opportunity to push for the nomination of Sri Srinivasan, a supremly qualified judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge Srinivasan has a good reputation with both the Democratic and Republican Party. Sri is the only Obama appointed judge to be unanimously confirmed for his current position. For an Indian American immigrant to be appointed to the highest court in the land could have been seen as the pinnacle of political achievement for the community. A voting infrastructure could have greatly helped persuade Congress members to consider the clout of the appointment.
The power of the African American community’s bloc vote has made criminal justice reform a key issue in the presidential election. The same can be said about the connection between LGBTQ communities voting power and the recent legal strides towards gender equality. The formation of an Indian American political machine applies greater value to issues that are important to the community, i.e. education and immigration.
Brings Attention to Community Events
As a vibrant ambitious community known for it’s cultural traditions, religious engagement, and it’s love to party, the Indian community is regularly hosting community events. Our community events however lack a political presence. As a comparison, within the same congressional district, Vietnamese events constantly have members from the government in observance, ranging from city councilmen all the way up to congressmen.
Despite being much smaller in population than the Indian American community, the Vietnamese American community is known for consistently voting en bloc and in high numbers. The Vietnamese voting infrastructure is better at harnessing the voting power of the local community, and gets political attention at their events. This then allows the community to highlight important issues as well as publicize its events. What then must we do today to ensure a better tomorrow? Building a political infrastructure starts one person at a time. Let us all be that one person. With the elections in June and November are fast approaching, we must complete three simple steps. We must register and educate ourselves as voters. We must have political discussions with our friends and neighbors. Lastly, most importantly, we must vote. n Roshn Marwah is majoring in economics and computer science at Purdue University. He can be reached at rmarwah@purdue.edu.
Why I Am Part of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign
“T
he best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others,” said Mahatma Gandhi. In this and every election cycle, the values of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa are so important—compassion, kindness, and non-violence. In this 2016 election year, the role of Asian Americans and particular Indian Americans is very important to ensuring that the most considerate politician wins and takes our country forward. I’m a Hillary Clinton supporter and I want to see her succeed. When Hillary Clinton was asked how the country could confront a new wave of fear, her response was thoughtful and considerate: “We’ve got to do everything we can to weed out hate and plant love and kindness,” she told a crowd of several hundreds in Iowa. In her campaign Clinton has embraced “love and kindness” as a refrain. In Alabama, she told lawyers that justice means “standing beside love.” In Atlanta, Clinton promised black ministers 22 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
By Ajay Jain Bhutoria she’d run on a “love and kindness platform.” And after Trump said he’d block Muslims from entering the country, her campaign quickly churned out a new catch phrase: “Love trumps Hate.” In January “Hillary for America” announced the launch of its Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for the Hillary Leadership Council—a group of over 150 elected officials, community, and grassroots leaders to help her campaign engage, energize and organize support in the community. I am part of the AAPI National Leadership Council for Hillary. My involvement in Hillary’s campaign is an example of Indian American contribution to the fabric of American social and political life. I can participate in the debate about issues that are important to us: the nation’s broken immigration system, accessibility and affordablity to higher education, quality health care at lower cost, support and incentives for businesses ... Hillary Clinton has vowed to reduce the visa backlog and help unauthorized immigrants with deep community ties that
“deserve the chance to stay.” Applicants from the Asia-Pacific region make up about 40 percent of the family visa backlog. Some from the India have been waiting for a visa for 12-14 years. If you’re a U.S. citizen and your brother lives in India, it will take at least 12 -15 years to get a green card for him. Hillary has been strongly fighting for immigration reform. It is important for Indian Americans and Asian Americans to get politically engaged, energized and involved. The California Primary is on June 7th and Asian American voters in Nevada, Virginia, California, Florida and other states can determine the electoral outcome in those states. n Ajay Jain Bhutoria is an author, speaker and thought leader. Ajay was recognized by the State Senate Majority Leader for promoting Indian culture, building bilateral relationships between the Bay Area and India and for bringing the Indian American community together. You can reach him at Bhutoria. ajay@gmail.com
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opinion
Are You Really Saving Those Seats? By Gauri Sirur
S
ome years ago, when we moved to Chicago, I was excited to learn that a theater nearby screened matinee shows of blockbuster Bollywood movies every other Sunday. And when I heard that they were showing Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH), I had to go. The movie was to start at 11 a.m., but I convinced K that we needed to be there at least 30 minutes before the show. From all reports, the movie had broken box office records in India and was making waves among desi audiences the world over. I didn’t want to get to the theater only to look a “houseful” sign in the face. My expectations were at fever pitch, so I was surprised to find less than a dozen people waiting in line at the ticket counter. We got our tickets and walked into the theater. The front rows were as yet understandably empty, but even the middle and back sections had two or three persons, or sometimes only one, in each row. I wondered if the so-called “blockbuster” status of KKHH (in the United States, at least) was more hype than reality. But then as we walked up the aisle, I began to see that many of the seats were, in fact, taken—although not by people. Instead, each seat had a small accessory of winter clothing sitting on it. A pair of mittens here, a scarf there. A muffler on this one, a beret on the next. It dawned on me then that these humble articles of clothing were more versatile than I had ever imagined. Clearly, they had a function apart from merely protecting one from the rigors of a Chicago winter. When strategically deployed, they allowed a single individual (or two or three) to hold or “catch” (pakadna) an entire row of seats in a theater or auditorium. How effectively this strategy might work remained to be seen, but it had all the charm of simplicity. Still, I felt strongly that this business of holding
24 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
seats, en masse, was unfair to the early birds, who deserved to get the seats of their choice. With that in mind, I headed towards a pair of aisle seats about four rows from the back. We reached our destination only to find that “our” seats had been usurped by a pair of ear muffs and a monkey cap. I reached out a hand to remove the offending articles when the guardian of that row called me out. She was seated in the middle of the row, a compactly-built woman in her forties with a tough, mama-grizzlydefending-cubs air about her. “Nai, nai,” she said. “Aap wahan nahi baith sakte. Hamare family wale aa rahe hain.” (No, no, you cannot sit there, my family members are on their way) “Your family wale should get here early if they want good seats,” I said. “Haan, haan, they are here. Popcorn laane gaye hain,” she tossed off, carelessly. (They’ve gone to get popcorn) I felt my temper rise, but K took my arm and steered me away from what might have been a promising exchange of views. He pointed out two good seats in the middle of a row further back that had somehow eluded the seatcatchers. We settled into our seats. I looked around casually—and my jaw dropped at the sight that met my eyes. In the row across the aisle, a young man was sleeping face down across the tops of about
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four seats, arms and legs stretched out, fingers and toes likewise pointing outwards. He looked like a diver poised to jump off a springboard. I checked the row behind us—and discovered two more tautly stretched, supine young men. It could not have been easy to hold that pose and I had to give the trio of sleeping beauties full marks for endurance. I also had to give them points for ingenuity. They might lack the wealth of clothing accessories that my popcorn-loving friend down the aisle had equipped herself with, but they had come up with a reasonably good alternative. Time went on, and more and more people began filing into the theater. Inevitably, squabbles broke out between the seat catchers and the newcomers. The volume of sound and argument rose steadily through the previews and
into the opening credits. A few minutes later, Shahrukh himself loomed large on the screen, but we could only see bits and pieces of him thanks to the impromptu standing committee. The newcomers, who were fighting for seats, were still standing. And some of the seat catchers were on their feet as well. In the background, violins started to wail. Rani appeared in the frame and began to speak, and my temples began to throb. I touched K’s arm. We were getting up to leave when the screen went dark. There was an abrupt, almost painful cessation of sound. Rani and the violins fell silent—as did the audience, startled by this unexpected turn of events. Before anyone could react, the lights in the auditorium flashed back on and in the hush, someone spoke, “Well … hello there.” The voice possessed the kind of penetrating clarity that would have done a headmistress proud. All heads turned in the direction of the speaker. There she was: a small, fifty-something woman
with mousy blond hair, standing a few feet in from the sign marked “exit” to the left of the screen. She was dressed in a dark official looking suit. Theater management, I guessed. Probably here to offer us an explanation and apology about whatever glitch had halted the screening of the movie. “Well, hello,” the woman reiterated. Her tone was far from apologetic, and her spectacles flashed as she scanned the audience. “I’m Wendy, the theater manager. And here’s the deal: if you guys don’t stop this ruckus, we will be shutting down the show. Please feel free to exit the theater and pick up your refunds at the ticket counter.” We were dumbfounded. Nobody moved. It was embarrassing enough to be chastised like school children, but it would be even more humiliating to slink away abjectly. (Plus, this was our only opportunity to watch KKHH on the big screen. The alternative would be a grainy video recording with poor sound quality.) The manager apparently took our
continuing silence to mean that we had, in effect, already stopped the “ruckus” as she termed it. Her spectacles ceased to flash. She looked up at the projectionist and then gestured with her thumb back at the screen. She exited the theater just as the lights went out and the opening credits began to roll. This time, when SRK returned to the screen, you could see all of him. Rani re-entered the frame and was allowed to have her say. Suddenly, everyone had a seat. All arguments had magically melted away. We were on our best behavior. It was as if we were watching a Hollywood movie in mixed, non-desi company and, therefore, felt the need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of decorum. You might not have guessed that this was an all desi audience watching a Bollywood film. n Gauri Sirur is a writer/blogger who lives in Houston. She likes to write about travel and personal experiences.
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education
Does History Matter? California is poised to strike the word “India” and “Hinduism” from school curriculum, to be replaced with “South Asia,” and “religion of ancient India” respectively! By Vamsee Juluri
D
oes history matter? Or shall we all decide to forget about this vast world altogether, numbed by our gadgets and greedy little worlds of meaningless consumption and survival? We must ask ourselves such questions and remind ourselves because history is not merely about memorizing names and dates and regurgitating them at an exam. It is about the foundation of the story that we build around ourselves, for ourselves, and for others. Without a sense of who we are, and how we relate to those who came before, we are not what we are meant to be at all, in a spiritual, social, or political sense. I respect the history classroom and care deeply about what is taught in it for reasons that are personal and professional. I was fortunate to have had a history teacher in the eighth grade who said, this might be Shiva, in the Indus Valley, and these are the reasons for this theory to be prevalent, rather than that one. She could just as well have said “class, by-heart (memorize) these dates and names,” and left it there. But she didn’t. She taught us that history is about reason, debate, nuance, and ultimately, about expanding our present, and our future. And years later, when I read Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj in those fear-filled days after 9/11, I could see why the discourses of the political Right and academic Left, with their invocations of eternal civilizational conflict and noble resistance to American global capitalism respectively, both lacked something human in them, something of the truly historical. If one story was nearly mythic in its Crusades-and-cruise-missiles way of viewing the world, the other was lost in its narrow calculus of good and bad identities too, with the roles simply reversed. Was this history? Was this the only way we could teach history, by reducing human beings to some alien-imposed categories of “identity”? When I teach Said and Todorov in my 26 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Global Media class, that is what we learn to critique in media discourses; a deeprooted denial of the humanness, the sentience, the agency of the other. We discuss how Columbus spoke about the natives having “no language” and not a “different language.” We see Vasco da Gama’s utter inability to grasp a world outside of his simplistic Christians versus Muslims worldview. We see, ultimately, destruction, and the struggle of human beings everywhere to rise from it and build life and something like civilization once more. If it sounds too hopeful, it is because that is what I think education must ultimately leave us with, especially the young. We must not hesitate to teach them what is wrong, but we must also give them the resources to imagine for themselves what is right.
India and Hinduism in California Textbooks
What does this have to do with the way India and Hinduism have been depicted in California textbooks? Despite their supposed determination to fight caste, gender, and other forms of inequality and injustice, a group of South Asia studies scholars have brought us, in my view, to the edge of an intellectual, moral, and cultural abyss. They are poised to leave California’s children with an account of world history in which the nation, civilization, and vast legacy of life and love known as India will be presented as a mere piece of empty geography, populated occasionally with characters out of some bad movie like Apocalypto or Indiana Jones. The thousands of Indian-origin American children whose parents build and run Silicon Valley’s businesses, and California’s hospitals, restaurants, schools, and colleges, are about to be left with an even bigger hole in their sense of self than what the old textbooks did. It is hard enough to “fit in,” as one might say, explaining
the complexities of Indian identities in a society learning only recently to live with and understand diversity (“Do you speak Hindu”? “Are you untouchable? Do you practice the caste-system?”). What are the terms of reference these textbooks will leave children with? Do they reflect anything of India’s sense of past? No. They will probably now have to feel, after all the new deletions, confused, hesitant and apologetic to even say “ancient India” or “Hinduism.” It is one thing for academicians to ironic-air-quote-mark words like “Hindu” in their university classrooms and conferences, and quite another to deny a twelve year old child the right to belong to a simple name his parents, grandparents, and a whole community has poured its life and labor into. How will an Indian-origin child in America answer the question now of “who am I?” That is the most important question really.
Don’t Erase India!
There has been much disinformation and spin emanating ever since I initiated, along with several other scholars, a petition expressing our concern that a branch of the California Department of Education (CDE) had accepted several radically common-sense shattering and fundamentally unsettling edits to the California History– Social Science Frameworks from a group of South Asia Studies scholars. In November 2015, a group of 15 South Asia Studies scholars wrote in with their recommendations to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) of the CDE, suggesting, among other things, that the word “India” be replaced with “South Asia” in most references before 1947, and the word “Hinduism” be replaced with “religion of ancient India” because, according to them, there were no signs of Hinduism being an organized
religion before the 13th CE. I respect my colleagues in academia as scholars and human beings and will not quibble about their intentions. But I will however say that the facts reveal a very different picture from what they seem to think they have been doing here.
What is Really at Stake Here
One, the changes recommended by the South Asia Studies faculty and accepted by the California History–Social Science Projects (CHSSP) in March do raise serious concerns about the rush towards denial and erasure of whole identities in the classroom; minority identities, at that. Let us take a hypothetical example. For whatever reason, if a group of scholars with expertise on “West Asian Studies” decide that Christianity wasn’t called Christianity in its early days, so its name should be changed to “West Asian Religion.” Where would it leave children from around the world who have a Christian heritage and would like its history presented respectfully in the classroom? Or the names of all references to every country changed to a sterile geographical category every time a history lesson talks about them before they became modern independent nation-states? That is effectively the fate of “India” and “Hinduism” in the California history curriculum. When the acceptance of these suggestions by the CHSSP in early March led to an uproar, all sorts of excuses and damage control tactics began to circulate in the media; India isn’t really being erased, it’s just because Indus Valley lies in Pakistan and we can’t call it “Ancient India,” our opponents are casteists and so on. The truth though is in plain view. The changes made by the South Asia faculty go far beyond merely respecting the present location of the Indus Valley. They include changes like replacing a line about “India and the Muslim world” having experienced prosperity to the “Islamic civilization stretching from the Mediterranean sea to the Indian Ocean” having experienced prosperity. It included whitewashing of imperial conquests by changing a line about Central Asian Turks’ conquest of “Northern Indian states” to a mere “expansion of territory across the Indus river into Northern Indian plains.” Clearly, these moves suggest a worldview closer
A sample of the 62 edits from the South Asia Faculty group to the CHSSP accepted in March 2016 Grade
Pg #
Line #
Current Text
Suggested Change
6
210
774
The Early Civilizations of The Early Civilizations India of South Asia
6
210
777
How did the religion of How did the religion Hinduism support individ- of Ancient India supuals, rulers, and societies? port individuals, rulers, and societies?
