India Currents June 2017 by Nirupama Vaidhyanathan

An Alternate Indian-American By Kalpana Mohan

My Father: A Daughter Remembers By Ravibala Shenoy

Ties

that

Why Women Don't Walk Away from Abusive Marriages By Rasana Atreya

Eating Spaghetti With My Hands By Jaya Padmanabhan

Bind june 2017 • vol. 31 , no. 3 • indiacurrents.com • $3.95

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A Bilingual Summer!

chool is winding down and children are getting ready for that most magical time of childhood—summer vacation! When children’s lives are not ruled by the school bell and nightly homework assignments, the house seems to breathe a sigh of relief, the sunflowers nod their heads in merriment and the summer breeze dances ever so lightly. Some of those moments of summer leisure are best spent in the world of books. Reading a book is akin to standing on the shoulders of a giant to look at the world anew, my mother often told me. That visual was imprinted in my young brain and rings true even today as an adult. As words seep in, “the little gray cells” scurry around rearranging themselves into new layers of meaning and understanding. Writers are truly immortal—think of the many stories we remember fashioned from the twenty-six alphabets of Her Majesty’s language? In an instant, writers’ names and stories flash across our brains. But how many of us can profess to have spent time reading in that “other” language that makes us bilingual? And, that is a tragedy of our own making. Reading Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Sivakamiyin Sabatham, a masterpiece of Tamil historical fiction as a young adult was the turning point in my life. In spite of being immersed in classical dance lessons set to poetry drawn from many Indian languages, until that moment I had never picked up a Tamil literary classic to simply read for pleasure. As I read Kalki for the first time, I became a woman possessed. Daily tasks seemed trivial compared to momentous fictional events. Even as the grandeur of the magnum opus sank in, there was another emotion that caused a deep ache— one of utter shame. How many childhood summers had I wasted with only English books stacked by my side? Being convent-educated and never speaking Tamil within the confines of the school grounds, somehow the language took on a veneer of being “inferior.” Even here, I will be disingenuous if I lay the blame for my sins at my school’s door. My teacher Mrs. Shanthi taught language with such passion that I should have been hoarding novels in Tamil like I did their

English counterparts. There is something about growing up in an Indian urban environment that rendered the reading of English novels as being “superior” to reading in the vernacular. On my bookshelves teeming with English books, you will now find a fair number of book spines sporting words that whisper the language spoken by my ancestors. In my car I sometimes listen to poetry written by Nayanmars, poet-saints who led the Bhakthi movement 1,200 years ago. To give you a head start on your bilingual reading aspirations, this issue carries an essay by Meera Prahlad on Kannada poets Kuvempu and Sunanda Rao. In previous issues we showcased poets Amrita Pritam (Punjabi) and Jandhyala Papayya Sastry (Telugu). With a little effort on your part 2,000 years of literary brilliance expressed in the vernacular world awaits. The weight of a hoary literary tradition is one that we should carry and then, there are other parts of our cultural past that we

should discard with urgency and solidarity. The thwacks resounded jarringly in the audio recording that went viral recently—I could not bear to listen to Abhishek Gattani abusing his wife Neha Rastogi. In the name of guarding “Indian family honor,” far too many women suffer in silence. Rasana Atreya’s cover story on domestic violence, “Ties that Bind,” is timely, laying out the underlying grid of communal behaviors that support this vile human act—the desire to control a loved one. As you set out to pick up books in the “other” language that you are familiar with, would you drop me a line so I can expand my mind’s vistas with you? Best wishes for a bilingual summer! n

Nirupama Vaidhyanathan, Managing Editor

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INDIA CURRENTS June 2017 • vol 31 • no 3

3 | EDITORIAL

LIFESTYLE

A Bilingual Summer! By Nirupama Vaidhyanathan

West Coast Edition www.indiacurrents.com

Find us on

34 | FILMS Reviews of Hindi Medium and Bahubali 2 By Aniruddh Chawda

PERSPECTIVES 8 | YOUTH Cut to Fly By Kanchan Naik

38 | BOOKS Review of Ghachar Ghochar By Nirupama Vaidhyanathan

10| NOW AND THEN Eating Spaghetti with your hands By Jaya Padmanabhan

40 | POETRY Affairs of the Heart By Meera Prahlad

15 |PERSPECTIVE The Color Black By Melanie Kumar

42 | MUSIC Carnatic, Hindustani, Arabic, International: CHAI for 6! By Priya Das

32 | DESI LENS An Alternate IndianAmerican By Kalpana Mohan 52 | YOUTH My Priorities for our Leaders By Mihika Gokarn

27 |RELATIONSHIP DIVA Five Signs that you have met the One" By Jasbina Ahluwalia

16 | Ties That Bind Why Women Don't Walk Away from Abusive Marriages

58 | INVESTMENT Four Strategies for Financial Freedom By Kunal Sampat 86 | LAST WORD Living Inside a Dystopian Show By Sarita Sarvate

By Rasana Atreya

28 | Humor Aiyo: The One Word for All Occasions By Sujata Srinivasan

80 | HEALTHY LIFE Healthy Gluten-free Desserts: No Oxymoron By Kavita Wadhwani 82 |DEAR DOCTOR In a Difficult Marriage By Alzak Amlani

DEPARTMENTS

22 | Father's Day My Father and Mojdis: A Daughter Remembers By Ravibala Shenoy 4 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition |June 2017

47 | TRAVEL Doing Goa Differently By Neha Kirpal

6 30 31 68

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Letters to the Editor Ask a Lawyer Visa Dates Cultural Calendar

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letters to the editor Trump Not a Megalomaniac

This is in response to Sarita Sarvate’s essay (Duck and Cover: Nukes, India Currents, May 2017). There was a time when I used to enjoy reading Sarita Sarvate because of her balanced opinion on issues. However, her anti-Trump essays indicate that the liberal media has won her over. Just because Trump and his aides “spoke” with the Russians before his presidency does not translate into Russian interference in American politics. Trump is not a megalomaniac who will release nuclear bombs and destroy the world. Hillary Clinton did not lose the Presidential election because of a fraud perpetuated by some grisly Russian conspiracy, or because of Comey’s ill-timed announcement that some of her confidential emails stealthily found their way into Anthony Weiner’s computer. She lost because the corrupt DNC management chose a flawed candidate without any positive image of her own. Hillary actually helped Trump win; so let us give him a chance instead of whining. Hem Chaudhuri, email

Three Branches of Government are Like Planetary Bodies

Sarita Sarvate exaggerates and warns of a nuclear crisis in the face of Trump’s firing of FBI director Comey (Duck and Cover: Nukes, India Currents, May 2017). There is ample reason to be alarmed over the ongoing political crisis in Washington, but we need to distinguish between a political and a constitutional crisis. What people see as a confrontation between the branches is often defined as a crisis. The constitution is designed to have a certain degree of tension between the branches. A constitutional crisis is when a president exceeds his authority and refuses to yield to the courts. None of that has happened with Trump. Nixon, on the other hand, had continued to obstruct Congress and the courts; but in the end the constitutional system prevailed. Ultimately it proved to be a great triumph for the Constitution. Trump’s early record indicates he’s more likely to obey Congress rather than smash it through defiance. The FBI director is essentially an at6 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition |June 2017

will employee and he is allowed to exercise his authority to terminate Comey. Congress is allowed to investigate the reasons of that termination. The constitutional system is working just fine. Trump is not the first President who does not play well with others. Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson did challenge the authority of Congress and the courts at various times. The three branches operate like planetary bodies and they are held in orbit by counter-gravitational pull. On top of that, founding father James Madison added a series of checks and balances so you would need to have some consensus particularly between the executive and legislative branches. These checks and balances create a constant level of tension. Girish Modi, email

All Human Beings are Territorial

This is in response to Chandra Ganguly’s article (The Outsiders, May 2017). This essay has been written as a result of frustration at the initial treatment of her American-born Caucasian husband during their visit to India. Ganguly’s frustration is misplaced. Instead of calling people, “outsiders,” she needs to understand the term “strangers.” Human beings are territorial and they do not accept any stranger due to cultural differences. We have come here by the millions and our definition of the “American Dream” is to amass wealth and bring more family members to colonize. As a result, the Indian population outside India has grown to over 20 million and in America it is around 5 million, which includes about half a million illegals and elderly parents, who are on government handouts such as Social Secutiry and Medicaid. Soon after the Second World War, the British sent thousands of Indian laborers to their African colonies. Many Gujaratis settled in Kenya and Uganda and held lucrative jobs, but still they did not assimilate. That’s why they were expelled from these countries by dictators like Idi Amin. Here too, we hardly assimilate into American society. Judging from the many temples and religious/social organizations we have formed, we live in ghettos. Will the Indian government allow Muslims from other nations to build so many mosques in India? Will the Indian people tolerate so many churches from outside?

Why don’t we welcome blacks from African nations to come to India and settle down, despite the fact that many Indians are dark-skinned? In short, America is a very generous country and has welcomed more immigrants with different cultures than any other country in the world. We are even protected by the Constitution to practice whatever religion we choose. That’s why we live here happily and peacefully. Rani Bhatia, email

Public Schools Contribute

This is in response to Kalpana Mohan’s essay (Not Just a Private Matter, India Currents, May 2017). I appreciate it deeply, as a parent, a grandparent, a community member, and, indeed, as a former public high school teacher. Tony Acarasiddhi Press, web

Need to Call out Racism

This is in response to Jaya Padmanabhan’s cover story. (Dare to Speak Up? Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Today, India Currents, May 2017). Well written article! We have no choice but to call out racist behavior when we see it. You must have heard of the recent shooting incident at a pool area of an apartment complex in San Diego. My son happens to live in the same complex and that incident surely gave me nightmares! Thankfully he wasn’t there when it happened, but eight people of color were shot at by a white person. Parul Modi, web

Have a thought or opinion to share? Send us an original letter of up to 300 words, and include your name, address, and phone number. Letters are edited for clarity and brevity. letters@indiacurrents.com Errata: In the May 2017 issue, we erroneously carried the wrong name in the headline for the article, The Gift of a Grandmother by Sneha Abraham. It should have read as Mary Chacko Abraham, not Mary Anne Chacko. The correct name was carried throughout the body of the article; the mistake was in the headline only. We deeply regret this error.

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youth Follow at twitter.com/indiacurrents on facebook.com/ IndiaCurrents

Cut To Fly By Kanchan Naik

Most Read Articles in May 2017 1) Not Just a Private Matter Kalpana Mohan 2) Dare to Speak Up? Jaya Padmanabhan 3) Yoga Antidote to Depression Sujata Srinivasan 4) Culturally Diverse Apps for Kids Shumit DasGupta 5) Wanted: 3.7 Million Nirupama Vaidhyanathan 6) May 2017 Digital Edition 7) The Gift of A Grandmother Sneha Abraham 8) Eminent Dominatrix Aniruddh Chawda 9) The Spy Who Loved Aniruddh Chawda 10) Whitewashing Yoga Geetika Pathania Jain

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8 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition |June 2017

Black

My fingers weave through the mess of my hair, smoothening the strands and arguing with the tangles. Poking against the knots until slowly and silently, they come undone. Like an ancient scroll finally discovered, my braid unravels and a curtain of ebony cascades down my shoulders.

Looped

The way it’s always been. Dark, narrow alleys twisting and turning down corners, leading up to a single green hairband coiled in place. A map of my years spent growing. From crawling to walking. Velcro to laces. Short hair to long. It’s not just a crown meant to adorn, but a relic meant to represent who I am and why.

Silver

Gleaming scissors inching towards me. A blur of metal underneath the white barbershop light, growing fuzzier by the minute as my vision is blinded by my tears. Seconds turn into ages, while my trembling fingers long to weave through my hair one last time, instead of being imprisoned behind the cold plastic of the barber’s cape. Every tangle is now a blessing, every knot is a gift. Every strand is a memory I desperately cling to, wishing to spend another minute with the thing that knows me the best: my long, dark, Indian hair.

Snip. Snip.

And the strangled silence is slashed to pieces, like the clumps of black gently touching the ground. Inch after inch. Comfort after comfort. The most painless piece of me, the most coveted, the most loved—clearly hurts the most. My mind, scattered with the dark masses on the blue tiles, struggles to collect words. “They fell like birds,” I thought. A strange phrase, but something true. Maybe I want my hair to have wings. To land gently on the ground. To reach the barbershop floor in a flurry of feathers, silently waving to me as I cry. As everyone

A map of my years spent growing. From crawling to walking. Velcro to laces. Short hair to long. It’s not just a crown meant to adorn, but a relic meant to represent who I am and why. else, from the makeup-caked hair stylists to my own mother, watches.

Posters

Lining the glossy windows. Some of them advertise lipstick and gleaming brunettes, and others scream in capital letters about the latest blow dryer available at my nearest Walgreens. And one poster in the corner, with the image of a child, hospital-bed ridden, who dreams of hair. Her eyes are small, and yet she looks like she has seen much more than anyone else. I stare at her image as the barber places my clumps of hair into a plastic bag, all the while assuring me that short hair is “just totally the new style.”

Maybe

A word, a step in another direction altogether. My tears crust along the brims of my eyes, and I remember the feathers. The hair. The ground. And the poster. “Maybe, they fell like birds.” I say to myself, emerging from the barber’s cape, changed. The girl in the poster smiles, and I find hope in a thick plastic bag handed to me. “Maybe they fell like birds, so that someone else could fly.” n Kanchan Naik is a dreamer. Writing is an ocean to her where she dives to find the right words, drowns to breathe emotions, and dabbles in darkness to find the light. She is an eighth grader at Quarry Lane School in Dublin.

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 9

Now and Then

Eating Spaghetti With Your Hands

By Jaya Padmanabhan

hen Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, visited America in September 2016, he made a point of remarking that he believes in “integration” and not “assimilation.” “People shouldn’t have to drop their cultures and traditions when they arrive in our cities and countries,” he stated. Before I disagree with him, let me explain what exactly the difference is between these two ideas. Assimilation is an immersive experience, where the immigrant’s culture is submerged within the dominant one. There is a full absorption of the host country’s culture and carries the implication of homogeneity. Integration, on the other hand, occurs when a society accepts the differences in its census and makes room for those differences. Analogically, integration is a floor of unique and separate tiles—a mosaic; assimilation is a floor of oak strips, subtly different, and remarkably uniform. It seems pretty easy to agree, therefore, with Khan that integration is what we should base our public policies on as a society. It feels essentially abhorrent to force immigrants to conform to the cultural mores of a majority. In other words, we immigrants should be allowed to practice our religions, to speak our languages, uphold our traditions, eat our foods, celebrate our festivals, wear our clothes, and watch our

What is America’s culture, you ask? Not Stephen Curry or Steve Jobs, but what they embody. In big-scape it is independence, individualism, respect for the rule of law, freedom of choice, public cleanliness and work ethic. movies. Wearing a sari to a public place should be as accepted as wearing a pantsuit. And, too, wearing a hijab should be as accommodated as wearing a habit or a yamaka. But I believe that there must be limits on integration. Otherwise, society can devolve from fellowship, progress, and cooperation to conflict and conspiracy. The beginnings of which we are seeing with the rise in hate rhetoric against our communities. E pluribus unum is the motto of America—out of many, one. Assimilation is more likely to fit the American motto. Integration can result in out of many, many. In physics when systems are left alone, they tend to move to a state of greater entropy. Society, in that sense, is just another system. Groups of people, when not regulated, tend towards extremes, not because they are evil, but because they are inclined to think in narrow ways. That’s why folks live in America for decades and disdain the idea of citizenship. These eligible green card holders believe that life in America is “temporary” even when temporary runs into years and generations. They continue to harbor a primary allegiance to their country of origin. In the meantime, these same 10 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition |June 2017

people fashion a decent life in suburbia and do not hesitate to take advantage of America’s public schools, libraries, parks and community centers. The argument you hear is that “but we pay taxes” and it goes towards maintaining these same public facilities. True, but it’s like having a paying guest who pays the rent and gets dinner every night for years on end, but doesn’t deign to clear the dishes ever. It is not required therefore it is never done. Here’s a statistic to take home with you: Only 56.2% of adults of Indian origin, residing in America, were citizens in 2012. For sure, a multicultural society is a more tolerant society. But extreme multiculturalism creates chaos. If we all spoke in different languages in the same room, it would be cacophonous and hard to understand. At some level, we must, as residents and citizens of America, speak or learn to speak the language of our country, literally and figuratively. We must uphold the traditions of America as well as we do that of the countries we left behind. A Pew Research Study published in February 2017, found that 84% of Americans believe that for a person to be truly American, it is very important or somewhat important “that he or she share American customs and traditions.” Only 15% believe that embracing America culturally is not that important. What is America’s culture, you ask? Not Stephen Curry or Steve Jobs, but what they embody. In big-scape it is independence, individualism, respect for the rule of law, freedom of choice, public cleanliness and work ethic. In small-scape, America’s culture is knowing not to eat spaghetti bolognese with your hands at an Italian eatery, yet comfortably using your digits to dip that roti into a bowl of dal at Amber Cafe. True, there’s also stress, loneliness and the collapse of the family unit in American society, but America is no different from other countries in this way. What America provides in spades is the possibility for success. The Indian-American community, in particular, is comfortably aware of this. Peter D. Salins in his book Assimilation, American Style refers to how residents and native born residents of New York in the early 20th century endorsed three norms for integration. Accepting English as the national language; believing in liberal democratic and egalitarian principles; and having a strong work ethic and moral values. I believe the norms for integration are the ability to speak in English as the language of economic necessity; becoming citizens and exercising the right to vote; and giving back to America. I do agree that people shouldn’t have to “drop their cultures” when they arrive in America, as Khan mentioned. Additionally, too, they must absorb the culture of where they live. Accommodation must be both ways. If America can accommodate the cultures we bring with us, we must accommodate America, the country we have chosen, and its culture. n Jaya Padmanabhan was the editor of India Currents from 2012-16. She is the author of the collection of short stories, Transactions of Belonging.

