Rapists Aren’t Victims by Sandip Roy
Tea Time by Mallika Padmanabhan
My Artichoke Girl by Praba Iyer
INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence
In memory of Orlando victims
A Splash of Brown by Chandra Ganguly
On being brown in America: Is color the first thing people see when they see us?
july 2016 • vol. 30 , no. 4 • www. indiacurrents.com
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have lately been reading passages from Marcus Aurelius’ book The Meditations. I have a third hand copy of this classic written by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus who recorded, judged and analyzed his own motivations over the course of twenty years. It is a self-examination that was most likely not done for any effect, merely as a guide to self-improvement. The copy I own was published by the British India Publishing Company in Calcutta, back in the days, as my father might have said. The spine is splitting apart from its fragile leaves and the leather of the binding is dotted with age spots. The book naturally falls open on pages that perhaps seemed particularly meditative to the readers before me, including my own father, as they grappled with their own demons. And those are the pages I am so nostalgically inclined to re-reading. One of the most compelling ideas expressed in the book is that “man can never attain to perfect agreement with his internal guide” and that “man can only have an imperfect knowledge of his nature ...” The world has changed since Marcus Aurelius, since 180 AD, but our persuasions have remained somewhat the same. Aurelius’ philosophies were dismissed by many including Bertrand Russell who labeled him a “stoic” and railed against the inconsistencies he saw in Aurelius’ outpourings. Those inconsistencies are what I find wonderfully compelling. As I prepare to relinquish the editorship of this magazine in the next month, I am well into my own journey of selfexamination. When I started as the editor, more than four years ago, I carried with me the writer Ved Mehta’s Remembering Mr. Shawn’s New Yorker as my personal editorial Gita. Ved Mehta eloquently and robustly championed William Shawn’s editorial stewardship of the New Yorker. It was an inspiring account of a relationship between writer and editor. I began my own professional quest with the aim of bringing out “the best” in every writer I encountered. As a publication we would attain our best, I reasoned, if each writer reached his or her best. Very soon, I realized that the idea of “the best” was a moving target and shifted
Being the Best dramatically in time, occasion and persona. The idea of “the best,” at best, relies on judgment, which is not a perfect measure nor a foolproof “internal guide.” The idea of “the best” is tied to who we are as a publication. We spend many working hours attempting to approximate an answer to that question. No matter how much I would like us to be, we are not a literary publication or an academic publication. In fact, India Currents has no adherence to or bias towards any philosophy or ideology, other than a respectful writing style, and an ethical acceptance of submissions. What we are, and historically have been, is a “community publication” with reading and writing roots embedded within the community. That idea of belonging to the community shifts the axis of “the best” dramatically. “The best,” in my view, is not about agreeing with a writer’s point of view. Many a time, the ideas expressed in articles that were published have not met with my own way of thinking, and even
when they have, there have been areas of disagreement. As a publication, we achieve our best when our writers reflect and capture the voices and ideas of our community in distinctive ways, sometimes calm, sometimes clamorous, sometimes impassioned. It happens when those distinctive ideas are bolstered with deep analysis and uplifted by inspired language. Most importantly “the best” is about variety, relevance, diversity, and plurality in thought and content. Philosophically, I’m troubled by the uniformity of a perfect ideal, and like Aurelius, I find more value in inconsistencies. I like the idea that I can be persuaded to change a stance. I like the idea that I could marvel at a contrarian point of view. And I like the idea that I, too, may have an imperfect knowledge of what I am and what I can be. Perhaps it’s not about being the best, but about having the opportunity to do our best.
Jaya Padmanabhan, Editor
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INDIA CURRENTS July 2016 • vol 30 • no 4
PERSPECTIVES
West Coast Edition www.indiacurrents.com
3 | EDITORIAL Being the Best By Jaya Padmanabhan
Find us on
8 | VIEWPOINT An Islamic Argument Against Homophobia By Hasan Zillur Rahim
47 | BOOKS Reviews of What Lies Between Us and Flood of Fire By Geetika Pathania Jain, Rajesh C. Oza 49 | RECIPES My Artichoke Girl By Praba Iyer
14 | COMMENTARY Rapists Aren’t Victims By Sandip Roy 22 | ORDERS WITHOUT ORDERS India’s Prosperity is Made in India By Atanu Dey
LIFESTYLE
70 | MUSIC Musical Ballot Boxes By Priya Das
16 | A Splash of Brown Diversity is a wonderful thing; it is a terrible thing. I live it everyday.
40 | HISTORY My English Fluency By Prabhu Palani 42 | YOUTH Countdown By Zachary Lo` 63| PERSPECTIVE In the Holy Womb of the Siddhivinayak Temple By Vyoma Hadkar 100 | ON INGLISH Pugree People By Kalpana Mohan 102 | THE LAST WORD Sexual Power and Politics By Sarita Sarvate
By Chandra Ganguly
24 | Fiction Tea Time–First Prize Winner Katha Literary Fiction Contest By Mallika Padmanabhan
38 | Films Reviews of Udta Punjab and Te3n By Aniruddh Chawda
71 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA Five Ways Men Can Get Over Fear of Rejection By Jasbina Ahluwalia 88 | HEALTHY LIFE Preventing and Reversing Diabetes By Ashok Jethanandani 98 | DEAR DOCTOR I Am Not the Compliant Person I Was By Alzak Amlani
DEPARTMENTS 5 | Letters to the Editor 41 | Popular Articles
52| Travel
30 | Ask a Lawyer 31 | Visa Dates
In Royal Style on the Palace on Wheels
WHAT’S CURRENT
By Usha Rao
74 | Cultural Calendar 80 | Spiritual Calendar
4 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
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Secularism or Pluralism?
Secularism can mean different things to different people, as Jaya Padmanabhan intimated in her editorial (“The Audacity of My Secularism,” India Currents, June 2016). In particular, the American concept of secularism is quite different from the Indian version. American (Western) secularism is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations.” However, Indian secularism is (informally) defined as “equal respect for or equal acceptance and treatment of all religions.” Although both these definitions of secularism entail equality of all religions, an “equal acceptance of all religions” is very different from an “equal rejection of all religions.” A concrete example of this difference is the fact that while the secular government of India supports a separate religion-based civil code for each major religion, the secular government of United States supports only a single (nonreligious) civil code for everybody. Another facet of Western secularism is highlighted by the Oxford dictionary which defines it as “the principle of separation of the state from religious institutions.” A noteworthy point of this definition is that Western secularism is viewed primarily as an attribute of the state rather than an individual. However, Indian concept of secularism is frequently applied to the individual as well. But how practicable is individual secularism? Is it reasonable, for instance, to expect a devout individual who firmly believes in monotheism to view a polytheistic religion with the same regard? Can a woman who believes that a particular religion is strongly biased against women’s rights truly respect it? Can a vegetarian Jain really appreciate the tradition of animal sacrifices on Bakr-Eid? Probably not. Perhaps most people aren’t really secular by the Indian definition of secularism. Even most atheists aren’t because they are wont to reject many religious beliefs. Indeed, secularism as a personal creed may be too idealistic. A more practical creed may be pluralism in which people
learn to tolerate, accommodate, and even celebrate the huge diversity of religions, cultures, and languages in their lives. However, unlike secularism, pluralism does not require that people view or regard all religions (or cultures or languages) as being equal. Vijay Gupta, Cupertino, CA I loved reading the editorial (“Audacity of My Securalism,” India Currents, June 2016). I read it a day late. I read it the day after I finished my creative writing class through the continuing study program at Stanford. The night we graduated we were at the professor’s house for wine and dinner. There were a few of us who lingered after dinner. We talked about our favorite movies and our goals in writing. Then the question arose: “Which books did you read as teenagers?” Before, I could speak, the professor asked, “You read the Bhagavad Gita or something else?” My reply was “D.H Lawrence.” Then I also added, Yes, I went to Chinmaya Mission to take a few classes and read the Gita in English along with a friend. I wish I could’ve said in front of the group that I grew up as a secular humanist with the Gita, Koran and the Bible. That my grandmother invited the nuns from across our house to drink cocoa and sample some sweets, even when it wasn’t Diwali or Christmas. Earlier in the quarter, one guy wrote about a fictional exotic half-Indian and half-Vietnamese character who ran away from her parents because they were Hindus. It was a story workshop and I could have said or written my suggestions but I didn’t do anything. Recently, a WSJ front page article re-
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July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 5
ferred to Hindus as “a devout people, believing in millions of gods and numerous saints.” The story was about Indian soldiers in a hostile mountainous terrain believing in the spirit of a dead soldier. Will you please write more about secularism as a well-rooted belief for some people from India? Nobody writes enough about it. Vaishali Kirpekar, CA Jaya Padmanabhan, following her father’s methodology, adopted a religious amalgam fashioned as “secular atheism,” a convenient approach to staying high and dry, above the fray. Anecdotes and instances are a-plenty to show the flexible format of secularism. It has a fit-all models structure. During the mid–twentieth century, the Soviet Union, the largest land mass under one government, and China, the largest population under one government decided to abolish God as an entity, but failed. Instead, they created two substitutes, Vladimir Lenin and Chairman Mao respectively. Swami Chinmayananda, the founder of the Chinmaya mission worldwide, occasionally used a catchy lead sentence in his discourses: “Why do we need a God? Don’t we have enough troubles already? How appropriate! P. Mahadevan, CA
Recruiting Minorities to Defeat Trump
Sarita Sarvate is, normally, an intelligent analyst and frequently writes with a clear conscience and a sense of purpose. Not so her “The United States of Minorities” (India Currents, June 2016) where she makes an about-face and then starts a campaign to enlist all minorities to rally behind Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump. The irony is Sarvate herself does not think Hillary is a perfectly suitable candidate. Right from the outset Sarvate heaped strong—and uncalled for—abusive words on Trump such as ignoramus, racist, fascist, misogynist, white supremacist, narcissist, psychopath and bully. Sadly, she doesn’t like a candidate who calls a spade a spade, who is not following the disastrous “politically correct” policy, who wants to strengthen national defense against terror-
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ists and potential terrorists and who does want to stop the unabated flow of illegal immigrants from across the southern borders and other unfriendly countries, and who is not beholden to the establishment, Wall Street biggies and lobbyists. Comparing Trump to Hitler is, probably, the depth of wayward and malicious thinking I never expected from a balanced writer like Sarvate. However, she is entitled to her opinion and can defend Hillary also as a feminist (what a role model for women who kept defending her philandering husband just because she could enjoy all the privileges given to the First Lady at tax-payer’s expense!) Some writers don’t care if Hillary violated rules and compromised national security with her e-mail scandal, was inept at handling radical Islamic attacks in Benghazi (Libya) resulting in the deaths of the American ambassador and others, and also was an equal participant in the flow of multi-million dollar foreign donations to Clinton Foundation with dubious deals and disbursement. The whole Hillary baggage is too large, additionally saddled with millions earned via speeches at big business meetings—the copies of which she refuses to make public. Hillary Clinton’s personal behavior, demeanor, and contempt for uniformed people (Secret Service, military and the police) are amply illustrated in the book the First Family Detail by Ronald Kessler. A whole chapter is about Hillary starting with the words “If Joe Biden is inconsiderate with Secret Service agents, Hillary Clinton can make Richard Nixon look like Mahatma Gandhi. When in public, Hillary smiles and acts graciously. As soon as the cameras are gone, her angry personality, nastiness and imperiousness become evident.” There are dozens of examples in the book of what Hillary really is. Talking about Mahatma Gandhi, I will only remind Sarvate and the Indian American community of how the Democratic presidential virtual nominee had demeaned the hardworking Indian community with her racist words about the great leader. She had said, though many years back, at a fund-raiser: “He [Gandhi] ran a gas station down in St. Louis. No, he was a great leader of the twentieth century.” That “sick joke” berated the big hardworking Indian community. That was
a classic case of hurtful stereotypes that perpetuates ignorance and cause harm to the Indian—or any other—community. Sarita Sarvate could have done much better by enumerating the good qualities, merits, and competences, if any, of the candidate she rather reluctantly supports for The White House. God save the Country! Yatindra Bhatnagar, Tujunga, CA