7
239
145-147
Along the northern edge of the agricultural regions of China, India, Persia and Rome, in the steppe grasslands, pastoral nomad societies moved east and west.”
Along the northern edge of the agricultural regions of China, South Asia, Persia and Rome, in the steppe grasslands, pastoral ...
7
258
559-560
The city’s culture was a mix of Arab, Persian, Indian, Turkish, and Central Asian culture.
The city’s culture was a mix of Arab, Persian, South Asian, Turkish, and Central Asian culture.
7
265
692-695
Enduring contributions of ancient Indian civilization to other areas of Afroeurasia include the cotton textile industry, the technology of crystalizing sugar, astronomical treatises, the practice of monasticism, the game of chess, and the art, architecture, and performing arts of the Classical Age.
Enduring contributions of South Asian culture and civilization to other areas of Afroeurasia include the cotton textile industry, the technology of crystalizing sugar, astronomical treatises, the practice of monasticism ...
267
747-748
After 1000, Turks from Central Asia, who were recent converts to Islam, began to conquer states in northwestern India.
After 1000, Turks from Central Asia, who were recent converts to Islam, began to expand their territory across the Indus Valley to parts of the northern Indian plains.
287
1 1 4 7 - In the center, the Muslim 1150 world (now divided into many states) and India prospered as producers of goods such as cotton cloth, spices, and swords, and also as middlemen along the east-west trade routes.
At the center, the world of Islamic civilization stretching from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean region, prospered as producers of goods such as cotton cloth, spices, and swords ...
7
7
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 27
to the colonial ideology of “terra nullius” rather than any concern for the powerless and the oppressed. Second, the allegation that “Hindu nationalist groups” have been trying to rewrite history and sanitize caste and gender oppression distorts the truth about what several students, parents, and community organizations have been really trying to accomplish here.
The Positive Truth about India
Nearly three-quarters of the edits submitted by the Uberoi Foundation, Californiahindus.org, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) in the present review process have more to do with including positive facts about ancient India and Hinduism (something that the CDE might actually have a duty to do according to state content standards about respecting diversity and cultural heritage). Virtually all of these suggestions were rejected. So students will learn that caste was rooted in religion (although the same scholars who insisted on this point also argue that there was no “organized religion” called “Hinduism” before the 13th century) and that women and men participated in religious ceremonies “but not as equals.” The IQC had attempted to introduce in the draft the names of Vyasa and Valmiki as examples of revered sages who were not born as Brahmins, but that point was deleted upon the recommendation of the South Asia Studies faculty. Three, despite all the media smear campaigns that have accompanied the California history textbooks controversy for nearly a decade now, the fact remains that the suggestions made by Hindu scholars and community groups have for the most part remained within the realm of reason and scholarly conversation. In the hundreds of submissions made over the past few months, we do not see fanciful demands of the “ancient Indians had flying chariots” sort. By all means, the debate on languages, migrations, and “origins,” can continue respectfully on the sidelines of the school history curriculum process, and perhaps one day scholars will agree that indeed many Indians are really from India, and did not invade and occupy it in 1500 BCE! Until that happy day comes, can we not 28 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
even add a line in the curriculum cautioning students that the old Aryan invasion theory (or some euphemistic equivalent) that exists in most history books today is being questioned? Or is it better for thousands of children to continue to grow up thinking that modern Hindu Americans have more in common with Hitler’s Nazis (see my earlier article in India Currents on Wendy Doniger and the need to decolonize Hindu history) than the meditating Shiva-like icon of the Harappa civilization? Is it really an assault on reason and academic rigor to add in a sixth grade lesson plan that modern-day Hindus would recognize elements of their religion in various artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization such as tree-worship (a suggestion that was rejected)?
T
he dominant paradigm in academia about Hinduism has a problem and it is avoiding addressing it. Fundamentally, it views Hinduism much as the 19th century colonial racists did—as a savage essence, redeemed and improved upon only by the Mughals and the British, and India as a non-entity, at best a bunch of “plains” that got “expanded” into and civilized up to become a part of the “Islamic civilization stretching from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.” I hope, sincerely, that my respected colleagues will reflect upon the need to engage in an honest debate on these issues, and give thought to the 12 year old child who will have to live with the aftermath of their theoretical interventions for the rest of his or her life. Imagine yourself as that child, as you walk into the temple in Livermore or Pasadena, and you see the truth of Indian civilization before you, alive and reborn in this promised land, in this America you take for granted as a home for both who you are and who you want to become. Imagine your instinct grasping the diversity of what is around you, in the pantheon and in the community, taking in the deities who might be children, or women, or men, or even monkeys and elephants, or just abstract symbols, but they are always smiling, always approachable in your mind, as devotees walk around, speaking a variety of languages, just one before the divine, in whatever form they choose … But your history teacher has not taught you how to relate this immense, rich and diverse cultural world you know
intimately with your American education. In your mind, you will have to reduce it to nothing more than rituals and the caste-system, because that’s all the books will say; not that the Vedas contained the “Gayatri Mantra,” which students chant to this day as an invocation to intelligence, not that the Bhakti tradition produced the “Hanuman Chalisa,” which fills the halls of America Yoga and kirtan culture from coast to coast, nor that Hindu philosophy recognized religious pluralism at a time when intolerant monotheisms slaughtered people for merely calling God by another name. No, none of that is permitted by the dominant paradigm in South Asia Studies apparently, and therefore the children of California will have to once again continue to suppress their hearts and minds, and be forced to choose between the India they know and the fiction of India that the American classroom wants them to know. I am an Indian who fell in love with America at age 12. In time, I came here, made my home and life here. Each year, I stand before students fresh out of high school, and I see a sense of hope renewed for the world, as pessimistic and despairing as our social-justice infused lessons about what is wrong with the world might sometimes be. We dream, together, of a day when the media and the culture of our daily lives will have better stories about who we are, and go beyond simplistic narratives about consumerism-driven (or political agenda-driven) identities. Today, as we await the California Department of Education’s final decision on the History–Social Science Frameworks, I can only hope that young Indian Americans will not be forced to choose between their parents and their teachers, or their past and their future, and this long nightmare brewed in nothing more than ivory tower snobbery will at last end. n (Read more about the issue at www.scholarsforpeople.org. Several documents noted in this essay including the South Asia Studies faculty letters and summary of changes accepted by the CHSSP are available in the Resources page) Vamsee Juluri is a professor of media studies at the University of San Francisco and the author of Rearming Hinduism: Nature, Hinduphobia, and the Return of Indian Intelligence (www.rearminghinduism.com)
relationship diva
Five Ways to Attract a Woman By Jasbina Ahluwalia
A
lthough technology has made meeting people easier than ever, many men find the keys to attracting a woman a bit elusive. Here are five ways to attract a woman: i. Be Confident. Few things will make a man seem more attractive than a welldeveloped sense of confidence. Being confident is having an awareness of not just who you are as a person, but using that awareness to grant you a certain sense of poise and assertiveness. Those who are confident rarely find the need to belittle others and have a more positive outlook on both life and future prospects. ii. Be Humorous. There’s no getting around it: first impressions are critical when it comes to dating and attracting a woman. Unfortunately, first dates can often be tense, uncomfortable events. Demonstrating a great sense of humor
is an excellent way to make you stand out in a woman’s eyes. A playful comment can help cut the tension and, more importantly, help her relax. iii. Be Adventurous. The world is full of amazing, wondrous things to do and to see. And yet, many people find themselves stuck in a rut doing the same things and visiting the same places over and over again. Wanting to experience new things isn’t simply a female desire; it’s a universal one. An effective way to separate yourself from the crowd and stand out to women is to provide your date with an experience she has never had before. iv. Don’t Be Needy. Everyone wants to feel loved and appreciated, but no one wants to be smothered. Making a woman feel special by complimenting her, or sending her flattering messages is a great way to fan the flames of attraction.
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However, sending dozens of texts or telling her after the first date that you are deeply in love with her are surefire ways to send her running. v. Be Yourself. If you truly want to attract a woman, the single most important thing you can do is be yourself. Although it sounds clichéd, being yourself is always the best course of action when seeking a mate. Women will respect you more for it, and it will ensure that you are with someone who is truly attracted to you for who you really are. n Jasbina is the founder and president of Intersections Match, the only personalized matchmaking and dating coaching firm serving singles of South Asian descent in the United States. She is also the host of Intersections Talk Radio. Jasbina@intersectionsmatch. com.
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ask a lawyer
Facing Spousal Abuse While on an H-4 By Indu Liladhar-Hathi
Q
I entered the United States in January 2015 on an H-4 visa. Subsequent to my entry, I was subject to extreme emotional abuse by my H-1B spouse. I am considering filing for divorce, but have serious reservations because I cannot financially support myself. I would like to work here. My husband has not started his green card process. Can I work legally in the U.S.A? According to a recent USCIS policy memo dated March 8, 2016, certain battered spouses of H-1B workers may be able to apply for employment authorization. Pursuant to section 106 of the Immigration Act, a battered spouse may apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) by producing evidence of abuse. You can include police reports, medical records, photographs of any injuries, psychological evaluations, statements by credible witnesses, such as friends, neighbors, and family members. You can
A
30 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
apply for the H-4 EAD even if your marriage to your H-1B has been terminated as long as you filed your EAD application within two years. If you re-marry prior to the approval of your EAD, you will no longer be eligible for employment authorization. I recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and understand that in addition to the 12 months of work authorization, I can also obtain work authorization for an increased duration. Please confirm.
Q
On March 9, 2016, the DHS published the final version of the new STEM OPT ruling. In essence, the DHS increased the duration of STEM OPT from 17 months to 24 months. It is important to note that this only applies to individuals who have a qualifying STEM degree from an accredited school. One
A
critical change is a requirement for an employer to show that it has a formal training program that is consistent with the employee’s degree. The requirements are extensive, and site visits will be conducted to verify compliance. I am on an F-1 student visa and recently my employer submitted my H-1B petition. I need to travel to India while my petition is pending.
Q
It is very important to note that when you apply for your change of status (COS) to H-1B and if you travel abroad while your petition is pending, USCIS will consider your request for COS as abandoned, and will deny your request for COS. n
A
Immigration and business attorney Indu Liladhar-Hathi has an office in San Jose. (408) 453-5335.
Legal visa dates Important Note: U.S. travelers seeking visas to India will now need to obtain them through Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Call 1-866-978-0055, email enquiriesusa@ckgs.com or visit www.in.ckgs.us for more information.
T
May 2016
his column carries final action dates and other transitional information as taken from the U.S. State Department’s Visa Bulletin. The information below is from the Visa Bulletin for May 2016.
In the tables below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed. “Current” means that numbers are available for all qualified applicants.
FAMILY PREFERENCE VISA DATES Preference Dates for India 1st Nov 22, 2008 2A Nov 01, 2014 2B Sep 01, 2009 3rd Dec 01, 2004 4th Jul 22, 2003 NOTE: F2A numbers subject to percountry limit are available to applicants beginning with priority dates beginning Aug 15, 2014 and earlier than Nov 01, 2014.
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films
Mirror, Mirror By Aniruddh Chawda FAN. Players: Shahrukh Khan, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tiku. Director: Maneesh Sharma. Music: Shankar Ehsan Loy. Hindi with Eng. sub-tit. Theatrical release Yashraj Pictures
S
hahrukh Khan movies of late have veered towards over-the-top film extravaganzas, often too big to fit even in a circus tent (especially Happy New Year). Khan the Actor was increasingly in danger of being replaced by the Khan the Star or Khan the Performer. To get back on track, Khan turned to Yashraj to devise a vehicle that would allow him to do an about-face. Even though it feels disconnected at times and falls flat as a fake biopic, Sharma’s Fan finally signals a return of Khan the Actor. In a double role, significantly enhanced by prosthetic facial realignments, Khan is carved up into two strikingly disparate characters. One Khan is Aryan Khanna, the complacent, fabulously rich Bollywood superstar who has become the master of his domain. The other Khan is Gaurav Chandna, a lookalike and rabid New Delhi fan obsessed with the silver screen demi-god. Gaurav will do anything to be noticed by his “hero” Aryan Khanna. He is brushed off by the superstar during their first encounter, and Gaurav vows to somehow get even with the superstar. Despite Khan’s decent performance especially as the fan Gaurav in the role of a twisted, first rate stalker—the view of Khan as Aryan Khanna is sometimes uncomfortably close to Khan’s real life. Khan in one of his two roles is on the screen about 90% of the time. A saturation point starts to creep in when Khan the star is informed by top Indian diplomats in London, where Gaurav’s vitriol has him posing as Aryan Khanna. This leads to international ramifications, and Aryan is now pretty much on his own in solving his stalker problem.
Really? For all his resources, this hugely successful, very rich man is left on his own to fight the bad guy. The constant reminders about Aryan’s success or Gaurav’s depravity begin to feel creepy in their dystopian take on the perils of stardom. We certainly don’t want to be the amoral Gaurav who lies his way into posing for a lifestyle he clearly will never have. On the other hand, if being a huge star means you are man-handling riffraff at sudden, scary and sometimes violent turns, the glamor of stardom takes on a black veneer. The Varun Grover-penned Jabra Fan is a catchy and popular tune in search of a movie. Released in about a dozen languages with slightly altered lyrics, the song has become quite popular. Like Phantom earlier, Fan is also a movie without songs. The token song is offered as a companion music video. Now, this appears to be a trend. To lend gravitas to a weighty script, some moviemakers skip songs in the movie and still get to call the song one of their own. In the hands of Yashraj, the production values are excellent, and the staging of sequences from New Delhi (where
Gaurav’s humble origin story is rooted) to Mumbai (which is saturated with Aryan Khanna posters) to London (with uncaring British police who pretend to not know who Aryan Khanna is) to Dubrovnik (a wonderful red tile roof top chase scene) are eye catching. Sadly, with Khan in split personas chewing up so much reel estate, Pilgaonkar as Gaurav’s girlfriend and Amin and Tiku as Gaurav’s parents, have severely curtailed roles. By all counts, Khan is highly successful. Some sources place his net worth at $600 million, the second highest in the world amongst actors (behind American actor Jerry Seinfeld). With his standing in the field, and potentially hundreds of scripts to choose from, why would Khan opt for a story that is essentially a bonfire of self-adulation unless it is to say this to his legions of fans: Love-me-but-don’t-loveme-too-much. Nothing else fits. n EQ: C+ Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.
LATA’S
FLICK PICKS oor and Sons Kap Ka d Ki an hhuda es ov L e R m Sana Lene at Gayi Tel af ar Sh
May 2016| West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 37
Family Matters! By Madhumita Gupta
KAPOOR & SONS (Since 1921). Players: Rishi Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rajat Kapoor, Sidhdharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt. Director: Shakun Batra. Released by Dharma Productions, Fox Star Studios.