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 11

Sponsored Content

and on drugs, used his 19-month-old daughter as a human shield as he shot at police. When police fired back, both Pena and his daughter were killed. Liberal lawyers, politicians, and community groups jumped on the bandwagon to condemn the police shooting. It was Pena who was responsible for his own daughter’s death, and though the event was tragic, the police were within biblical grounds to do what was necessary to protect themselves and others (One policeman was wounded in the shootout). The Bible says in Romans 13:4 “For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” The Bible says that the police do not carry the sword for nothing, but to use it as punishment against lawbreakers. It is ungodly, unbiblical and un-Christian to condemn our police department when they use lethal force to restrain evil. Again, “for he does not bear the sword for nothing.” In September 2000 and April 2001, Los Angeles newspapers ran stories with headlines such as “Poor Morale, Rife in LAPD” and “Witch Hunts Devastating Rank and File”. In April 21, 2001, the lead paragraph in the Daily News read, “Crime is up. Good officers are leaving the Los Angeles Police Department in droves for other departments. Morale at LAPD is at rock bottom.” This is unfortunate. In reference to the end times, Scriptures say in II Thessalonians 2:3, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” In fact the Bible goes

on to say in vs. 7, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work…” There are demonic forces all throughout America working to undermine the God-given responsibilities of our police departments. They are in the media, in the universities and in city councils. They take every single police incident and distort it. Every time a policeman uses his gun or his baton to restrain criminal activity, it becomes a major scandal that ends up in lengthy, costly and unnecessary lawsuits. The media prints subversive headlines such as “Police Kill Unarmed Black Man” in an attempt to foment race wars and advance their Leftist agenda. In addition to media bias, there is a blatant hatred towards our police depicted in much of today’s music and movies. God issues this warning in His Word, “He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.” – Psalms 7:14-16. Americans at large, and Christians in particular, must be wise enough to discern the powers of lawlessness that work in the city, and they must have nothing to do with them. Christians need to support politicians that have a conservative view of law and order, men and women who will stand up for our police department when it is being viciously attacked. Pastors have a duty to teach their congregations Romans 13, and the biblical view of authority without compromising or being “politically correct”. The men and women in uniform who daily risk their lives to defend us and to keep our neighborhoods safe truly deserve the prayers and support of the community.

For additional literature/resources please e-mail your address to: luke1726@afo.net Paid for by Missionaries Fellowship of Los Angeles June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 13

14 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition |June 2017

perspective

The Color Black

o sell even a moisturizing cream, companies feel the compulsion to add, “skin-lightener” for better sales. This realization hit home when my niece who was visiting from America accompanied me to a store. She looked at me puzzled as she saw many lotions and potions with the skin-lightening tag. She clicked pictures at the cosmetics counter and later shared her sense of shock at the discovery of all these whitening agents, forcing me to think seriously about the issue. Some of these creams use bleaching agents that contribute to skin cancer, but this does not deter buyers. It is hard to recollect when this awareness of lightskinned being desirable came into my consciousness. Perhaps those were more innocent times because there were no skin-lightening creams, and whatever was suggested for the skin were natural options. But India has changed and fairness creams have hit the market with a vengeance. Maybe my niece, born and bred in America was brought up right. But it is a known fact that the cultural preference for light skin and the prejudice against dark skin crosses the seven seas and Indians still carry this in their DNA. What struck me on my visits to America was that similar to whites, Indian Americans too viewed African Americans suspiciously, as “the other,” to be feared and avoided. The irony is that in Trump’s America, brown-skinned Indian-Americans are also coming under attack. One wonders whether this change will lead to soul-searching and a change in attitudes. Recently, the obsession with light-skin seems to have erupted as a topic for discussion in India. Actor Abhay Deol took to social media to critique Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone for raking in millions by endorsing fairness creams, which had racist undertones embedded in their advertisements. Deol clarified that he was not criticizing the film industry but rather the fairness brands that had created a white fixation turning it into a multi-billion dollar industry. The first product to do so was “Fair and Lovely,”

By Melanie Kumar

To s ell a mo i st uri zi ng cream, companies feel the compulsion to add, “skinlightener” for better sales. followed by many others. Deol also applauded “actors who refused the moolah to fight racism,” talking about actress Nandita Das, who featured in an ad saying, “Stay Unfair. Stay Beautiful” and others like Kangana Ranaut who spoke out against the issue. India’s matrimonial columns, several of which involve Indian-American ads, invariably request for fair brides. Here the dice is skewed against women as almost every request makes a reference to the bride’s complexion, with either the groom’s side seeking a “fair bride,” or the bride’s side making claims to the same. When “homely” or “dusky” is used, one can clearly guess that this is a reference to dark skin. In trying to examine the antecedents for the preference for fair skin in India, colonialism always figures. The white skin of the British rulers may have set the benchmark for beauty and their contempt for the “dark-skinned natives” was also well-known. But a detailed examination of India’s history reveals that the prejudice has more to do with the caste system and the perception that the Aryans or upper castes are fair, whilst those who are at the lowest rung of the caste ladder, the Dalits, are dark-skinned. A look at Indian languages reveals the prejudice against dark skin set in place well before the British came to India. For instance in Bengali, moila means dirt and a dark skinned person’s complexion is described as rong moila or dark-colored. Notice the connection between dark and dirt. There are also Hindi taunts like Kali kaluti baingan/gobhar looti or dark-skinned girl who stole her color from a brinjal/ cowdung. Also when a person, invariably a girl, is believed to have shamed the

family’s honor, the statement is mooh kala karke aiyi hai, kya? In other words, “Have you blackened your face and come?” This reflects a negative association of black with dishonor. Kannada has a term called, kariya, translating as “blackie” often used derogatorily. In Telugu, the phrase maala kaaki implies “dark scavenger” or “Dalit crow,” where the profession of the Dalit also becomes a matter of derogation. With this preference for light skin, there is also a clear gender bias in the way language is used. Some of the expressions used above are exclusively used towards women. In April this year, the BJP leader Tarun Vijay put his foot right into his mouth during an interview with Al Jazeera television when talking about the attack on Nigerians in Noida, New Delhi. He told the television channel, “If we were racist, why would we have the entire south (India)? Why do we live with them (if we are racist)? We have blacks, black people around us.” The statement created a huge uproar and Vijay was forced to retract. From the time a child is born, the earliest comments are made referencing the color of the baby’s skin. A friend from a Reddy community which still indulges in the banned practice of dowry mentioned how the dowry demands increase when the girl is dark. The first question that is asked of her after attending a wedding is usually, “Was the bride fair?” This behavior is so internalized and deep-rooted that Indians don’t even realize that they sound racist when they ask questions like these. Abhay Deol is to be commended for critiquing Indians’ long held beliefs that “fair is beauitful.” The notion that fairness denotes power needs to be erased from the Indian consciousness but it will take a long while perhaps. n

Melanie Kumar is a Bangalore-based writer and literary fiction reviewer who has been freelancing for more than 15 years. She holds degrees in journalism and mass communications.

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 15

Ties That

Why Women Don’t Walk Away By Rasana

he woman on the phone will talk only if I promise not to identify her—not her first or last names, not the town she lives in. This woman, let’s call her Geeta, lives in the United States with her husband and two young daughters. Her husband controls the finances because, according to him, she is too stupid to manage money. He tells her constantly that the only thing she’s good for is cooking and cleaning. Not even sex; he’s had better. He doles out just enough money for gas, so she can get to work and back. She is an engineer, the one with the job and the visa; he’s the one who cannot hold down a job. For years, they’ve been telling friends and family that he works from home. “It can be hard on a man, you know,” Geeta says with a touch of defensiveness. “Not to have a job.” Geeta’s parents used to visit once every three years. On one such visit, when Geeta’s sister and her family were also present, she asked her husband to reach for the water jug from the top shelf. Convinced that she was “disrespecting” him in front of her family, he flew into a rage and punched her multiple times. Geeta’s parents fled to their bedroom, dinner forgotten. She has no idea what her sister’s family did. What she did was to grab coloring pencils and paper, loaded her kids in the minivan and drove herself to the hospital, broken jaw and all. “You had the presence of mind to grab the coloring pencils?” I ask. “Will keep the kids occupied in the ER,” she says matter-of-factly. The ER physician insisted that Geeta report the incident. Geeta had previously tried talking to a couple of people about the abuse, but they had laughed it off. She can’t be sure whether this was because they thought she was joking, or it was because they didn’t want the hassle of dealng with someone else’s problems. She hadn’t tried again. The fact that her parents were witness to the violence gave her the courage. She talked to the police.

Her husband was arrested, taken to the police station, and booked. Geeta’s sister and brother-in-law were distraught at the thought that the Indian community would find out. Her parents could not bear that their son-in-law would be publicly shamed. Her father berated her for her selfishness. Her mother threatened to kill herself with the kitchen knife. They pressured Geeta into withdrawing the case. Her parents went back to India, never to return. Her sister and she have not been in touch since. Is that okay with her, I ask. That her sister will no longer talk to her. She sighs. She tries to excuse her own husband’s behavior by saying, “Sometimes the pressure gets too much for him. He needs an outlet. It is only understandable that he loses control.” “Surely you need an outlet for your own stress? Do you lose control?” “No,” she says. “I have the kids to think of.” “Doesn’t he?” I ask. She has no answer. “Does he abuse the kids?” I ask. “Oh no! He’s a great dad.” “How about in front of other family or friends?” “Never,” she says. “He’s very dignified when they are around.” “Which means control isn’t the problem, is it?” I say softly. “He has enough self-control not to cause damage to himself, not to get himself in any trouble with the law, with immigration.” She has no answer to that, either. She says that there is no hope for her. She tells me the only reason she’s talking to me is that she hopes that someone reading this—parent, brother, sister, friend—will be roused into stepping up and supporting their loved one. She quietly ends the call.

What is Domestic Violence?

Social stigma is the leading reason why Indian-American women won’t leave abusive marriages, says Rovina Nimbalkar, Executive Director of Narika, another Bay Area-based organization. Because of this stigma, she says, and the resultant secrecy, people in the Indian community are able to pretend such things do not happen in their community of “strong family values.” Most women, and sometimes men, don’t recognize domestic violence for what it is, according to social worker Shanthi Karamchetti. It is only as a relationship grows and intensifies that the pattern of abuse begins to emerge. Emotional abuse, reproductive coercion and male privilege are other forms of abuse that might not involve overt aggression. Karamchetti says she’s starting to hear more about stealthing as a form of abuse. This is when a man takes off condoms during sex in an effort to force pregnancy upon a woman.

Rama Jalan, Executive Director of Maitri, a Bay Area-based organization that provides support to victims of domestic violence says that domestic violence is one partner’s (or family member’s) power and control over the other, sometimes manifesting in physical aggression. More often than not, it is much more than assaulting someone; it is about humiliation, about destroying their self-confidence, controlling access to finances, isolating them from friends and family, or breaking any support system they may have. Denying an immigrant the ability to contact family overseas, blocking social engagements, not allowing them to pursue studies or employment—these can be abuse too. If a woman feels constantly devalued, undermined, or bad about herself after interactions with her husband, or partner, she needs to consider whether she is being abused. 16 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition |June 2017

Bind

From Abusive Marriages Atreya Karamchetti cautions that abuse towards the mother can be extremely damaging to kids, even babies. She says that even as a baby’s brain is wiring, the baby is absorbing. The effects are profound. With the right support and treatment, the brain can rewrite itself, but it is important for the baby to be removed from the environment for it to thrive. Jalan says that freequently abusers create self-doubt in the minds of their victims. It may begin with simple name-calling— fat, ugly, good for nothing. The more it affects the victim, the more the abuser uses this as a control mechanism. Creating doubt about her abilities and mental well-being is often the next step. This negative message, coming from someone they trust, can serve to confuse her. Isolation, and a lack of support from friends and family, often compounds this belief.

Women’s Cultural Conditioning

Cultural conditioning plays a big role in how women accept injustice. Take, for example, the infamous Brock Turner case. When the star swimmer from Stanford was convicted of rape, his father argued in favor of probation, saying any jail time for his son was “a steep price to pay for twenty minutes of action.” Turner was sentenced to six months of prison time, instead of the fourteen years of hard time he could have potentially served. In face of public outrage stemming from both the sentencing, as well as the father’s statement, the judge tried to excuse his leniency by claiming that he didn’t wish to “ruin” the future of someone with so much potential. I bring up this specific instance because hard as it is for a woman to report stranger rape, it is worse when she has to work up the courage to report marital rape, or sexual violence within a relationship. Such an egregious miscarriage of justice does not help induce confidence in the criminal justice system. Lundy Bancroft, in his book Why Does He Do That?: Inside The Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, says an abusive man’s disrespect of women, his sense of entitlement over her being, stems directly from how his own father treated the women in his life. With an attitude like his father’s, it isn’t surprising that Turner grew up with extreme disdain for women. Then there is the Gattani-Rastogi case, which involves Indian immigrant, Abhishek Gattani, who managed to achieve that most elusive of American dreams: being a Silicon Valley CEO. He is also a man who admitted at the Santa Clara County Superior Court, of beating his wife Neha Rastogi, over a period of ten years. The punishment for this heinous crime? Thirteen days in prison after his crime was brought down from a felonious assault through a plea bargain in order to spare him deportation to

“I feel fooled not just by a convicted criminal, aggressor, wife beater, batterer, that I unfortunately married—the worst mistake of my life but by this court as well. With all due respect to the system…I stand fooled, disgraced and ridiculed as a victim,” Rastogi said. “I get heard to be ignored? To be told that the system understands the abuse and the impact it has had...but sorry it is what it is. I was told no jail, no classes, no penalties can change Mr. Gattani. Is this the faith the DA’s office and the court have in the justice being provided in this court? Is that the reason for leniency in such cases? Have we given up on justice?” —Excerpt from Neha Rastogi’s victim impact statement after hearing of lenient sentence for her husband Abhishek Gattani

Neha Rastogi and Abhishek Gattani June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 17

Not In Our Community? Read this

42,700+ helpline calls; 4,700+ crisis calls; 3866+ survivors empowered. —Source: Maitri

Insidious Forms Abuse Can Take

Protester at Santa Clara County courthouse on May 18th protesting the Gattani sentencing

India. Rastogi, understandably, is furious. Next time you ask why a woman might not report domestic violence, think of these cases. A very common refrain on social media after the GattaniRastogi case was why Rastogi, who is by all accounts an extremely accomplished woman, one who worked alongside the likes of Steve Jobs, did not walk away if the marriage was “really abusive.” The implication was that Rastogi was making things up, or that walking away was an easy thing to do. There are many reasons why a woman might not walk away from an abusive marriage. She might view the breakdown of her marriage as personal failure. She could be financially dependent on her husband. Or, she might choose to stay for, “the good of the children.” Perhaps she has grown up in such an environment herself, where it was normal occurrence for her own mother to be abused. Maybe she loves her husband, and keeps wanting to give him yet another chance. Maybe she has grown up believing that such things happen only in “bad” families. Even when the woman gathers the courage to confide in someone, she may be advised to make an extra effort to hold the family together for the sake of the children, or for the “reputation” of the family.

If he’s abusive after a hard day at work, she might make excuses for him, not realizing there can never be any excuse for abuse. What can add to the confusion is that the abuser can also be thoughtful: if he makes her tea, or gets her car serviced, or helps the kids with homework, he can’t be all bad, can he? 18 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Abuse doesn’t have to be physical to be considered abuse. When the abuser gaslights her, when he manipulates her psychologically, when he denies her reality to the point she is no longer able to trust her own instincts, that is abuse, too. So the next time he tells her that she “made him do it,” or that she “asked for” the punching, the kicking, the shoving, she believes him. She might interpret his control of her as love, or concern. If he’s abusive after a hard day at work, she might make excuses for him, not realizing there can never be any excuse for abuse. What can add to the confusion is that the abuser can also be thoughtful: if he makes her tea, or gets her car serviced, or helps the kids with homework, he can’t be all bad, can he? Abusers are often charming and sociable in public. This can make it very difficult for women to get support when they do decide to confide to someone in their social, or familial, circle. There is often shock if there has been no overt display of aggression. Nimbalkar says that since talking about any kind of violence, especially sexual violence is such a taboo in our culture we, as a community, have gotten comfortable with the pretense that violence does not exist in our circles.