The Prosaic Task of Earning a Living
Kalpana Mohan’s essay about her son’s graduation and future plans was wonderfully put (“Not a Techwallah,” India Currents, June 2016). If her son Parthiv (or our kids or us even!) can answer the following three questions, we have no need to be a “wallah” of any kind. i) Do I know how to generate revenue/ money/income—it could be done in a million ways, the “wallah” path being only one such. If I was dropped into the middle of a new country, with very little capital, could I sustain myself—build a business? do a trade? provide a service? ii) Do I know how to stay healthy— that is, do I have the knowledge to eat the right foods, exercise at the right level, and have the ability to keep myself healthy in varying circumstances? That is, even if I were to fall sick, do I have the wherewithal to heal myself, without being overly dependent (ideally, not at all) on the establishment (since you may find yourself in a place where there is none), and the “establishment” often doesn’t equip one to be healthy (one only needs to witness the sickness rate, the healthcare spending, and the large “establishment” in this great nation of ours, the United States) iii) Do I know how to feed myself— and I mean literally—that is, do I know enough about growing fruits and vegetables to be able to actually grow my own, so that I could be completely self-dependent if it came to that? That’s it! All the rest doesn’t matter— cushy jobs in Silicon Valley (or anywhere else), attendant capital, and attendant trappings. Those who have answered these in the affirmative have liberated themselves from being a “wallah” (a “non-wallah” in the making!). Vishal Sharma, facebook
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 7
viewpoint
An Islamic Argument Against Homophobia By Hasan Zillur Rahim • New America Media
M
uslim-Americans cannot ignore the proverbial pink elephant in the room any longer: What is Islam’s stand on homosexuality and how should we deal with the LGBT identity of our fellow-Americans, some of whom are Muslims themselves? We owe the victims of the Orlando massacre and their families at least this much honesty and clarity, without which we can rightly be labeled as rank hypocrites. Let’s first consider what the Quran says on the topic, the most quoted of which are five verses from chapter 27 (54-58) about the people of Prophet Lot, which is the same biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Prophet Lot had warned his people of immorality for approaching men with desire instead of women. These men attempted to sexually assault even the angels who had come down to Lot in the guise of men. As a consequence, God destroyed the people of Lot with a shower of brimstone. As the Turkish writer and journalist Mustafa Akyol, author of Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty wrote, most Muslims have traditionally interpreted these verses to mean that Lot’s people were wiped out because of homosexuality, ignoring the other equally valid possibility that they were subjected to divine punishment for attacking Lot’s guests, in other words, for sexual aggression. Even more significant in the Quranic telling is that the people were punished by God and not by man, including Prophet Lot. The Quran does not indicate any earthly punishment, in contrast to the Old Testament, for instance, which commands that gays “are to be put to death.” So why this irrational, and often fatal, homophobia against gays and LGBT communities in so many Muslim countries? (Just last April in Bangladesh, for instance, Xulhaz Mannan, a leading gay rights activist and editor of the country’s only LGBT magazine, who had also previously worked at the United States embassy
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in Dhaka, was hacked to death by fanatics, a killing that drew sharp criticism from the US ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat.) It comes mostly from century-old Islamic laws—known as Shariah—derived from the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad by men who are, we often forget, as fallible as the average Muslim. The essence of Shariah, as promulgated by these mostly unchallenged scholars, and blindly and unthinkingly accepted by a large number of Muslims, is that homosexuality is a disease in need of a cure, failing which persons “guilty” of it deserve cruel and unusual punishment. We Muslim-Americans have to counter this interpretation and lead the fight against the stigmatization of the LGBT community. There are two main reasons: First, we cannot cherry pick our fights. We cannot fight injustice against, say, Black Americans and marginalized communities that include us, while shunning minority communities like the LGBT community and secretly or openly harboring hatred toward them. If we ourselves discriminate against any community, we have to put up with discrimination against our own. (More than half of all Americans have a negative view of Muslims!) It’s as simple as that. Second, and more importantly, it is the Quran that, in fact, instructs us to treat minority communities with care and respect. Muslims believe that the Quran contains no contradictions, that its inner
consistency is one of the miraculous signs of the divine text. The way we interpret any verse of the Quran, therefore, must be consistent with the interpretation of any other verse. Consider this verse: “Believers, stand firm for God and be witnesses for justice. Never allow the hatred of people to prevent you from being just. Be just, for that is next to piety.” (5:8) In the light of this verse, can we claim to be just and pious if we are unjust toward others? No. In fact, we are being true to our faith when we fight for the rights of others, particularly those we may disagree with, leaving judgment to God alone. In the words of Pope Francis, “Who am I to judge?” To do otherwise, to impose judgment on those we deem beneath us, would be an act of arrogance, a vice condemned in several Quranic verses. Ultimately, we must decide what country we Muslim-Americans want America to be. Should we carry a grudge against the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize samesex marriage in America, thereby silently acquiescing in the marginalization of the LGBT community? Or should we extend our empathy to the downtrodden, as Islam requires us to? For me, and for many of my fellow Muslim-Americans whom I have spoken with, the choice is clear. We are for the rights of everyone to lead their lives as they want to, even if we disagree with them. Live and let live, with dignity and empathy. Given that it is in America that we can practice Islam with more freedom than in any other so-called “Muslim country,” it is our duty and responsibility to demand that this message is also broadcast by our Imams and scholars from the more than two thousand mosques throughout America. n Hasan Zillur Rahim is a professor of Mathematics at San Jose City College. He emigrated from Bangladesh to the U.S. four decades ago. “Earthians.” First published by New America Media
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commentary
Rapists Aren’t Victims
“One night of drinking can ruin two lives ... You are the cause. I’m the effect.” –Brock Turner victim By Sandip Roy
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ometimes it’s just 20 minutes of action behind a dumpster. Sometimes it’s just the time it takes to go up and down an elevator. But lives are “deeply altered” nonetheless. The father of a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault made headlines around the world with his plea to the judge hearing his son’s case, a letter that’s stunning in both its passion and its lack of empathy for the victim. “He will never be his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile,” wrote an anguished Dan Turner. The boy who loved his ribeye steak and pretzels and chips now “eats only to exist.” The father saw this as a “steep price to pay” for “20 minutes of action.” Brock Turner, champion swimmer with Olympic aspirations, became the victim here as opposed to the half-conscious person he violated behind the dumpster, the one who woke up in a hospital gurney. It’s not quite fair to equate this letter, actually written to the judge presiding over the case with a snippet in a society column in an Indian newspaper musing if it’s time to “rethink” the reaction to Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case. Tarun Tejpal was the editor of Tehelka who stepped down after he was accused of sexual assault by a colleague in 2013. But both stories do exist on the same spectrum—a spectrum of privilege extended to “people like us” where boys will be boys and should be forgiven their trespasses, even a “grave error,” as long as they are our kind of boys. Brock Turner, after all, says his father, has “expressed true remorse” for his actions that night. And the father can testify to the “devastating impact that it has had” on his son. The remorse might be real but in the end, it’s all about Brock, his swimming, his career, his life, his appetite for rib eye steaks. It becomes HIS devastation in a bi-
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Brock Turner and Tarun Tejpal; Photo: Huffpost
zarre case of victim-switching. Tejpal too we are told “committed a grave error” but the column asks if he deserved such a “vociferous dragging through the coals.” A charge of sexual assault is downgraded to “grave error” and we are asked to see the devastating impact it has had on the alleged perpetrator. It becomes about Tejpal or Turner’s life being ruined. That’s who we are supposed to feel sorry for. As Brock Turner said piously in his statement “I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin a life.” The woman Turner assaulted replied, “Let me rephrase for you, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives. You and me. You are the cause. I am the effect. You have dragged me through this hell with you, dipped me back into that night again and again.” Just because one of the two is not named, does not make her not real. This is a story about rape and assault. This cannot be explained away as a story about good men who had one drink too many. In text messages to the journalist who accused him of disrobing her and assaulting her in the elevator, Tejpal had insisted it was all drunken banter. In his letter to the judge, Dan Turner blames not his son but Stanford University and its “culture of alcohol consumption and partying.”
In fact what we see in both cases is an attempt to blame a larger culture for the actions of an individual. If Turner presents his son as a Midwestern boy lost in California’s den of promiscuity and alcohol, modeled by many of the upperclassmen on his swim team, Tejpal compared his legal travails to “an attack on Indian pluralism by communal forces.” The individual meanwhile is mostly responsible for a chhoti si bhool (a small mistake). As Vasundhara Sirnate writes in The Hindu, “What undergirds the chhoti si bhool defence is the idea that even as adults some men cannot and should not be held responsible for their actions. ‘They have made a mistake. They are not essentially bad people,’ is what this defence argues. The problem is if we start using this defence it makes the law useless.” Tejpal is indeed innocent until proven guilty. He does not deserve a media trial. But that does not mean he deserves a media makeover either. The law is being asked not to be blind but to remember that Brock Turner was a cleancut Mid-western athlete with a promising future. Likewise in the Tejpal case we are being asked to remember that Tejpal was a liberal lion and this is a time with a “need for strong liberal voices.” As Arun George writes in Scoopwhoop, “If India’s progressive voices are so weak that
they require a man accused of rape to be their champion, you know we’re really in trouble.” Tejpal deserves his day in court. He deserves to make an attempt at a comeback. He has every right to try and re-launch his Thinkfest. I have been to that festival once and been impressed by the names he drew to it and the conversations it spawned. But the star power of Thinkfest cannot be a defense for Tejpal, it cannot dilute the severity of the charges against him. There has been much outrage that Brock Turner only got sentenced to six months in county jail. But as Jezebel pointed out, shocking as that seemed, Brock got more than 97% of men like him received. U.S. Justice Department data shows that too few perpetrators of sexual violence will ever go to jail because of “the overriding fear among many that the adjudication of sexual assault crimes will punish good young men far more than is necessary.” The sentencing judge Aaron Persky said while handing out the six month sentence that “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.” Tejpal is yet to face his judge. But already we can see an attempt to tell us about the severe impact a conviction might have on him. Even worse, we are being told about the impact it might have on the “good fight” at a time when “regressive thoughts and actions seem to rule.” Tarun Tejpal is an important man, an important forthright journalistic voice, whether you agreed with his politics or not. Brock Turner is a promising young man, the All-American swimmer who had dreams and ambitions. Their lives are in shambles and we can empathize with that. But as the woman Turner assaulted said in her statement, “Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment. My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today.” To render the damage even more invisible is wrong. To do it in the name of “strong liberal voices” is a tone-deaf travesty. n Sandip Roy is the author of the novel Don’t Let Him Know. This piece was originally published in Huffington Post. July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 15
cover
A Splash of Brown Creative Commons Image by Frank Boston
By Chandra Ganguly I am standing in line at the Chicago airport waiting for coffee. I have missed a connecting flight and I am tired and disheveled. The lady behind the counter tells me, “I love your nose ring.” “Oh, thanks,” I say to her and touch it self-consciously. She then asks me, “Are you Muslim?” I look up at her startled. Invasion happens in many ways, some gentle and some pre-announced and as a woman of color in America, it happens frequently enough that I should be used to it—but I am not.