F
amilies are depicted more realistically in movies these days than the “families that sing together, stay together” times. Kapoor and Sons comes from the stable of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, who had once made Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham—the iconic movie with the picture-perfect family in colorcoordinated ensembles, headed by a grim patriarch, with some estrangement and a final happy melt-in-each-other’s-arms ending. Kapoor and Sons comes with a satisfying dose of reality—a dysfunctional family carrying uncomfortable secrets and bursting into spats, which, on occasion, even include utensil-throwing. Minutes into the film, I become a part of it. I found myself taking sides, blaming, cheering, crying, laughing and rooting for characters. Directory, Shakun Batra, in his second film after Ek Main aur Ek Tu manages to strike a balance between high-brow arty and low-brow potboiler. The movie opens with Rahul Kapoor (Khan) cheerfully autographing his bestseller and a down-on-his-luck Arjun Kapoor (Malhotra) bartending and sending off his draft to publishers. The contrast is quickly established between the perfect son and the also-ran, the former is his mother, Sunita’s (Pathak) pet, eats bhindi without grumbling and the other one is, well, there. The two have to return home in lush Coonoor when Grandpa (Rishi Kapoor) suffers a heart-attack. The initial cold formality between the brothers gives us a hint that something has gone awry in the past but bigger worries loom. Like the presence of Anu Aunty haunting their parents’ marriage; father, Harsh’s (Rajat Kapoor), 38 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
business collapsing and mother’s inability to reach for her dreams. And, to top it all, both brothers appear to be falling for chirpy Tia (Bhatt). Holding this crumbling family together, temporarily at least, is the grandpa’s last wish for a familyphotograph. Despite the seemingly simple storyline, enough mystery—whether it is about the father’s supposed infidelity, the past reason for the coolness between the brothers, the present question as to which one of them will finally get the girl and then, whether Grandpa will get his last wish—keep the film taut and abidingly interesting. The collage-effect of all the stories running side-by-side keeps the film from sagging at any point and the onionpeel revelations about the characters make this film amazingly different from the predictability we have been so used to. Among its many laugh-out-loud moments, the one that must be mentioned is the shouting match between Sunita and Harsh, much to the befuddlement of a poor plumber who is the hapless witness to the drama. Then there are those hilarious interchanges between the “bad” grandson and the still full-of-beans Grandpa, with his penchant for all things forbidden. Malhotra brings a hitherto unseen vulnerability to his role as the son who is always second-best. Khan, already an acknowledged actor, depicts his internal conflicts as the good son who bears his
own cross. Shah, who is well known to convey reams of dialog with a mere look, beautifully portrays the hurt and frustration of a wife battling to present an “allis-well” façade to the world. Bhatt, as the love-interest, is more than a cardboard cut-out. While she is good in the boisterous scenes, she excels in the dramatic ones. My annoyance is with the extensive makeup that Rishi Kapoor is saddled with. Why? The face and the eyes with their pale contact-lenses remain carved of cement and it falls upon Kapoor to convey all through his voice. The director has used the green valleys, tea-gardens, and the sudden showers of Coonoor as tools of the narrative, like the dark skies portending gloom and the torrential rains preceding heart-breaking revelations. The Shakespearean “inner tumult reflected in storms outside” has been used to superb effect in the movie. The music doesn’t quite rise to the challenge. While being pleasant and well-picturized, the songs and tunes are not ones I will remember. Nevertheless, Kapoor and Sons is easily the top-contender among the well-made films this year and a worthy successor to last year’s superb Piku, another film about a family next-door. n EQ: B+ Madhumita Gupta is a freelance writer and a teacher.
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analysis
A Misplaced Sense of Pride The success of NRIs points to India’s failure By Atanu Dey
O
ne of the Founding Fathers of the United States, polymath, inventor, scientist, writer, diplomat, etc., etc., Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) observed that “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” An analogous statement about nations could be that all nations are born poor but it requires hard work to keep it in poverty. Not surprisingly that hard work is properly done by the politicians of poor countries. What’s surprising is the evident pride they appear to take in their dismal accomplishment. They obviously revel in the fact that the country is poor and proclaim it loudly for all to marvel at. A recent statement on twitter (image below) by the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, retweeted over 1,500 time no doubt approvingly by Indians, brought this to mind.
PM Modi is quoted as saying to expatriate Indian workers in Saudi Arabia that “your sweat and toil is the pride of India.” 40 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Really? The pride of India? A superficial reading of that statement suggests that he is proud of the work that expats are doing and commending them for it. I have a different perspective from that of Mr. Modi’s because of my personal circumstances of being an expatriate and also because of my profession as a development economist. Migrations always imply that subjectively and objectively some places are better than others. Most people do not migrate just for the fun of it; they are forced to do so. Leaving home is never easy and seldom undertaken frivolously. The clearest example is when people are forced to migrate en masse due to conflict. There are other reasons for migration such as famine, natural disasters, and the search for livelihood but it is always indicative of some failure in the native location. Mass migration, undertaken in search of safety or livelihood, is a matter to be pitied rather than to be celebrated. The situation of Indian migrant workers in Gulf states basically underlines the fact that the Indian economy has been a failure. Their sweating and toiling away in those inhospitable places is not just a metaphor but is literally true. They don’t sit around in airconditioned offices busily typing on keyboards; they sweat it out in the desert heat working in construction jobs. They are abused and made to do dangerous jobs. And they die from accidents at the workplace, and many commit suicide.
Above, see the graphic from the Washington Post quoted by the BBC (June 2015) about deaths related to the construction work for the scheduled 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “[The numbers were] first published in 2013 in a report by the International Trades Union Confederation (ITUC), called The Case Against Qatar.” The ITUC went to the embassies of Nepal and India, which counted more than 400 deaths a year between them—a total of 1,239 deaths in the three years to the end of 2013. Reading the report brings home the point that migrants have it tough. They are maltreated, abused and in many cases killed. Here’s more dismal statistics from TheMuslimIssue.wordpress.com: In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the “moderate” UAE tops the list with 2,513 deaths of Indians reported, Saudi Arabia comes second with 2,427, Qatar is fourth with 279 cases and Bahrain is in the last position with 175 cases. The working conditions can only be
described as brutal slavery. And yet Indian workers voluntarily go there. What does that say about their economic prospects in India? Further, what does that say about the Indian economy? And finally, what or who is responsible for this state of affairs? That Indians sweat and toil abroad under inhuman conditions is not a matter of pride for India, however jingoistically it is uttered. That fact should call for some introspection and then appropriate action. But that is never ever done. Prime Minister Modi was in San Jose, California, last September. The hoopla of his public appearances then involved heavy servings of self-congratulatory “look how amazingly successful people of Indian origin are in the United States and therefore how wonderful India is!” Nope. The success of Indians abroad points to India’s failure. It is a systemic failure that denies talented, hardworking, competent people the opportunity to create wealth. Again, it should lead to critical self-examination, not unearned boastful chest thumping. Instead of bombast, Indian leaders need to ask what changes need to be done so that people—the ultimate resource— don’t choose to migrate out of India. The oh-so-successful Indian entrepreneurs abroad are a glaring indicator of the Indian dysfunctional system, and the Indian leaders’ lack of interest in figuring out the cause is a major part of the problem. On the day of Modi’s visit to San Jose, I wrote this: “A lot of self-congratulatory speeches will be made, and the successes of Non Resident Indians(NRIs) in the United States recounted. There is only one truth that will not be mentioned: that all these NRIs are in the United States because they voted with their feet. They voted with their feet and came to the United States because of what India is. This fact should actually shame Indians and its leaders. But instead they are oblivious to its implications. And it will be a cold day in hell when Indian leaders will ask themselves these questions: “Why is it that so many hundreds of thousands of Indians vote with their feet? Why do they create wealth for themselves and for those foreign lands instead of creating wealth in India? Could it be because in India the government of India has put massive barriers to the creation of wealth?
Dear PM Modi, when the circus is over, when the performers have done their song and dance, when the photos have been taken, when the NRIs have all patted themselves on a great event they made possible, do ponder the simple question of why are there so many NRIs? Because there is another phrase that describes these NRIs—economic refugees and economic migrants. When will India be such a place that there will be very few NRIs to welcome Indian politicians in foreign countries?” Let there be no misunderstanding. Indians are like any other people. They seek a better way of life. Unfortunately, too many opportunities are denied to them and therefore those who can, move out. A small percentage (large in absolute terms) of the laboring classes go to the Gulf coast countries. Another small percentage (again significant in absolute terms) of the professionally trained class is able to move to the advanced industrialized countries. There they create wealth for themselves and naturally add wealth to the host countries. All that wealth is lost to India. Talking of loss of wealth brings me to another class of migrants. The bottom and middle of the economic pyramid are not the only two sources of migrants. There is migration from the top layer as well. The so-called “high net worth individuals” (HNWI) also move out. The March 2016 Millionaire migration in 2015 report by the New World Wealth organization has interesting numbers. Such as that net inflow of millionaires into various cities in 2015: Sydney (4,000), Melbourne (3,000), Tel Aviv (2,000), Dubai (2,000),
San Francisco (2,000), etc. In countries ranked by net inflows, Australia tops the list with 8,000, followed by United States (7,000), Canada (5,000), Israel (4,000), UAE (3,000) and New Zealand (2,000). We should note that Canada, Israel, and NZ are small countries with a total population of less that 50 million, and they had a net inflow of over 11,000 millionaires in 2015. The outflow of wealth represented by the over 4,000 HNW individuals leaving India could easily be over $20 billion (assuming an average of $5 million per person). That estimate is for the year 2015 alone. Add that over the years since India’s independence, and you can easily reach over half a trillion dollars in losses. That’s a significant amount that a poor country like India can ill afford. Who or what is responsible for that loss of wealth to India? To me, the government of India is criminally responsible for the loss to India. Government mismanagement of the economy lies at the foundation of India’s poverty. India loses wealth with every migrant—whether they end up toiling in the deserts, or working for high-tech corporations in the Silicon Valley, or moving their wealth abroad. Mr. Modi would do well to contemplate this fact when he gets some time out of congratulating NRIs abroad. The Indian government must stop working so hard at keeping India is such poverty. n Atanu Dey, Ph.D., is an economist. His blog “Atanu Dey on India’s Development” is at deeshaa.org. Connect on twitter @atanudey.
May 2016| West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 41
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books
On Time By Rajesh C. Oza
WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR by Paul Kalanithi. Random House, 2016. 228 pages
T
ime. We all have 24 hours in a day, 365 days in a year (366 if a leap year). We all have a finite number of years in a life (though depending on one’s belief in reincarnation, we may have multiple lives). But how we spend those hours, days, and years varies by person, and often for the same person at different stages of his/her life. Regardless of how much or little time you have left in your day, your life, please find a few hours to read Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air. And if you have only a few minutes, kindly read this review of a vital book. And if all you can spare are a precious few seconds, I request that you skim through the quotes below transformed by line breaks into poems. Kalanithi’s slender memoir on living and dying was written in the final months of the author’s brief, but fully-lived, time. As his wife, Lucy, writes in the book’s epilogue, “During the last year of his life, Paul wrote relentlessly, fueled by purpose, motivated by a ticking clock.” ~~~ Relentlessly. Fueled by purpose, A ticking clock. ~~~ If it seems odd to begin a review with a poetized quote from the book’s epilogue, please know that the intent here is a framebreak, to invert your sense of time as linear, to urge a sense of urgency, to have you believing that “I must read this important book. And I must read it now!” But if you are more invested in the author’s words than those of his widowed spouse, first read the last paragraph that Kalanithi wrote and reverse the illusion of forward time. As Abraham Verghese encourages in the book’s foreword, “read it aloud.” Read 48 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | May 2016
the paragraph in a church, a temple, a park. Read it to someone you love in a kitchen, a study, a bed. The paragraph is meant to be read aloud, each syllable to be given life with each breath. Though the author is no more, When Breath Becomes Air assures him an immortality through readers who care enough to make time to connect with the life of a writer-physician-patient-scientist, a father-son-husband-friend, who sought to make sense of death through his own life. Perhaps this book is not meant to only be read; perhaps it is meant to also be lived, like life itself—a precious gift. In considering this gift, Verghese, who like Kalanithi is a writer-physician, became aware not only of the author’s mortality, but also his own. Perhaps Verghese was looking in the mirror when he wrote about Kalanithi’s dream of writing a book: “One day. He thought he had time, and why not? And yet now time was the very thing he had so little of.” ~~~ One day. He had time, So little of. ~~~ Squeezed between the foreword and
the epilogue is Kalanithi’s life: Prologue, Part I: In Perfect Health I Begin, and Part II: Cease Not till Death. With the prologue, it is all there at entry. One is about to read a literary memoir of a dying man—a young, observant, and caring neurosurgeon whose mortality is self-evident. There is no mystery as to how this book will end; indeed it is right there in the opening paragraph: “I flipped through the CT scan images, the diagnosis obvious ... Cancer, widely disseminated ... I’d examined scores of such scans ... But this scan was different: it was my own.” The power in reading Kalanithi’s narrative is to appreciatively learn about the life that he has lived and empathetically understand how he will live out his days.
What Makes Life Meaningful?
This reader did indeed appreciate learning about the immigrant’s life in Arizona that Kalanithi and his family experienced after being twice displaced—first from India and subsequently from New York. Young Paul had a childhood of books in the desert; he was a precocious reader for whom “books became [his] closest confidantes, finely ground lenses providing new
views of the world.” As a Stanford undergraduate, having earnestly questioned “what makes life meaningful,” Kalanathi was at a fork in the road: pursue literature for the “best account of the life of the mind” or study neuroscience to understand the “rules of the brain.” Under the tutelage of the philosopher Richard Rorty, Kalanithi came to recognize that a multidisciplinary approach suited him best, and yet the intersection of biology, morality, literature, and philosophy still left him pondering the meaning of it all. It was during his time at Yale Medical School—time with donor-cadavers that taught much more than anatomy and living-patients who taught much more than diagnosis—that Kalanithi would better understand that it was in “human relationality” that he could understand the meaning of life and death. And practicing medicine would be his path to further build human relationships. Because Kalanithi elected to specialize in neurosurgery, he found himself researching the brain, “the crucible of identity,” recognizing that the “question is not simply whether to live or die but what kind of life is worth living.” While the desert, college, and medical studies are either mildly entertaining or intellectually fascinating, it is the foreshadowing of Paul’s deeply personal response to the question “What kind of life is worth living?” that captivates and inspires the reader. There is the simile of the two premature purple babies: “like tiny birds fallen too soon from a nest.” And there is Kalanithi invoking Samuel Beckett’s metaphor: “the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.”