The Pressure to Stay

In the context of abuse within our community, there are additional reasons that are unique to the Indian situation—if there are siblings who are ready to be married, there is additional pressure to stay on in the marriage. There is the worry that if the marriage breaks up, the woman’s family will be considered “bad.” Social isolation is another. A third reason is the premium placed on the state of marriage-hood. Married women have exalted status in society; unmarried women—not so much. Lines are often drawn in social or religious events; invisible, but very much there. Married women, the fortunate ones, are at the top of the social pecking order. Unmarried girls come next, because they can still find husbands, and become part of that elite first group. The widows are the unfortunate lot, the has-

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 19

Divorced or abandoned women are essentially in societal limbo. No one knows quite what to do with them: they are either not invited to religious functions or, if they are, they choose not to go to spare their host embarrassment. This explains why, to the Indian parent, an unhappy marriage is better than no marriage at all.

How You Can Help

beens who, while invited, aren’t offered kumkum and turmeric— the auspicious prerogative of every married woman. Divorced or abandoned women are essentially in societal limbo. No one knows quite what to do with them: they are either not invited to religious functions or, if they are, they choose not to go to spare their host embarrassment. This explains why, to the Indian parent, an unhappy marriage is better than no marriage at all. Men, on the other hand, have no such issues to do with social status. They can remarry, and suffer no such consequence. Visa issues are another worry for Indian women in America. If they’re not working, which is often the case if their husbands are on H1-B visas the husbands threaten them with deportation. Until recently spouses of H1-B visa holders were not permitted to work. The previous administration lifted this restriction, but this might soon change. This is particularly worrying to women if there are American-born children involved. Because of the intense secrecy relating to uncomfortable issues, there is misinformation on the kind of families such things happen in. Fact of the matter is, domestic violence, like sexual abuse, cuts across lines of class, caste and race.

Rasana Atreya is a novelist, content writer, marketer and one of India’s self-publishing pioneers. Her debut novel, Tell A Thousand Lies, was shortlisted for the UK-based Tibor Jones South Asia Prize. Her other works are The Temple Is Not My Father, and 28 Years A Bachelor. Also a former rape crisis counselor with BAWAR, she is passionate about human rights issues.

Can Counseling Help?

Lundy Bancroft, who has counseled over a thousand abusive men (he will not counsel couples), says that couples counseling works only when the couple has shared issues that both need to work on. He is emphatic that control and abuse are not a shared problem; they remain the sole responsibility of the abuser. He warns that a poorly run domestic violence program can actively endanger abused women by sheltering their abusers from accountability. He cites instances where savvy abusers learnt tools and techniques from their counseling sessions and, in turn, used them to further manipulate the victim.

How You Can Help

Violence against women is about entitlement. It is a belief that the life, the needs, the wants of the abuser or perpetrator must take priority over everything else. There can never be any justification for domestic violence. Start with this premise. If you want to help, don’t blame the victim. Express no judgment. Provide her the resources that enable her to make her own choices. This last bit is especially important, because being in an abusive situation is disempowering enough. Don’t deny her control over her decisions by making them for her. SAVE (another organization that works with DV victims) advocate, Shailaja Dixit, strongly urges that women check in with 20 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

an agency such as SAVE if they’re in an abusive situation, and are planning a trip to India. To help with safety planning, she also recommends that the victim call a domestic violence agency before she is in crisis.

Organizations that provide support to victims of DV provide access to emergency shelters, free or low cost legal and medical services, and peer support groups. In addition, they also offer services in multiple Indian languages. According to Kate Hart, Director of Programs, SAVE works within the context of the South Asian community—they will, depending on the situation, take in family units as a whole— including boys over the age of eighteen, special needs adults, and in-laws, if needed. Maitri.org (888) 862-4874 Narika.org (800) 215-7308 SAVE save-dv.org (510) 794-6055 National Abuse Hotline (800) 799-7233 n

Legal Advice for Victims By Indu-Liladhar Hathi I am an Indian citizen and entered America on a student visa (F-1). About 9 months ago, I married a green card holder. My husband is physically and mentally abusive. I am afraid to leave as I am no longer pursuing my studies and need him to apply for a green card. It appears that you are a victim of domestic violence. All people in the United States, regardless of immigration or citizenship status are guaranteed basic protections under both civil and criminal law. You can file under: The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 which allows immigrant victims of domestic violence to file a self-petition to become lawful permanent residents (LPR) without having to rely on their abusers. In 2000, through the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act, two other visas were created for immigrant victims of violent crime (U visas) and victims of sexual assault or trafficking (T visas). In 2005, the protections expanded to include victims of elder abuse. I am currently on a H-4 visa and stuck in an abusive relationship. Can I legally work here? If you were admitted to the United States as the spouse of an H nonimmigrant who has abused you, you may be eligible for employment authorization. Employment authorization enables victims to seek safety and independence from their abuser, who is not notified about the filing. Please check our “Ask a Lawyer” column on Page 30 for more information regarding legal steps to help victims of domestic violence. Attorney Indu Liladhar-Hathi has an office in San Jose. (408) 453-5335.

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feature

My Father and Mojdis: A Daughter Remembers By Ravibala Shenoy

n the black and white photo, I am three years old. My father is holding me. I am wearing a brocade outfit, a long skirt and a blouse--the formal attire for children. Dangling from my feet are brocade shoes with upturned toes called mojdis. In the background is a two-story house. Our drinking water is brought from the well on head-loads by village women and the flag stoned bathroom has three thunder boxes as if in the Three Bears Cottage. The government gives my father an Austin, a Jeep, a mare that comes with a horse allowance and a syce. My father uses the car for the metaled roads, the jeep and the mare for roads inaccessible by car. The mare Rani, is a chestnut Australian hunter. One day she took fright and galloped from an empty field two towns

away, amid traffic with my father holding on for dear life. My father is twenty nine in the picture, the Assistant Collector of the district. Sometimes my mother and I accompany him on his travels. Two canvas khaki tents are set up: one serves as an office, the other for sleeping. At 6 a.m., the reveille sounds in the police campground –but before that, lifting the tent flaps, I smell wood smoke from the outdoor fires. Once, through the mist, I saw a tall figure walking, with a sawn-off human leg slung over his shoulder. The leg wore a mojdi. Only now I realize that the mojdi was probably slung on one end of a long handled ax or hoe to save the leather from wear and tear. I had my first glimpse of a snake that 22 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

It is difficult to live up to a remarkable parent. Just like Jambavan inspired Hanuman in the Ramayana, my father inspired me. By simply taking it for granted that I could do great things he brought out the best in me. slithered into the tent, but I wasn’t really frightened, my father was there to protect us; like the male bamboo which holds up an entire tent. *** I take another trip down memory lane. Expo 67, Montreal. I am a woman guide at the Indian Pavilion. Apart from meeting the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Marlene Dietrich and John Kenneth Galbraith, I traipse between the pavilions and the city in high heels and silk saris. One day, instead of assuming my usual post on the low stool before a wooden carving of a goddess, surrounded by sitar music, I have to take the Golden Agers Club on a tour of the pavilion. They gather around me in a circle: half a dozen women all over eighty along with Harry, the sole gentleman. They are accompanied by a young Miss Gabb, a woman of few words. I begin my spiel. A woman in a yellow wig interrupts. “When I was a little girl,” she gushes, making small boats of her hands, “my daddy brought me little pointed shoes from India.” “They are called mojdis,” I say. Another woman bobs her head up and down and in a sing-song voice and begins, “My daddy said...” This interaction with the women abruptly took me back to my own childhood that day. I mused about how the

second elderly woman had started her sentence with “My daddy said..” and wondered whether I would be the same even when I turned eighty. My father had always been my hero, but will he influence me, even when I am eighty plus? That’s what I wondered at the Expo that day. *** There is a proverb, “Nothing grows under the banyan.” It is difficult to live up to a remarkable parent. Just like Jambavan inspired Hanuman in the Ramayana, my father inspired me. By simply taking it for granted that I could do great things he brought out the best in me. Great military leaders inspire their soldiers and lead them through hell and high water. The ability to inspire and empower is a gift more precious than mere material wealth. Funnily enough, it is the hero worshipper who benefits more than the hero. My beloved father has been gone eight years. I was in Chicago when he died. My younger sister says the night he died in a Mumbai hospital a hearse van stopped outside the home at 2 a.m. My father lay in a corner, the lone occupant of the dark, refrigerated van, swaddled in a sheet, unrecognizable. He used to say, “After eighty, it is not a mourning death.” My father’s words pop into my head, and I long to speak to him again—on morning walks during my annual visits from Chicago. I yearn to share my concerns with him, use him as a touchstone to help me make the right decisions. I am a grandmother now, but I still try to live up to my father’s expectations, seek his approval, make him proud--even though he only lives inside my head and heart. n Ravibala (Ravi) Shenoy lives in Naperville, IL. She has been published in Sugar Mule, The Copperfield Review, The Chicago Tribune and VOYA: Voice of Youth Advo- cates. A retired librarian, she is a book review editor for Jaggery.

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relationship diva

Five Signs That You Have Met “The One”

ave you finally met “the one?” Review this checklist for signs that your budding romance could be the real thing: 1. Reliable and Dependable Has your new partner kept their word during the time you’ve known them? Have they been dependable? Do they show signs of being trustworthy, or have there been red flags that say otherwise? Trust and reliability are foundational to a long-term commitment. 2. You Have Around Equal “Mate Value” Evolutionary psychology says that the following three areas are key considerations when looking for a mate: personal warmth, physical attractiveness and financial status. One person may be a 7 in personal warmth, an 8 in attractiveness and a 3 in financial status, while the other is a 6, 4 and 9. While there can be big differences

By Jasbina Ahluwalia in certain categories, if you both average around the same overall, your relationship has a better chance than if your “mate values” are vastly different. 3. Genuine Warmth Towards People In addition to how your partner treats you, take notice of how they treat others. What is their relationship with their parents, siblings and other family members? How do they treat their friends? How do they treat wait staff and other service people when you are out with them? Even if they initially treat you well, if they are rude, unkind or dismissive toward others, this may be a red flag that could indicate how they might treat you down the road. 4. You Like Each Others’ Most “Extreme” Characteristics Is your new love extremely shy, overly gregarious, staunchly political, an all-raw vegan juice diet purist, or extreme in some other way? Are you? These types of pro-

nounced traits could be deal-breakers in some relationships; however, if you find each others’ most extreme qualities genuinely charming, this could be a sign that you were meant for each other. 5. The Potential for True Love What do you see and feel in the eyes of your partner when they look at you? Genuine love has an undeniable quality. If you feel that from your partner—and you feel this for them—then the potential for a truly great romance is there. Not all relationships are meant to go the distance. However, if your new love interest shows many of the signs listed here, it’s quite possible that you’ve met your match. n Jasbina Ahluwalia is the Founder-President of Intersections Match by Jasbina, the only premier dating coaching firm for Indian singles in the US, Canada and the UK. Jasbina@Intersectionsmatch.com

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feature

Aiyo: The One Word For All Occasions By Sujata Srinivasan

very language should have at least one word which serves as an adequate response to just about anything. A single expression that can encapsulate an array of emotions in life and art—from despair and adoration to disgust and frustration. But in their narrow definition, the human beans at the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) have pigeonholed the all-purpose aiyo to the very bleh “Oh no! Oh dear!” Along with Roald Dahl’s human bean —“You surely is not telling me that a little whizzpopping is forbidden among human beans?” questions an incredulous big and friendly giant—aiyo found a place last September in the hallowed pages of the OED, rolling in not with the majesty of a juggernaut, or with the gentleness of a breeze on the verandah, but with much hullabaloo over its narrow interpretation. Given that I’ve been dropping aiyo all over the place in all sorts of contexts since I was yea high, I was excited to share the word with my non-Indian friends, and also keen to fill them in on the versatility and range of this very common exclamation from my 2,000-plus-year-old Tamil language—you can hear aiyo which has no equivalent in English being uttered in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala! My many chats with friends about aiyo kicked off with a conversation with Maggie Downie, with whom it’s always fun and easy to talk just about anything! Still, one simply cannot spring a word like this on an unsuspecting person unless it’s over South Indian tiffin; which is why halfway through our pesarettu, chutney and badam halwa, I asked how aiyo sounded to her. “It’s a nice-sounding word,” she said, mulling over it for a few seconds. “It makes me think of movement, like PiYo [Pilates and yoga].” Of course to Maggie, a Pilates studio owner and a globe-trotting adventurer who’s walked on fire and swum with piranhas, any novel word might sound like movement! 28 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Cartoon illustration by Raqhav Prashant Sundar.

Every language should have at least one word which serves as an adequate response to just about anything. A single expression that can encapsulate an array of emotions in life and art—from despair and adoration to disgust and frustration. But in their narrow definition, the human beans at the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) have pigeonholed the all-purpose aiyo to the very bleh “Oh no! Oh dear!” In Hindu mythology, Aiyo, I tell her, is the name of the wife of Yama, God of Death! It was not an exclamation I used around my traditional grandfather who disapproved of it, viewing it as an invitation to Mrs. Y—unless it was made acceptable by adding one of the names of Vishnu as in aiyo Rama—but it would be appropriate in any of these scenarios:

Aiyo, what a cute puppy! Aiyo, the nerve! Aiyo, the shareholders are so worried! Aiyo, there’s a fly in my soup!

Broke your phone? Aiyo, that sucks!

Aiyo, you’re going through so much, you poor thing!

Aiyo, I stubbed my toe again!

In devotional Tamil poetry written by

poet-saints, the Alvars, aiyo is even used as an expression of joy and awe at the sight of the form of Ranganatha, or Vishnu. How, I asked Maggie, might Mark Twain have used the word? Maggie had worked at the Mark Twain House and Museum as the Assistant Director of Education, and both us are die-hard Twainiacs. Without missing a beat, she said, “if Satan (Twain’s cat) did something particularly frustrating, he would definitely have used it! Or if Twain caught someone lying, he’d go aiyo!” she said, referring to the quote: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” All perfect scenarios, with one minor change. It would be the liar, not Twain, who would exclaim aiyo at being caught! Our chat eventually turned into a wordswap and she ended up teaching me all about moosha-moosh! My Italian-American friend Catherine Conant, an award-winning storyteller who led me through a fascinating discussion of etymology—who would have thought that the word assassin came from the Arabic

hasisi or hashish eater?—tells me that the closest Yiddish equivalent of aiyo that she can think of is oyvey (expressing dismay) and, in Italian, basta—stop, it ends here! “I use basta in my stories,” she said. “You hold your arms straight out and your hand up as if you’re saying stop; we’re not going any further—but yours is much more interesting in that it’s actually attached to a goddess!” What, she asked me, is the origin of the word? The OED states that aiyo originated from Chinese Mandarin, but I wanted to know more, so I asked E. Annamalai, visiting professor in Tamil at the University of Chicago who pointed out that the expressive word in Tamil is first recorded in the Jain epic Civaka Cintamani of the 9th century. “It must have been in the Tamil language before this period, but a literary author finds the word fit to have literary merit only in this period. As with expressive words, there is no root for this word; it is the effect of the sounds,” he told me. Prof. Annamalai felt that the fascina-

tion with aiyo on the part of the OED lexicographers comes from its emotive content and impressibility, more so in the Internet age where emojis are popular. I asked him if aiyo would ever gain acceptance and become a part of common usage, like yoga, masala, pajama and curry. That would depend, he said, if aiyo can fill a gap in meaning, or give a thrill in its usage! “The latter is possible if some popular English fiction writer or pop song singer uses this word,” he said. Now, if only Beyonce could belt out: “Aiyo, if I were a boy” or something to that effect! n Sujata Srinivasan is an award-winning Connecticut-based journalist whose work has appeared extensively in NPR’s Connecticut regional station WNPR, Forbes India, and Connecticut Business Magazine. She currently reports on healthcare for the Connecticut Health Investigative Team (C-HIT).