I
nod my head vaguely, not a yes, not a no. I take my coffee and I walk away from her. There it is again, the question most Americans who are not white are asked, the question about origins, a question that tells you that you are here but you are not from here. I pass a newsstand. Donald Trump looks at me from the cover of almost every magazine. “I am not an outsider,” I think as I pass him by. Feelings of being an outsider can stem from direct questions such as, “Where are you from?” (India, Morocco, Jamaica, Britain?) to the more inane ones that reveal your ignorance in the immense
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varieties of coffee or leaves in a salad not available in the country I immigrated from: “What type of coffee do you want?” (Macchiato, Cappuccino, Latte, Americano?) “What do you want in your salad?” (Romaine or Iceberg, arugula, spinach?) I remember pulling into a parking spot outside Costco, a spot I had been signaling for, for a while. A car from the opposite side rushed in and took it. I leaned out the window. I yelled, “Hey there…” The driver, an aged Asian man, leaned out and yelled back, “Hey there. Go back to where you belong.” For years, I recounted the story to friends not just as a personal experience of racism but also one that reveals the deeper dilemma of belonging in America.
Fear of Foreigners
Xenophobia comes from the Greek xenos, meaning “strange” or “foreigner”, and phobos, meaning “fear.” Fear of strangeness is an unsatisfying definition for racism, for the cruelties that one class of people has inflicted over another. Yet, it would seem, it is this very fear of what, or in this case, who we do not know or understand that leads to a willingness to persecute and even destroy when possible. We see this from the Nazi treatment of Jews to the Indian caste system, from the Ku Klux Klan to the genocide in Rwanda, from slavery and treatment of Africans in America to apartheid and as well incidents of gentrification in cities like San Francisco where the local populations are being pushed out by more affluent tech workers. The precise causes of racism are still debated by social scientists but many factors—such as the need to feel superior as displayed in playground bullying, to feeling unworthy or undermined—can lead to it. In recent times, this fear of “foreigners” is reflected in the rise of Muslim phobia: one mosque defiled by feces, another by graffiti, death threats via email. That strain of intolerance is like a rising crescendo with the treatment of black men by the police, and the call for banning of Muslims and the deportation of illegal immigrants ... When I think of violence in America, I think of guns and the shootings in schools and colleges. I think of the horrific Orlando tragedy. When I think of racism against Indians, I think of the grandfather assaulted by cops during his morning walk, of the Muslim cab driver shot to death, of the Sikh man killed because he was mistaken for a member of the Taliban. When I think of discrimination, I think of the young black men and boys shot by police. I am in downtown Palo Alto, where I live, writing in a coffee shop, when a lady pulls over on the street and begins to get her children out of the car. She is wearing a dark headscarf and is dressed in jeans and a jacket. She works efficiently to set up her stroller. I sit watching her. I wonder how she lives her difference in attire, which is a statement she makes about herself every day in this country where such a statement could be misconstrued. What does she feel in the
I am always a splash of brown against white. Can any one man be free if others are enslaved? current political scenario? Is a woman like her aware that she could be used as a symbol for the violence that extremists around the world are unleashing? I mark the confidence in her gait. She wears her headgear with pride, with pride in her difference. Several hours later, we find ourselves on opposite sides of the sidewalk waiting for the walk signal. Our eyes meet, we stare and then we smile as we cross each other by. We are part of the same text.
Seeing the Different
At a workshop and Q&A led by a prominent Black American gay poet, I listen keenly to his stories of growing up as the odd kid, the young man who was an outcast both for his color and his sexual preferences. I have read his poetry, his interviews, his essays. I appreciate his strength: his voice is unafraid and unwilling to be apologetic for his difference; it is a voice that speaks of past injustices. I listen and I identify. Difference is in the air that we breathe, we the minority populations.
A Creative Commons Image by Derek Rose
I raise my hand hesitantly during his Q&A, hesitant because I am still shy of my voice. I tell the poet, “I want to ask you about the experience of being different. I have often felt when I have to tried to make connections that there is still this sense of us as separate entities among the differentiated, as in: “we the Black Americans,” “we the Latinos,” “You don’t know what that is like, you don’t have that shared history, we cannot have this conversation.” I am wondering if you have any ideas as to how we can bridge that gap and about your own experience with this?” The poet looks at me and he asks me to “listen.” That is the gist of his reply to me. “Listen because that is what people need, to be able to speak and to have others listen. Let there be the safe space.” In his gentle advice for me to “listen,” I feel some of the same rejection I did in the Costco parking lot. To be asked to “listen” when I want to speak holds for me the unspoken command to stay silent. And silence has been my story of social and personal oppression in America. History matters. In my case, a kind and probably wise advice to “listen” was received by me with dejection because of my history of having to listen too much, because of my history of being misunderstood when I spoke, of being silenced by the difference I lived and felt every day. During the course of writing this piece, I started to speak with people from different backgrounds, hoping to glean some insight into these issues of racism and discrimination and, in particular, the Trump phenomenon. I was in a bank in downtown Palo Alto being helped by a personal banker and we started to talk about racism. She is Black American and she told me that all the things that I heard about racism were true. That this branch of the bank where she works used to have a few Black American tellers behind the counter and because some high-profile customers did not want them there, did not want to served by them, these Black American women were slowly replaced by other more “acceptable” faces and colors. My face must have registered the shock I felt because she continued, “I know it is shocking but racism exists. If you write about it, please write about what happened here.”
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 17
After I left the bank, I stood for a while on the sidewalk and I wondered again what it is that people see when they see me. Do they see my color before they see anything else? And what do they decide about a person based on their perception of that color or a head scarf? Riding a taxi a few days later, I began the same conversation about Trump with the driver—a young Black American man. He spoke about going to university and how his friends from Europe would ask him why he didn’t have dreadlocks and why he didn’t “yo” at them and why he didn’t wear his pants low. He said his friends said that this is what they expected of a black man because that is what they had watched on television. The young driver blamed the media for the “mess we are in today.” He said that he had a customer who told him that he and his wife were going to vote for Trump and he remembers looking back at this white man sitting in the back of his cab and wondering whether that man could be a possible threat to his safety. As Trump continues to sweep elections, I look around me and am afraid again. This is a new fear though. Does that man reading a paper who looks up at me support Trump? Does that old lady who just left my workspace without thanking me for my services want to build a wall? It cannot be a coincidence that a man who extolls hate has so many supporters. A couple of years ago, I was driving to work, one arm in a sling due to an accident, when I was pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign. I had stopped, just not long enough. The officer who pulled me over was Black American. She stood next to my open window and told me sternly that I hadn’t
... what it is that people see when they see me. Do they see my color before they see anything else?
stopped. “But I did,” I told her. She looked at me, I saw her jaws tighten as she wrote me a ticket, “Go to court and contest that if you like.” I looked sadly at her and said, “I have three kids and a full time job. I won’t have the time to go to court,” I said. As she walked away from my car, I caught myself thinking that surely she should have understood me … A second later, I realized that my thought was based on the hope for cultural—in this case “color”-empathy.
Post-Racial America?
I had hoped America would be a postracial country. Before I moved to America, more than a decade ago, the media did not highlight the injustices against its minorities as it does today. In India, although America’s history of slavery was well-known, mostly the superior lifestyle for immigrants was what was discussed. The statistics about African American lives reveal a social disparity that is impossible to ignore. Black Americans are nearly three times as likely as whites to be poor, six times more likely to be incarcerated, and only half as likely to graduate from college. White households on average make thirteen times as much as black households. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that one in three African American men will go to prison at some point in his life. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, one in every 15 Black
Featured Minorities
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American men is incarcerated, as opposed to only one in every 106 white men. According to F.B.I. statistics, a Black American is killed by a white police officer roughly every three and a half days. Today, while minorities in America are stereotyped by their histories and contributions to the economy, diversity is paradoxically becoming a key word across the social landscape. On the front page of the New York Times, “Schools Strive for Premium blend of Diversity,” begins with the question, “How white is too white?” And on the British Broadcating Coproration (BBC), recently there was a story titled, “Get Ethics with our Ethnics.” So you’re arranging a corporate conference: you’ve found the perfect venue, sent invitations and booked a panel of industry experts. Just one problem. They’re all white men. Fear not, the Rent-A-Minority website has everything you need. From “intellectual black guys” to “cheerful women of color,” the site promises an unthreatening and under-represented minority guest, or guests, in a few clicks. It is a joke, a spoof on the current need for diversity yet underlying the joke is a serious question, how do we become a more inclusive and tolerant society without resorting to stereotypes? America is still battling to reconcile itself to its histories of discrimination— #Oscarssowhite and Beyonce’s performance during the Super bowl half time are evidence of this. Headlines such as “Beyoncé’s Formation reclaims black America’s narrative from the margins,” in The Guardian (UK) and “This is a Black Space: give us the space to be heard” in The Guardian (US) speak to this struggle, this push and pull between the oppressions of the past and how they are replayed in new forms in this new world. It is true that the media is more open to discussing difference and discrimination today than at any other time in America’s history. Diversity is a wonderful thing; it is a terrible thing. I live it every day and sometimes I am ashamed of it and at other times I hope it will boost my ambitions, and sometimes I just wish it didn’t matter, that someone would just see me without needing to give
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Difference is in the air that we breathe, we the minority populations.