The Doctor and Patient
Kalanithi ends Part I of his book with what appears to be guidance to young physicians: “You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.” But these words can be—should be— guideposts to all who strive for meaningful lives. ~~~ Perfection: An asymptote Ceaselessly striving. ~~~ “Ceaselessly striving” captures perfectly
how Kalanithi lived his life, how the author wrote this book. Indeed, Part II of the book is titled “Cease Not till Death.” At the tipping point of his residency, when he began to reap all that he had sowed, the 36-year-old neurosurgeon-scientist was confronted by the sense that with cancer, all that he had been building toward would now become unrealized potential. The doctor had also become a patient. And as he had counseled so many of his own patients, Dr. Kalanithi “had to face [his] mortality and try to understand what made [his] life worth living.” He was blessed to have a supportive family and to have an oncologist, Emma Hayward, who would guide him through this last stage of ceaseless striving to rebuild his old life or find a new one. Hearing Emma’s facilitator’s voice (“You have to figure out what’s most important to you.”), Kalanithi as a patient internalized what he had long known as a doctor: “the physician’s duty is not to stave off death or return patients to their old lives, but to take into our arms a patient and family whose lives have disintegrated and work until they can stand back up and face, and make sense of, their own existence.” When Emma helpfully tells Kalanithi that he has to figure out what’s important to him, he responds, “If I had some sense of how much time I have left, it’d be easier. If I had two years, I’d write. If I had ten, I’d get back to surgery and science.” Reclaiming ambitions without the “surety of time” is at first overwhelming. Indeed, this reader himself had so internalized the author’s dilemma that he was overwhelmed by a twinned paradox of frantic action and paralyzing uncertainty; and this reader was inspired by how Kalanithi “felt that life wasn’t about avoiding suffering” and “would carry on living, instead of dying.” The New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote that “when one is inspired, time disappears or alters its pace.” He defined inspiration as coming “from the Latin inspirare, meaning ‘to breath into’.” Brooks continued, “the one who is inspired performs his own feats and inspires others.” To be sure, When Breath Becomes Air has already inspired and will continue to inspire countless medical professionals, chronically ill patients, and lay readers who have only a glancing relation-
ship with healthcare. The audience for this important book is vast, for it is anyone invested in living a full and meaningful life. So, yes, dear reader, this memoir is written for you. But as his time disappeared during his months of inspired writing, I imagine that if Paul Kalanithi could have had only one reader, he would have aspired to breathe his wise words into his infant daughter, Cady: “I hope I’ll live long enough that she has some memory of me. Words have a longevity I do not.” In her moving epilogue, Lucy Kalanithi tells the reader that her husband died on March 9, 2015, surrounded by family, cradling Cady, “his face serene, hers quizzical but calm, his beloved baby never suspecting that this moment was a farewell.” Echoing Atul Gawande’s influential book Being Mortal, the epilogue is a compassionate primer on the medical fact of death. Just as Gawande asked the reader to consider how to approach the final stage of life, the Kalanithi family was confronted with whether to resuscitate Paul if the only intervention remaining was a ventilator. Lucy expressed to the rest of the family and to the medical professionals that “if [Paul] doesn’t have a chance of meaningful time, he wants to take the mask off and hold Cady.” When Paul said, “I’m ready,” the reader understands that by “ready, he meant, to remove the breathing support, to start morphine, to die.” ~~~ When Breath Becomes Air Remove Breathing support Start morphine Die. Take The mask off And hold Cady. ~~~ n
For Karishma (RCO’s niece who, with her MPH, first recommended this book to him), for Avinash and Amisha (the Oza Family’s aspiring MDs), and for the real and metaphoric book(s) we all aspire to write, to give life.
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 49
perspective
Can We Get a Dog, Pleeease? By Rajee Padmanabhan
A
s an only child, our son’s periodic refrain over the years went like this: “You guys didn’t get me a brother or a sister, at least get me a dog, a big furry one please.” My husband and I successfully dodged him with a multitude of excuses for almost a decade, until recently when all such arguments have become untenable. Some of our excuses were pedestrian. Who in their right mind will walk the dog in the dead of winter? As a newly minted teenager, my son, with maturity apparently acquired overnight, promised that he would walk and clean up after the dog, be it sub-zero or sub-Saharan temperature. We moved on to the practical. Senior, the husband, piped in. “Will our dog uphold the family tradition and be a vegetarian?” I thought that was a sound query indeed; the Alsatian near my childhood home in Trivandrum was trained to devour Aviyal (a vegetable stew with a coconut gravy), and instinctively learned to stop barking as soon as the temple bells pealed out for evening prayers. Where are we to find a pucca south Indian Shih Tzu like that one? Junior rolled his eyes with such scorn that the expression became an emoji imprinted on my “face book”—the one which has a bottomless feed of Junior’s facial contortions. We upped the ante and decided to appeal to the teenager’s sense of logic. I formed my rationale—one that I imagined to be so unassailably masterful that it was sure to withstand the middle school mock trial experience that has made Junior remarkably lawyerly in his counter arguments. My argument: “Baby, think from the dog’s point of view. Imagine being locked up all day in a home with no freedom to answer nature’s call at one’s will. Imagine having all the love and no liberty. Imagine 50 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | May 2016
that the only purpose of your life is your master’s gratification.” I rested my case, supremely confident in its foolproof-ness. A life bound by four walls—is it not akin to living in China? You can apparently hop on to the Internet, but you can’t get on Facebook there. What kind of a dog’s life is that? Junior did not miss a beat: “Momsies, consider from the dog’s point of view, that of the dog that is languishing in a pound. Imagine letting a healthy living creature perish because of human cruelty! Isn’t a life filled with love, albeit one with only the illusion of freedom, better than death? Isn’t adopting a pet from the pound a matter of compassion, the very quality Gandhi and Mandela taught and lived by? Moreover, there are folks who think adoption should be done in pairs.” The last, I conceded was a masterful stroke. I beat a hasty retreat. My winning strategy was starting to look like the United States arming the Taliban with ammunitions to subdue Russia. Before I get clobbered by hate mail, I want to clarify that I am not anti-pet at all. For instance, I am already very fond of Casper Visweswaran, my brother-in-law’s Bichon Frise Poodle pup. A friend even suggested a name for our future pet, Ludwig van Visweswaran, cleverly combining Junior’s interests in all things canine and canon, Beethoven’s that is. I have loads of affection for and even a strange kinship with the neighbor’s twin Alaskan huskies; they must miss Alaska in the summer as much as I pine for Kerala in the winter. I also have a colleague who presents me, every single holiday season,
A Creative Commons Image
with a holiday card which I smilingly and graciously accept, which depicts his three hairless sphinx cats in a Broadway show setting. And, my adventures in pet-sitting a scorpion have been well documented here (“The Scorpion’s Diet,” April 2013, India Currents). The true worry I have is that I will end up getting so attached to the pet that an eventual separation will be similar to living through a parent’s worst nightmare, a loss of a child. Even if it may sound presumptuous of me to assume that I will outlive the pet. How do you impress upon a thirteen year old the nature of such a love, one with such an intensity that a loss will be unbearable, an undoing of one’s very core, a love that seems to come so instinctively to mothers of all species. n Rajee Padmanabhan is a perennial wannabe—wannabe writer, wannabe musician, wannabe technologist. She lives with her iPad and iPod in Exton, PA, occasionally bumping into her husband and son while either of her iPals is out of charge.
Since 1988!
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 51
travel
Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus Buildings By Kalpana Sunder
Rothschild Boulevard
I
walk on Tel Aviv’s first boulevard— Rothschild Boulevard, which is an avenue lined with ficus and sycamore trees and dotted with benches and outdoor coffee kiosks. Both sides of the boulevard are lined with magnificent homes. I see building after building with prow fronts, curving balconies and flat roofs with ribbons of “thermometer windows” that keep the harsh sunlight out. It’s a vista of white. Clumps of tangerine bougainvillea and palm trees add color and relief to the white structures. Tel Aviv meaning “the hill of spring,” the capital city of Israel, is washed by the eastern waters of the Mediterranean and is a city with both an ancient past in its old city Jaffa and modern skyscrapers along its coastline. The city has a million stories to tell. It all started when hundred years ago a few Jewish families founded the city on a desolate stretch of swamps and sand dunes because the Arab port of Jaffa was overcrowded. My guide, Sharon Pelleg, helps me discover a wealth of glass and concrete build52 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | May 2016
ings constructed in the International style inspired by the Bauhaus (literally meaning “school of building”) from Germany. This school of architecture was founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius and brought to Tel Aviv by Jewish architects, who fled here to escape from the Nazis. The collection of 4,000 curvilinear buildings in the area is now called the “White City” and this extraordinary architectural legacy has earned it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003. “What is so special about these structures?” I ask Sharon on my first glimpse of this minimal and stylistic architectural framework that remind me of ocean liners. “It’s probably the ‘no ornamentation, no decoration,’ just lots of right angles and clean lines look,” she explains. It was a reaction to the excessive ornamental architecture under the Nazi regimes. Bauhaus and its leftist ideology was popular with Jewish intellectuals and was anathema to Hitler, who loved pseudoclassical kitsch. “These houses were an attempt at the first unique Jewish style,” says
Sharon. A few Bauhaus buildings even have a row of portholes running along the side! “The white color of the buildings was chosen not only for its minimalism, but also to reflect the heat due to the desert climate,” explains Sharon. Some of the buildings are even raised on pillars that allow the wind to blow under and cool the apartments. “There is lots of light and air in these houses because many Jewish people lived in the ghettos which were overcrowded and wanted a style which was radically different,” says Sharon. Many Jewish immigrants even smuggled in doorframes, shelving and light fixtures out of Germany at the height of WWII. This style represented “functionalism.” The main materials were based on cement in the form of different stuccos and plasters. “Form flows function” was the motto of this school of architecture. Bauhaus showed a deep love of simple geometry. The architects filled the empty lots of new Tel Aviv with striking buildings of brilliant white, eschewing frills for deco-
rative purity and geometric form. More than four thousand houses with geometric forms and straight lines were constructed between 1933 and 1948. “They were sensible houses for the people with sensible lighting and did away with stylistic idioms” says Sharon. On Rothschild Bou-
levard and Diezengoff Street, I see cubist design juxtaposed with round, vibrant forms. Some buildings have sparkling, flawless white facades, while the stucco is crumbling off of others. “The original Bauhaus style underwent some changes in Israel, necessitated by the different harsh climate and lifestyle, “explains Sharon. As architects kept building, they modified the style, experimenting and changing some elements that had originally been established to work in Germany’s climate. There are horizontal slits in this balcony to let in breeze; Le Corbusier’s pilotis—stilts or pillars that raise a building above the ground remained, but for a wind that drifted through them cooled the entire home. Windows were made smaller to combat the strong sun and angles were gently rounded, especially around the distinctive balconies, to soften the edge. The balconies expanded so that occupants could take advantage of the mild weather. The ubiquitous shutters were added for times when the sun became too strong. Slowly the immigrants achieved their own homegrown Bauhaus Style. The roof, for example, was a communal space and be-
longed to everyone in the apartment building. Laundry was hung to dry, or the residents would hold parties there on warm summer evenings. The ethos was that the first settlers wanted to create a new society where wealth was fairly distributed and everyone the right to lots of light and air in their living environment. I see the unconventional building built by Yehuda Lulka in 1936 known as the “Thermometer House.” There are vertical lines of diagonal, slatted windows running down its entire fourstory length. Though this building may appear to be more decorative than other Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv it, too, is a practical living space. The oddly shaped slanted windows are perfectly aligned with an interior staircase, letting in light throughout the day but not as much heat as open, wide windows. Crafted from crisp, white concrete and typically perched on leg-like pillars, the buildings are easily identifiable by their flat roofs, angular facades and nauticalstyle windows. Today there’s little evidence of Bauhaus’ mid-20th century zenith in Tel Aviv. With the passage of time many of the buildings have been defaced or even ruined as occupants added extra storeys, installed plastic shutters and wall-mounted air-conditioning or sealed off balconies to create extra rooms. The facades have suffered from the heat and exhaust emissions from the streets, massive air conditioning units clutter the building fronts and many of the balconies have been closed in. Some of the Bauhaus buildings have been meticulously restored into hotels, restaurants, shops and museums and today Bauhaus-era real estate is among Tel Aviv’s most expensive. Recently, Germany has said that it will donate 2.5 million Euros ($2.86 million) over 10 years for the preservation and restoration of Bauhaus-style buildings. That will be a new chapter in preserving this unique architectural heritage that has German–Israeli history stamped all over it n
Thermometer House
Kalpana Sunder is a travel writer and blogger based in Chennai, India who blogs at http://kalpanasunder.com/blog May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 53
youth
Prom Couture Desi Style By Sandhya Iyer
W
hen my classmate Monica posted her dress in the senior prom Facebook group, people started “liking” the post immediately. “What a beautiful dress!” girls crooned, “Where did you get it from?” “It’s from India,” she replied nonchalantly, “I wore it to my cousin’s wedding, and I really like it, so I’m going to wear it again.” The “dress” that everyone fawned over was actually a lehenga—a beaded gold and white blouse with a full green skirt, dotted with pink and white flowers. It was beautiful and it was different, captivating everyone’s attention at once. Sparkly, satiny layers of fabric with designs, pretty necklines and full skirts that make every girl look like a princess—girls give a lot of importance to finding the perfect prom dress. Dress hunting generally begins months before the actual date of prom, and schools have groups on Facebook, in which girls who attend prom, post pictures of dresses they plan to wear, so that there are no unpleasant surprises with someone else wearing the same dress on prom night. Traditional prom dresses typically have very similar silhouettes—long, tighter at the top, and gently flared from the waist down. My friend Harini’s dress was the hue of lavender, with an intricate lace top and a skirt that gently swished around her ankles. Until recently, that’s the type of dress that most girls chose to wear. However, this past year, a unique style broke through. Bearing resemblance to the Indian lehenga or ghagra choli, this ubiquitous design is a two-piece outfit. The top is fancy, like a blouse, and the skirt is simpler in comparison. The dresses come in various colors, from sparkly gold to deep reds and vivid blues, some with floral or beaded patterns, just like a traditional lehenga. Lehengas and ghagra cholis are beautiful. They’re elegant, trendy, and fairly easy to move around in. Fashion designers 54 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | May 2016
Rachna Mandalam, senior at Silver Creek High School, San Jose
from around the world have taken note of these qualities, and Indian-inspired clothing is featured in haute couture lines like Marchesa, Chanel, and Diane von Furstenberg, with established retailers such as Forever 21 and ZARA falling suit. Actresses like Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra are media darlings and are paving the way for Indian acceptance in that industry as well. In the past, wearing Indian clothing to a school dance was not something I would have considered for even a second. I had not seen anyone else attempt it either. Would I have been ashamed if others did so? Quite possibly, yes. As a teenager, sometimes it feels as if social media and
mainstream culture wants you to be malleable, fitting a certain set of norms, covering up who you really are in the process. Decades ago, prom was celebrated in a very specific way. It was hosted in school gyms—students dressed in classic western formal wear and danced the night away. Nowadays, prom has been given a fresh, new makeover, embracing new script lines. Last year, my school’s prom was outdoors, and this time it was held on a yacht. My friend’s school is having their prom at a local amusement park. On College Confidential, a website frequently visited by teens, students are talking about how they plan to wear saris to prom, and they are being encouraged by their peers, who admire the intricacy and elegance of the Indian garment. The definition of prom is transforming, becoming more accommodative of the melting pot that our country truly is. For someone like me, who used to be reluctant to embrace my Indian culture, because it was so excluded from the media and fashion indsutries, seeing girls of different races appreciate my background not only makes me proud, but also more confident. Being unconventional, being different, is something that should be praised. I went to the mall three times, browsed through tons of websites—Pinterest, and Instagram, saving almost twenty dresses before I found the perfect one, that carried the all-important tag of “Amma approved!” Even though I did not wear a lehenga to my prom, I felt like royalty—in my glittery navy blue dress, I spent time with 600 seniors who broke down social cliques for the night, we came together to make memories for a lifetime. I attended prom night this past weekend, feeling more confident of my identity—it was indeed magical for a whole host of reasons. n Sandhya Iyer is a high school senior at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose. She aspires to be a journalist.
