Was Charlie Hebdo Funny? by Sarita Sarvate
Let's Talk About Death, Baby by Ranjani Iyer Mohanty
2015: Year of Girl Geek? by Neerja Raman
INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 28 Years of Excellence
Rules of Desire february 2015 • vol. 28, no .10 • www. indiacurrents.com
Is desire part of our moral compass? By Nirmala Nataraj
February 2015 | www.indiacurrents.com | 1
2 | INDIA CURRENTS | February 2015
Freedom to Walk Away facebook.com/IndiaCurrents twitter.com/IndiaCurrents Now published in three separate editions HEAD OFFICE 1885 Lundy Ave Ste 220, San Jose, CA 95131 Phone: (408) 324-0488 Fax: (408) 324-0477 Email: info@indiacurrents.com www.indiacurrents.com Publisher: Vandana Kumar publisher@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x225 Managing Director: Vijay Rajvaidya md@indiacurrents.com Editor: Jaya Padmanabhan editor@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x226 Events Editor: Mona Shah events@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x224 Advertising Department ads@indiacurrents.com Northern California: (408) 324-0488 x 222 Southern California: (714) 523-8788 x 222
Less than a week after MTV aired the adult animated television series called Clone High, in the United States on January 20, 2003, Indian lawmakers and activists protested the depiction of Mahatma Gandhi in the series, where “Gandhi acts in many episodes as the comic relief.” In response to the protests, MTV issued the following apology: “MTV wants to make it clear that ‘Clone High’ was created and intended for an American audience ... The animated show parodies several historical figures from around the world, including the United States, where this form of comedy is common.” Hardly an apology? Yes, and also infuriating in its patronizing language and for propagating extant stereotypes. The intent of the apology, it seemed to me, was to indicate that eastern cultural sensitivities don’t translate across the skin color divide. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, I remembered this particular incident, not because of the extent to which it reinforced the east-west dichotomy, but that the show had a short run (one season) and was displaced from its prime time slot even before its first season ended because of “mediocre ratings.” So, as it turned out, comedy and parody didn’t necessarily equate, even in America. On the face of it, public dialog about
freedom of speech is rife with such discursive dichotomies. Many of the commentaries originating in India after the Charlie Hebdo attack addressed the boundary conditions of the freedom of speech algorithm—the curbs that must be in place and the judicious consideration of potentially hurtful opinions. Most NYT op-ed writers argued vehemently for the unfettered right to express. I believe that in democratic societies (east or west) our freedoms rest on the supposition that opinions expressed in public will be tempered by sensitivity and empathy. And in most cases, that is true. In the case of Charlie Hebdo, it is reasonable to assume that the magazine could not sustain readership because of its uncomfortable lack of good taste. Before the attack, Charlie Hebdo had a print run of 60,000 copies of which less than half found buyers. The banner on its homepage just prior to the attack, sadly and ironically, declared: “Charlie est en danger!” So, it’s really not about eastern sensitivities or western liberalism. It is about how, as a global society, we know how to self-correct, without resorting to violence. It’s about having the confidence to walk away from the bullies on our playground. Jaya Padmanabhan
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INDIA CURRENTS February 2015 • vol 28 • no 10
PERSPECTIVES 3 | EDITORIAL Freedom to Walk Away By Jaya Padmanabhan
Northern California Edition www.indiacurrents.com
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26 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA What to Avoid when Flirting with Guys By Jasbina Ahluwalia
9 | A THOUSAND WORDS Notes on a First Winter By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
34 | FINANCE Looking Ahead at 2015 By Rahul Varshneya
15 | MY POLITICAL LIFE How to Win an Election By Rishi Kumar
19 | POLITICAL OPINION Modi’s Dilemma By Shashi Tharoor 28 | VIEWPOINT Ending the Sistah Wars By Anitha Chakravarthi 36 | COMMENTARY Well Then, Where is Your Home? By Jessica Faleiro 96 | PERSPECTIVE Let’s Talk About Death, Baby By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty 101 | ON INGLISH Unearthing Shakti By Kalpana Mohan 109 | LIVES Remembering India’s First Woman Journalist By Roopa Ramamoorthi 110 | THE LAST WORD Was Charlie Hebdo Funny? By Sarita Sarvate
16 | Rules of Desire How do desire, morality, spirituality and ethics interplay with each other? By Nirmala Nataraj
74 | Opinion Plunging Necklines, Gaping Armholes, Low Risers By Sujatha Ramprasad
56 | Films Reviews of PK and Tevar By Aniruddh Chawda
43 | Travel
59 | BOOKS Reviews of Don’t Let Him Know and In the Light of What We Know By Jeanne Fredriksen, Raj C. Oza 68 | MUSIC A New Bird Calls By Priya Das 70 | SCIENCE Shortfalls of Science By P. Mahadevan 92 | HEALTHY LIFE Are We Aging Faster? By Ronesh Sinha 98 | DEAR DOCTOR Needing an Intimate Connection By Alzak Amlani
DEPARTMENTS 6 7
| Voices | Popular Articles
Hand it to Antwerp
30 | Ask a Lawyer 31 | Visa Dates
By Kalpana Sunder
100| Bits and Tweets
106 | Recipe Craving the Classic Aloo Gobhi By Teena Arora
4 | INDIA CURRENTS | February 2015
20 | BUSINESS 2015: Year of the Girl Geek By Neerja Raman 25 | TAX TALK Understanding ACA By Rita Bhayani
8 | MEDIA Is Bobby Jindal Ashamed of his Indian Roots? By Sandip Roy
18 | POLITICS President Obama’s Statement at US-India Business Council
LIFESTYLE
WHAT’S CURRENT 76 | Cultural Calendar 84 | Spiritual Calendar
February 2015 | www.indiacurrents.com | 5