Lekha Writing Center
me the concession, advantage or disadvantage of difference. Ever since I started this conversation, both with myself and with the people I meet every day, which begins with the Trump phenomenon and moves on to discussions of our place in a complex social fabric, I have been feeling more hopeful about “us”—the people coming together to become a single united front against discrimination. The stories people share with me are about struggle and finding place and about dealing with discrimination. As I write this, Trump is the Republican nominee questioning Judge Gonzalo Paul Curiel on presiding over a case involving Trump University. “I have a Mexican judge. He’s of Mexican heritage. He should have recused himself, not only for that, for other things,” Trump is reported as saying. A man openly extolling hate and separation and retribution and segregation has won a wide circle of support. It is a matter of great shame and concern. The world watches. For some, the question is: will the future give us more opportunities towards equality and happiness? For others, the question will be: can we let go of our fears to accept all people as equal? And for yet others, the question will be, can America finally overcome its past to become the true land of the free, or will a man who speaks of banning Muslims, building walls and loving the “uneducated” be its highest representative? I am always a splash of brown against white. Can any one man be free if others are enslaved? Yes, it is true that all lives matter, but slavery in America is part of the American fabric, a history that still lives in the discriminations that still persist in this country today. To deny the past would mean to not be able to breathe in the present. To live in the past, discounting the slow laborious steps towards equality, would mean lives still lived in anger and hopelessness. I think of Trump’s supporters as the “new” people as described by Ta-Nehisi Coates in his book Between the World and Me: “Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the pre-eminence, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes,
which are indelible—this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.”
Changing America
I tire of being watchful and wary. I am tired of feeling alone and vulnerable, of being misunderstood and labeled. I want to belong to America but America is perhaps still not done with racism, and until it does, we the people cannot come together. I am just one voice and you are one and you are one and you are one and all these ones will not be sufficient until it comes together like a force of nature, a tidal wave, a tsunami that cannot be beaten back by any amount of sticks, guns, or walls. Until then do we have to learn to be silent? I, too, am American, as are my daughters. Those girls, the colors of coffee and earth, believe that this is our country too and we want to live here with dignity and no matter where we go, we will carry with us our color and racial differences. So, as long as we believe in our identities as Americans, fractured as they may be by our origins and histories, perhaps the answer lies not in fleeing but in believing. Believing, as writer TaNehisi Coates does, who writes to his son, “this is your country, that this is your world, that this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” As this piece got ready to be published, 49 people died in Orlando in an attack directed against the LGBTQ community— intolerance in its rawest, deadliest form. In such an environment, we must ask ourselves again who we are. And so when I think about who I am, I think “Je suis Charlie Hebdo, Je suis Orlando, Je suis Bruxelles, Black Lives Matter, I am Indian, I am American and yes, I am also Muslim.” n Chandra Ganguly is a MFA student at Bennington College. She writes about the meaning and loss of identity and issues around gender and culture. She lives with her family in Palo Alto, California.
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order without orders
India’s Prosperity is Made in India By Atanu Dey
M
any superlatives have been applied to India. Some are laudatory—the largest democracy; some are appalling—home to the largest number of illiterates; and some whose overall value is hard to assess. In that last category must be the designation of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi as the most foreign-traveled Prime Minister (PM) in world history. He is, as some have remarked, India’s first non-resident Indian (NRI) prime minister.
Globe Trotting Prime Minister
Since becoming the PM, Modi has visited 38 countries. Between June 2014 and June 2016, Modi has traveled abroad 42 times, or close to two foreign trips per month, including four visits to the United States, and two visits each to Afghanistan, France, Nepal, Russia and Singapore. Compared to him, his predecessors preferred to stay home. Vajpayee had only six foreign visits during his first two years, and during his entire tenure as PM from 1999 to 2004, he went abroad only 19 times, including just twice to the United States. All this globetrotting would have earned Modi an enviable truckload of frequent flyer miles had he been flying commercial. Unfortunately since he takes the state owned and taxpayer funded Air India, he does not get miles credit. The taxpayers, instead, get saddled with the cost of his travels, an informed estimate of which, to date, is around US $400 million at an approximate average of $10 million per trip.
Selling India Abroad
One could object to that kind of bean counting by noting that the expenditure is investment into India’s economic growth. With his foreign visits, so the argument would go, Modi has elevated India’s image globally and cemented vital relationships. 22 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
Certainly, a few tens of billions of foreign investment could not hurt, but that all amounts to rounding errors in the spreadsheet of real growth. This enables significant investment flows into India, it would seem. There are two reasons why this argument is problematic. The first is that it is basically an advertising and sales job. The second is that India is a large economy and therefore its prosperity is internally driven and cannot be predicated on external factors.
Not Easy to Make in India
The “Make in India” initiative is a marketing job. Bombastic rhetorical claims that India is the prime destination for global investment sound hollow and tired when the facts on the ground speak differently. The World Bank ranks economies on the ease of doing business (www.doingbusiness.org) in 189 countries. Methodological and precision issues of the ranking aside, it does reflect an underlying reality. As one would expect, the high ranks go to open, free enterprise economies like Singapore (#1), Hong Kong, United States, Taiwan, Germany, etc. Bringing up the rear are South Sudan, Libya and Eritrea (#189). India comes in at #130, a solid 46 places behind China (#84). That’s a terrible place to be for a country that has delusions of becoming a giant in world commerce. Marketing and sales jobs, though valuable, are ultimately futile if the product doesn’t work as advertised. Like all of us,
multinational corportations are rationally self-interested. Their investment decisions depend entirely on how easy it is to do business in India and have practically nothing to do with PM Modi’s sincere entreaties to “make in India.” A nice paint job may draw in the curious buyer but the car ultimately gets sold based on what’s under the hood, not on the shiny hood ornament.
Is the United States an Indispensable Partner?
The second problem with the view that Modi is attracting investment into India by frequently selling India abroad is that India’s prosperity, like that of any large economy, depends on what Indians and Indian firms do, which in turn depends on government policies. Certainly, a few tens of billions of foreign investment could not hurt but that all amounts to rounding errors in the spreadsheet of real growth. In his speech to the U.S. Congress, Modi said, “In every sector of India’s forward march, I see the United States as an indispensable partner.” That mindset is not that of winners. Given that India is clearly not indispensable to United States’ prosperity, that attitude reflects a reliance on an unhealthy relationship of asymmetric power. Did Modi really mean, for instance, that India’s domestic affairs are now open for U.S. administrations to interfere in? Does that “partnership” extend to the United States making interventions in Indian rural and urban administration, labor laws, agricultural and industrial policies, law and order, banking and finance —all sectors that are critically important to India’s “forward march?” His assertion to the Congress about non-resident Indians in the United States speaks volumes: “Today, they are among your best CEOs, academics, astronauts, scientists, economists, doctors, even spelling bee champions. They are your strength.
They are also the pride of India. They symbolize the best of both our societies.” Mr Modi’s pride is misplaced and frankly pathetic. With all due respect to him, those facts actually speak to what’s wrong with India and symbolize the worst failures of Indian governments. Talented people were forced to migrate abroad because they could not do in India what they were evidently good at. India embraced socialism and is paying heavily for that by seeing human capital flight. That’s nothing for India to crow about. At the very least Mr. Modi should get better speech writers.
The Answer is at Home, Not Abroad
The United States did not become what it is by partnering with some large industrialized nation or dancing to foreign tunes. It marched to its own drumbeat of freedom and free enterprise that created unprecedented prosperity. It crafted its own constitution—not its colonial master’s rules—which guaranteed freedom of speech and private property rights to its citizens and which was (note the past
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tense) implacably opposed to socialism. Thus the United States attracted talented people from all across the world, not just from India, in the recent decades. Modi needs to ask what it is that compels so many highly productive people to leave at the first opportunity they can. An honest answer to that could easily form the backbone of the structural reforms that are urgently needed for India to succeed. The key to India’s development is freedom. No country whose citizenry are bound by the arbitrary will of government functionaries empowered to implement needless, incomprehensible, vitality-sapping, senseless rules and regulations that inhibit enterprise—in short socialist policies—has ever escaped poverty. Indians have had the utter misfortune of being forced to live in virtual serfdom under the licence-control-permit-quotainspector raj, a legacy of the British Raj that impoverished India, for nearly seven decades. There was some hope that Modi would dismantle the horror that imprisons India because he did talk loudly about “minimum government.” After two years,
that hope is vanishing fast. Government is not only becoming more intrusive but it is expanding its vice-like grip on Indian entrepreneurship and enterprise. United States prosperity was built in the United States, not abroad. That’s par for the course, not some outlandish exception. India’s progress does not depend on the United States or any other external entity. India is an independent, sovereign nation and that fact places its destiny within it, and only within it. Mr Modi needs to demonstrate that understanding and act accordingly. Genghis Khan, the great Khagan, reportedly said, “Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.” Flying around the world on state-owned Air India promoting India is easy; it is disembarking and staying at home to free India from the controls of an oppressive government that is hard. n Atanu Dey, Ph.D., is an economist. His blog “Atanu Dey on India’s Development” is at deeshaa.org. Connect on twitter @atanudey.