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58 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | May 2016
presents
Bharatanatyam Arangetram of
Sreya Chagarlamudi
Disciple of Guru Indumathy Ganesh, Artistic Director
Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 4:00 PM Jackson Theater, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd Fremont CA 94539
Choreography & Nattuvangam: Indumathy Ganesh Nattuvangam: Vidya Iyer Vocal: Sindhu Natarajan Mridangam: Aditya Ganesh Violin: Vikram Ragukumar Flute: Ashwin Krishnakumar For more information contact: Satya – 510-396-0955 | VB – 408-373-8981 Email: vbraoch@hotmail.com
ADMISSION IS FREE • ALL ARE WELCOME
Xpressions - 13th Annual Showcase
“Yatra - The Journey"
Sunday, May 15, 2016 3.00pm Artistic Director - Srividya Eashwar
Yatra highlights the students’ journey with Unique, Vibrant, Award Winning Folk, Film and Fusion Dances CET-Anthony R. Soto Theater 701 Vine Street, San Jose, 95110
Tickets - $35 Preferred Seating, $30 General Seating
www.facebook.com/Xpressions.SanJose | www.XpressionsDanceMusic.com |
408-838-3079
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 59
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May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 63
Institute of Manipuri Dance Artistic Director:
Dr. SOHINI RAY (disciple of late Guru Bipin Singh)
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NRITYODAYA KATHAK ACADEMY Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself~ Havelock Ellis
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Founder/Director Since 1989 Contact: 909-630-8558 bhairavipkumar@yahoo.com www.kathaksocal.com
Kathak classes offered in Walnut/ Diamond Bar, Tustin/Irvine, Santa Ana
Affiliated with Hindustan art & music society, Calcutta. Students receives official accreditation, diplomas and degrees from India.
ADVERTISE in the complete Indian American magazine
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Shivam arts ol of Kath ho Sc
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Artistic director:
Punam Kumar
(Holds a master's degree in art of Kathak) Beginning and advanced classes for children all ages Adults dance class Special events choreography New classes coming to Santan Mandir, Norwalk Classes also offered at: Cypress Diamond Bar Irvine For information call:
714-293-4539 714-891-3799 Email: Punam.kathak@yahoo.com
Kalapeetham Foundation Established in 1990
Director: Smt. Kalyani Shanmugarajah (Alumnus of Kalakshetra, 1974) Offering Classes In:
Kalakshetra style of Bharathanatyam, Traditional Folk Dances and Theory Class Locations: Granada Hills, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Simi Valley,
Valencia, Santa Clarita, Palmdale/Lancaster, Santa Monica, Irvine
(818) 892-4890 • KalapeethamFoundation@gmail.com www.Kalapeetham.com • www.facebook.com/Kalapeetham
dance . music
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Nishi Munshi
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Classes Available on Weekdays and Weekends Private Lessons also available Students of the Academy have performed all over the Los Angeles Community
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626-590-5547 May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 65
IN
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If you can walk, you can dance - join us!
INDIAN DANCE CENTER (formerly known as Monsoon Dance Academy) ENROLLMENTS OPEN FOR FALL 2015
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in collaboration with
Nupur Academy LA
ADVERTISE
Colors of Fire
INDIA CURRENTS
Abhimanyu Lal &Vidha Lal
in the complete Indian American magazine
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CALL (408) 324-0488 . (714) 523-8788 Fax: (408) 324-0477 Email: ads@indiacurrents.com www.indiacurrents.com Write: 2670 S White Rd., Suite 165, San Jose, CA 95148 Deadline: 20th of every month
presents
Concept & Choreography by
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Prachi Dixit
– (310) 872-7061
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music
Take Five, Taliban! How Sachal Studios brought music back to Lahore By Priya Das
“J
ab se yeh Taliban aaye hain na, beda gark hogaya hai music ka.” (Ever since the Taliban, it has sp-
-elled doom for music). “Mere bete ka keyboard chheena, maara peeta,” (My son’s keyboard was seized, he was beaten up). The video footage shows a crowd in unrest, and then a funeral. Despite these scenes, the film, Song of Lahore, is not about atrocities. It is about regeneration. It is like a musical phoenix, rising out of the ashes. Released in late 2015, it won acclaim at film festivals and recognition among international musicians. It was even slated to be screened on International Jazz Day in San Jose on April 30th. Lahore of early twentieth century was a haven and a muse for musicians, artists, and poets. It had musical history and a heritage passed down over centuries. With a thriving film industry, opportunities were great for the legion of musicians that called it home. Then the cloud of religious extremism and political turmoil held the city under siege and the sounds of the tabla no longer drifted through the old city’s bazaar. “Something had to be done about it,” said Izzat Majeed in the film, with a quiet resolve in his voice. He coaxed some musicians back into picking up their instruments again—behind closed doors. Thus, Sachal Studios was born. They quietly released some classical and folk albums. It was music in hushed jam sessions at first, and then, it was the music of jazz great Dave Brubeck. Majeed’s father had taken him to a Brubeck concert in Lahore when he was a child, in 1958. Drawing on the memory of those wondrous days and that glorious concert, the team decided to take on Brubeck’s “Take Five,” a jazz composition by Paul Desmond released in the Brubeck’s
70 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
1959 album Time Out, saying “Apne maze ke liye ke yaar, yeh sunte hain, ke yeh kya hota hai.” (Just for fun, let’s try this, what it sounds like) A clip showed the string section of Sachal Studios’ “Take Five,” with some 20 musicians in white pathanis playing violin and bass, both instruments unusual for Hindustani classical. Their rendition of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” beame a sensation and Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, invited them to perform “Take Five” at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Once they arrived, there were groundbreaking rehearsals fusing the orchestras from Lahore and New York. The Pakistani team’s trepidation was caught on film with Baqir Abbas, the flutist, repeating, “What? We have to start?” and Majeed himself saying, “I hope the first day doesn’t turn out to be a fiasco.” At this, Marsalis put down his trumpet in mild frustration and said, “what do we need to do to get it together? ‘cos we’re going to run out of time.” The last was possibly an indication of the divergent approach of the music cultures. Eastern musicians are known for taking their time to get into the “zone,” and Western musical sensibilities are often not afforded that luxury, and have a more “on-demand” approach. The New York Times called the film “elegant and moving.” This was underscored by one of the Sachal Studios’ musicians saying, “Pakistani toh musical log hain, terrorist nahi.” (Pakistanis are musical folks not terrorists.) A clip showed them appreciating the street musicians in New York, saying, “These are poor musicians just like us!” Behind the scenes footage focused on a
Baqir Abbas, flutist
Wynston Marsalis performing with Sachal Jazz Ensemble; Photo by: Luigi Beverelli
visibly emotional Abbas talking about the making of his flute and his music; the soulful journey of carrying forward his heritage into a legacy. A simply marvelous Youtube video has them performing Duke Ellington, expanding their repertoire. Despite their rising international acclaim, Sachal Studios remains virtually unknown in Pakistan. How does one keep the fundamental joy of art alive in a “fundamental” world? It is starkly ironic that the former is a sure path to the Divine while the other claims to be one. n Priya Das is an enthusiastic follower of world music and avidly tracks intersecting points between folk, classical, jazz and other genres.
dance . music
BharathaKala Kutiram Artistic Director:
Jayanthi Sridharan offers Bharathanatyam Classes in North San Jose
Call: (408) 251-3438 e-mail: bkkdanceschool@gmail.com
Private Lessons ALL AGES & LEVELS
MUSIC Lessons with Peter Block
ENGLISH Lessons with Sita
• Saxophone, Guitar, Flute, Clarinet Writing, reading & speaking skills • Classical, Jazz & Pop styles • Prepare for high school and college • Includes comprehensive program of playing, • Word choice, vocabulary, grammar, diction rhythm & ear training, theory, recitals, etc. • Essay, academic & creative writing • Qualify for local youth symphonies, wind ensembles, jazz bands, & college music. Peter: (408)
839-2476
1/2 or Full Hour Lessons
music_lessons@comcast.net
Sita: (408)
253-1051
s_tyar@comcast.net
Vocal Music Classes By DR
MOUSOOMI BANERJI
(disciple of late Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan) * Teacher of repute and artiste having numerous stage and TV shows. * Elementary lessons for beginners in Indian Classical Music (Hindusthani style) and Light Classical Music - including bhajan, ghazal, etc.
and Adults
* Special lessons in Bangla Gaan - (Bengali) ClassesseIn, San Jo Puraatani, Tappa, Nazrulgeeti, Sunnyvale ra Atulprosad, Raagprodhan, etc. & Santa Cla mousumi_999@yahoo.com Contact: (408) 799-1102 • (408) 823-3918 mousumi.banerji@gmail.com
Bansuri Bamboo Flute
Jeff Whittier
• Flutes of the Highest Quality • Lessons in North Indian Music in Palo Alto & Fremont • Video Instructions Available • Light Classical Music for Indian Weddings
(650) 493-2187
E-mail: Bansijeff@aol.com
KALANJALI Dances of India Establshed in 1975
CLASSES IN BHARATANATYAM
India's most ancient classical dance
Following traditional Kalakshetra syllabus - all levels
SACRAMENTO, LAFAYETTE, BERKELEY Registration and Information:
510-526-2183
Kalanjaliusa@aol.com May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 71
events MAY
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! JUNE issue deadline: Friday, May 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and click on List Your Event
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special dates Mother’s Day
May 8
Buddha Purnima
May 21
Memorial Day
May 30
Ramadan Begins
June 6
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June 19
CULTURAL CALENDER
May
1 Sunday
Rickshaw Girl—A Play. Based on the book by Mitali Perkins. A village in Bangladesh, a loving family, and a daring daughter. In Naima’s village, boys can work for pay, but girls are expected to stay home and help with the cooking and the cleaning. Naima desperately wants to help her father earn more money, and she thinks she knows just how to do it. A world premiere. Recommended for age 6 and up. Ends May 22. Organized by Bay Area Children’s Theatre. San Ramon, Berekely and San Francisco. (510) 296-4433. info@bactheatre.org. bactheatre.org/shows/ 72 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Mount Madonna School’s 38th annual Ramayana! Featuring a cast of 200; traditional costumes and dancing; live music; and special effects. June 10-12 at the Mexican Heritage Theater, San Jose.
RickshawGirl.
Dreamland-Solo Art Show by Bhavna Misra. Ends June 16. Orga-
nized by Red Rock Cafe. 10 a.m. Art Wall, 201 Castro St., Mountain View . Free. (650) 967-4473. www.redrockcoffee. org.
Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent. This presentation is the first
in North America to celebrate the diversity of South Asian art by examining the relationship between aesthetic expression and the devotional practice in the three native religions of the Indian subcontinent
events
Your guide to what’s hot
TiECon
Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe Systems.
T
FAIR
A
Berkeley tradition since 1983, the Himalayan Fair will be celebrating its 33rd anniversary this year. Arlene Blum, a pioneering scientist and mountain climber, who had come to love the rich and varied cultures of the Himalayan region, founded the fair to promote friendship and understanding between the There will be shopping and food vendors along with a celebration of Himalayan culture which will include live music and beautiful classical dance forms. Colorful folk dances by local Nepali, Tibetan and Bhutanese community associations will be showcased. Indian and Odissi dance by Jyoti Kala Mandir,
Bhangra dance lesson with the Dholrhythms and rollicking Bollywood by Dance Identity. Musical offerings include stirring performances blending traditional and modern styles. Karma Moffett leads the opening ceremony with a Tibetan longhorn. Qawwali and modern styles by noted vocalists Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Sultana. Ancient Future, the innovative world music group, combines technical wizardry and original sound and will surely draw listeners to the stage in the late afternoon. n May 21, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Live Oak Park, 1300 Shattuck Ave., North Berkeley. Free. www. himalayanfair.net.
he 2016 conference Friday, attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves into the latest in technology across the hottest industry segments and hear from several successful entrepreneurs and leaders, including Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe Systems; Diane Greene, Sr.
VP of Google’s Cloud Business, Google Board Member and co-founder and former CEO of VMware; and Sanjay Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO of SanDisk. n May 6,7. Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara. www.tiecon. org.
DANCE Colors of Fire—Concept and Choreography by Vidha and Abhimanyu Lal. An evening of kathak with musicians from Mumbai and Kolkata. Ajeet Pathak (tabla), Ranjeet Pathak (vocals), and Pankaj Mishra (sarangi). Organized by Kalanjali in collaboration with Nupur Academy LA. n Sunday, May 22. 6 p.m. Chinmaya Mission of Los Angeles, 14451 Franklin Ave., Tustin. $20 general, $35 reserved. (310) 872-7061. Nupuracademyla@gmail.com. Nupuracademyla.org. Kathak duo, Vidha and Abhimanyu Lal May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 73
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara. Free. (408) 218-6346. dadasf2016@gmail. com.
May
3 Tuesday
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health. 7-8:30 p.m. Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga . Free. (408) 867-6126, (408) 472-9705. www.sccl.org/Saratoga, www.classical-ayurveda.com.
May
May
7 Saturday
Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Aditi Vaidya. Student of Indumathy
Ganesh, Artistic Director of Nrithyollasa Dance Academy. Accompanied by Indumathy Ganesh (choreography and nattuvangam), Vidya Iyer (nattuvangam), Asha Ramesh (vocal), Ravindrabharathy Sridharan (mridangam), Vikram Ragukumar (violin), and Ashwin Krishnakumar (flute). Organized by Nrithyollasa Dance Academy. 4 p.m. Jackson Theater, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont. Free.
6 Friday
Hazir: Hariharan and Zakir Hussain in Concert. They will be joined
Aditi Vaidya’s Arangetram, May 7
of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Ends Aug. 28. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St, Santa Barbara. www. sbma.net.
59th San Francisco International Film Festival. The festival combines a
range of marquee premieres, international competitions, compelling documentaries, new media work, musical performances and star-studded events. Ends May 5. Organized by San Francisco Film Society. Alamo Drafthouse New Cinema, Castro Theatre, Victoria Theatre, Roxie Theatre, Gray Area. www.sffs.org/exhibition/comingsoon.
Empower Yourself—A Talk in English by Dada J.P. Vaswani. Talk is followed by a Q&A session. 6 p.m. Santa Clara Convention Center, Mission Ballroom,
74 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
by an ensemble of : Sanjay Das (guitar), Ustad Dilshad Khan (sarangi), Akhlakh Hussain (harmonium) and Atul Raninga (keyboard). 8 p.m. City National Civic, 135 W San Carlos St, San Jose . $39-$150. sanjosetheaters.org/event/hazir-hariharanzakir-hussain-live-concert/.
TiEcon 2016 Conference. Attendees
will have the opportunity to immerse themselves into the latest in technology across the hottest industry segments and hear from several successful entrepreneurs and leaders, including Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe Systems; Diane Greene, Sr. VP of Google’s Cloud Business, Google Board Member and co-founder and former CEO of VMware; and Sanjay Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO of SanDisk. Ends May 7. Organized by TiE Silicon Valley. Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara. www.tiecon.org.