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 29

ask a lawyer

Domestic Violence Victims By Indu Liladhar-Hathi

I am an Indian citizen and entered America on a student visa (F-1). About 9 months ago, I got married to a green card holder. My husband is physically and mentally abusive. I am afraid to leave him as I am no longer pursuing my studies and am relying on him to apply for my green card. What can I do? It appears that you are a victim of domestic violence. Regardless of immigration or citizenship status, all people in the United States are guaranteed basic protections. Laws provide: • The right to obtain a protection order. • The right to separation or divorce without the consent of spouse. • The right to share certain marital property. • The right to ask for custody of child(ren) and financial support. Parents of children under the age of 21 often are required to pay child support. • A victim of domestic violence is granted immigration benefits; you can continue to reside and work here. You can file under: The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 was enacted to allow immigrant victims to file a self-petition to become lawful permanent residents (LPR) without having to rely on their abusers. Through the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, two other visas were created: for immigrant victims of violent crime (U visas) and victims of sexual assault or trafficking (T visas). In 2005, the protections were expanded to include victims of elder abuse. In 2013, Congress also extended the law’s protections to same sex partners who are victims. The “U” Visa. The U Visa provides temporary immigration benefits for certain victims of qualifying criminal activity. Qualifying criminal activity includes one or more of the following: abduction, blackmail, domestic violence, extortion, false imprisonment, felonious assault, female genital mutilation, involuntary servitude,

30 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

prostitution, rape, sexual assault, stalking, torture, and trafficking. The “T” Visa. The T Visa is also a relief from deportation for foreign nationals who are victims of “severe trafficking” defined as (1) sex trafficking or (2) obtaining of a person for labor, through use of force. To be eligible, (i) you must be physically present in the United States; (ii) assist in the investigation or prosecution of such trafficking. A VAWA, T or U visa beneficiary is eligible for employment authorization and may further be eligible to adjust status to that of a Lawful Permanent Resident, upon meeting certain criteria and requirements. Other non-immigration benefits include housing assistance, food stamps, and job training. https://www.uscis.gov/news/factsheets/information-legal-rights-availableimmigrant-victims-domestic-violenceunited-states-and-facts-about-immigrating-marriage-based-visa-fact-sheet

I am currently on a H-4 visa and stuck in an abusive relationship. My spouse refuses to give me an allowance. Can I legally work here? If you were admitted to the United States as the spouse of an H nonimmigrant who has abused you, you may be eligible for employment authorization. Employment authorization enables victims to seek safety and independence from their abuser, who is not notified about the filing. The employment authorization provisions apply equally to men and women. Initial employment authorizations will be issued for two years and may be renewed in certain circumstances. If you are in the United States, you can file Form I-765V, in accordance with the form’s instructions. Please check out https://www.uscis.gov/forms/employment-authorization-certain-abused-nonimmigrant-spouses. n

Immigration and business attorney Indu Liladhar-Hathi has an office in San Jose. (408) 453-5335.

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.

June 2017

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 June 2017.

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Desi Lens

An Alternate Indian-American

By Kalpana Mohan

few weeks ago when I went to my local hair salon I heard complaints about how the Indian-Americans visiting the neighboring grocery store created problems for those using the services of other businesses in the mall. I saw what they meant because I, too, had always noticed clients of the local Indian grocery store loading their bags into their vehicles after which they simply let their grocery cart dodder around where their cars once stood. I realized it was time to put together a list of common complaints about our community along the lines of The Spectator, an 18th century periodical published daily by two politicians, that carried news and observations on the mores and morals of the day.

Put That Cart Back

I’ve noticed how Indian-Americans put back their carts back outside Safeway; around their own kinds of stores in their miniIndia enclaves, they often do not. The last time I was at my local Indian store, some carts languished near Vanity Beauty Salon a few doors away where women pampered themselves for hours, feet in warm water and head under steamers. Some carts lolled around outside Saratoga Plumbing Supply, an upscale store where salesmen looked high and mightily from behind their Toto low flushes. I remembered my late father whenever I returned, weekly, to this charade. “Put back the cart exactly where it belongs,” he would say if I failed to push the cart back into its home outside a store. “You wait ten minutes at the counter but you don’t have half a minute of practicing discipline to put something back.” It was the principle of the thing, he said, to be considerate towards the store as well as the next customer.

Don’t Cut In Line

Don’t behave like the passenger at Delhi airport who yelled back at me when I pointed out that I was next in line and that she had cut in line. I see this congenital need to cut in line—inside airplanes, at India’s museums, at fast food places, at the swankiest malls, and always, of course, at the gold standard, “ISO certified” airports. While airports in India’s big cities are splashed with glass, metal and polished floors and serve gourmet meals along with haute couture and luxury services, they are hardly the best in the world. An airport is only as good as its passengers. For me, a woman in a red kurta underlined my experience in red last January. As I placed my bag on the conveyor at security check at Bengaluru airport, she sneaked her black handbag in to my left and pressed it onto the conveyor. “Excuse me,” I said, “Mind waiting until I’m done?” The woman in the red kurta started. Perhaps no one had called her out on this before. “It’s just one small bag, after all,” she said. “What’s your problem?”

The Shoe, The Hair, The Fare Not So Fair

One late morning in Paris in the summer of 1998, I asked a vendor at the local farmer’s market which of the cheeses she would recommend. In turn, she asked me if it were for me or for my 32 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

“dame.” Based on my attire, she had decided that I was a maid who lived with a wealthy French dowager, surviving on crumbs while I exercised the pale limbs of my employer and her pretty Yorkie in the morning sun at a park. I concede that even though there were many days in my thirties when I felt, both like a maid and a nanny, the humiliation I suffered in the hands of that vendor taught me that good grooming in an individual reflected on the whole community. I know also thanks to children who have long conversations with me about the attitudes of our community—that the younger generation of Indian Americans feel that few Indian-Americans give equal weightage to decent western attire, shoes, hair and other grooming, even as they invest in the most expensive of traditional Indian silks and gold.

Don’t Be Cheap. Here’s A Tip.

It’s well-known that Indian-Americans are some of the poorest tippers. Most of our tipping habits stem from our cultural background; they’ve been shipped from India where a tip is often five percent of the bill in low-end restaurants and typically included and billed as a 15 percent service charge in high-end restaurants. In the United States, custom dictates that tips are calculated pre-tax, although it’s easier to use the total bill for the sake of simplicity or to be more generous. According the US News’ Ultimate Tipping Guide, “if you’re really pleased with your service, most experts will tell you to tip 20 percent.” The courtesy shown to a restaurateur must be extended also at a beauty salon where barbers, beauticians, manicurists and masseurs are owed between 15 to 20 percent of the bill.

Let Others Get Some Okra

The last time a friend went to a grocery store, she told a woman to not test the okra by bending the fragile end of it. The okra tester shrugged. “But I put them into my bag, anyway. What’s wrong with that?” she asked. My friend reminded her that those that she flexed and did not like, she put back into the bin in the store. Why couldn’t she see the unfairness of that action? Most of our behavior with commercial and social transactions can be boiled down to this innate Indian need “to chase the best okra.” That eye on the ball to the exclusion of everything and everyone else—the best flight tickets, the cheapest deals on cars, that Costco membership—has plagued us years after we’ve made successful lives both in India and in the diasporas. At my local famer’s market, I notice that many of those from South east Asia tended to select and grab okra, beans, kiwi, and other produce in this same manner, with a grim, stressful mien. “Relax, this isn’t admission to the Ivy Leagues,” I’d like to tell them. “This is a race to nowhere. Why can’t we let others get good produce too?”n Kalpana Mohan writes from California’s Silicon Valley. http://kalpanamohan.com

NOT DONE YOUR TAXES YET?

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 33

films

The Parent Trap By Aniruddh Chawda

HINDI MEDIUM: Director: Saket Chaudhary. Players: Irfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Amrita Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Suri, Neha Dhupia. Music: Sachin-Jigar. Hindi and Eng. with Eng. subtitles. Theatrical release (T Series)

he right job. The right address. The right school. For some cognizanti, there are hallmarks of success. In the peculiar form of Indian affluenza, however, a couple of other idioms can also be tossed in. Borrowing from both Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee’s Bengali entry Ramdhanu (2014) and also Rajesh Nair’s Malayalam language comedy Salt Mango Tree (2015), Chaudhary and company spin the same theme to come up with a sharp satire of India’s education system and also the tools for equal opportunity imbedded therein to level the field for more applicants. For successful Delhi dress shop owner Raj Batra (Khan) and his wife Meeta (Qamar), the chase to enroll their 4-year old daughter to the right school is in full gear. The daughter is academically gifted and, provided they land a coveted spot on the admission list, the couple can easily afford any of the top-rated schools. This should be a slam dunk. Not so fast. Why so, the Batras ask the admissions “coach” hired to chaperone them through the cutthroat jungle of competitive pre-school —yes, pre-school and not high school let alone college admissions. The teensy problem is that the Batras’ shop is located in Chandni Chowk, a famed, teeming old Delhi neighborhood which happens to fail the “criteria” the top-rated schools desire in Indian zip codes for where they recruit from. The Batras find themselves in a social minefield trip-wired with landmines comprised of judgmental playground tartmommies and show-off party attendees whose weapon of choice are accusatory, 34 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

disapproving visual darts. The Batras’ limited command of English is used against them as amounting to not only a necessity for communication in the modern world—which it truly is—but even more heavily as a moral flaw. For wannabe social ladder climbers, this is precisely the doctrine the British used against Indians when mandating English-first on sub-continent curriculums in the 19th century; that the Indians could not be considered “civilized” if they were to only use their indigenous languages. Thumbing its nose at that very notion, therefore, makes the brilliantly selfreliant title Hindi Medium, and not English Medium, sparkle even more. The Batras’ greatest “shortcoming” is not where they live or how they dress but it is their limited command of English. India has by far the largest number of halfEnglish speakers in the world, thanks to its colonial legacy. Many Indians routinely weave in and out of English interspersed with a local language and knowing even a few words of English can rightfully be a source of pride for them. Maddening as that can sound, it is essentially a charm Indians use to open up their country to outsiders—indeed, no tourist with even a rudimentary grasp of English would ever get lost in India or be made to feel unwelcome in asking for directions. That is the Indian spirit at its raw best—adapt or adopt, mingle and move on.

So how does a family cope? Can one move to a more desirable locale? That would have commuting pitfalls for sure. Can one overcome the mean, ironfisted headmistress (Singh) who controls admissions at one school? The dimming chances of successfully assailing the awkward yet mandatory “interview” required of applicant parents could put chances of landing admission fair to middling at best and disastrous at worst. Can one find a way to apply through the interview-free quota system used to encourage economically disadvantaged students to apply? As funny as that could be, mind you, it could just spiral into an unintended yet perhaps telling experiment in downward social mobility. For the Batras, the angry gods have laid out a meticulously perfect and cruel parent trap. In superb lead, Khan is all fidgety with his English diction and provincial mannerism while Qamar, a Pakistani beauty making her Indian debut, nails the neurotic urbanite intent on outshining all her poser so-called girlfriends. Singh as the dowdy schoolmarm and especially Dobriyal as the factory worker that may impart for Raj a lesson in humility round out a fine cast. With Sachin-Jigar’s decent score—check out Atif Aslam’s romantic “Noor” and Guru Randhawa and Arjun’s catchy “Suit Suit” —and tremendous plot pacing, Hindi Medium rekindles all the insightful, observant and fun reasons for going to the movies. n EQ: A Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.

Battle Hits and Myths By Aniruddh Chawda BAAHUBALI 2—The Conclusion. Director: S. S. Rajamouli. Player: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Sathyaraj, Ramya Krishnan, Anushka Shetty, Nasser, Tamannaah. Music: M. M. Keeravani. Telugu with Eng. subtitles. Theatrical release (Arka Media Works) Where we left off two years ago, a virtual century in box-office parlance–Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) had muscled out all but one or two of the biggest Hindi language movies to clinch a top spot on the Indian cinema box office food chain. In a breezy two years later, along comes Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, the would-be crown jewel to what was only the crown. Even with its opulence, flashy costumes, epic story-telling and gimmicky showiness, while Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is better filmmaking, it falls a little short of what Baahubali: The Beginning spoiled us to expect. Continuing the adventures of Amarendar Baahubali (Prabhas) in the mythical kingdom of Mahishmati, Queen Mother Sivagami (Krishnan) is soon to declare the new regent for the crown. Baahubali, ever the outsider, has heroics and dashing good looks going for him while Bhallaladeva (Daggubati), the wily scion of Prime Minister Bijjaladeva (Nasser), stands to lose more if he does not play palace shenanigans. Enter the gorgeous Princess Devasena (Shetty), she who is romantically betrothed to Baahubali and who may be victimized by Bhallaladeva’s mischief making. No story this dramatic can end without a good fight. And sure enough, this vast chess game can only end in a winner-take-all cosmic battle. Director Rajamouli and team bring to play often show-stopping and cutting edge theatrics and action sequences. Like with Hollywood’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and Greek-era action entry 300—movies that Baahubali 2 brings to mind more than once, for the most part there is seamless interaction between mortal fighters and the fauna they encounter—be it horses, elephants, wild boars, gaurs or even bow and arrow. The action-sequences flow and are physically plausible. The palace riches shine with royal elegance and nifty water-

falls still flow. So why the skittishness on my part, you ask? Well, Part 1 was fluid in just about every aspect—from the natural looks of the ethereal waterfalls to neon bright colors that looked ready to peel off the large screen to lead Prabhas’ studly muscleflexing–alright, there was swooning in Part 1 when Prabhas’s Baahubali singlehandedly and effortlessly hoisted up the massive stone Shiva lingam. In Part 2, those same elements—dressed up even spiffier appear a little flat and the animals just don’t move like they should. Also M. M Keeravani’s Part 2 score is good but not great. While T. Sreenidhi and V. Srisoumya’s “Kannaa Nidurinchara” and Daler Mehndi and Mounima’s “Saahore” are catchy, Part 2 has no signature hook that stands up to the rousing orchestra of the “Dhivara” number from Part 1. We want to be wowed and we end up settling for oh-that’s-very-nice instead. From it’s infancy, Indian cinema culturally gravitated towards popular mythological stories that the masses could relate to. Early standout proto-Indian movies Raja Harishchandra (1913), Lanka Dahan (1917) and Sairandhri (1919) all borrowed elements of Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. For Bombay-based filmmaking, the love affair with Indian cultural

standard-bearers lasted well into the last century and eventually transferred almost entirely to television. For film houses in southern India, however, the mythological well never quite dried up and the incredible success of the Baahubali franchise is testament to the vitality of that genre. And how phenomenally it has paid off! Rolling out with a 9,000 screen global debut–by far the biggest ever for an Indian movie–Baahubali 2 has outdone even Baahubali 1. At press time, this cash cow has garnered approximately US $300 million (about 2 billion Indian Rupees) in four Indian languages—it was filmed in both Telugu and Tamil during the same filming and dubbed into Hindi and Malayalam versions. This massive box office take exceeds even the combined lifetime collections of the next three box office top ranking Indian movies, including Aamir Khan’s Dangal, which is now at No. 2. The fit-for-a-thesis perfect alignment of incredible word of mouth, industry buzz, incessant promos and free publicity surrounding the ginormous loot that traded hands for pre-selling of satellite-TV rights transformed Baahubali 2 into that perfect craze–face it, it is a craze–where otherwise frugal cinema goes skipped, strolled or raced to line up to pay up to $40 in the US and a jaw-dropping $60 per ticket in some Indian multiplexes. Baahubali 2 has singlehandedly turned the economics of movie making in India topsy-turvy. This movie has changed Indian cinema! n EQ: A Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.

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books

A Timeless Family Tale By Nirupama Vaidhyanathan

Ghachar Ghochar, Vivek Shanbhag, Translated by Srinath Perur, 2017, 128 pages, Penguin Books, USA.

was thinking about Malati—why did she reveal avarice for money like this? What a crass display of newfound wealth, I mused. I shook myself out of my reverie after a little while when I realized that I was thinking about the motivations of a fictional character! That is the spell that was cast on me after reading the brilliant novel, Ghachar Ghochar, by Vivek Shanbhag. This habit of thinking of fictional characters carried on for days after reading this novel. Translated from Kannada into English by Srinath Perur, the novel focuses on the human interactions within a family. The outside world is evoked but rarely in this tale set within a home. The contours of this familial world are drawn tightly around the characters of the father, mother, the two children and the uncle referred to as Chikkappa. The protagonist of the novel, the son, gets married and his wife Anita enters this tight circle of family members. When a woman friend of Chikkappa comes to their house searching for him, the mother and sister keep her outside the house and tear into her with vile words and she soon beats a hasty retreat. The only one who could have intervened—Chikkappa does not speak a word in her defense. Seeing this, Anita is shocked and voices her extreme displeasure to her husband in private. And, here comes the protagonist’s thoughts, which hold so much meaning in this story. “How could I explain to her that Chikkappa must be protected at all costs? She wouldn’t understand. For that, she would need to have lived through those early days with us—when the whole family stuck together, walking like a single body across the tightrope of our circumstances. Without that reality behind her, it’s all a matter of empty principle.” And, with that, the novel skips years backwards into the lower middle class

38 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

world in which the children were raised. Money was hard to come by. The father earned money as a tea salesperson. The author skillfully paints visual mosaics of characters with a few sentences. One such visual semantic descriptor on the father’s job goes thus: “He was inordinately proud of being a salesman. He’d boast, how for instance, he’d managed to sell to a shop whose shelves were already brimming with tea. He’d leave home looking like an officer and return at night, wilted from the day’s sun, his clothes rumpled. One glance at his scuffed dusty shoes was enough to betray the nature of his day’s work.” Their financial situation is always precarious— even though there is enough to feed the family and to provide for the education of the children and that of Chikkappa, the whole balance is achieved by creative home management by the mother, and most importantly, by all feeling content with the basics provided by this modest income. This delicate dance with money is upended when their uncle Chikkappa starts Sona Masala, a spice factory. The father is unceremoniously laid off from the tea company and invests his meager savings into the new venture and with

Chikkappa’s ingenuity for spotting an opportunity and working towards it, the family’s fortunes change dramatically. They move from their rented house to one where they each have a room—a luxury they could not have dreamed of before. This sudden influx of money and power irreversibly works itself into the balance of relationships and alters each in profound ways. Chikkappa’s position within the family changes. “The central figure in our household is my chikkappa, Venkatachala, my father’s younger brother and the family’s sole earner.” The protagonist tries his hand at helping his uncle, is ineffectual and ends up receiving a monthly allowance. The father withdraws into a shell, wistfully recalling the old days and becomes briefly animated while discussing a brief trip to the old neighborhood. The sister Malati gets married amidst great pomp but destroys her relationship with her husband by demanding respect based merely on the money she possesses. And the mother presides over this household with a tight grip, making sure that each member is beholden to the other in a web of tight-knit family bonds where moral transgressions are not addressed, but shoved under the rug, leading to an ever-increasing dependency on each other to survive. The entry of the protagonist’s wife into this family sets off a series of incidents which question the family’s dealings and the novel ends as it starts—leaving one with questions about the nature of right and wrong. The author drew me into the book with masterful storytelliing. I muttered monosyllables to family members who intruded as I read, not putting it down till I got to the last page. Now that I have finished this review, can I please get back to re-reading it? n

Nirupama Vaidhyanathan is the Managing Editor of India Currents magazine.