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July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 23
Tea Time
fiction
Katha Fiction Contest 2016 • First Place By Mallika Padmanabhan
“T
by the time she put the kettle on. ea chahiye?” Her long braid, now streaked I smiled and with gray and thinner than benodded before fore, swung like a steady penduslipping a pen lum behind her back. And her into the book of crossword puzzles. hand came to rest on the chipped Of course I wouldn’t pass up a cup corner of the counter that had of my mother’s chai, not on a rainy met its match against me nearly day like this: water winding in rivutwenty years ago. lets down the window panes, pattering against the roof and sides of ***** the house, branches thwacking the “Okay, all finished!” I scamgarage as they swayed in a wind that pered into the dining room, had steadily gathered force across socked feet sliding on the floor, the South. Cardamom and ginger proudly waving the construction and masala soaking in hot water paper. Amma was standing by together, its scent wafting through the counter, Babu in his chair. the air and creating a spicy warmth They turned to me in unison, but only meant one thing—home. instead of smiles, frowns. “Good.” I gave them a look of scorn, a Amma opened the cabinet above curl of my lips that I’d seen Jerthe dishwasher to pull out two tins, A Creative Commons image by Divya Kudua emy do at recess the other day, one for tea leaves, another for her and slapped the spice blend all the way paper down from Sahil Mama’s shop Her steps weren’t as precise, her pace wasn’t as fast, on the table in Mumbai. I rolled my in front of my shoulders once, twice, her reaches, and bends, and twists more labored than dad. “See ran my hands through they should be. Babu? Here’s my ponytail, pushed the the date, our overpriced puzzles from phone number, O’Hare airport away a description of from me on the smooth steps. Some people memorize a recipe, Snappy, and I mahogany of the dining I’d memorized the entire choreography of even drew a picture so that people know table. 17 across could wait. tea time without knowing it, down to the what she looks like.” As I looked at her, something unsetimpatient tap tap tap of my fingers drumI pointed to each part as I explained tling became apparent. It was hard to ming against the counter, hurrying the it. Then I waited for my dad to jump up notice at first— a small frown crossed her water to boil. and rush to Copy Corner to make the face, a grimace that quickly melted away— So of course I noticed the change tocopies. Nothing. I tapped my 64-colora pause to rest without enough movement day. Her steps weren’t as precise, her pace worthy Crayola rendering a few more before. If I hadn’t been watching her so wasn’t as fast, her reaches and bends and times and bit my lower lip. But all he did intently, I wouldn’t have noticed it. twists more labored than they should be. I was smooth out the placemat on the table, But it was time for chai, and over the bit my lower lip, a habit from childhood. black hair glinting from the overhead years I’d gotten into the habit of following Her movements were starkly different light, casting dark shadows under his eyes, Amma’s every move during the ten minfrom anything I’d seen just six months nose, and chin. ute ritual. I hadn’t realized how much I’d ago, when I’d visited for Christmas. “Jalebi ...” Ma crossed her arms, long internalized it until I had moved out, left Had she hurt herself? braid hanging by her side. Texas, got my little apartment in Chicago It was only four steps from the sink “I’ll make copies, I’ll pay using the and found myself re-enacting the same to the stove, yet her breathing was labored
24 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
birthday money that Aarti Mami gave me.” I was distinctly aware of the power that those words of responsibility would have. “And I can post them on trees all around the neighborhood.” I picked up the stapler from the kitchen desk. “Babu?” But he just sat there, avoiding my gaze. Amma sighed and walked around the circumference of the rug that flanked the dining table. “Jalebi,” she repeated softly. “I don’t think you’ll find Snappy. She’s very small, and Dallas is a very big city for a hamster.” I glared at her. Why was she saying this? She was supposed to know everything. Didn’t she know this was how lost pets were found? She knew everything. “No.” I waved my hand. “This will work! We just need to go now to make copies—” “Arre, Lalita, why can’t we just take her …” My dad’s voice was pleading; his fingers were now smoothing out the flat tablecloth. “No beti, I’m sorry.” She put both hands on my cheeks now. “You left the door open when you were cleaning the cage, na, only for a bit, and we all know it was an accident, but she got out. And from the front yard, who knows where she could’ve go—” A loud thwack and thud that echoed through the room as the stapler flew over the table and smacked into the corner of the kitchen counter, then fell to the floor. Amma recoiled and stood up straight. For a moment my arm stayed up in the air, then it dropped. My lower lip began to tremble and my eyes filled with tears as realization dawned. “Jaya! Come back here! Now!” My dad’s voice followed me as I whirled around and ran back down the hall. “Let her be, Srini.” I slammed the door behind me and sat down hard on the carpet, ripping up my poster again and again and again, shoulders shaking as more tears came. Because of course, I knew deep down she was right. Amma knew everything. ***** Why didn’t you ever get the chipped counter fixed? I’d asked many times over the years, and each had their own answer. My dad would hit his hand against his forehead and click his tongue, bemoaning that
Bollywood had missed out on a fantastic lead actress. But my mom would simply smile. Smile and tell me that I’d been lucky or unlucky enough to inherit her verve— a word that her Mumbai accent couldn’t quite master. Now, as the kettle trembled faster and faster, her fingers traced the faint lines of the crack in the tile. Her other arm was flat on the counter, bent at the elbow, propping her up as if otherwise her legs would give way. A long sigh. Why hadn’t I seen it before? I rewound the day in my head, a frown on my face. I had only arrived last night—Babu picked me up after a three-hour delay, Amma had already gone to bed. And this morning I’d rushed off to meet a friend who was only in town until tonight—one of the three left in Dallas who I’d still kept in touch with. By the time I came back from brunch, Amma was taking a nap. Normally around 2 p.m. these days, my dad had said, when he saw my puzzled look, that she was more tired than usual: spent a lot of yesterday cleaning up the house for you, kid. A sudden wail, and Amma began pouring hissing water into the pot, leaves and masala swirling up to the surface. She set the kettle down with a hard thunk, metal on metal. Was even that too heavy for her? Or was I being paranoid? A lot had happened in this kitchen, from art projects to arguments to college applications to cooking lessons, and then the set up of the foundation of my own life in the later years. My parents had continued with a simpler routine, just the two of them, no Jaya Jalebi to take to piano practice or badminton or the dentist. Some changes were noticeable during my smattering of trips home since finishing school: Babu’s thinning hair and growing paunch, Amma’s growing dependence on her glasses, wrinkles and lines on both their faces. Unsurprising as they neared sixty. But maybe more had happened than they had let on in the last few months. If something was wrong, though, Amma would’ve already made her usual rounds, first to Dr. Jarvis and then to Kalpana who had set up a lucrative Ayurveda practice right by the Cash and Carry. She turned from the counter, a multistep slow shuffle, and walked to the table. I blinked quickly several times, looking down at my hands then up to her then again at my lap. It felt wrong, assessing her
A Creative Commons Image
Katha 2016 Results FIRST PLACE: dmanabhan Tea Time by Mallika Pa Washington, D.C.
SECOND PLACE: R.K. Biswas, It Comes From Uranus by Chennai, India THIRD PLACE: by JYOTHI Memory of a Fragrance ia VINOD, Bangalore, Ind ION: HONORABLE MENT la, wa Healthy by Iqbal Pittal California ION: HONORABLE MENT annan nv The End by Gayatri Po Dubai, UAE
from a distance like that. “Amma, all okay?” She had suddenly stumbled, her toe catching on the edge of the rug, a different one now, that lay under the table, a path she had known for decades. I watched her clutching the handles of the chair back, closing her eyes briefly as she caught her breath. It couldn’t have been for more than a second, but I knew she would fall if she let go. ***** I stood at the foot of the table, she at
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 25
the head. Me with my arms hanging by my side, palms open. She, fists wrapped around “her” chair, where she had always eaten, even now when I was at college and it was only her and my dad for most meals. I couldn’t stop staring at her, my lips slightly parted, heart racing, tears already in my eyes as I anticipated how the rest of the conversation would go. It wasn’t the first time—I had already come out to a handful of close friends at Northwestern—but those couldn’t possibly count in comparison. Babu would be at work for another couple hours. And so, finally, on the third day of summer vacation, I’d told her. The funny thing was, I couldn’t even remember the words I had just uttered, the sentences I had played over and over in my head over the last few weeks, months, years, as I gathered the courage. And now that the truth was shared, my future yawned out in front of me, hinging on what she would do next. Hair loose, and slightly damp after her shower, cut to halfway down her back only a week ago. Zip-up sweater and jeans, even in this heat. Eyes closed, hands gripping the chair spires. She was alone on top of a mountain, alone as the fog drifted around her, swirls of opaque everywhere. Stranded on the peak, left to come to terms with what she had heard, a dense forest to navigate once she was able to descend. I wanted to reach out, to pull her back, but I’d done this enough times to know she had to make the next move. The mahogany tabletop stretched between us like an endless sea. It was up to her to decide when she would return. She opened her eyes. Wet with tears. My throat tightened, and I looked away, embarrassed. When she spoke, fingers still wrapped around the chair, her voice was so soft I could barely hear it above the low whirr of the ceiling fan. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” My eyes, blank and wide, snapped up to meet hers, then away to the floor. Some part of me had always thought she had known, deep down. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, beti? Why didn’t you come to me with this? Jaya?” She was walking to me, voice shaking and thin. My vision was getting blurry. Closer and closer and then she was wrapping me in a tight hug that was the only thing keeping me standing. 26 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
“I don’t know if he’ll be well enough to make the flight from India again.” My mom’s words hit me hard, straight, deep into my young sense of immortality.
***** Now I wanted to run over and catch her; she seemed so fragile. When had this happened? How had she gone from middle-aged to this in just a few months? From complaining wryly I had too much energy to looking like it was being sapped from her even as she simply stood still. “Amma?” She blinked, returning to me. “Kya?” I frowned. “What were you doing?” She smoothed a stray hair away from her face, tucked it behind her ear. “Tea, na?” “Yeah but ... Amma, what’s ...” I stopped. If I continued, I didn’t think I’d be ready to hear what followed. She looked steadily back at me, that unwavering stare that had scolded me and guided me and called me out and cared for me through so much. But it didn’t have the usual glint of understanding I was used to. “Kya kya?” She clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she leaned across the table to grab two coasters, set them down. Then as if a switch had been flipped, she was walking back to the counter, straining the tea leaves, measuring each pour with steady hands, a long arc from the Pyrex as steam rose and the whoosh of piping hot masala chai into her mug and mine, following thousands of cupfuls that had filled rainy mornings and afternoons and evenings in this house. “Sugar?” She scoffed. “Oh no, you don’t take sweetener anymore, only that stoovia.” “Stevia, Amma, not stoovia. And actually that’s way worse.” I ran a hand through my ponytail again. “Remember? Didn’t you read that Atlantic article I’d emailed you?” She pursed her lips, raised one eyebrow with sudden spunk. “Five pages to say that natural sugar is okay for you? Hmm.” Was I imagining it all? The pauses that were a millisecond too long, the sighs, the
momentary winces? Maybe she had always shifted her weight like that? Behaviors and mannerisms that I had simply forgotten being 1,000 miles away, maybe that was it. Besides, it was far too early for me to think about this kind of stuff happening to her. She had only started thinking about her own parents that way a few years ago. ***** “I don’t know if he’ll be well enough to make the flight from India again.” My mom’s words hit me hard, straight, deep into my young sense of immortality. The direct acknowledgement of her father’s mortality in a simple sentence—I didn’t know what to do. I held my breath, studying her face. We were sitting on the sofa in the family room, playing cards turned face down in our laps, nestled in blankets on a winter evening during a visit home from grad school. She was staring distantly at the silent TV. The words had come so easily; I couldn’t imagine how hard it had been for her to accept them. Mohan Nana had had a bad fall a few months ago, and had been bedridden until very recently. I’d been optimistic when Amma had called me up just last week to say that he was now moving around the apartment with the help of a walker. “But he’s improving. You said he’s improving and using the walker now, right?” The words rushed together. She pursed her lips and shrugged. “Well enough to move around the flat, haan, but 20 hours on a plane? Look how tiring it is even for you, Jalebi.” Well enough to make the flight again. The words sank in, refused to dissipate in my mind. They had such finality to them. How do you adjust to thinking about your parents like that? “Not even for Malavika’s wedding?” My cousin, a year older than me, was getting married in Atlanta next spring. “We’ll have to see how things go, beti. It’s hard on his legs, sitting for too long
now, and Nani wouldn’t come without him.” She sighed. “But I’ve talked to your dad and I’m going to start making more trips there from now on, maybe two or three a year. You’re settled in Chicago now so I worry less about leaving you on your own.” But I had stopped listening. My mind raced ahead, further ahead in time than I wanted—to a day when I would also have to acknowledge my father’s age, his mortality, and the simple fact that there would be a point in my life past which he would not be there anymore. And, almost more frightening, that there would also come that time when it would be my responsibility as his only child to prepare for that, to help him prepare for that. **** Now, as I took the hot mug from her, I wondered: Had there been worries even years before Nana’s fall that Amma hadn’t shared with me? How old had she been when she first saw things start to falter? She lowered herself into the chair across from me. As she sat, I heard a sharp intake of breath. “That was a long nap you took today,
Creations By Sam Photography, Videography & DVD Productions
huh?” I tried to keep my voice light. It shook. She leaned over her mug, took a deep breath, the bottom half of her glasses clouding up with steam that faded. “Just tired, Jalebi. Getting older, na?” Her voice was too sing-song. “Amma ...” She looked past me, down the corridor that snaked past my old bedroom and ended at the master bedroom, a path the three of us had walked so many times. So many mornings before school, evenings before practices, concerts, sleepovers, so many nights after celebrations and hardships and milestones and days that were achingly normal. We each took a sip of our still steaming tea. As she put her mug back on the table, I reached over and took her other hand, squeezing it gently. She didn’t let go for a long time. n Originally from northern California, Mallika Padmanabhan is a communications professional who has been working in the international development field in Washington, D.C. for the last few years. She has no previous fiction publications.