Sreya Chagarlamudi Arangetram, May 22
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events suffer from recurrent heartburn or acid reflux? In this talk you will learn about the ayurvedic treatment of this digestive disorder called amlapitta. What are its causes? What kinds of foods and lifestyle aggravate the condition, and what relieves it? How is it treated by addressing its root causes? 6-7 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. Free, but please pre-register. (408) 472-9705. www.indiacc. org/ayurveda, www.classical-ayurveda.com.
Musical Concert Geet Ramayan by Sridhar Phadke. Organized by Swar
Sudha. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Jain Temple Auditorium, 722 S. Main St., Milpita. $15, $25. (408) 461-8390, (510) 579-8211. swarsudha@swarsudha.org. www.SwarSudha. org, www.sulekha.com/SwarSudha, www. TicketHungama.com/SwarSudha.
May
Vocal concert by Sh: Vinayak Torvi, May 28
(510) 579-8525, (510) 388-2012, (510) 623-8230. aditiarangetram16@gmail.com, info@nldance.com. www.nldance.com.
Vocal Concert by Ranjani and Gayathri. Accompanied by Rajeev Mu-
kundan (violin) and Sai Giridhar (mridangam). Organized by South Indian Music Academy. 5 p.m. Cabrillo High School, 2001 Santa Fe Ave., Long Beach. www.simala.net/ upcoming.html.
Noises Off —A Play. In Hind, the
play often called the funniest farce ever written, Michael’s Frayn’s Noises Off is a play-within-a-play, presenting a manic menagerie as a cast of actors rehearsing a sex romp hours before opening night. Lines are forgotten, love triangles unravel, gloves and clothes come off, and there are flying fish everywhere. Ends May 15. Organized by Naatak. 6 p.m. Cubberley Theater, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. $25, VIP $35. (408) 499-5692. tickets@ naatak.com, rajiv_nema@hotmail.com. www.naatak.org.
Jugalbandi. Performances by Joydeep Ghosh (sarod), Mita Nag (sitar), Subhen
Late Shri Madhav Tare Sangeet Mahotsav. Tabla solo by Pandit Swapan
Chatterjee (tabla). Organized by The Music Circle. Herrick Chapel, Occidental College (at the end of Alumni Ave, past Campus Road), Los Angeles. General $35, Basic member $25, student with ID $5. www.musiccircle.org.
May
Chaudhuri, sitar recital by Pandit Habib Khan, along with performances by Tabla Niketan students. Organized by Tabla Niketan. 2:30 p.m. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, 450 E Persian Drive., Sunnyvale. Free. (408) 792-7014. satish_tare@tablaniketan. com. tablaniketan.com/events.php.
8 Sunday
Hindustani Vocal Concert. Celebrat-
Karnatik Music Concert. Featuring
Ranjani and Gayathri, M.Rajeev and Sai Giridhar. Organized by SanKritiLaya. 3:30 p.m. TBD. www.sankritilaya.org.
Kalaparva. Trio-instrumental classical concert by Pravin Godkhindi (flute), Ramdas Palsule (tabla) and Ratish Tagde (violin). Organized by Aneri Arts. 5-9 p.m. Jain Temple Auditorium, 722 S Main St., Milpitas . $20, $30, $50. (510) 5863378, (510) 449-8617, (732) 766-8470. info@aneriarts.org. www.aneriarts.org.
May
13 Friday
Overcoming Acid Reflux. A talk on
14 Saturday
ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Do you
ing 30 years of Hindustani vocal classes in Sacramento, featuring a solo performance with Rita Sahai and her Vasundhara choir. Accompanied by Dan Kennedy (tabla) and Rachel Unterseher (viola). 6:30 p.m. Vedanta Society of Sacramento, 1337 Mission Ave., Carmichael. Free. (916) 489-5137, (530) 758-8917. smitarisbud@hotmail.com.
May
15 Sunday
Yatra—The Journey. In it’s 13th annual showcase, Yatra highlights the students journey with unique, vibrant folk, film and fusion dance. With Srividya Eashwar, Artistic Director of Xpressions. 3 p.m. CET Soto Theater, 701 Vine St., San Jose. $35, $30. (408) 838-3079. www.xpres
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 75
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Himalayan Fair. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Live Oak Park, 1300 Shattuck Ave., North Berkeley. Free. www.himalayanfair.net.
Hindustani Vocal Concert. Pattabhirama Pandit (vocal), VVS Murari (violin), Trivandrum Shri. Balaji (mridangam) and Chandrasekara Sharma (ghatam). Organized by South India Fine Arts. 4-7 p.m. CET-SOTO Theater, 701 Vine St., San Jose. www.southindiafinearts.org. Farhan Akhtar with Papon Live Concert. The actor will be performing
live in the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds with his full band that includes Sarosh Izedyar, Ehsaan Noorani, Darshan Doshi and Anurag Rao while Farhan will be on the mic. And this time, he plans to include songs from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara too besides the songs from Rock On. Organized by Bikram Jeet Singh and Ray & Kay Walia. 6:30 p.m. Santa Clara County Fairground, 344 Tully Road, San Jose. $35-$500. events.sulekha.com/farhanlive-san-jose_event-in_san-jose-ca_305454.
May
22 Sunday
Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour. Discover 100 Dreamland: A solo art exhibition by Bhavna Misra, through June
sionsDanceMusic.com.
Ayurvedic Workshop on Cancer Prevention. There are simple and
practical ways to prevent cancer. Learn about the natural methods of Ayurveda on proper diet, exercise and thought from Geeta Aurora, Ayurvedic practitioner, author and spiritual healer. The program will begin with a light yoga class. Please bring loose clothing. Registration not required but helpful. 11 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert ave San Leandro CA 94578. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
May
20 Friday
Classical Sitar Concert with Partha 76 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Bose and Indranil Mallick. Organized by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center. 7-9 p.m. Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center San Francisco, 1185 Vicente St., San Francisco. $20. (415) 681-2731. sanfrancisco@ sivananda.org. sivanandasf.org/topic/homepage, sivanandasf.org/course/5618.
May
21 Saturday
2016 Himalayan Fair. Support the
Nepal earthquake recovery efforts. Celebrate the many cultures of the Himalayan mountain region with live music, traditional dance, fine arts, crafts, antiques, and authentic food. All proceeds from raffle ticket sales and donations will go to grassroots charities supporting the Nepal earthquake recovery efforts. Organized by
plus years of Bay Area Desi history, from 1908-2014. You’ll visit original sites, hear stories, and leave inspired by our community’s struggles for justice, from the independence movement to women’s organizing and beyond. Morning (10 a.m.–1 p.m.) and afternoon (2 p.m.–5 p.m.) tours. Tour is stroller and wheelchair accessible. Organized by Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Berkeley, 1404 Henry St, #4. $5-$15. (510) 520-0545. barnalighosh@gmail.com. berkeleysouthasian.org.
Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Sreya Chagarlamudi. Sreya Chagar-
lamudi, student of Indumathy Ganesh, Artistic Director of Nrithyollasa Dance Academy. Accompanied by musicians Indumathy Ganesh (choreography and nattuvangam), Vidya Iyer (nattuvangam), Sindhu Natarajan (vocal), Aditya Ganesh (mridangam), Vikram Ragukumar
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events
Yatra—The Journey, 13th annual showcase by students of Srividya Eashwar, Artistic Director of Xpressions Dance. May 15
(violin), Ashwin Krishnakumar (flute). Organized by Nrithyollasa Dance Academy. 4 p.m. Jackson Theater, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont. Free. (510) 396-0955, (408) 373-8981, (510) 623-
8230. vbraoch@hotmail.com, info@nldance. com. www.nldance.com.
Colors of Fire—Concept and Choreography by Vidha and Abhi-
manyu Lal. An evening of kathak with
musicians from Mumbai and Kolkata. Ajeet Pathak (tabla), Ranjeet Pathak (vocals), and Pankaj Mishra (sarangi). Organized by Kalanjali in collaboration with Nupur Academy LA. 6 p.m. Chinmaya Mission of Los Angeles, 14451 Franklin Ave., Tustin. $20 general, $35 reserved. (310) 872-7061. Nupuracademyla@gmail. com. Nupuracademyla.org.
May
28 Saturday
Karnatik Vocal Concert. Malvika Sriram on vocal accompanied by Keerthi Sundaramurthy (violin) and Akshay Venkatesan (mridangam). Organized by SR Fine Arts. 2:15-4:45 p.m. Community Of Infinite Spirit, 1540 Hick’s Ave., San Jose. Free. (408) 569-0860. dirsrfa@gmail.com. www.srfinearts.info. Hindustani Vocal Concert by Sh: Vinayak Torvi. A concert by one of the
Noises Off, a play by Naatak, May 7-15
leading vocalists of Kirana Gayaki. Organized by Basant Bahar. 5 p.m. Jain Temple Auditorium, 722 S Main St., Milpitas. $30; May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 77
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events
Basant Bahar members, free.
June
4 Saturday
Bay Area Book Festival. A literary extravaganza with over a dozen indoor and outdoor venues, hundreds of authors will give keynotes or appear in interviews or on panels to discuss their work. Ends June 5. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Downtown Berkeley’s Arts District, Berkeley. www.baybookfest.org. Maitra Jivache—A Concert with Pt. Hridhaynath Mangeshkar and Saleel Kulkarni. Organized by Swar
Sudha. 6 p.m. Sunnyvale Temple Auditorium, 450 E Persian Drive., Sunnyvale. $25, $35 (Preferred), $50 (VIP). (408) 4618390, (510) 579-8211, (213) 304-3553. swarsudha@swarsudha.org. www.swarsudha. org, www.sulekha.com/SwarSudha, www. Tickethungama.com/SwarSudha.
June
10 Friday
Agni and Underactive Thyroid.
A free talk by Ashok Jethanandani. The concept of agni in ayurveda gives us a holistic understanding of metabolism. In this talk we will discuss the importance of a balanced agni for health. How does agni relate to metabolism, thyroid function, and hypothyroidism? What are some common mistakes that result in a sluggish metabolism? You will learn simple ayurvedic remedies for regulating appetite and improving digestion. Organized by Classical Ayurveda. 6-7 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. Free, but please pre-register. (408) 472-9705. www.indiacc.org/ayurveda.
Ramayana!—A Play. Mount Madonna School’s 38th annual play featuring a cast of nearly 200 students, traditional costumes and dancing, live music, and special effects – including a fierce dragon. Organized by Mount Madonna School. 7-10 p.m. Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose . $40-$55. (408) 847-2717. www.mountmadonnaschool.org/ ramayana.
78 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Special milestone music concert by Rita Sahai performs, May 14
June
11 Saturday
Ramayana!—A Play. Mount Madonna School’s 38th annual play featuring a cast of nearly 200 students, traditional costumes and dancing, live music, and special effects – including a fierce dragon. Organized by Mount Madonna School. 7-10 p.m. Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose . $40-$55. (408) 847-2717. www.mountmadonnaschool.org/ ramayana.
Spring India Day 2016. A India in-
spired event on the main streets of America. Performances, unique/ethnic shopping and food. Organized by WomenNow TV. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Union Square, 333 Post St., San Francisco. Free. (650) 440-9905, (410) 744-2243, (510) 364-4271. sas@womennow. tv, naina@womennow.tv. www.facebook.com/ events/1681516698803180/, www.womennow.tv.
June
12 Sunday
Ramayana!—A Play. Mount Madonna School’s 38th annual play featuring a cast of nearly 200 students, traditional costumes and dancing, live music, and special effects, including a fierce dragon. Organized by Mount Madonna School. 2-5 p.m. Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. $40-$55. (408) 847-2717. leighann.clifton@mountmadonna.org. www.mountmadonnaschool.org/ ramayana.
Hindustani Music Concert. Featuring Pandit Jasraj accompanied by Padit Swapan Chaudhary on tabla. Organized by Sanskriti Inc. 2:45-7 p.m. Amador Theatre, 1155 Santa Rita Road, Pleasanton. $100, $75, $50, $40, $30. (408) 2063435. millyroy@aol.com. www.sanskriti.org. Hindustani Music Concert. R. Suryaprakash (vocal), Sruti Sarathy (violin), Shriram Brahmanandam (mridangam) and A. Mahadevan (morsing). Organized by South India Fine Arts. CET-SOTO Theater, 701 Vine St., San Jose. www. southindiafinearts.org. © Copyright 2016 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
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80 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Om Sri Mathre Namaha
Evening At 2.00 pm: Vaikasi visakam pournami vratha/pooja Sri Thursday May 12th: Sukla sashti night Sathyanarayana swamy pooja/vratha At 8.30 pm, Sri Valli deva sena aarati and manthra pushpa. All are sametha, Sri Subramanya sahasra welcome to participate with family nama archana Saturday May 7th: Evening at 4.00 pm: Sri At 4.00 pm, Kritika vrathasri valli deva Venkateswara abhisheka continued sena sametha Sri Subramanya Monday May 16th: Vasavi jayanthi with Sri Vishnu sahasra nama abhisheka, Sri Venkateswara chanting, aarati and manthra pushpa abhisheka continued with Sri Vishnu Thursday May 19th: Evening at 6.00 pm, Pradosham sahasra nama chanting, aarati and Wednesday May 25th: Shiva Sri Rudra abhisheka aarati and manthra pushpa At 5.00 pm, Sri Sankata hara manthra pushpa chathurthi, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Monday May 9th: Akshaya Tritiya, Sri Balarama jayanthi. Evening At 6.30 pm, Sri Bhuwaneswari special Pooja, aarati and manthra pushpa Tuesday May 10th: At 6.30 pm, Sri Ramanuja jayanthi special Pooja, aarati and manthra pushpa
pushpa
Friday May 20th: At 5.00 pm, Sri Bhuwaneswari abhisheka continued with Sri Lalitha sahasra nama chanting, Sri Narasimha jayanthi special pooja aarati and manthra pushpa
Saturday May 21st: At 12.00 noon, Sri Nava graha homa/ Sri Saneeswara graha homa th continued with Sri Nava graha Wednesday May 11 : At 6.30 pm, Sri Adi Shankara jayanthi abhisheka/ Sri Saneeswara graha homa aarati and manthra pushpa. special Pooja, aarati and manthra
abhisheka/ Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi homa, aarati and manthra pushpa Monday May 30th: Memorial day weekend timings, evening at 5.00 pm, Sri Shiva abhisheka, aarati and manthra pushpa Tuesday May 31st: Sri Vaisakha masa uttra bhadra nakshatra, at 6.30 pm, Sri Hanuman jayanthi pooja, aarati and manthra pushpa
Please Make A Note:: Temple Address:: 32 Rancho Drive, San Jose CA 95111 Temple Timings: Week Days Morning 10.00 Am To 12 Noon, Evening At 6.00 pm To 8.00 pm Week Ends And Holidays 10.00 am To 8.00 pm FOR BHAJAN'S RELIGIOUS DISCOURSES, MUSIC AND DANCE PERFORMANCES, PRIVATE POOJAS PLEASE CONTACT TEMPLE FOR FURTHER DETAILS MANGALANI BHAVANTHU,SUBHAM BHUYATH,LOKA SAMASTHA SUKINO BHAVANTHU, LOVE ALL SERVE ALL LOVE IS ALL
For Pujas & Rituals Contact: PANDIT
GANESH SHASTHRY
880 East Fremont Ave #302, Cupertino Villas, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 245-5443 / Cell: (925) 209-7637 E-mail: srikalahatheeswara@yahoo.com
Home:
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 81
INDIA CURRENTS GRAPHICS (408) 324-0488
Wednesday May 4th: At 6.00 pm, Pradosham, Shiva Sri Rudra abhisheka aarati and manthra pushpa
SPIRITUALITY & HEALTH
May
1 Sunday
Behind the Physical Cosmos: A World of Light and Energy. Sunday
Service.In NorCal— SRF Center Sacra-
mento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times.