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poetry

Affairs of the Heart By Meera Prahlad

And now, too soon, here I stand Carrying in my helpless hands

Waiting tearfully to depart The weight of my very heavy heart

Translation from poem By Sunanda Rao about the pain of leaving her grandchild

have long admired poets for how they can deftly arrange words transforming language to convey the most profound of messages that speaks to the soul. Two Kannada poets, one famous and the other unknown are featured in this essay. Both hail from the Chikmagalur District of Karnataka. The subjects of both poems are connected by a thread of love— a love of home and a love of family. In the case of the latter, it is about a very special love that grandchildren evoke.

Bisila kola hididhubittu Thangi thammarodane hittu Thindhu beLedha nanna manay! Modhala minchu hoLedha manay, Modhala gudugu kayLdha manay: Modhala maLeyu karedhu karedhu Hencha mele saddhu haridhu Maadinindha neeru suridhu Bereganittha nanna manay!

K. V. Puttappa

uppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (1904–1994) is one of the most celebrated poets from Karnataka. Nicknamed Kuvempu, he wrote Karnataka’s State anthem Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate. He was also a playwright, novelist and an admired intellectual of his time. His contributions to Kannada literature earned him the titles of Rashtra Kavi (National Poet) in 1958, and Karnataka Ratna (Gem of Karnataka) in 1992. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1988, and was the first Kannada writer to receive the Jnanpith award. Kuvempu was a stalwart who used his writings to inspire patriotism, while encouraging Kannadigas to be proud of their language and culture, at a time when colonization threatened to undermine it. “Nanna Mane” (My House) was written by Kuvempu in 1927, and is charming because of its simplicity and universal appeal. The pleasure of reading a piece of writing is always the most potent in its original language, since meanings don’t always translate seamlessly into another language. Realizing this, and in order to keep the meter and rhyme in the translation into an English poem, some liberties were taken with the translation—these are indicated with asterisks.

40 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Kuvempu (1904-1994)

Verses from Kannada work, Nanna Mane By Kuvempu Manay manay muddhu manay Manay manay nanna manay! Nanna thaayiyolidha manay, Nanna thandhe beLedha manay: Nanna geLeyarodane koodi Muddhu maathugaLanu aadi MakkaLaatagaLanu hoodi Naanu nalidha nanna manay! Thayi mutthu kotta manay, Thandhe yetthikonda manay: Manege bandha nentarella Koogi karedhu kobari bella GaLanu kottu saviya solla Naaduthiddha nanna manay! Naanu nudiya kalitha manay, Naanu nadigeyaritha manay: Hakki baLaga suttha koodi Bygu beLagu haadi haadi Maleyanaada sagga maadi Nalisuthiddha nanna manay! Naanu biddhu yeddha manay, Modhalu beLaku kanda manay: Thippa thippa hejje ittu

Translation: My House Home, Home, Sweet Home Home, Home, my very own! Home, which my mother blessed each day Where, as a boy, my father played: Home where with my friends I’d meet To play and exchange words so sweet, That haven which my ancestors owned Where my spirits soared, that was home! Home, where my mother kissed me on my cheek *Home, where in my father’s arms I’d sleep: Home, where all the relations who came **Plied me with sweets and called my

name Speaking with affection, we whiled our time That precious home, it was all mine! Home, where I first learned to speak Home, where I first got on my feet: That home, where I’d hear my feath ered friends Sing and sing, till the day’s very end That Malnad—a Heaven on Earth, Where freely I roamed—that was home! Home, where I had many a fall Home, where I saw my very first dawn: Where on tiptoe I would quietly sneak To catch and ride Sun’s golden beam, Where with all my sisters and brothers ***My childhood melted, as if in a dream! Home, where I saw my first lightning flash Home, where I heard my first thunder crash: Where the first monsoons awaited Danced on the tiled roof with deafening sound And the great skies opened and poured in torrents As I watched in wonder, truly spell bound! Home, which contains all my past Home, where I hope to breathe my last: Though this Earth I can never own A piece of it, I proudly call my home Home, you’ve been a sanctuary when I was scorched And always quenched me when I was parched! While the idea of home and hearth is relatable to everyone, what makes this poem unique to Karnataka is the reference to Malnad and its existing culture. “Malnad” is the Anglicized version of maLe naadu, which in Kannada means “land of rains.” Rich in imagery of cascading rains, thunder and lightning of the Malnad region, the poet paints a picture of a bustling ancestral home with relatives dropping in and of a happy childhood. Particularly striking is the image of a little boy vic-

torious at having caught a golden beam of sunlight streaming through a window, while probably playing hobby horse. Today the “Karnataka Ratna” is not far from the home to which he has paid tribute—he lies in Kavishaila, a memorial made of megalithic rocks, close to his beloved childhood abode. * The original text mentions the poet being carried in his father’s arms. ** He makes a reference to “kobbari bella” which translates to dried coconut bits and jaggery that his relatives would bring—trail-mix of the days of yore. *** Here he mentions ‘hittu’ (millet flour) as a staple diet on which he and his siblings grew up. ******

Sunanda Rao

he author of the next poem, Sunanda Rao (1936–2013), was not short of creative attributes, but was shy of attention. She never sought fame and it was only the people in her inner circle who knew of her passion and witnessed her art. Her family referred to her as “Kala Sarawathi,” as she was well-versed in the arts. Not only did she excel in singing Carnatic music, but she also played the veena, and composed music and poetry. Rao was also a fine artist—the selfportraits and landscapes of her youth, changed in her years as a grandmother, and her favorite subjects became her grandchildren and the various animals she painted to delight them. Sadly, towards the end of her life, her ability to sketch dwindled severely and even words eluded her, making it a struggle to find a way to express herself. Several of her poems were found after her demise. Her poem Vidhaaya meaning “Goodbye” was inspired by the profound love for her grandchildren. Verses from Vidhaaya By Sunanda Rao Translation: Goodbye Shall I take your leave little darling? It’s time to say goodbye The eagerness I felt to see you made My heart light when I first arrived And now, too soon, here I stand Waiting tearfully to depart

Carrying in my helpless hands The weight of my very heavy heart Those moments that we spent together How wonderful! How sublime! The loving bond we share, that’s my fortune It’s God’s blessing to me—how divine. The poet’s sorrow at bidding farewell to her grandchild is poignant. The reference to the weight of her heart is as brilliant as it is moving—while she is waiting to leave, with her suitcases packed, it seems that the weight of her heart is heavier than those of her bags. The pathos in this poem may be relatable to grandparents in the current time frame, as their children move to distant shores and they miss many “firsts” in the life of their grandchildren—the first word, the first step, the first recital...the list is endless. Poets, and indeed, all artists, touch our lives to make them richer. I think of what a great loss it is when talent does not come to light, and how many talented artists

Sunanda Rao (1936-2013)

are unrealized. I consider it a privilege to be showcasing the work of one such poet who though invisible, pursued her art with quiet inspiration. n Meera Prahlad is a freelance writer, community organizer and volunteer with a wide variety of interests. She wears several hats, but finds that the style that suits her best is one where she takes on a cause close to her heart, to make a meaningful impact on the community around her. The author wishes to thank the Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Trust for their cooperation and support in gaining information for this essay.

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 41

music

Carnatic, Hindustani, Arabic, International: CHAI for 6!

HAI for 6, a music group with members based in four states across two continents will perform on June 17 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The group traces its origins to the Berklee Indian Exchange founded in 2013 to celebrate and share Indian music and culture with the Berklee student body. Assistant manager Rohith Jayaraman says, “J ust because we play Indian music doesn’t mean we all have to be of Indian origin. We have had students and collaborators from 42 countries (and counting!) work with us over the years. Just this past semester, we had students from Australia, Nigeria, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Spain, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, China, Israel, Singapore, Bahrain, the United States and more! The stamp on your passport does not matter.” A significant item on the Exchange’s agenda is to ensure that there is a cultural connection with India, through the Berklee Indian ensemble. Thus, the group has worked with the likes of A.R. Rahman and Clinton Cerejo, both stars in Bollywood music, working on originals and rearrangements with these masters. It is at Berklee that Jayaraman, who’s also the voice of CHAI, met up with Layth Sidiq, (violin) incidentally the only musician of non-Indian origin in the group, along with Shubh Saran (guitar), and Sashank Navaladi (sarod). These four musicians first performed a piece called “Shuruaat,” written by Navaladi, which they intend to play in the upcoming show as well. M.T. Aditya Srinivasan (tabla) and Vignesh Venkataraman (mridangam) found their way to Boston briefly and “something just clicked.” Music, literally, is what brings the group together: Sidiq and Jayaraman live in Boston, Saran lives in New York, Venkataraman in the Bay Area, Navaladi in Los Angeles, and Srinivasan in Chennai. The Berklee spirit of exchange seems to drive the sound for CHAI as well, as Jayaraman puts it, “I think it’s less of a conscious effort and more of just happy experimentation. We get together 42 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

By Priya Das

Rohith Jayaraman (left), Shankar Mahadevan (center) and Layth Sidiq (right)

and throw ideas around. What comes out is what comes out. If we think too much about it, we would never get there. The key is finding the similarities and using them to highlight the differences.” One can argue that given the backgrounds of these artists, there is no other way to make music: Navaladi is a film/tv composer as well as a sarod player, Sidiq is a classically trained Arabic violinist, Srinivasan is a tabla player but also a percussionist who has studied in Spain, Saran is a contemporary American/jazz/Indo-world guitarist, and Venkataraman is a Carnatic mridangist extraordinaire. Jayaraman is a Carnatic trained vocalist who claims that he cannot claim an exclusive musical foot in any one world, even though he has had rigorous training from his mother Asha Ramesh, who is an Indian-music brand in the Bay Area. While the six joke around and are prone to watching funny Youtube videos (even during rehearsals!), they have serious musical chops, as the videos on the Ensemble’s site will prove. Sidiq picked up the violin when he was four and now is a sought-after composer and directs the Arab music ensemble at Tufts University. When asked if the Indian quotient gets overwhelming when they get together, he said, “The more Indians I have around me the more I know I’ll be surrounded by good food, beautiful music, and a profound culture!” Saran is an official Reunion blues artist and has played alongside several international artists. He confesses that he

is somewhere in between a Blues man and a Rock guitarist. He has his own album, Hmayra under his belt and has set his eyes on Bollywood next. Navaladi has been the ensemble’s star composer and released Zikr, a musical, inspired by and based on a Mirza Ghalib poem of the same name. He says, “I started with one tune for the first couplet and kept revising it for days until I finally started feeling a solid melody that worked well with the rhythm of the first two couplets. Zikr taught me how the subtle rhythms embedded within each sentence influence composition and texture.” Srinivasan’s band was the winner in an all-India band hunt organized by A.R. Rahman and in a TEDx session, he talked about how there is a rhythm in everything, “The Rhythm of Intent.” Jayaraman has a degree in music therapy and co-directs the ensemble. Being introduced to Shakti, (the epic multi-cultural group/album starring Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram, among others) was a high point in his life. Venkataraman is “Boston Strong” and talks about the city, basketball, and music with equal passion. He would be unable to pick between a game and concert, saying, “If it was an NBA finals game, it would probably be basketball. If not, I might choose the concert!” He is a columnist for the Stanford Daily. Chai for 6 promises a new sound, maybe even a Shakti-esque sound, given Sidiq’s international flavor, Saran’s jazz tones, and Indian classical from the others. After individual pursuits and success, these musicians are attempting to discover perhaps, live, a sound that they can own. We shall have to see! n CHAI for 6: A fund-raiser for Vibha, June 17th, 8 p.m., Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Way, Santa Clara. Tickets $25, student $15. Priya Das is an enthusiastic follower of world music, and avidly tracks inbtersecting points between folk, classical, jazz and other genres.

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Guru Shradha Presents

A Celebration of the Life & Work of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Feature Artist Guru Sujata Mohapatra & U.S. Premiere of Guruji’s Dance Ballet “Balya Leela”

Sunday, June 18th at 4:30pm Schultz Cultural Arts Hall 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto

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travel

Doing Goa Differently By Neha Kirpal

A view of sailing boats in the ocean at south Goa

ecently, I visited Goa for the fifth time. The first visit was a school trip right after my exams, so naturally there was a lot of excitement—we covered typical tourist haunts like the old churches in Panjim, the beaches and flea markets in the north, and all the important museums across the state. My next holiday was with family where I explored similar experiences, including an evening cruise aboard a ship called Paradise and a visit to a village called Big Foot at Loutolim in the south. On my third trip, I was going to ring in my 21st birthday in Goa. I did a lot of research before heading there for this special trip. I landed there armed with tips from friends and family on all the hip cafes and nightclubs frequented by young adults. I wound up mostly in beach shacks like Zooris, Curlies, and Thalassa, and danced at discotheques like Titos, Brittos, and Paradiso. My fourth stay in Goa came when my cousin decided to throw a destination wedding in the south of Goa. The south of Goa is the most peaceful part of the state, and it is perfect if you’re looking for a refreshing break from the tumult of city life. So, even though we were mostly restricted to the resort during this visit, it was completely worth it! The fun thing about Goa is that you can keep going back

The fun thing about Goa is that you can keep going back and discover new things each and every time! South Goa is known for its susegad, or the relaxed, laidback attitude historically associated with the state—where most stores shut shop all afternoon for a lazy siesta. and discover new things each and every time! That’s what I felt after my most recent trip to Goa last year in December. My father was going to celebrate his 65th birthday with the family at a resort at Varca beach in south Goa. My sister, who lives in the United States was visiting us with her two sons (aged 5 and 2), so it turned out to be a family reunion of sorts as well. South Goa is known for its susegad, or the relaxed, laidback attitude historically associated with the state—

where most stores shut down all afternoon for a lazy siesta. It’s also away from the hustle and bustle, the shady rave parties and the crowds that frequent north Goa. Since my two nephews accompanied us on this trip this suited us well, as the idea was to bond as a family and I had no “todo” list. The best part about being in the southern part of the state is the serene beauty, lush greenery and clean pure air that surrounds you—something that’s become a luxury for harried, pollution-inflicted Delhiites like myself. So, we welcomed the retreat with more than open arms. Having visited the area extensively, I have come to realize that while north Goa is the place people head for a few days to party into the wee hours of the morning, the lazy south is possibly the place people choose to buy a holiday home or where they choose to live on a permanent basis. Driving through the south brought about visions akin to an old, rural setting—complete with heritage Portuguese homes, quaint churches, Catholic public schools, municipal hospitals, offices, and Russian signboards (to cater to the large Russian population that moves here when their country faces biting cold winters). Other highlights included spotting wild water-

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 47

lilies and sipping feni, eating kokum (a fruit-bearing plant from the mangosteen family with a tangy taste), and coconut water straight off the endless line of palm trees. One day we ventured into town to explore and relax. Colva beach was close by and the kids were treated to a thrilling motorboat ride. We then headed to Margao, which is known for its buzzing local market—Margao Municipal Corporation (MMC)—it is a huge covered canopy where you can navigate crowded narrow streets and inner lanes with colorful stalls selling everything from fruits, flowers, vegetables, spices, Goan vindaloo paste, coconut palm jiggery, xacuti masala, fish, chouricos, prawn and mackerel pickles, banana chips, cashew nuts, marshmallows, iodized rock salt, bibenca (an indigenous fruit-based specialty dessert), Christmas decorations, clothes, accessories, shoes, souvenirs, and other trinkets! A quintessential Goan feast for the senses!

e then went to The Fisherman’s Wharf in Cavelossim for lunch—a lovely restaurant by the water, which was highly recommended by everyone we met. The place had an ethnic décor—walls adorned with Mario Miranda’s art as well as an exquisite view overlooking sailboats on the water. Serving authentic Goan cuisine, we gorged on some of their signature dishes like the wharf shrimp cocktail, devil tuna salad, crab xec-xec, prawn curry rice, mutton xacuti, chicken cafreal, and pork sorpotel. With the relaxation afforded by the scenery and the laid back lifestyle adopted by the locals, it is hard not to feel completely relaxed after a few days in Goa. And, my recommendation is to definitely visit and spend time in South Goa without sticking to the more popular and ritzy North. Selling fish at a local south Goa market At the end of that uplifting getaway, I was reminded of what someone told me about Goa—this isn’t just a state, rather it is a state of mind. n

How to reach: By air: Goa has an international airport at Dabolim. There are plenty of flights that connect Goa to several Indian cities. Most

resorts in south Goa are about a 45-minute drive from the airport. By train: Goa is well connected to most major Indian cities by train as well. There are two railway stations in the state—one in Margao and one in Vasco da Gama, both in the south. By road: Goa is also reachable by road. Buses from Mumbai and Bengaluru take about 10 hours to reach.