About the Judges: Prajwal Parajuly is the son of an Indian father and a Nepalese mother. The Gurkha’s Daughter, his widely acclaimed debut collection of short stories, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Land Where I Flee, his first novel, was an Independent (London) book of the year and a Kansas City Star best book of 2015. He is the Clayton B. Ofstad endowed distinguished writer-in-residence at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. He has been homeless for three years now. Amulya Malladi is the author of six novels, including The Sound of Language and The Mango Season. Her books have been translated into several languages, including Dutch, German, Spanish, Danish, Romanian, Serbian, and Tamil. She has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in journalism. When she’s not writing, she works as a marketing executive for a global medical device company. She lives in Copenhagen with her husband and two children. Connect with Amulya at www.amulyamalladi.com. Her latest book, A House for Happy Mothers, will be released in June 2016.
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ask a lawyer
Exempt Employee and Overtime Pay By Bobby Shukla
Q
How do I know if I have been properly classified as an exempt employee who is not entitled to overtime pay?
A
In California, exempt employees are not entitled to various forms of compensation, like overtime pay. There are various specified exemptions under California law. Depending on your profession, whether you meet the test for exemption may be a complicated determination. Common exemptions include “white collar” exemptions, which are the executive, administrative and professional exemptions. Generally, for these exemptions, an employee is exempt if she meets the “salary” and “duties” test: (i) She must earn a fixed salary of at least twice the state’s minimum wage; and (ii) She must also customarily and regularly exercise “discretion and independent judgment” in her work more than half of the work time.
30 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
“Discretion and independent judgment” means the employee “has the authority or power to make an independent choice, free from immediate direction or supervision and with respect to matters of significance.” The executive exemption generally applies to management employees who supervise two or more full-time employees on a regular basis. These employees must also either have the authority to hire or fire or have their recommendations in that regard be given particular weight. The administrative exemption generally applies to employees who perform office or non-manual work that is directly related to the management policies or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers. The professional exemption generally applies to employees licensed by the state who are primarily engaged in the practice of law, medicine, dentistry, optometry,
architecture, engineering, teaching or accounting. Notably, pharmacists and most nurses are expressly excluded from this exemption. For the computer professional exemption, the employee must earn at least $41.85 per hour or a salary of not less than $87,185.14 where the employee is paid at least once a month and not less than $7,265.43. Guaranteed incentive compensation that is paid less frequently than once a month cannot be counted in meeting these minimums. The minimums increase each year based on cost of living. An IT professional who does not receive this compensation may still qualify as exempt, however, under the executive or administrative exemption if she meets the requirements of that exempt classification. n Bobby Shukla practices employment law in San Francisco. (415) 986-1338.
Legal visa dates Important Note: U.S. travelers seeking visas to India will now need to obtain them through Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Call 1-866-978-0055, email enquiriesusa@ckgs.com or visit www.in.ckgs.us for more information.
T
July 2016
his column carries final action dates and other transitional information as taken from the U.S. State Department’s Visa Bulletin. The information below is from the Visa Bulletin for July 2016.
In the tables below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed. “Current” means that numbers are available for all qualified applicants.
FAMILY PREFERENCE VISA DATES Preference Dates for India 1st Mar 22, 2009 2A Nov 15, 2014 2B Dec 08, 2009 3rd Dec 01, 2004 4th Jan 01, 2001 NOTE: F2A numbers subject to percountry limit are available to applicants beginning with priority dates beginning Sep 01, 2014 and earlier than Nov 15, 2014.
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films
Desi in the Sky By Aniruddh Chawda
UDTA PUNJAB. Director: Abhishek Chaubey. Players: Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, Satish Kaushik, Harpreet Singh, Prabhjyot Singh. Music: Amit Trivedi.. Hindi and Punjabi with Eng. sub-tit. Theatrical release (Balaji)
O
ver the years, there have been many notable Hindi movies that have dwelled on substance abuse. More often than not, the biggest genre hits, say Feroz Khan’s Jaanbaaz (1986) or Rohan Shetty’s Dum Maro Dum (2011), or even Raj and DK’s zombie caper Go Goa Gone (2011) at their core touched on drug trafficking—and pretty much stopped there. Only a handful of entries have hammered deeper to explore the effects of substance abuse on individual psyches. The rarest, and arguably the best, were Abrar Alvi’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) about alcoholism and Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) about the marijuana sub-culture, both of which passed box office and critical muster with biting social commentary tossed in. To the shorter latter list of great Hindi movies dealing with substance above, we can add Udta Punjab, an eye-popping, vulgar and dark odyssey that fleshes out opiates abuse in contemporary India with devastating effectiveness. A tight story, co-scripted by Chaubey and Sudip Sharma, strings together a large canvas. A twisted, surreptitious South Asian nexus loosely connects political and law enforcement corruption, the pharmaceutical industry infrastructure, human trafficking, and modern slavery, on the one hand, and its iron grip on individual lives and rampant drug abuse in certain enclaves, on the other hand. Caught in this vortex are four characters that occupy distinct socio-economic strata in a Punjab setting. There is the pop singer Tommy Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a druggie brat already on a downward spiral. Secondly, on the fringes of practically everything, there is a young woman migrant worker (Bhatt) 38 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
from Bihar toiling the fields in silent drudgery. The third presence is Sartaj Singh (Dosanjh), a mid-level career cop on an antinarcotic mission. Last and not least, there is Dr. Preet Sahni (Kareena Kapoor), a gifted doctor who also runs an addiction-recovery clinic. Two simultaneous events—the migrant worker stumbling upon a packet of white powder on the Pakistan-India border and Sartaj’s brother Bali (Prabhjyot Singh) overdosing on his routine needle poke—set in motion wheels that will have far-reaching consequences for all of them. As Chaubey’s narrative unfolds, the remarkable ease with which the four stories are linked up—which they do—is a marvel of not only smart editing but also better acting. Tommy, who also goes by his stage name Gabru, can only write a hit song if he gets “inspiration” from the thin white lines lining up his make-up lounge. Refusing help from his band manager (Kaushik), Tommy ends up on the run. The Bihari woman, who remains nameless, ends up in a nightmare existence thanks to the traffickers. Sartaj and Dr. Sahni, meanwhile, join forces by turning to amateur sleuthing to dig up dirt on the drug trade. Bhatt, as an exploited migrant in the clutches of the traffickers, effortlessly channels the pain of dispossession and exploitation in a sad way, while newcomer Dosanjh appears aloof to the illwinds that surround him until the plague strikes at home. A de-glammed Kareena Kapoor is evenly restrained in voicing the obstacles she faces in uncovering a conspiracy she knows exists and yet can’t prove. Where the acting appears somewhat stretchy is Shaheed Kapoor’s
bad-boy-going-out-too-much-to-mimicfamed-contemporary-performers. Hindi movies usually conform to Indian screen taboos against cussing and kissing. Delhi Belly (2011) was the last potty-mouthed entry that raised eyebrows for its near non-stop use of expletives. And even those were cuss words uttered onscreen in English. No such luck here. Udta Punjab’s pervasive Hindi language vulgarity—colorful, taboo shattering, and graphically descriptive—leave not even a figurative fig leaf unturned. An early trailer for the movie showed what appeared to be lead actor Shaheed Kapoor urinating on-stage. Indian censors snipped this scene—to vociferous scorn from social media. This single edit apparently was the only, um, cut that stood between a wider general release and the Udta Punjab landing the Indian equivalent of an adult-only movie-rating. The word “udta” (flying) in the title pays homage to the drug culture in pretty much the same way that the Beatles classic “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” paid homage to LSD. It is a cynical, symbolic thumbing of the nose against the overwhelming odds that confront any efforts at official, social or police intervention to do away with this scourge. For a mainstream Hindi movie to tackle so many contemporary goal-posts, warts and all, is remarkable indeed. The movie is a magic ride worth taking. n EQ: A
Kolkata Cold Case TE3N. Director: Ribhu Dasgupta. Players: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddique, Vidya Balan, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Padmavati Rao. Music: Clinton Cerejo. Hindi with Eng. sub-tit. Theatrical release (Reliance)
A
s a refreshing change, a new Hindi movie recently caught many by surprise by fully and gratefully giving credit where credit was due. When producer Sujoy Ghosh formally acquired rights to remake Jeong Keun-seob’s highly acclaimed Korea entry Montage (2013), the buzz was on. Sticking to the same murder-mystery modus in a Kolkata setting, Dasgupta’s Te3n is ambitious, moody and unevenly tense. While the sums of all the parts don’t so readily fit together, this remake can’t be dismissed so easily, mostly thanks to a hugely talented cast. For 70-year retired pensioner John Biswas (Bachchan), the local constabulary is a virtual home away from home. John keeps daily tabs on whether the cops have any new leads on an 8-year old cold case involving the disappearance and murder of John’s 8-year-old granddaughter Angela. The fact that Sarita Sarkar (Balan), the chief inspector on the case, has no news always fails to dissuade John from his quest. Now that another kidnapping has been reported, everyone suddenly takes notice. The fact that the new kidnapping bears uncanny resemblance to Angela’s disappearance even has Sarita enlisting help from former detective Martin Das (Siddique), who is now a priest. As a character study of three finely written stake holders—Te3n is a playful take on the Hindi word for three (teen) —a loose alliance that was already in place after little Angela’s disappearance now comes into even sharper focus. Biswas reaches out to Father Martin because Martin was the beat cop that was unsuccessful at solving the crime and is now left scarred, so much so that he left the force and joined the church. Martin knows that if he agrees to help John, Sarita must be taken into confidence because of her far reach inside the police force. Now that another
grandfather’s (Chakrabarty) grandchild has been kidnapped, none of them want to relive the trauma. Balan’s detective Sarkar is slightly ditzy and often short-sighted when it comes to tantalizing clues that John Biswas digs up—a cemetery that expanded its walls, a knit cap worn by an orphan, a mysterious pen. Even though she commands considerable clout as the head cop leading the investigation, her own personal blinders can just as easily be expanded for the ineffectiveness of her entire force. This is a distraction for Balan, who is at her best playing strong, highly purposed characters (Kahaani, Ishqiya, Who Killed Jessica?). Other than getting to investigation sites with his priestly collar intact, as if constantly passing judgment upon himself, Siddique’s Father Martin is hesitant. Is he hiding something and is that why he appears of sound mind and yet a restless soul? Not quite as eloquent as Siddique’s two-bit street hustler in Talaash (2012) who has run in with a ghost, his Father Martin is tormented by never having solved the cold case and now appears on the verge of a either a breakthrough of a breakdown. Dasgupta’s outline also hints at Martin and Sarita once having shared closeness. Now that Martin has given up the police uniform and put on a priestly collar, that loose thread may just teasingly be left hanging. Bachchan’s Biswas, having lost the most, also carries the heaviest weight. Devoted to his wheelchair bound wife
Nancy (Rao), John goes out of his way to seeking out clues that may help solve the murder and hopefully aid in solving the new kidnapping. As gifted as these players are at their roles, there is still a slight lack of substance when they have to play off of each other. Filmed in Kolkata often in a winter setting, the camera work nicely captures a chill that pervades the sparsely populated back alleys that children who have been told to avoid sometimes take just because. It foreshadows lurking danger that may prove right the cardinal safety rule of avoiding talking to strangers. Te3n does not have the greatest story-telling, knockout performers, or technical luster. The presence of such a gifted cast none the less offers a viable alternative to much louder, all-action matinee entries. n Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.