In SoCal—Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Divinity Satsangs by Kum. Poornima. A senior disciple of HH Maharan-
yam Shri Shri Muralidhara Swamiji will hold Ramayan and Bhagavath Katha satsangs. Ends May 3. Organized by Global Organization for Divinity, USA. 6:45-9 p.m. SVCC Temple, 40155 Blacow Road, Fremont. Free. 18304GODUSA. contact@ godivinity.org. www.godivinity.org.
Grow from Within to Succeed in Life. A lecture by Swami Mukundan-
anda. Ends May 6. Organized by JKYog. 6-8:30 p.m. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, 450 E Persian Drive., Sunnyvale. Free. (408) 594-8203. tanmay.padhi@gmail.com. www. jkyog.org/events/grow-from-within-to-succeedin-life-sunnyvale-ca-2016/.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@ cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/calendar/.
Sri Bhagavad Gita Group Study.
Suman and Sargam Shah and Subita Sudarshan will conduct a panel discussion 82 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
on the inspiring and elevating teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. All in attendance will have a chance to pose questions. 11 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
May
4 Wednesday
Atmotsava. Meditation, readings by Nome from devotional texts, chanting of stotrams, bhajans, learning to recite in Sanskrit and Tamil followed by prasad. 7:3010 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/atmotsava/, satramana. org/web/bhagavan-sri-ramana-maharshi/, satramana.org/web/sat-temple/sri-sadisvaramandiram/.
May
7 Saturday
10th Anniversary of Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas. Chanting the Sri Sundarkanda
Ramayana is a wonderful sadhana. Following the Sundarkand Patha bhajans will be offered. Vinodini Patel, Bharati Bhakta, Kusum Modi and Ram Saxena will lead in this group chant. 2:30-6 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
Sri Venkateswara Abhisheka. Krithika vrathasri valli deva sena sametha Sri Subramanya abhisheka. 4 p.m. Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Temple, 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose. (408) 226-3600. www.vvgc.org. The Essence of Spirituality. Swami Mukundananda, a senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj will deliver a week long lecture. Ends May 13. Organized by JKYog. 6-9 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N 1st St., San Jose . Free. (408) 594-8203. tanmay.padhi@gmail.com. www. jkyog.org/events/the-essence-of-spirituality-sanjose-ca-2016/.
May
8 Sunday
God’s Nature in the Mother. Sunday Service.In NorCal— SRF Center Sacra-
mento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times.
In SoCal— Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@ cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/calendar/.
Sri Shankara and Sri Ramanuja Jayanti Celebration. Celebrating the
birthday of two of India’s most influential philosophers who established the Advaita and Vashishtadvaita philophies. Music: Latha Sriram, Director of Sri Lalitha Gana Vidyalaya along with her students will sing classical south India Raga’s. Speakers: Prof ’s and musicians Suman and Sargam Shah will share their insights on the teachings and significance of Sri Shankaracharya and Sri Ramnujacharya. 10 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama. org.
Musical Celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s Birthday. With singers
Sonali Bhattacharya, Aditya Das, Shyamaoshree Gupta Diamond and Anoop Bhattacharya on tabla. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. culturalintegrationfellowship.org.
May
15 Sunday
God-Mindedness – Key to Free
May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 83
dom. Sunday Service.In NorCal— SRF
Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 2525299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf. org. Contact temples for times.
In SoCal— Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse
and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 4257287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/ events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/ calendar/.
May
18 Wednesday
Introduction to Yoga-Sivananda Tradition. A traditional practice, where
yoga postures are held still while focusing on the breath. 6:30-8 p.m. Vishnu-Devananda Yoga Vedanta Center, 3767 Union St., Fremont. Free. (510) 273-2447. vishnuyoga@gmail.com. www.vishnuyoga.org.
May
21 Saturday
Sri Nava Graha Homa. Aarati and
manthra pushpa. 12 p.m. Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Temple, 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose. (408) 226-3600. www.vvgc.org.
Full Moon Sri Satyanarayana Puja and Kirtan (Buddha Purnima).
This puja was composed by ancient Vedic Rishis as a simple form of worship during busy life. Through the invocation of Ganesha, Navagraha (nine planets) and Sriman Narayana this worship brings great blessings. It develops bhakti and brings brings peace and prosperity. 6 p.m.
Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
Yoga with Swami Mukundananda. Free one week program with daily yoga and meditation. Ends May 25. Organized by JKYOG. 6-7 p.m. Pasadena Hindu Temple, 676 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena. Free. (626) 755-4968. vishalkapoor82@ gmail.com. www.jkyog.org. Enlightening Talks by Swami Mukundananda. Free one week program
with daily spiritual discourses. Ends May 26. Organized by JKYOG. 7-9 p.m. Pasadena Hindu Temple, 676 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena . Free. (626) 755-4968. vishalkapoor82@gmail.com. www.jkyog.org.
May
22 Sunday
Understanding Life and Death Sun-
day Service.In NorCal— SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510)
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God's Unfailing Love…… D
o you have the real Joy, Peace and happiness in your life? Have you ever asked this question What is the purpose of my existence in this world? What is a person profited, if he/she shall gain the whole world, and lose his/her own soul? (Or) What shall a person give in exchange for his/her own soul? Is there anyone in this world who can truly love me? Many times we are lost and finally end up asking these questions. There is no one in this world, who can truly love us, except God. Initially, God created human kind (both man and woman) in HIS own image. The purpose of creating mankind was to be with God. But human kind sinned against God and lost the greatest gift of being with HIM. God is Holy. A person with sin cannot dwell or exist with God. Also with sin, human kind earned curses from God. The result of sin was death & curses.
What is sin?
Anything we do that separates us from God’s presence is called SIN. We cannot hide anything from God. God knows our troubles, problems & everything. What the World can offer us is the Lust of flesh, the Lust of eyes & the Pride of life. Anyone who takes what the World offers ends up committing sin against God.
What is the result of committing sin?
The result of committing sin is a broken heart & soul,having guilt which makes us weak before God, with sadness, no peace, sickness, curses and separation from God. The Bible says, when we were born, we were born with sin because our parents brought us into this world with a sinful nature. For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The wages of sin is death. No one in this world including our parents or spouse or kids or friends or relatives can love us more than God. The Bible says, God is Love and HE manifested HIS love by sending God's only Holy SON Jesus Christ into this world to save us from all our sins and redeem us from this sinful world. For God so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth in Jesus should not perish, but have everlasting life, the life after death with God in Heaven. Jesus came to this earth only to die for us and shed HIS blood so that we can be saved by HIS grace and then receive HIS gift of Salvation. Without HIS shedding of blood there is no redemption from sins. So God sent Jesus Christ to this world to die for you and me. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins. If we confess our sins to Jesus, HE is faithful and just to forgive us from our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus said "Come unto ME, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” For every sin we commit, we need to pay the penalty individually. However, Jesus took all our sins upon himself, when HE died for us. By giving HIS every drop of blood, we are saved and free from the penalty of sin & death. Jesus 86 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
died for our sins and on the third day, HE rose again from death and became victorious over death, hell and sins. Jesus is a living God. HE is the same yesterday, today & forever. In the Name of Jesus there is Victory, Deliverance from sins & curses and there is Healing from sickness & Miracles in our life. Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to God the Father, HE is the Truth and HE is the Life. No one can go to God the Father & Heaven, except through Jesus Christ. Our family or friends, our caste or creed, our education or position, our money or riches or status, or by doing charity or by doing yoga or by doing fasting will not take us to God or to Heaven. When we accept & ask Jesus Christ to come into our heart & cleanse our sins with HIS precious blood, Jesus comes into our heart and makes us a new creature, by giving us HIS Love, Joy, HIS Peace, Hope & eternal Life with HIM. This is the TRUTH and the truth shall set you free.
Now how can I redeem HIS gift of Salvation in my life?
All we have to do is to believe Jesus, accept HIM into our heart & ask him to cleanse our sins by HIS blood by repeating this simple prayer. (Prayer means talking to God in your heart)
Lord Jesus, Thank you for coming into this world for me and my sins. I truly accept you just as I am. Come into my heart; cleanse me and my sins with your precious Blood. Be in my heart forever and help me to live and lead a Holy life like you. I also invite YOU & Your Holy Spirit to come into my heart and give me the Joy, Peace, Happiness, Deliverance from sins, bondages and sickness forever. Thank you for giving me the assurance of being with me forever. In Jesus name I pray Amen. If you have truly meant this prayer, then you have accepted Jesus into your heart. HE will be with you forever. HE will not leave you nor forsake you. If you need prayers or would like to know more about Jesus, then you can visit nearby Churches or email us at info@christforworld.org
984-0084. www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times.
In SoCal— Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse
and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. Recitation in Sanskrit and English of Vedantic texts. Recitation of Tamil Ribhu Gita, followed by prasad, and puja to Lord Siva and Sri Ramana. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio. com. satramana.org/web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/calendar/.
Lecture on Jain Cosmology, Psychology, Ethics and Liberation: Visions of Jivas (souls) and Lokas (interactive worlds). By Purushottama
Bilimoria. 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. www.culturalintegrationfellowship.org.
Buddha Jayanti Celebration.
Devotional music from Latha Sriram and students, Odissi dance from Sima Chakraborty and her students from the Nataraj School of Dance and a spiritual discourse by Swami Prasannathmanandaji, Vedanta Society of Berkeley. 2 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
May
25 Wednesday
Beginners Yoga Course-Sivananda Tradition. Step-by-step instruction in
the practice of yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises) and relaxation. Sivananda Yoga is a traditional practice, where yoga postures are held still while focusing on the breath. 6:30-8 p.m.
Vishnu-Devananda Yoga Vedanta Center, 3767 Union St., Fremont. $100. (510) 273-2447. vishnuyoga@gmail.com. www. vishnuyoga.org.
May
org.
May
Memorial Day Vedanta Retreat.
27 Friday
The Self-Knowledge Retreat. This retreat is based on the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi contained within Origin of Spiritual Instruction. The spiritual instruction focuses on the discernment between the Self and what is not the Self, between what is real and what is not. The Nondual Realization of the Unborn State of the Self and the Truth of No-creation (Ajata), as always in the teachings presented at SAT, are central to the instruction provided during this retreat. The retreat provides much time for silent meditation in addition to the instruction. Ends May 29. 10 a.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Registration Required. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/ retreats/the-self-knowledge-retreat/, satramana.org/web/bhagavan-sri-ramana-maharshi/, satramana.org/web/events/retreats/.
May
30 Monday
29 Sunday
Success Through Attunement With God. Sunday Service.In NorCal— SRF
Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 2525299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf. org. Contact temples for times.
In SoCal— Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Sadhana Day (Gayatri Japa and Homa). 9 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.
Meditation, songs, speakers and chants. Theme: Universal Spiritual Humanism:A Necessary Paradigm for our Times. Includes lunch and dinner. Organized by Vedanta Society of Northern California. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Olema, Marin County. (415) 922-2323. www.sfvedanta.org.
June
3 Friday
Balaji Matha Temple Anniversary.
Mahalakshami abhishekam, 108 kalasha aardhana pooja. On Saturday, June 4th cultural program performance by Habib Khan, with dignitaries and preeti bhoj. Ends June 5. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036, (408) 956-9050. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www. balajitemple.net.
June
4 Saturday
Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas. Sundara Kanda is
Hanumanji’s story of making his heroic leap to Lanka to find mata Sita. This chant is known to bring peace to the family. The chant will be accompanied by melodies by Ram Saxena. 2:30 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
June
5 Sunday
Sri Bhagavad Gita Talk and Kirtan by Suman and Sargam Shah. 11 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
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May 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 87
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healthy life
Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle Healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly By Pushkala Raju
P
eople often look to diets as a mean to change their health and wellbeing. The problems with diets are that they are short-lived. In contrast, a lifestyle is something one carries throughout the life. The goal of this article is to shed some key research notes and point readers to the amazing healing power of plant based foods. By adopting simple changes in our lifestyle, we can impact our lives and that of our loved ones, the environment, as well as put an end to animal cruelty. There is evidence based research pointing to the great health benefits of a pure whole food plant based (WFPB) lifestyle. The “isms” we currently use, seem to have several negetive connotations. Vegetarianism sounds too religious to many people. Veganism connotes to political fanatics, that of banner-holding peace loving people. You can eat cheese pizza and diet coke all day and be called vegetarian. This is often termed as “junk food vegetarian.” An example of a “junk food vegan” is one who consumes endless bags of chips, French fries and diet coke. On the other hand a WFPB lifestyle epitomizes a healthy unprocessed, plant based natural lifestyle. The term Whole Food Plant Based was coined in the 1970s by pioneers of this movement like T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell B. Esselstyn. This style advocates a low fat, high carbohydrate food. This carbohydrate is found in unprocessed foods and does not refer to the refined carbohydrate found in sugar, refined flour etc. Forks over Knives and nutritionfacts.org are hugely popular resources which advocate this lifestyle, defineing whole-food, plant-based diets as centered on whole, unrefined, or minimally refined plants. It’s a diet based on fruits, vegetables, tubers, whole grains,
90 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Breakfast smoothie. (mango, strawberry, banana, spinach, dates, turmeric, lemon, and ginger)
and legumes; it excludes or minimizes meat, dairy products, and eggs, as well as highly refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil. This method of eating is very healthy for humans, compassionate to animals, sustainable and very environmentally friendly for our planet and eradicats chronic and man-made diseases like heart disease with a very simple technique. The key is in our breakfast, lunch and dinner and not pills. The Indian way of cooking can be very easily adapted to this lifestyle. The basic premise in the whole plant food approach is use as much fresh plants, fruits and starches as possible. Making a trip to the farmers market every week is a great start. I exclusively buy all my fruits and vegetables from local farmers market. It is great to talk to farmers, meet people and stock up for a week’s worth of vegetables and fruits. If you have to buy more, you
could ask for a bulk rate from farmers and cut down costs. I load on a variety of colors and variety. In many recipes, one can bake instead of deep frying. A typical breakfast will be a fruit smoothie with some combination of dates, fully ripe bananas, fresh turmeric root, and ginger root, some berries (blueberry, or strawberry), mango chunks. I would suggest 2 or 3 ingredients from the above list and to try mix and match variations every day creating a plethora of colors and tastes. These fresh fruits are full of phytonutrients and give a great mood. You can add kale/ spinach/basil or any greens you have on hand. Throw in a tomato on some days, other day’s carrot. You can put in some lemon juice on top for an added zest. Make sure to buy everything fresh and organic as much as possible. You can also make a ginger shot with just ginger, lemon juice and take few teaspoons along
with smoothie. This feels much better compared to bagels/bread or sugary cereals. Farmers markets also seasonally have moringa leaves for several weeks which have super powers and can be used as well. For a typical lunch or dinner one can have rice/chapatti, daal, chana masala, sambhar, rasam, or a variety of vegetable curries. I have stopped buying ice creams or buying frozen desserts. Rather, I invested in a Vitamix and my 12-year old daughter makes delicious desserts. One of my favorites is banana date ice creams. By freezing a dozen fully ripe bananas, and putting few dates, cardamom and blending it in a Vitamix, you can make delicious raw, fully plant based ice cream. There are endless amount of recipes on the Internet. Just search for Fully Raw Kristina one of the most popular advocate for plant based desserts. People report of so many benefits– weight loss for overweight people, very quick recovery from injuries, energetic, not feeling drowsy, no constipation at all, no acne and shiny skin. I would recommend approaching change slowly, enjoying the food and making small changes one at a time. Often when people move completely from one habit to another, things fall apart. Do your own research. Touching on the environmental and animal welfare aspects of this lifestyle, a UN Report states that animal agriculture amounts to more greenhouse gas emissions than the sum of all transportations combined. Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. There are many plant based startups in Silicon Valley trying to make plant based burgers, mayo and other products. The movie Cowspiracy which delves into the environmental aspect of this topic was an eye opener. Sailesh Rao and his nonprofit Climate Healers are doing an amazing job in tacking this issue in India and rest of the world. In a summary, whether you are adopting a whole food plant based lifestyle for yourself, for animals or for the plant earth, it is a win-win situation for all. n
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recipes
Temple Foods By Malar Gandhi
F
or hundreds of years, researchers, scholars and theologians have been hotly debating the identity of Soma, a sacramental substance that is frequently mentioned in the ancient Hindu book, Rig Veda. In ancient Indian texts, an unidentified plant’s juice called soma was an offering to the gods. Soma was a ritual drink of great importance during the Vedic period in the proto-Indo-Iranian region. The word soma is derived from an Indo-Iranian root “sav,” which means “to press” in Sanskrit. “Sav-ma” was a drink prepared by pressing the stalks of the plant. In the Rigveda, there are several hymns and an entire book in praise of this exhilarating drink. However, the botanical identity of soma is still an unsolved
mystery. From ancient descriptions, the plant is described as having long stalks and a yellow or tawny color. The juice of the soma plant was highly valued for its exhilarating property. Soma was considered shuddha (pure) and usually drunk only at ritual sacrifices. The drink was prepared by priests who pounded the plants, gathered the juice and filtered it through sheep’s wool and then mixed it with other ingredients, probably milk, yogurt and honey. After first being offered as a libation to the gods, the remainder of the soma was consumed by priests and devotees. Typical descriptions of soma are associated with excitation and not hallucination.