Best season to visit: October to January.

Best places to eat:

The Fisherman’s Wharf At the Riverside, Near Holiday Inn Resort, Mobor, Cavelossim, Goa. Martin’s Corner Binwaddo, Betalbatim, Salcette, Goa. Neha Kirpal is a freelance writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Wanderlust for the Soul, an e-book collection of short stories based on travel in different parts of the world. You can read all her published work on www. nehakirpal.wordpress.com Mario Miranda’s art at The Fisherman’s Wharf

48 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition |June 2017

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youth

My Priorities For Our Leaders Winner in Essay Contest conducted by Asia Pacific Fund By Mihika Gokarn

s an Indian-American who grew up in Silicon Valley surrounded by regionally-similar ethnicities, it was hard to imagine myself as a “minority” until I moved to a city where a majority of the population was Caucasian, and where I really started to notice racial differences. After the recent racially-motivated shooting of two men of Indian descent in a Kansas bar, it would be foolish to not try and address the lack of gun control in the United States. The United States has one of the highest rates of gun violence in the world. I wondered whether my family could be next, should we decide leave California’s liberal bubble. This recent event also highlights the racial tensions and misrepresentation of various brown peoples as well as the Muslim conununity, of which many Asian-Americans are a part of as well. President Trump’s quick reflex to talk about imaginary incidents like what happened in Sweden, as well as his lack of a response to the Kansas bar attack and Quebec mosque shooting by a white nationalist is, quite frankly, alarming. Similar to Black History Month, I believe that Asian Americans should have a period of awareness as well, highlighting the various cultures of Asia as well as the many religions there like Sikhism, Buddhism,

The New York Times discovered that the same resumes with more ethnic sounding names were getting less callbacks than ones with more Anglicized names. Hinduism, and Islam among many others, that often get misrepresented in the mainstream media. I also propose working with leaders of cultural groups to help make textbooks more accurate with their representation of non-Emopean cultures. Last year, my history textbook emphasized the outdated and offensive caste system as the main takeaway from ancient Indian culture. It never talked about the positive, more long-lasting legacies like the number zero, Arabic numerals, Ayurveda (complementary medicine), and yoga. This reform could help to lessen many of the biases seen against people of Asian descent. I learned early on that my race may interfere with arbitrary parts of my life.

I didn’t anticipate that this may also include jobs and promotions, no matter my own merit. The New York Times discovered that the same resumes with more ethnic sounding names were getting less callbacks than ones with more Anglicized names. l propose that, at least in the resmne stage that the names be replaced with identification numbers, in order to reduce racial bias in the hiring process. If I were to talk to the senator, I would ask her to put forth a bipartisan plan forward in order to help make these changes. The uniting factor is that this is simply not only an issue of race but also of humanity. The lack of government response to racially motivated attacks on people, as well as statements made by Steve Bannon insinuating that too many Asians in the Silicon Valley won’t allow a “civic” society is not okay at any level, much less the federal. Overall, the changes I’m suggesting would not only help out Asian Americans but other minorities as well, and these issues should be addressed immediately. n Mihika Gokarn’s essay is a “Best in Class” winner in the essay contest, Growing Up Asian in America, conducted by Asia Pacific Fund. Mihika Gokarn is a 15 year-old sophomore from California High School in San Ramon.

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Arangetram of Meghana Bakhshi Disciple of Dr. Malini Krishnamurthi Director, Natyanjali School of Dance th

on Saturday June 24 , 2017

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626-383-8541

Or email at meghanabak24@gmail.com 54 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition |June 2017

Arangetram of Kanhi Patel Disciple of Dr. Malini Krishnamurthi Director, Natyanjali School of Dance

on Saturday July 8th, 2017

For more information contact Bhavana Patel at

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Or email at Kanhisdance17@gmail.com June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 55

Kalanjali's 42nd Summer Festival 2017 Bharatanatya Arangetrams with Musicians from India

Sunday, May 28 at 3pm

Bhargavi Ram

Del Valle Theater 1963 Tice Blvd., Walnut Creek

Sunday, June 25 at 4pm

Saranya Rajagopalan

Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center 10550 Albion Rd, San Ramon

Saturday, June 24 at 4pm

Saturday, July 1 at 4pm

Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center 10550 Albion Rd, San Ramon

Richard Brunelle Performance Hall Davis Senior High School 315 West 14th Street, Davis

Sanskriti Chadha

Devayani Varma

From left to right:

Sanskriti Chadha, Saranya Rajagopalan, Bhargavi Ram, Devayani Varma

All are welcome

KALANJALI offers classes for all levels in the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam in Berkeley, Lafayette and Sacramento. Register now for fall classesâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;starting end of August. katherine.kalanjali@gmail.com 56 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition |June 2017

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Supreethi Penmetcha's Bharatanatyam Arangetram Disciple of Guru Smt.

Music Performing Class

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Enrich it by listening to Dr. Madhuwanti Mirashi

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Saturday, June June 10th 10th at at 4:00 4:00 PM PM Saturday,

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Bansuri Bamboo Flute

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investment

Four Strategies for Financial Freedom

considered myself to be “smart” when it came to managing my personal finances. Then I read Tony Robbins’s latest book, Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook. It truly opened my eyes to so many new possibilities. In his book, Robbins explains how anyone can achieve financial freedom. It’s not about saving a few dollars on grocery bills or simply putting money aside in your 401-k retirement account. The devil is really in the details. In this article, I’ll share four strategies that I learned from reading the book. By implementing these simple yet powerful strategies, you can accelerate your path towards financial freedom.

Don’t Underestimate Compound Interest

The power of compound interest is

By Kunal Sampat best explained with an example. Let’s consider two friends Joe and Bob. Both invest $300 a month. Joe starts at the age of 19 and then stops when he turns 27. Bob, on the other hand, starts when he turns 27 and continues to invest $300 per month until he turns 65 years old. Can you guess how much money they have when they both turn 65 years old? Assuming an annual 10% return on investment, Joe has $1,863,287 dollars and Bob has $1,589,733 dollars! Even though Joe invested for a significantly shorter duration, by starting early, he was able to harness the power of compound interest and amass more financial wealth than Bob. The earlier you can start saving and investing, you can take advantage of the power of compound interest. Also if you are a millennial, you will be doing yourself

a disservice by not investing a small portion of your income every month.

Beware of Hidden Fees

Many of us are familiar with 401(k) retirement plans. The idea behind these plans is well intentioned. It helps you save money over the course of your working life. You also get to invest money that will grow over time. Finally there are tax advantages for you to participate in a 401(k) plan. But things start to get murky when your 401(k) plan comes with hidden fees. As Tony explains, these fees can really hurt you badly in the long run. An average worker earning $90,000 a year, would lose $277,000 in 401(k) fees! So what can you do to protect yourself from hidden fees? The first thing you need to do is check how your 401(k) funds are invested and the fees associated with each investment. You want this fee to be as low as possible, ideally less than 1% total. The next best thing you can do is to ensure your money remains invested in low cost funds such as index funds. Index funds have very low fees in comparison to actively managed funds. For example, let’s consider an investment in a S & P 500 index fund. The annual cost for this fund is 0.05%. However your 401(k) plan provider may be charging 1.68% annually. That’s a whopping 3,260% mark-up. It’s like paying $717,200 for a $22,000 Honda Accord! One study by investor Robert Hiltonsmith found that customers are paying 17 different fees and costs. So beware of any and all investment fees.

Make Tax-Efficient Decisions

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Taxes can take up to 30% or more of your investment returns. Let’s consider an example where you are earning 8% a year on your investment. Your fees are 2% a year. This leaves you with 6%. Since actively managed funds trade frequently, you’ll have to pay 50% tax on your earning (higher tax on short term gains). This slashes your

58 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition |June 2017

returns even further to 3% after taxes! If you factor in inflation, your net returns drop even further. By simply avoiding frequent trading and investing in funds that don’t trade frequently, you can save a lot of money on taxes. Couple that with holding your money for more than a year, and you can benefit from a lower long- term tax rate.

Diversify and Rebalance Your Investment Portfolio

When it comes to investment, you don’t want all your eggs in one basket. In other words, you don’t want to invest all or a significant portion of your money in a certain stock, real estate or gold. According to Tony, your goal should be to diversify across asset classes, markets, countries, currencies and time. The classification below should help. Asset Classes Stocks, Bonds, Real Estate, Gold Markets Information Technology, Healthcare, Energy Countries America, India, Latin America Time horizon Invest a fixed amount on a monthly basis versus saving money to “time the market.” Finally once you invest your money across different asset classes and one or more of your investments grows, you’ll want to re-distribute your earnings to maintain the right asset allocation. Ray Dalio, founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates suggests that an all-season portfolio would consist of 30% stocks, 40% long term US bonds, 15% intermediate bonds, 7.5% commodities and 7.5% gold. I have provided you with four key strategies for ultimate financial freedom. Make long-term investments, diversify your assets, opt for low-cost funds such as index funds, and make decisions that are tax advantageous. Finally, the market will have ups and downs. The key is to stay put for the long game and not let your emotions take over. n Kunal Sampat is part of Sampat Jewellers Inc., a family owned business based in San Jose and Mumbai. This article was inspired by his personal curiosity in investments.

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ADVERTISE IN

INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence

Kalapeetham Foundation Established in 1990

Director: Smt. Kalyani Shanmugarajah (Alumnus of Kalakshetra, 1974) Offering Classes In:

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626-590-5547 June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 61

62 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 63

KALANITYAM SCHOOL OF BHARATHANATYAM Presents

Deiveega Vahanangal Arangetram by Nithika Karthikeyan Disciple of Guru Smt. Selvi Pragasam

Saturday June 10, 2017 at 3:00 pm Evergreen Valley College, Performing Arts Center, 3095 Yerba Buena Rd, San Jose, CA 95135

Choreography and Nattuvangam: Selvi Pragasam Orchestra from Bangalore For more information contact Swarna @

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64 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 65

GLORIOUS SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST J

esus Christ is coming back again to this world as "the King of Kings & the Lord of Lords" to judge Nations with HIS righteousness, to be with HIS people who have accepted Christ into their hearts & lived/living a life acceptable to Christ, having their names written in "the Book of Life" & to live with them forever. For the Lord Jesus Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we, who are alive and remain, shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. No one knows the day & hour when Jesus Christ will come back, not even the angels of heaven, but only the Father God in heaven. The day of Christ coming also called as "the Day of the Lord" will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Nevertheless we, according to HIS promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Jesus Christ coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY words will by no means pass away”

What will happen to people who are left behind during Christ Second coming?

Who will not be with Christ forever?

For people whose names are written in "the Book of Life" it will be a glorious day & for others it will be a day of destruction. The Lord will consume with the breath of HIS mouth and destroy with the brightness of HIS coming.

What will be the signs before Second coming of Christ & of the end age?

After coming of Christ, Satan will be bound for 1000 years. Saints of God will rule with Christ during these 1000 years. There will be no death and everyone will live happy with joy & peace, since the Prince of Peace will rule them. After 1000 years of Christ reign, satan will be released to see the reign of Christ with righteousness. Satan will go around nations deceiving people one more time and gather few folks to fight against HIS saints. God will send fire and devour them. Satan will be sent to hell forever.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Only people whose sins are cleansed by the Blood of Christ, lived/living righteous life before Christ & have their names written in "the Book of Life" will inherit the Kingdom of God or to be with HIM forever. The Bible says in 1Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21, Rom 1:29-32, Rev 21:8, Rev 14:9-11 that the unrighteous people will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Many will be deceived during last days saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ therefore do not go after them. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end will not come immediately. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Many will be persecuted, beaten, killed, offended, betrayed and hated for Christ sake even by parents, brothers, relatives, friends and children. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the entire world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation

1000 years of Christ reign

The Great White Throne Judgment

After casting Satan into the Lake of fire (hell), Christ will judge the dead & the Nations with HIS Righteousness. If anyone’s name is not found in “the Book of Life”, then they will be cast into the Lake of fire. Whomsoever name is found in “the Book of Life” will have eternal life with Christ in New Heaven, New Earth & New Jerusalem. There is no death, no sorrow, no crying & no pain.

Now how can I redeem this Gift of Salvation in my life, so I can be with Christ forever?

All we have to do is to believe Jesus, accept HIM into your heart, ask HIM to cleanse your sins by HIS precious blood & live a life acceptable to Christ every day from now on. (Repeat this simple prayer - Prayer means talking to God in your heart)

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and then know that its desolation is near. Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place where it ought not, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Jesus predicts the destruction of Temple of God to his disciples saying, “The days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down”. For in those days there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of creation of this world. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved.

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.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, there will be signs like the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see

If you have truly meant this prayer, then you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart & your name will be written in “the Book of Life”. 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 Christian churches who believes in Trinity (The Father God, Lord Jesus Christ & The Holy Spirit) or email us at : info@christforworld.org

66 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Om Sri Mathre Namaha

Friday June 30 : Sri Aani Thirumanjanam. th

Tuesday July 4th: Independence Day weekend timings. Thursday July 6th: At 6.00 PM, Pradosham, Shiva Sri Rudra abhisheka, aarati and manthra pushpa Sunday July 9th: Guru Purnima Vyasa Pooja, At 2.00 PM, Sri Pournami Vratha, Sri Sathya Narayana Swamy pooja / vratha, aarti and manthra pushpa. All are welcome to participate with family. Wednesday July 12th: Sri Sankata Hara Chathurthi, At 5.00 PM, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi homa / Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi abhisheka, aarati and manthra pushpa. Sunday July 16th: Sri Dakshinayana Punyakalam.

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

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June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 67

INDIA CURRENTS GRAPHICS (408) 324-0488

rd At 4.00 PM Sri Bhuwaneswari / Sri Saturday June 3 : th Lalitha Devi abhisheka, continued 14 year Vaidica Vidhya Ganapathi Center (VVGC) anniversary function. with Sri Laliha Shasra Nama chanting aarati and manthra pushpa. At 2.00 PM, Sri Sarva Devata homam, Sri Nava Graha homa, Sri At 6.00 PM, Pournami Vratha, Sri Saneeswara Graha homa, continued Sathay Narayana Swamy pooja / with Sri Nava Graha abhisheka, Sri vratha aarati and manthra pushpa. Saneeswara Graha abhisheka, aarati and manthra pushpa. Tuesday June 13th: Sri Sankata Hara Chathurthi, At 4.00 PM, Sri Venkateswara abhisheka continued with Sri Vishnu At 5.00 PM, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Sahasra Nama chanting, aarati and homa / Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi manthra pushpa; continued with abhisheka, aarati and manthra VVGC 14th year anniversary function, pushpa. music by Vignesh Venkataraman and Guhan Venkataraman Veena , Wednesday June 21st: vocal and party. All are welcome to Kritika Vratha and Pradosham, participate with family. Evening at 6.00 PM, Sri Valli Deva Sena sametha, Sri Subramanya Tuesday June 6th: Abhisheka Pradosham, Shiva Sri At 6.00 PM, Pradosham Shiva Sri Rudra abhisheka aarati and manthra Rudra abhisheka, aarati and pushpa. manthra purhspa. Thursday June 29th: th Wednesday June 7 : Vaikasi Sukla Sashti Vratha Visakham At 8.30 PM, Sri Valli Deva Sena sametha Sri Subramanya Sahasra Friday June 9th: Nama archana.

events JUNE

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE!

JULY issue deadline: Tuesday, June 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and click on Create Event

Check us out on

special dates Father’s Day

June 18

Eid ul Fitr

June 24

Ratha Yatra

June 25

U.S. Independence Day

July 4

Guru Purnima

July 9

CULTURAL CALENDER

June

1 Thursday

Guitar-Sitar Jugalbandi with Pandit Habib Khan, Matthew Montfort, and Ferhan Qureshi. 8:00 p.m. -

10:00 p.m. San Francisco International Arts Festival Fort Mason Chapel, San Francisco. http://www.sfiaf.org/ancient_future_guitar_ sitar_jugalbandi (415) 345-7575.

June

2 Friday

Israel and India: 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations. Consul General

Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok (India) and Consul General Andy David (Israel)

68 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Rangoli Dance Company Presents a Double Bill: Krishna–A Magnificent Incarnation and Traditional Appa, June 24.

will discuss centuries-long historical and cultural connections, as well as the growing partnership, collaboration and mutual future goals of India and Israel. 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Commonwealth Club, 555 Post St., San Francisco. www.commonwealthclub. org (415) 597-6705.