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July 2016| West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 39
history
My English Fluency How English came to India By Prabhu Palani
I
think and write in English, and not in my native, Tamil. This simple fact that has profound implications for how I relate to the world, is directly tied to a document signed almost two centuries ago between Hindus and a British administrator in the erstwhile Madras Presidency in the year 1839. In the well-known history of how the English language came to dominate the Indian sub-continent, the name Thomas Babington Macaulay jumps to prominence. He was the head of a group of Englishmen, referred to as the Anglicists, who believed that the Indian population needed to be regenerated through English education. In 1835, Macaulay wrote his famous “Minute on Education” in which he said, “A single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.” Lord Bentinck, then Governor-General of India, with the stroke of a pen endorsed Macaulay’s recommendations, and ended support of Sanskrit and Arabic in favor of English education. There was widespread rioting and agitation in the streets of Calcutta to protest the change. Since that landmark ruling, historians have generally accepted these events as the origin of English in India. This reading of history is however, incomplete. In the Madras Presidency, English was not forced on its inhabitants. Rather, it was introduced at the behest of the local population in an unlikely partnership between its Hindu natives and its British ruler. The story of this collusion of interests bears fascinating reading. By the turn of the 19th century, the city of Madras, with a population of over 250,000, was transforming itself into a bustling commercial center. Contributing to this rise was an upwardly mobile Indian mercantile class that saw clear benefits in knowing English. They realized that knowledge of English opened the doors to plum government positions and gave them the ability to negotiate directly with 40 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
the British on their own terms, all of which formed the basis for a new identity. Encouraged by the then Advocate General of Madras, George Norton, the leaders of the Hindu community formed the Hindu Literary Society in 1830. Gajalu Lakshmanarasu Chetty, Narayanaswamy Naidu and C. Srinivasa Pillay, a close friend of George Norton, were among its founding members.
Photogravure of the British historian and Whig politician Thomas Babington Macaulay by the French photographer Antoine Claudet; A Wikipedia Commons image.
For the progressive Hindus of Madras, who wanted their children to have an English education, the only option was to send them to schools run by Christian missionaries. One such missionary was Alexander Duff who felt that converts (to Christianity) from “respectable families” could lead a new line of self-perpetuating congregations in India. His associate missionary, John Anderson, opened the Scottish Free Church School in Black Town, Madras, in 1837. The purpose of the school was to impart a distinctively European type of English education, with a focus on Christianity. The school was so popular that it outgrew its premises three times within
the first decade (the school later became the Madras Christian College). Unfortunately for many Hindus, their children were also exposed to Christian propaganda. Given below is a case in point. A fourteen-year-old Brahmin girl attending this school declared herself a Christian and sought asylum before the Supreme Court of Madras. The girl’s family convinced the court to serve a writ of habeas corpus claiming that John Anderson had detained her by force. On the day of the trial, thousands of Hindus gathered outside the courthouse to witness the unfolding drama. Pandemonium broke out when Anderson and the girl entered a packed chamber. Amidst screams of outrage an overwrought relative tried to seize the girl. Sir Edward Gambier, the presiding judge, had to decide whether the girl had reached “years of discretion” and consequently ordered two European doctors to examine the girl. The doctors declared that she had indeed reached her years of discretion, and Gambier awarded custody to Anderson. To the Hindus the ultimate disgrace had occurred—the defilement of a high-caste girl by European men. The leaders of the Hindu Literary Society were alarmed by this growing missionary influence. They realized that the desire for English language education among elite Hindus was so great that families were prepared to take the chance of sending their children to missionary schools despite the risk of religious conversion. At this time, John Elphinstone arrived in India as Governor of Madras in 1839. He was anxious to make education a central theme of his administration, and George Norton was his close ally and assistant. The Hindu Literary Society members wanted to convince Elphinstone that the government should offer English language education in a secular institution. On November 11, 1839, they submitted a petition to him with over 70,000 signatures.
At the time, this petition easily had the most number of signatures from Indians to the British government. They appealed to Elphinstone “for the establishment of an improved system of national education in the Presidency.” While its sister Presidencies had collegiate institutions (Hindu College in Calcutta and Elphinstone College in Bombay), Madras had none. But the petitioners made clear that religious neutrality in education was a priority. “Any scheme for National Education interfering with the religious faith or sentiment of the people may Lord Elphinstone; Madras Musings.com prove abortive,” they warned. The original petition is now housed in the Asia Pacific and Africa Collections of the British “A single shelf of a good European Library in London, and I saw the library was worth the whole native petition under the watchful eyes literature of India and Arabia.”— of the librarian. I saw the numerous signatures of petitioners writThomas Macauley, 1835 ten in Tamil, Telugu, English and Devanagari. With each signature, the petitioners were stating their Madras University Board was formed in personal dreams of wanting English language education for their children May 1840 with George Norton as its President and several leading Madras natives within a secular environment. The magnitude and importance of the on its board. Madras University would go petition were not lost on Elphinstone. The on to become one of India’s leading eduElphinstone Papers at the British Library cational institutions and I was a personal revealed a letter, written in 1840, in which beneficiary of this University where I obhe wrote that the address “which was last tained my bachelor’s degree. An extraordinary petition, lost in the year presented to me, more numerously corners of the British library, provided an signed than I believe any similar document alternative explanation for the ascendance ever was in India,” was proof that this was of English. Debunking the myth of colonot a document to be taken lightly. The nialist imposition, it showed that a signifipetitioners’ demand was consistent with cant portion of British India clamored for his goals for education—western education the language. A petition signed in 1839 in and non-interference with their religion. the Madras Presidency has a direct relation This led to the establishment of the to the words and thoughts I have used to Madras High School that allowed Hinwrite this article. A remarkable petition dus to pursue English language education and story indeed! n without the threat of religious conversion. One of its students, Madhava Row, when he later became the Dewan of Travancore, wrote to Elphinstone that, “it will be very Prabhu Palani earned a master’s degree in gratifying to your Lordship to learn that Liberal Arts from Stanford University in graduates of the Madras High School 2009. His thesis, “English and Empire: The have all been more or less very successful Case of the Madras Presidency,” explored the in life” and “the education has brought origins of the English language in India. He inestimable benefits … few of which would is a member of the North American Conference of British Historians. otherwise have fallen to my lot.” On Elphinstone’s recommendation, the
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essay
Countdown By Zachary Lo • Growing Up Asian in America
T
until you’re terrified they’ll drown in endless ocean.
10
he clock is ticking down. The score is tied. The crowd is standing. Jeremy Lin has the ball, alone at halfcourt. My father would talk about him all the time. I guess it took me too long to understand why.
1
If I gave someone in my life a gold medal, it would be him. For being on my team whether or not I was on his.
9
0
My father played on his high school football team. I can’t really picture him as a kid. I’ve never seen pictures.
Lin takes six steps forward. Arm leaps, wrist flicks upwards. The ball soars through the air. It sinks down and he watches it fall, but I don’t care if he makes it. Because even when some people might have said it was too late, he still took the shot. I can too. n
8
He was a swimmer, too, but I never liked swimming. It feels oppressive to me, and dangerous: the foreign water surrounding you is just as much your enemy as your friend. My cousins are swimmers, though. They call our grandparents Gong Gong and Po Po.
7
I don’t speak Mandarin. I’ve never tried to learn either. Sometimes when my grandparents are chatting or when my father says phrases to himself, I wish I could.
6
I am in elementary school and my father takes me out to hit baseballs. He coaches the Little League team, the AY soccer, and my brother’s youth center basketball. I quit soccer before middle school. I never really liked sports anyway. I look like Dad, my brother observes, but I act like Mom.
5
I am thirteen years old and I write a racist story for a history assignment about the life of a Chinese immigrant. My friends think it’s funny so I tell my mother about it. My father comes into my room that night. He doesn’t go into detail about his feelings. He reminds me that it’s offensive to people like my grandparents to say 42 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
A Creative Commons image
Jeremy Lin
things like that. When he was a kid, he tells me, other kids made fun of him and called him names. Just because he was Chinese.
4
In the sixth grade I quit baseball, and I run crosscountry instead. I start track in the spring of eighth grade. I’m never the fastest but that’s okay. My father comes to all the meets.
3
There’s so much water between us, and I’m afraid I can’t get across. It’s already too late. And there’s only more as the years flow by, swirling and crashing and washing away.
2 I guess it must be hard, to see your parents fight to hold on to their culture as they drift in this American sea, and then to fight that way yourself, and then to see your children fight the same way, only not as hard, because it’s slipping from their fingers, more and more every generation,
Growing Up Asian in America provides a unique platform for young people to creatively explore and celebrate being both Asian or Pacific Islander and American. Every year, almost one thousand Bay Area students in grades kindergarten through 12 submit artwork, essays, poems and videos on a single theme, competing for over $20,000 in cash and prizes. It encourages young Asian Americans to take pride in their identities, and helps others understand the varied experiences of our youth growing up in the Bay Area’s diverse communities. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the program, the Asian Pacific Fund asked youth to reflect on their roots. A variety of themes came up in the students’ works including personal stories of sacrifices made by immigrant grandparents and parents, the struggle to maintain one’s cultural identity, and the lessons learned from each family’s journey. Many students expressed deep appreciation for the courage of elders and ancestors. This essay was a winner in the 9th to 12 grade category. Zachary Lo is in the 10th grade.
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44 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
July 2016| West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 45
India Currents is pleased to announce the results of
katha
Literary Fiction Contest 2016
Thank you to all for submitting your story to Katha: Literary Fiction Contest 2016. As the judges can attest, it was a very tough job to identify the finalists. The judging was completely blind. To all the writers who submitted, it is important to keep in mind that a writer is one who writes, researches, records and reflects. So keep writing and keep submitting. Congratulations to all the winners!