Panakkam
Method Mix all the ingredients together. Mash it up in chunky bits, rather than smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours. Serve chilled as a dessert.
Ingredients 1 tsp peppercorns, crushed ¼ tsp cardamom powder 1 inch ginger, grated ¼ cup palm sugar or brown sugar ¼ cup lemon juice a few mint leaves to garnish Method Boil a cup of water, add the first three ingredients to it. Continue boiling for about 5-7 minutes. Filter this strong concoction and set aside to cool down. Then, add palm sugar, lemon juice and 4-5 cups of chilled water to it. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve chilled in short glasses.
Panchamritham
Ingredients 5-7 small bananas, peeled and mashed 10-12 dates, pitted and sliced 10 cashew nuts, halved 1 cup honey ¼ cup ghee 2 tsp cardamom powder ¼ tsp raw camphor
96 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
Soma is associated with the Hindu warrior god, Indra. It was imbibed before battle because it was believed to give speed and strength to warriors. According to legends, there were big soma factories in the Vijayanagar kingdom (South India, 12th Century) where heavy stone-mills were employed. About three to five harvests every year produced millions of doses. Several attempts have been made to identify the soma plant. However, the plant identified today does not conform to the descriptions mentioned in earlier books. n Malar Gandhi is a freelance writer who specializes in Culinary Anthropology and Gourmet Indian Cooking. She also blogs about Indian Food at www.kitchentantras.com
Akkaravadisal
Ingredients 1 cup raw rice ¼ cup lentils (mung) 1 ¼ cups palm sugar 1 ½ cups evaporated milk 3 cups whole mill ¼ cup ghee 15-20 cashew nuts 15-25 raisins ½ tsp cardamom powder 1 pinch edible raw camphor
Panakkam
Method Pour the whole milk into a pan, set in on a low fire and let it come to boil. Add the rice and lentils and let it cook. Wait until it turns tender and mushy. Set aside.
Photographed by Malar Gandhi
In a separate pan, heat palm sugar with a cup of water. Prepare sugar syrup and pour this over the prepared rice. Then add evaporated milk and cardamom powder to the sweetened rice and lentils. Cook this for two minutes over medium heat. Allow this to consolidate without much moisture. In a separate pan, heat ghee. Add cashew nuts and fry till golden brown. Then add raisins to it and wait till it pops. Now, sprinkle this over the prepared rice and lentils. Serve warm or chilled. n
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dear doctor
Reacting Strongly to Professional Criticism By Alzak Amlani
Q
I am a graduate student. I have a mentor who guides me on my discipline. Recently one of my professors, who is also my advisor at school, contacted me to offer feedback. I was immediately terrified that I was in trouble and wouldn’t graduate. He didn’t specify the feedback, except that my mentor had evaluated me with lower scores than normal and wanted to discuss it. When I met my adviser, I felt like a little girl called into the principal’s office. I became defensive and started saying negative things about my mentor to my professor and blaming her for my challenges and why we weren’t a good match. Then I started tearing up. Fortunately, at that point, the professor reassured me that I was on track to graduate. He didn’t give me any more feedback at this time because I was so self-critical. I felt ashamed of being so sensitive, but also relieved that I didn’t have to sit through more of that scary meeting. I am very committed to learning and want to find a way to be more courageous
and open to guidance, but don’t know quite how to do that.
A
It’s clear that you were affected by this experience. It is normal to feel apprehensive when being evaluated. There is clearly a power difference here. Professors and mentors do grade us, which determines our professional future. However, receiving feedback is invaluable at key junctures in our professional development. As a woman you may feel more vulnerable with a male professor calling you into his office. I am glad your professor paid attention to your feelings and gave you space rather than more feedback at a bad time. You also want to look at your previous experiences of getting feedback, especially as a girl at home with your parents, particularly your father or other older male figures and teachers. Were you shamed and criticized? Did you receive negative consequences as a younger student or in
your home that felt scary? How do you feel about other people having authority and power over you? This exploration will help flesh out some of your personal history that relates to your high reactivity. In future finding the courage to tell your professor that you feel vulnerable and scared about this meeting could be very helpful. You could also ask for reassurance from the beginning that you’re not in trouble and will still graduate. It is often the case that beneath the apparent self-confidence, many students are often quite fragile and self-protective. Both students and teachers need to learn non-defensive communication skills and create an enriching relationship. n Alzak Amlani, Ph.D., is a counseling psychologist of Indian descent in the Bay Area. 650-325-8393. Visit www.wholenesstherapy.com
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On Inglish
So Suave with Shampoo By Kalpana Mohan
shampoo, noun. < from Hindi chāmpo, from chāmpnā to knead <1755-65; earlier champo to massage < an inflected form of Hindi cāmpnā literally, to press
“B
ut who am I to pass In the 70s, influenced To that, my grandfather—a philanthropist judgement on today’s by my friends in India, I who flung colorful epithets into the air girls?” my aunt asked too switched to shampoo. I when I stopped by to visit her whenever a low-caste man walked down his discovered that my weekly during my recent stay in Chennai. hibiscus treatments made My mother’s 78-year-old sister road—had only one thing to say: “You must my hair luxuriant but never was talking about a betrothal at as sweet smelling as when change with the times.” which most of the young south I used my Sunsilk goo. My Indian girls had not bothered to adoption of the chemical wear their hair bunched up within barrettes or braided or coiffed alternative annoyed my mother and my aunts. up in some way. “But who am I to say anything about children today?” “Hair unbound and cascading down their backs. In our tradimy aunt wondered again that morning in Chennai, saying tion, we do that only at one kind of event, you know,” my aunt that every generation always shocked the previous one. clarified, muttering the words “at a cremation” under her breath She said that in the sixties, my grandmother had lamentand waving her stubby fingers in disgust. My breath caught in my ed to her husband that three of their married daughters had throat at the resemblance between the sisters. begun draping themselves in six-yard saris eschewing the Once again, my late mother had waddled in from the land more formal nine-yard attire. To that, my grandfather—a from which mothers could still admonish daughters. She was philanthropist who flung colorful epithets into the air whenlooking askance at the day’s mores, pulling a face at girls who ever a low-caste man walked down his road—had only one used a vile fragrant syrup called “shampoo” that left their hair unthing to say: “You must change with the times.” protected and “paraparaaa” while seducing them with voluminous Likewise, my mother balked at change. She would not promises of fragrance and body. embrace the chemical trumpery pandered by the beauty A coconut oil evangelist, my mother rued the day shampoo industry—or care to properly pronounce fashion-related deluged India through the media and seeped into the country’s words—until the day she died. She looked askance at lipstick bathrooms. The story of shampoo—derived from the Hindi word and shampoo. In the Chennai of the 70s and 80s, lipstick champo, a verbal form meaning “to knead the muscles with a view was a sign of wantonness. At the sight of lip color on me, to relieve fatigue,” as well as a noun meaning “the kneading” or my mother’s mouth curved downward. She would cluck at “the pressing,”—is also the tale of how a new word diffuses into me from her designated spot on the sofa as I flitted about tongues and cultures around the globe. Shampoo is pronounced the house, a girl of 21 with a red stain on her lips. “Come like it is in English—with minor variations and inflections, of here,” she would command. She didn’t broach the subject of course—in French, Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Lituanian, Norwecoquetry implied by my mouth. Instead, she told me to turn gian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili and many other languages. around so she could take in the shock of my hip-length hair In the early 17th century, under the British East India Comclamped by a barrette. “Why don’t you braid your hair?” pany, oriental beauty and health practices began to find their way she asked. into England. In 1821, a young Bengali officer opened a shampooShe nitpicked about hair quality. “It looks like hay. No ing cure treatment center in Brighton and became the shampooing coconut oil. That’s what all this new-fangled chemical stuff, surgeon to the king himself. “Champing” or “shampooing” was “a this shiamboo, does to beautiful hair.” Then she got up and restorative, luxurious kneading of the flesh in warm vapor baths,” walked around to scrutinize my face. “You need more talcum according to Leslie Dunton-Downer in her book, The English Is powder. On your nose.” Coming. She describes how, over time, the term eventually began Finally, her eyes swooped down to my lips. “High socito describe an oil massage and washing of the scalp. ety lady,” she tsk-tsked, her brows raised in What once used to be a powder version for hair treatment at a disdain. “Look at you. Liftick and all!” n barber shop evolved into what we know now as the “wet” shampoo, especially following the popularity of indoor plumbing in the Kalpana Mohan writes from California’s Siliwest. By the middle of the 19th century, most nations advertised con Valley. To read more about her, go to http:// their versions of the product. kalpanamohan.com. 100 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
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the last word
Dreaming of Delaware By Sarita Sarvate
F
another crisis. or years, I have been asking the question, “Where is the There was definitely change in the air. outrage?” Even as Western Europe directs Syrian and Afghani refuWhen George W. Bush took America into nevergees to sub-human camps in Turkey and the world bursts at ending wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, I asked the question, its seams, common people like you and me realize that such “Where is the outrage?” unstable conditions cannot be sustained indefinitely. When it became clear that the wars were motivated by the The Republican dominated Congress remains paralyzed military-industrial-governmental complex’s greed for oil and by its sexist, racist, and free-market—read sucking up to the military contracts—think of Halliburton and Blackwater—I rich—ideology however, denying not only climate change again asked the same question, “Where is the outrage?” but basic science. And citizens around the world take When, after eight years George W. Bush’s reign, solutions into their own hands, implementing the the financial industry brought the world to the People have Paris accords city-by-city and state-by-state, in a brink of collapse, I again asked, “Where is the desperate bid to save our planet. outrage?” wondered why the 2016 is a year when the election of a Why weren’t people marching in the Panama Papers have president propounding an American system of streets, I wondered. European style socialism has suddenly become The answer, I think, was that my children not exposed any possible. and their generation got accustomed to an Americans. Newton’s third law says that for every action unpromising economy so very insidiously that there is an equal and opposite reaction. So it is that they didn’t realize what they were missing. Donald Trump’s popularity has risen too, as if to counUntil Bernie Sanders came along and told them. terweight Bernie Sanders. Donald is the leader of the “poorly And suddenly, income inequality took center-stage in the educated,” whom he professes to love. Donald’s candidacy not 2016 election. only proves that elections cannot be bought, but that people are I am glad the outrage is finally here, against the exploitation discontent and will do anything to jilt the seasoned politicians. of the powerless by the powerful, against a system that doesn’t But the outrage is finally here, even if, at times, it finds outcare if Americans get educated and find good jobs or not, lets in strange ways. One encouraging way in which the outrage against the political dynasties who take money from the rich and is finding an expression is through big data leaks, bringing us bend over backwards to accommodate their agenda. information the one percent would never share with us. It is not purely coincidental, I think, that the Panama Papers And I am hopeful that perhaps a revolution in our political were leaked this year, right when the American primary season system is at last possible. was heating up. The papers once again reminded us of how People have wondered why the Panama Papers have not billions of people around the world were being exploited by a exposed any Americans. Americans don’t need Panama, experts handful of oligarchs, be it in Russia, Britain, or Latin America. have explained; we have our own Panama, called Delaware, the Pundits thought the 2016 election would demonstrate the state Vice President Biden represented for many decades. influence of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, So, I wonder when we will learn what is hidden in the tax which gave corporations carte blanche to spend unlimited shelters of Delaware? Of course you can bet your life that the amounts of money on elections. What happened instead was CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and who knows what other governthat the public turned against big money, so much so that after ment entity, is doing its best to keep us from getting our hands squandering over one hundred million dollars from his Super on the secrets that might just topple our home-bred oligarchs. Pac, Jeb Bush won only four delegates. And Bernie Sanders colBut in my fantasies, I imagine an Edward Snowden or a lected twenty and thirty dollars from average citizens to outdo John Doe—a la the person who sent an encrypted email to the Hillary’s fund raising from Wall Street. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung—to tell us how the one With perfect timing, Verizon workers went on strike just percent is keeping its grip on money and therby power. as the primaries in New York neared, protesting the more than Come on Delaware, give us the goods. n two hundred and twenty million dollar compensation packages their CEOs got, while they faced cuts in health care, pensions, Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has puband wages. lished commentaries for New America Media, To top it all, as I write these words, the government issued KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the a report saying that the five biggest banks, including Bank of Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publiAmerica, Chase, and Wells Fargo, were inadequately protected cations. against bankruptcy and would need a bailout again in case of 102 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | May 2016
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