June

3 Saturday

Free Community Day Celebrates

Maker Day at the San Jose Museum of Art. Maker Day honors Silicon

Valley’s history of creative innovation and encourages visitors to create and reimagine material objects. Live performance, demonstrations, and art-making activities throughout the day. Organized by The San Jose Museum of Art. 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. http://sjmusart.org/event/community-day-maker-day-2017 (408) 271-6840.

events DANCE

dissi dance, which has its roots in ancient temple sculptures in eastern India, is characterized by the juxtaposition of fluid torso movements and strong footwork that also give the dance its unique lyrical grace. Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, for whom the festival pays tribute is one of the key reconstructors of odissi, who developed his own style from researching texts, temple sculptures, and preceding dance forms— Mahari and Gotipua, combined with his own creative ingenuity, and is a legendary figure in Indian classical dance. This year’s festival includes performances by Sujata Mohapatra, the daughter-in-law of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. The festival also features Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s spirited dance ballet, Balya Leela, bringing forth episodes of vibrant Lord Krishna’s childhood. Balya Leela has only been presented previously by Guru Mohapatra’s own institution Srjan and now by Guru Shradha in its U.S. premiere during the festival. Other pieces in the program will feature traditional choreography of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra

Guru Sujata Mohapatra

in spellbinding solo pieces performed by the senior artists, interspersed captivating group presentations performed by Guru Shradha. n Sunday, June 18, 4:30 p.m.

Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto Tickets: kksfestival2017.eventbrite.com Information: facebook.com/GuruShradha, www.GuruShradha.org, GuruShradha@ gmail.com, 650-394-6022.

DANCE

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival

he largest and most comprehensive world dance and music event with performances by 24 Bay Areabased world dance and music groups at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. The lineup includes six groups making their Festival debuts and the season will feature five world premieres created specifically for the 2017 Festival. The dancers will be joined by some of the Bay Area’s most accomplished and respected musicians, including percussionist John Santos and tabla master Zakir Hussain, who said, “I am looking forward to being a part of the San Francisco Eth-

nic Dance Festival at this historic moment as it comes to the Opera House for the first time. This unique and groundbreaking festival, a jewel among the Bay Area’s cultural treasure trove, continues to make San Francisco the center for world dance and music. It is a great honor for me to play with Antonia Minnecola for the 2017 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.” n Opera House Weekend One. Saturday, July 8, 8 p.m. Sunday, July 9, 2 p.m. Opera House Weekend Two. Saturday, July 15, 8 p.m. Sunday, July 16, 2 p.m. $25-$45. sfethnicdancefestival.org. (415) 392-4400. June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 69

events

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events 2:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Community Of Infinite Spirit, 1540 Hicks Avenue, San Jose. www.srfinearts.info, (408) 569-0860.

Access Braille’s 10th Annual Fundraiser. Featuring a dance performance on

Paryavaranam-Revering the Environment. Organized by Access Braille. 3:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Jain Temple, S 3rd St San Jose. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paryavaranamtickets-34128715908.

CRY Gala Dinner in the Bay Area with Arjun Rampal. Working towards

A journey into the life of Rumi, June 3.

Tridhara-Kathak Concert by Deepali Vichare. The journey of kathak from Shrinagar to Bhakti. Organized by AARAT USA. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Starbright Theatre, 1770 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell. https://www.facebook. com/events/1336647593087593/?active_ tab=about 408-332-2392.

A Journey into the Life of Rumi.

Brad Gooch, New York based author of Rumi’s biography, Rumi’s Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love, in an interview with writer Michael David Lukas. Organized by SACHI, Society for Art & Cultural Heritage of India and Bay Area Book Festival. 1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center Drive, Berkeley.

Carnatic Vocal Concerts. 2:15pm-

4:45pm-Vikas Munukuntla (vocal) accompanied by Vignesh Thyagarajan (violin), Vignesh Venkataraman (mridangam) and Krishnakumar Ravikumar (kanjira). 5-7:30 p.m.- Sridevi Koushik (vocal) accompanied by Ajay Narasimha (violin) and Shreyas Ramaswami (mridangam). Organized by SR Fine Arts.

70 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

giving underprivileged children a brighter future. Your support can enable children get the opportunities to realize their dreams, such as education, healthcare, protection from child labor, child marriage and other forms of discrimination. Organized by CRY America. 6 p.m. Amber India, 4926 El Camino Real, Los Altos. https://america.cry.org.

Voice of Bay Area 2017 Junior Finale. Organized by Javanika Entertain-

ments. 6 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches Street, Milpitas. www.indiaicc.org/VOBA2017.

June

4 Sunday

Carnatic Vocal Concert by Kunnakudi Sri Balamurali Krishna.

Organized by Shruthi Swara Laya. 4 p.m. Lakireddy Hanimireddy Bhavan, 1521 California Circle, Milpitas. annumanasa@ gmail.com.

Bangaliyana June Movie—Durga Shohay. A family drama Starring Sohini

Sarkar, Tonusree Chakroborty, Sampurna Lahiri, Indrasish Roy, Kaushik Sen, Debjani Chatterjee, Sumanta Mukherjee, Anirban Bhattacharya, Rwitobroto Mukherjee , Joydip Kundu. Directed by Arindam Sil. Organized by Bangaliyana. 5 p.m. Serra Theatre, 200 Serra Way, Milpitas.

June

7 Wednesday

Ways to Avoid Going to War with

China. Could China and the U.S. be headed towards war, or is there a way to avoid it? Graham Allison, former assistant secretary of defense, argues that if both the U.S. and China refuse to back down, a trade conflict, cyberattack or accident at sea could escalate into war. In conversation with Ellen Tauscher, the former U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Allison will discuss Thucydides Trap—how the inevitable contention between an established power and one rising power are still relevant today. This event is being held in association with the Committee of 100, the national non-partisan organization comprised of American citizens of Chinese descent whose mission is to encourage stronger relations between the U.S. and China. The Commonwealth Club, 555 Post Street, San Francisco. www.commonwealthclub.org. (415) 597-6705.

June

9 Friday

39th Annual Mount Madonna School’s Ramayana! Bollywood Meets

Rock and Roll. A musical theater, sword and sorcery epic Featuring an original, rock-n-roll infused-score, magical characters who encounter danger and love, heroic action and sacrifice. Organized by Mount Madonna School. 7 p.m. Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose. www.MountMadonnaSchool.org (408) 847-2717.

Divine Strings of India. Featuring Veena maestro Suman Laha accompanied by guest tabla player Arup Chattopadhyay. Starting with the slow beginning called Alap, then with more melodious jor and jhala. Then joined by the rhythm part on tabla—the whole music concert will be based on one or more raga ending with a melodious part called dhun. Organized by Team San Jose. 8 p.m. Montomery Theater, 271 North Market Street, San Jose. (408) 492-4111.

June

10 Saturday

events Spring India Day 2017—Street Food and Shopping Festival. Heri-

tage culture shopping and food, free gifts and makeovers by professional artists, photo booths, raffles, unique ethnic shopping freshly shipped from India and food booths. Organized by WomenNow TV. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Union Square, San Francisco 333 Post Street, San Francisco. https://www. facebook.com/events/1233568366726274/.

Indian Mela. Food, music, crafts.

Organized by North Bay Indian American Association (NBIAA). 12 p.m. 901 Adele Dr., Windsor, Sonoma County. (707) 6344633. https://northbayindia.org.

Deiveega Vahanangal—Arangetram by Nithika Karthikeyan. Student

of Selvi Pragasam, Artistic Director of Kalanityam School of Bharathanatyam. Choreography and nattuvangam: Selvi Pragasam with orchestra from Bangalore. Organized by Kalanityam School of Bharathanatyam. 3 p.m. Evergreen Valley College Performing Arts Center, 3095 Yerba Buena Rd., San Jose. (510) 449-6299.

Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Supreethi Penmetcha. Student of

Shreelata Suresh, Artistic Director of Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy. Organized by Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy. 4:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Eagle Theater, Los Altos High School 201 Almond Avenue, Los Altos. (650) 965-2773.

39th Annual Mount Madonna School Ramayana. Bollywood Meets

June

11 Sunday

Punjabi Mela 2017. A festival celebrating Spring and the harvest season with food booths, jewelry and clothing

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events booths and live entertainment by Punjabi artists Lakhwinder Wadali, Jenny Johal, Sippy Gill, Aman Rosy, Atma Bhudewal and Jordan Sandhu. Organized by Harjeet Summan and Harry Dhillon. 12:00 p.m.6 p.m. Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Rd., San Jose. https://www.facebook. com/events/319772498438804/, (408) 7172971.

39th Annual Mount Madonna School Ramayana! A musical theater,

sword and sorcery epic Featuring an original, rock-n-roll infused-score, magical characters who encounter danger and love, heroic action and sacrifice. Organized by Mount Madonna School. 2 p.m. Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose. www.MountMadonnaSchool.org. (408) 847-2717.

Suresh Wadkar Live in Concert with Bollywood Melodies. Accom-

panied by violinist composer Deepak Pandit, and musicians and co-singers from Mumbai. Organized by Swar Sudha and Javanika. 6-9 p.m.ICC, 525 Los Coches Street, Milpitas. http://sanjose.carpediem.cd/ events/2974585-swar-sudha-and-javanikabrings-suresh-wadkar-live-in-concert-at-iccmilpitas/, (408) 461-8390.

June

16 Friday

Ojai at Berkeley. Bay Area premiere

17 Saturday

CHAI for 6: A Fundraiser for Vibha. Concert by a music group with

works by Music Director Vijay Iyer: the Bay Area premiere of Emergence, performed by ICE, Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Vijay Iyer Trio conducted by Steven Schick. Bay Area premiere of his Violin Concerto, Trouble, composed for, and performed by, violinist Jennifer Koh and chamber orchestra. Organized by Cal Performances. 8 p.m. Zellerbach Hall 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. https://calperformances.org/ performances/2016-17/ojai/ojai-at-berkeley. php, (510) 643-6714.

June

of George Lewis’s opera, Afterword, performed by ICE with soprano Joelle Lamarre, contralto Gwendolyn Brown, and tenor Julian Otis, with Steven Schick conducting. Organized by Cal Performances. 8 p.m. Zellerbach Playhouse 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. https:// calperformances.org/performances/2016-17/ ojai/ojai-at-berkeley.php, (510) 643-6714.

June

15 Thursday

Ojai at Berkeley 2017. Two recent

Mirabai music festival at Badrikasharama, June 25

members based in four states across two continents. Rohit Jayaraman (vocal), Layth Sidiq, (violin), Shubh Saran (guitar), Sashank Navaladi (sarod), M.T. Aditya Srinivasan (tabla) and Vignesh Venkataraman (mridangam). Organized by CHAI for 6. 8 p.m. Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Pkwy., Santa Clara. https://www.facebook.com/Chaifor6/.

Ojai at Berkeley. Vijay Iyer is joined by close collaborator, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, along with Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam, and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, for a set of masterful improvisation that defies the boundaries of genre or style. Organized by Cal Performances. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zeller

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 71

events

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events cians: Indumathy Ganesh (choreography and nattuvangam), Sindhu Natarajan (vocal), Aditya Ganesh (mridangam), Vikram Ragukumar (violin). Organized by Nrithyollasa Dance Academy. 4 p.m. Jackson Theater, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont. www.nldance.com (510) 378-7299.

Kelucharan Keerti Sampradaya Festival 2017. A Celebration of the

Arundhati Roy in Conversation with Alice Walker, June 28, 7:30 p.m.

bach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. https://calperformances.org/performances/2016-17/ojai/ojaiat-berkeley.php. (510) 643-6714.

Surmala—Hindustani Classical Music Concert. Sandhya Shankar will

be presenting classical raag, with bandish and Bhupal Panshikar, a sitarist from Mumbai will recite interesting raags on the sitar. Accompanied by Preeti Pisolkar (harmonium), and Ustad Surinder Mann (tabla). Organized by Sangeet Dhwani. 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. www. indiacc.org.

Karnatik Vocal Concerts. 2:15-4:45 p.m. Janani Iyer (vocal) accompanied by Karthik Iyer (violin) and Ajay Gopi (mridangam). 5-7:30 p.m. Santosh Sivakumar (vocal) accompanied by Sriti Sarathy (violin) and Amit Ranganathan (mridangam). Organized by SR Fine Arts. 2:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Community Of Infinite Spirit 1540 Hicks Avenue, San Jose. www. srfinearts.info (408) 569-0860. Manzil ke Andaaz by Isha Chitre.

Student of Farah Yasmeen Shaikh. Accompanied by Ben Kunin (sarod), Rahul Zingde and Ashish Tare (tabla), Saneyee Purandare (vocals) and Vijay Ghaskadvi (harmonium). Organized by Noorani Dance. 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. http:// ishakathaksolo.brownpapertickets.com/. 72 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Nirmalya Dey and Mohan Shyam Sharma. An enchanting evening of

Dhrupad music with Nirmalya Dey, (vocal-Dagarvani Dhrupad), Mohan Shyam Sharma (pakhawaj). Ali Akbar College of Music, 215 West End Ave., San Rafael. http://www.aacm.org, (415) 454-6372.

Ojai at Berkeley. The finale is a two-

part homage to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi, commissioned five years ago to celebrate the centennial of Stravinsky’s monumental work, is a vivid and mesmerizing multimedia collaboration by Vijay Iyer and filmmaker Prashant Bhargava. Organized by Cal Performances. 8 p.m. Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. https://calperformances.org/performances/2016-17/ojai/ojai-at-berkeley.php, (510) 643-6714.

June

18 Sunday

Kabir Jayanti Celebrations. Featuring compositions by Kabir and talks on his philosophy and life. Followed by arati and mahaprasad. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Avenue, San Leandro. www.badarikashrama.org, (510) 278-2444. Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Anjali Krishnan. Student of Indumathy Ganesh, Artistic Director of Nrithyollasa Dance Academy. Accompanied by musi-

Life and Work of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. This year’s festival will include the U.S. premiere of a dance ballet, Balya Leela, the spirited stories of young Lord Krishna, choreographed by the legendary master for whom the festival pays tribute, as well as a performance by featured artist, Sujata Mohapatra, the daughter-in-law of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Organized by Guru Shradha. 4:30 p.m. Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. https://kksfestival2017.eventbrite.com. (650) 394-6022.

Yaadein—Down Memory Lane with Timeless Classics from 1940 to 2017. Live Bollywood band featur-

ing Sudhor Arvindan, Umi Joshi, Nikita Parikh, Upendra Kaul. Organized by Foundation For Excellence. 6 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. www.ffe.org. Events4.Us/Yaadein. (510) 813-3331.

June

24 Saturday

Karnatik Vocal Concert. Srinidhi Ramesh (vocal) accompanied by Sahana Srinivasan (violin) and Hariharan Sundararaman (mridangam). Organized by SR Fine Arts. 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Community Of Infinite Spirit, 1540 Hicks Avenue, San Jose. www.srfinearts.info. (408) 569-0860. Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Ananya Ram. Student of Shree-

lata Suresh, Artistic Director of Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy, accompanied by full orchestra. Organized by Mahesh and Sunita Ram. 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Cubberley Theater, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. (650) 759-5195.

events Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Sanskriti Chadha. Student of Katherine

Kalanjali, Artistic Director of Kalanjali. Accompanied by musicians from India. Organized by Kalanjali. Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center,10550 Albion Rd., San Ramon. katherine.kalanjali@gmail. com.

June

25 Sunday

Film Showing and Discussion of Integral Consciousness. The film,

Integral Consciousness produced by Alan Baiss, outlines how philosopher Haridas Chaudhuri brought the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo to the West, specifically, to San Francisco in the 1950’s and 60’s. 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship 2650 Fulton Street, San Francisco. www.CulturalIntegrationFellowship.org, (415) 668-1559.

Mira Bai Music Festival. The annual

festival with compositions and poetry of Mira Bai with Rita Sahai and the Vasundara Choir. Narration of Mira Bai’s life by Suman and Sargam Shah. 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Avenue, San Leandro. www.badarikashrama.org, (510) 278-2444.

Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Saranya Rajagopalan. Student of Kather-

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events June

28 Wednesday

Arundhati Roy in Conversation with Alice Walker. Roy is the author of

the Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things. She lives in New Delhi and her new novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness will be published in June 2017. Organized by City Arts & Lectures. 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Nourse Theater, 275 Hayes St., San Francisco. https://www.facebook. com/events/254773441637364/.

July

1 Saturday

Karnatik Vocal Concerts. 2:15-4:45 p.m. Pranav Kikkeri (vocal) accompanied by Narasimha Kikkeri (violin) and Akshay Venkatesan (mridangam). 5-7:30 p.m. Keerthana Sankar (vocal) accompanied by Vignesh Thyagarajan (violin) and Vignesh Venkataraman (mridangam). Organized by SR Fine Arts. 2:15 p.m. -7:30 p.m. Community Of Infinite Spirit, 1540 Hicks Avenue, San Jose. www.srfinearts.info. (408) 569-0860. Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Devayani Varma. Student of Katherine Kalanjali, Artistic Director of Kalanjali. Accompanied by musicians from India. Organized by Kalanjali. 4 p.m. Richard Brunelle Performance Hall, Davis Senior High School, 315 West 14th Street, Davis. katherine.kalanjali@gmail.com.

ine Kalanjali, Artistic Director of Kalanjali. Accompanied by musicians from India. Organized by Kalanjali. 4 p.m. Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center, 10550 Albion Rd., San Ramon.

July

Indian Jazz Journey with George Brooks and Mahesh Kale. George

The 39th Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. The festival

Brooks (saxophone) and Mahesh Kale (vocal) create an exciting new jazz and traditional Indian fusion. 3:15 p.m. Inside Jazz pre-concert talk with Mahesh Kale and Stanford University Associate Professor Anna Schultz. Organized by Stanford Jazz Workshop. 4 p.m. Dinkelspiel Auditorium, 471 Lagunita Drive, Stanford. https://stanfordjazz.org/more-info/indianjazz-journey-with-george-brooks-featuringmahesh-kale/, (650) 736-0324.

8 Saturday

makes its debut with two weekends of performances featuring 24 extraordinary Bay Area dance and music ensembles. You’ll experience dance and music traditions and innovations from Brazil, Central Europe, China, Congo, Cuba, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, Tahiti, West Africa, and Zimbabwe. Joined by some of the Bay Area’s most accomplished and respected musicians, including percussion-

Indian Jazz Journey with Mahesh Kale and Geroge Brooks, June 25

ist John Santos and tabla master Zakir Hussain. Organized by World Arts West. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. http://worldartswest.org/ main/edf_index.asp.

July

9 Sunday

Toba Tek Singh—A Grand Musical in Hindi. Based on Saadat Hasan Man-

to’s celebrated short story, the play is a grand musical performed with live music and dance, fascinating sets and costumes that observes the madness of Partition through the eyes of a madman, and lays bare its agony through humor, tragedy, and the silly antics of lunatics. Organized by Naatak. Woodside High School Performing Arts Center, 199 Churchill Ave., Woodside. http://www.naatak.com/portfolio/ toba-tek-singh-2017/.

Fanna-fi-Allah Sufi Qawwali Concert. Sung with a powerful and soaring

melodious chorus and accompanied by entrancing energetic rhythms of tabla and group clapping, the Beloved is celebrated with ecstatic devotion. 7 p.m. Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell St., San Francisco. http://www.slimspresents.com/ event/fanna-fi-allah-gamh-sufi-qawwaliconcert-film-preview/ (530) 687-2697.

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 73

events Toba Tek Singh—A Grand Musical in Hindi. Based on Saadat Hasan

Manto’s celebrated short story, the play is performed with live music and dance, fascinating sets and costumes that observes the madness of Partition through the eyes of a madman. Organized by Naatak. Woodside High School Performing Arts Center, 199 Churchill Ave., Woodside. http://www.naatak.com/portfolio/toba-teksingh-2017/.

July

15 Saturday

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. The largest and most comprehensive

world dance and music event with performances by 24 Bay Area-based world dance and music groups at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. The lineup includes six groups making their Festival debuts and the season will feature five world premieres created specifically for the 2017 Festival. Organized by SF Ethnic Dance Festival. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. sfethnicdancefestival.org. (415) 392-4400.

California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Southern California CULTURAL CALENDER June

8 Thursday

2017 Dances With Films, World Premiere of One Less God. Inspired by

on one of the most audacious terrorist attacks in history, the 2008 Islamic militant attacks in Mumbai targeting the iconic Taj Majal hotel, One Less God, follows a group of international travelers fighting to stay alive when Islamic extremists besiege their luxury hotel, and also gives an insight into the attackers’ reasoning. By creating a nuanced narrative, and exploring the point of view of both the victims and the militant terrorists, the film is a thoughtful story of shared humanity at a dark crossroads in world history. Organized by Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles. TCL Chinese Theatres, 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. https://danceswithfilms. com/one-less-god/.

cent Incarnation and Traditional Appa. The concert features bharatanaty-

am dances to enact stories related to Lord Krishna. The numerous deities in the Hindu Pantheon are considered manifestations of the Supreme Spirit, which can take any form any time. Rebecca Stout presents the art of Appalachian Flatfoot Dance. Witness the joy of this happy dance as she performs along with Molly White and Steve Werner in the relaxed, old-time way. Organized by Rangoli Foundation for Art & Culture. Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. rangoli.org.

June

25 Sunday

Raj Nartaki—The Court Dancer.

Directed by Bhairavi Kumar. Organized by Nrityodaya Kathak Academy. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Theatre and New

Santoor and Sarangi Concert. Pankaj

Mishra and Sandip Chaterjee perform in a sarangi and santoor jugalbandi concert accompanied by Subhajyoti Guha on tabla. Organized by Basant Bahar. Jain Temple Auditorium, 722 S Main St., Milpitas. www. basantbahar.org 5106516386.

Movie premiere of One Less God, June 8

June

24 Saturday

Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Meghana Bakhshi. Student of Malini

Bhairavi Kumar directs Raj Nartaki, June 25

Krishnamurthi, Artistic Director of Natyanjali. Organized by Natyanjali. Fullerton College Campus Theater, 321 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (626) 383-8541.

Rangoli Dance Company Presents a Double Bill: Krishna A Magnifi-

Dance, 25, Pomona. http://www.socalkathakdance.com/, (909) 630-8557.

July

8 Saturday

Bharatanatyam Arangretram of Kanhi Patel. Student of Malini Krish-

namurthi, artistic Director of Natyajali. Organized by Natyajali. (909) 489-4327.

June 2017 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 75

Celebrating 30 Years of ImPACT! Did you know that People Acting in Community Together is at the heart of some of Silicon Valley’s most important social innovations?

Thank you for supporting PACT to create powerful, ppositive changes for our community! Through PACT, hundreds of diverse, volunteer, grassroots community leaders work together to solve pressing social problems and create a future full of hope and opportunities for all, including:

PACT helps ordinary people win extraordinary victories for the community – not by speaking for them, but by teaching people how to speak, act and engage in the public arena for themselves. Through PACT, people from diverse backgrounds work together to create solutions to the most urgent social problems in our community and country.

Did you know that People Acting in Community Together is at the heart of some of Silicon Valley’s most important social innovations? Here are just a few highlights of PACT’s accomplishments: ! Supported the opening of 25 excellent, new public schools serving over 12,000 students with the vision that ALL students should have the opportunity for success in college and life. ! Initiated the creation of the City of San Jose’s Housing Department and won affordable housing resources and protections for renters. ! Co-founded the Children’s Health Initiative to make Santa Clara County the first in the country to provide access to health insurance to ALL children – this model has been replicated across the state and country. ! Expanded transportation for seniors and low-income residents so they can get to work, school, health care, and other community resources. ! Initiated law enforcement policies that respect immigrants’ rights and contributions and public safety for all. ! Opened youth centers and after school programs and launched the nationally-recognized BEST Program of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force.

Please join us to celebrate People Acting in Community Together and help us sustain and grow our work! • Be a sponsor for PACT’s Leadership Luncheon on November 8th. • Invite your friends and colleagues to join us. www.pactsj.org http://www.pactsj.org/events/luncheon 76 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

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healthy life

Healthy Gluten-free Desserts: No Oxymoron By Kavita Wadhwani

luten free food is widely popular now, and curiosity about the right recipes are at an all-time high. Eliminating gluten from your diet does not mean that you have to forgo flavor. Most celebrities and health conscious adults have taken to a gluten-free diet, which can also pass off as a fine detox miracle. Gluten is a protein found in common grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. It3 is a gluey protein found primarily in bread, pastas, cereals, and desserts, and it is also a vital ingredient in most baked goods as it creates fluffy food and desserts, binding dough together giving a moist texture overall. Gluten-free foods have soared in popularity because food with gluten can lead to severe digestive issues and may lead to diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and intestinal cancers. In step with this trend, we have expert chef Jia Singh giv-

Peanut Butter Cookies (Grain free and gluten free) ½ cup brown sugar ¼ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 yolk from a large egg ¼ tsp baking soda 2 tbsp coconut flour ½ cup ground gluten free oats 6 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter (melt in a bowl before mixing) Instructions: • Preheat the oven to 180 • Grind peanuts in a processor until smooth. Add all the ingredients into the processor and pulse until smooth. • Remove the dough from the processor and refrigerate to cool for a bit • Remove from the fridge, roll into balls and bake for 20 minutes or until brown • These cookies make for great mid meal snacks and are great with your 80 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

ing us recipes for gluten-free desserts. Chef Jia Singh who loves to dole out fun, sumptuous and interesting recipes for Food Cloud says, “Growing up, I watched star chef Anthony Bourdain, read a lot of his cookbooks and learnt a lot about cooking. I realised I was intolerant to gluten (the protein found in wheat, rye, barley) and found that India didn’t have any gluten free dessert options. I am a conscious eater and workout bunny and realised that healthy desserts were an oxymoron in India. I decided to bake in India and that’s how Petite Sweet Eats was born. Petite Sweet eats is a healthy dessert initiative that makes gluten free, low glycemic index, low- carb treats accessible and affordable. Our most popular eats include sugar free and grain free peanut butter cookies and skinny cupcakes, and carrot walnut cake with philly cream cheese frosting (low carb, gluten free and sugar free).” Here are a few of Chef Jia Singh’s recipes. n

daily cuppa of chai. Substitute the brown sugar for splenda and you can enjoy this treat sans guilt.

Gluten-free Brownies ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup coconut flour 4 eggs ½ cup honey 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 ∕3 cup coconut oil or butter Instructions: • Sift the coconut flour and cocoa powder until they are well blended • Preheat the oven to 180 c • In another bowl mix all the wet ingredients (eggs, honey, butter and vanilla). • Combine the dry and wet ingredients with a mixture until the batter is smooth and free from lumps. • Line a baking pan with parchment and add the batter onto the pan • Bake for about 30 minutes. Do a toothpick test • Cool the brownies and enjoy. They can be had with homemade ice cream or with

a handful of nuts and some fresh cream.

DIY Energy Balls ¾ cup pitted dates (120g) ½ tsp pure vanilla essence 2 Tbsp cocoa powder 2 Tbsp shredded coconut (don’t use lowfat coconut flakes) 1 ∕3 to ½ cup peanuts (pulse through a processor) 4-5 tbsp unsalted, natural peanut butter Mix all the ingredients, pulse through a processor. Shape into balls and put them in the fridge to shape up and chill. Pull them out right after a grueling workout. Enjoy! Bon appétit! Kavita Wadhwani has nine years of writing experience on subjects ranging from fashion, fitness, décor, to food and travelogues.

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dear doctor

Feeling Anger and Grief in a Difficult Marriage By Alzak Amlani

My husband and I have been struggling now for about seven years. We have different personalities and we have lost our ability to actually have conversations where meaningful information and feelings are exchanged. Only 10% of what I really want to say gets across. I have known for a few years now that if it weren’t for our young daughters, I would leave. I end up feeling intense feelings of anger, grief and more recently hatred. Sometimes these reactions end up in arguments. Then I feel like a horrible person, hating myself for being vicious and unable to love him or be kind. When I calm down and begin to try to have a reasonable conversation it goes nowhere and we are once again at an impasse and the cycle continues. I am doing so many things to work on myself, yet the progress is incredibly slow. I don’t know how much longer I can last in this relationship. I am not ready to leave and it’s been the hardest year of my life. How do I deal with this?

82 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

You have allowed yourself to stay in a tight pressure cooker in this relationship. You are extraordinarily committed to trying to work with your husband. I am not sure that it’s only because of your daughters. It seems something else is keeping you in the struggle—something within you. Could that be true? Do you still love him? Are you afraid of being alone? Do you have confidence that you could make it on your own if you had to? Clarifying your intentions to remain in the marriage and try to work with the highly charged gridlock moments will help you focus your conversations. People who are able to learn in these awful relationships grow a tremendous amount, whether the marriage survives or ends. You get to see every nuance of your own personality. Although intensely painful, it also yields a lot of self-knowledge and humility. Additionally it builds strength—knowing that you can work through fear and doubt.

You will also learn a lot about him and begin to trust your own insights. Ultimately, we can only rely on our own instincts. Your cycle of emotions is actually quite normal. Anger and frustration arise even with reasonable, caring and loving spouses. Rather than getting caught in guilt, it’s valuable to explore what is being triggered within. Are you feeling threatened or betrayed? Powerlessness is a common experience for many women in relationships. This can actually lead to hating the powerful partner. Treating yourself in a kind way is the beginning of healing. You will need to build with self-compassion and self-forgiveness practices. Self-regulation through kindness towards yourself is transformative. 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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the last word

Living Inside a Dystopian Show

By Sarita Sarvate

henever I’ve read about the Second World War, it has seemed such a romantic period to me: a period when the forces of good battled the forces of evil, and won. The fact that I wasn’t even born helps of course. As does the fact that I know how it all ended. In hindsight, men and women who faced the air raids and the concentration camps seem like heroic figures, martyrs even, united in a common purpose. India’s Independence struggle too has taken on a mythological dimension in my mind. I was born in a free country; I never had to live in an occupied land. I was barely aware of America during the Kennedy assassination. I came to the United States after the Vietnam War had ended; Watergate was history by the time I arrived. Sometimes it seems as if I have missed all the important eras in history; I wonder what it would have been like to witness those epochs. But no more! Now I know. And I wish I didn’t know. Now that I am living inside a dystopian reality television show, I wish I could wake up and discover that it was all a horrible nightmare. The difference between reading history and living history, I realize now, is that the former is rendered golden in the aura of its (happy) conclusion. The latter, on the other hand, is unbearable precisely because we don’t know how it is going to end. Listening to an audio recording of Cormac McCarthy’s postapocalyptic tale, The Road, I never felt threatened, precisely because I was wandering the lush green hills above my house while doing so. I don’t think I will be able to relish the book in the same way today. Since World War II, novelists have woven gruesome scenarios in which the Nazis have won the war. There is now even a show, titled The Man in the High Castle, based on a Philip K. Dick novel, in which Germany and Japan have divided the conquered territories of the United States. The show, which began in the fall of 2015, long before anyone took Trump’s candidacy seriously, couldn’t be more timely. Then there is The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood’s 1985 story of an America where a woman’s role is limited to procreating. And serving men. It is now a Hulu television series. But perhaps no dystopian fictional work is more pertinent today than Sinclair Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here. Written in 1935, the novel depicts Berzelius Windrip, a fascist and a candidate of “forgotten men,” who declares Americans to be “the greatest race on the face of this old Earth.” With his populist message, Windrip defeats Franklin Roosevelt and installs a totalitarian government, turning the press into his propaganda machine and sending the opposition to concentration camps. The terrifying fact is that the novel was not an idle fantasy. As fate would have it however, Huey Long, the real politician on whom Windrip was based, was assassinated just before the election of 1936. So America never learned the consequences of electing a demagogue as president. Until now. 86 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | June 2017

Nearly ninety years later, we are living through Sinclair Lewis’ prophecy. The novel was staged as a play at the Berkeley Rep, just as Trump was falling in opinion polls after the release of the Access Hollywood tape. Reading a New Yorker review of the play today, I get the chills. The words sound as if they were written a hundred years ago, so naïve is the author’s presumption of a Trumpian defeat. Alas, merely twenty days after the review was published, Trump went on to win the election. And we entered a Lewisian dystopia from which there appears to be no exit. Democrats have breathlessly been talking about impeachment of course. But all the while, Trump has methodically been removing every obstacle in his path toward megalomania. First he fired Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for New York, who was investigating conflicts of interest between Trump’s businesses and his presidential office, including violations of the emoluments clause in the Constitution. Next, Trump fired the FBI Director James Comey who was investigating his Russia connections. There is nothing now to stop Trump from firing the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who poses the danger of testifying against him, or even the Special Counsel Robert Muller, who doesn’t enjoy the same protections that the special prosecutors in the Nixon or Clinton cases did. There is nothing to prevent Trump from discontinuing the White House press briefings either, while slowly getting rid of federal and state attorneys who might be inclined to protect our constitutional rights. In other words, Donald Trump can and is following the totalitarian handbook. What’s more, no matter how loudly the Democrats scream impeachment, Trump knows that the Republicans in Congress possess no moral compass to rein him in. He also knows that even if he shoots someone in broad daylight in Times Square, right wing media like Fox News will support him. Where does that leave you, the poor citizen? You, who are living inside a dystopian reality television show? You, who haven’t even gotten to the first commercial break in the first episode of the first season? You need to remember that like any successful show, this one is likely to go on for seven or eight seasons. By the time the series finale is played out, I doubt you will recognize America, so degenerate and corrupt will it have been rendered at the hands of the Trump mafia. What should you do then? Wait for impeachment? Or call on your representatives and ask them to start developing policies that will help them win both houses in congress in the next mid-term election? n Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has published commentaries for New America Media, KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publications.

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