2016 Winners: First Place: Tea Time by Mallika Padmanabhan Second Place: It Comes From Uranus by R.K. Biswas Third Place: Memory of a Fragrance by Jyothi Vinod Honorable Mention:
• Healthy by Iqbal Pittalwala • The End by Gayathri Ponvannan This year's judges were Amulya Malladi and Prajwal Parajuly. Prajwal Parajuly is the son of an Indian father and a Nepalese mother. The Gurkha's Daughter, his widely acclaimed debut collection of short stories, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Land Where I Flee, his first novel, was an Independent (London) book of the year and a Kansas City Star best book of 2015. He is the Clayton B. Ofstad endowed distinguished writer-in-residence at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. He has been homeless for three years now. Amulya Malladi is the author of six novels, including The Sound of Language and The Mango Season. Her books have been translated into several languages, including Dutch, German, Spanish, Danish, Romanian, Serbian, and Tamil. She has a bachelor's degree in engineering and a master's degree in journalism. When she's not writing, she works as a marketing executive for a global medical device company. She lives in Copenhagen with her husband and two children. Connect with Amulya at www.amulyamalladi.com. Her latest book, A House for Happy Mothers, will be released in June 2016.
INDIA CURRENTS Celebrating 30 years of excellence
India Currents is the complete Indian American magazine
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editor@indiacurrents.com 46 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | July 2016
books
The Bad Mother By Geetika Pathania Jain
WHAT LIES BETWEEN US. By Nayomi Munaweera. St. Martin’s Press, 2016. 320 pages. $18.11 Hardcover.
I
t was with pleasure and anticipation that I learned that Nayomi Munaweera has written a second book. Reading her first book Island of a Thousand Mirrors in 2014, I had reveled in her sharp and intense political voice. Munaweera’s new book What Lies Between Us, is less about communal betrayals and more about interpersonal betrayals. As in the first book, there are references to lush Sri Lankan gardens, and a journey to the “new and bright and shiny” place that is America. In What Lies Between Us, Munaweera’s description of this journey from Kandy to Fremont, California is lyrical. In the protagonist Ganga’s words, “we trace a path between the tempest-tossed ocean and the canopy of stars and are carried into a new world.” She remembers the “fresh off the boat” feeling of being a new immigrant. There is the novelty of the unfamiliar land where the misunderstandings of a young girl can be excused. On seeing dog owners picking up after their pets, for instance, she is puzzled. “How impossible to imagine, in this richest country of all, that people are saving dog turds? For what possible purpose? My imagination boggles …” There are misunderstandings and assumptions about Sri Lanka. Ganga is irritated at being constantly mistaken for an Indian, and the need to dispel “visions of samosas, chai, and women in bindis” as the default—“Its a separate island nation. It has nothing to do with India.” Eyeroll. We follow the trajectory of Ganga’s life as she is accepted into college, studies to be a nurse, falls in love and becomes a mother. But is “happily ever after” in store
for her? Will the marriage go well, or will it unravel? Will she be ecstatic or will she experience growing despair and rage? I would tell you, but should you believe everything I tell you? What if I was an unreliable narrator? Or my memory was faulty? All I can say is that these life-changes are described in glowing prose and with a critical stance that is fresh and insightful. The writing is lush and tropical, and succeeds in capturing details and nuance with consummate skill. Descriptions of recognizable Bay Area locations such as Fremont, or Dolores Park in San Francisco can bring a spritz of pleasure. Ganga has a secret that she does not tell her husband. So the title What Lies Between Us then can refer to their sleeping arrangement, or to deceptions in their relationship. Munaweera casts Ganga not in the role of the archetypal good mother, but one who is ambivalent about the seemingly never-ending demands to be omnipresent, eternally vigilant, non-smoking, cheerful and slim. She is a bad mother. Ganga rails against the ignominy of being confused for the nanny, the dark-skinned woman who takes care of her child. “I love my child, but not motherhood,” she admits. She teeters between giving too little and giving too much. This decision to interrogate the maternal instinct, that purest and most hallowed of human instincts, provides a tension in
the novel. Ganga has anxiety dreams where a selfless mother would let King Solomon give the baby to another mother rather than see the baby harmed. A book about an unmaternal mother is bound to be a risky decision, but the brilliant writing makes it worth it. Just don’t believe everything. Not all narrators are trustworthy. n Geetika Pathania Jain is a frequent contributor to India Currents magazine. When she is not writing reviews or grading student papers, Geetika can be found enjoying the great outdoors.
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 47
books
The Medium is the Message By Rajesh C. Oza FLOOD OF FIRE. By Amitav Ghosh. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015. 616 pages. $20.42 Hardcover.
I
n the epilogue to Flood of Fire, Amitav Ghosh cleverly makes mention of some 50 sources which have informed his novel. I imagine that few, if any, of these were likely to have been read on an e-book. And I imagine that the novelist and his novel are richer for it. By being in tactile, perhaps even sensual, contact with the scholarship that drives the facts of his own writing, Ghosh has given life where before there was none. However, the same cannot be said for me in my much more distant “eRelationship” with Flood of Fire. Due to the size of this novel, and resulting from a lastminute need for reading material on an overseas flight, this was the first time I read a book on a Kindle. First, and hopefully last, for this was one of the worst reading experience of my life. As Marshall McLuhan famously said, the medium is the message. Thus my experience of reading Flood of Fire was certainly influenced by the Kindle. So let’s get my antipathy for Jeff Bezos’ vehicle for bookstore hegemony out of the way before I consider the merits of Amitav Ghosh’s book. As with my review of books, my review of e-books will attempt to be fair and balanced: Pros: • Affordable • Accessible • Portable Cons: • Cheap • Encouraging impulse-buys • Lacking heft When I was a penniless college student, I would scrounge used bookstores for novels, scholarly works of nonfiction, and even textbooks. I recall one particu-
48 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | July 2016
larly memorable Sunday spent in Powell’s Bookstore in Hyde Park, walking distance from the University of Chicago. I roamed through the extensive collection of works on South Asia. Literally, day became night as I made the stacks my home, discovering the ideas of so many fine scholars who had dedicated their lives to the study of India. As warm sunlight gave way to a snowy night, I came across a book edited by Milton Singer and Bernard Cohn. I had long wanted to be an anthropologist like Professors Cohn and Singer, living in Indian villages and cities, writing books like Structure and Change in Indian Society. Although this hardback was used, it was in pristine condition, and priced at a princely sum of $9; all I had was a crumpled $10 for the groceries that I still needed to purchase for the week ahead. I debated whether to come back some other day when I had more money or to buy the book. I took the middle road and read much of the book right there in a cozy corner of Powell’s where no one would take notice of me. Several hours later, I knew that I had to make Singer and Cohn’s Indian society my own. With the remaining buck, I bought enough bread and milk to last me for a week. The Internet had not yet been developed on that wintry Sunday; and, of course, that meant that there were no ebooks for impulse buying. I had to think long and hard about whether I would invest in a book, and that investment was about time given and choices made, and thus the value of the book was already greater than its purchase price. But enough of Bezos’ bookstore; let us return to Ghosh’s goods. Flood of Fire is the third in a series of novels, “the Ibis trilogy.” I read the first
two siblings as all fine works are meant to be read: on paper. And like Structure and Change in Indian Society, they too have a place of pride on my bookshelf, albeit in the fiction section. But next to those two novels, Flood of Fire will always be some kind of “buried child,” present but lacking substantial form (apologies to Sam Shepard for appropriating the title of his elegiac play, but sadly there will forever be an empty space beside Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke). Sea of Poppies, the first born, was nothing short of brilliant. It’s as if the highly accomplished Ghosh (who is not only a novelist but also an Oxford-trained anthropologist) was writing for the first time. The language of colonial India was inventive, the descriptions vivid, the ideas fresh, and the characters unforgettable. I was so moved by the novel, that I can recall shedding tears when Ghosh pulled me in close to the people he had brought alive on paper, only to gently require that I let a loved one escape and make me wait some three years before the next novel’s birth. While River of Smoke had all the earnestness of a middle child trying to live up to his elder brother, it had to leave home to find its footing. This novel sparkled in its inventive ability to see all sides of the Opium War waged in China and see that globalization was alive and well long before Tom Friedman claimed that the “world is flat.” Ghosh enabled the reader to be sympathetic to Chinese mandarins, while understanding that the British had an empire to expand; this particular reader found
particular pleasure in experiencing what it must have been like for Indians finding their way on distant shores. Perhaps that’s what those in the middle do—see multiple perspectives. But Flood of Fire, the last born, although wonderful in weaving together loosely linked lives, is not nearly as inventive or earnest as its sibling novels. It’s as if Ghosh is fulfilling a parental duty, husbanding this novel to complete the Ibis trilogy; while parenthood can be a marvelous experience of giving life and shaping life, here it feels as if the father of three is spent and is going through the motions to meet a commitment (perhaps made only to himself, or perhaps made explicitly to publishers and tacitly to readers). To be sure there is completeness; by the end of the 616 pages, readers come back to some of the characters we cared about from the very first installment. But for this reader, it’s as if I was doing my wifely duty, helping to jointly raise this last child by reading every page. I am grateful to Ghosh for having written Flood of Fire. Somehow my reading life would have been incomplete without this novel. But I don’t feel transformed by it. And oddly, though all of it is in a foreign place and time, I don’t feel transported by it. Quite likely it is altogether my fault. Unlike most every other book which I have reviewed, this one has no marginalia of mine: I did not scribble notes in the white space on the top, bottom, and sides of each page; I did not draft ideas on the blank sheets in the front or back; simply put, I did not engage as I have always done. I sped through pages, making trivial comments enabled by an odd little note-taking feature of the Kindle. I felt that I was in more of a conversation with Bezos than with Ghosh. And thus I end a dissatisfying read with an equally unsatisfactory review. I must apologize to the novelist and to potential readers of the novel, for I have been neither fair nor balanced in this so-called review of Flood of Fire. But I have been honest in conveying that the medium does inform the message. n For Nirmal, Savita, and Kamlesh (RCO’s brothers and sister); and for all siblings who attempt a fair balancing act of being first born, middle born, and last born.
recipes
My Artichoke Girl By Praba Iyer
I
remember what we were wearing the first time we met. She was in a green dress and I was wearing capris with a sleeveless top. We were the two odd ones in a room full of half-saris and long skirts at the admission hall of my new high school in Coimbatore. She was tall, beautiful with big almond eyes, a bright infectious smile, and two pigtails. She and I said something together in English, our words clashing and disappearing in the loud chatter of Tamil around the room. We laughed and walked out together and she said “I am Geetha.” Little did I know the huge imprint she would leave in my heart. We took the same courses—from National Cadet Corps. to French, basketball, and track—and soon we became the inseparable duo. High school passed and we continued as college mates and roommates. Geetha was a farm girl from Ooty. She would say that her soul was in that soil. Our nutrition course in college required a paper on a vegetable of our choice. She picked artichokes and I picked mushrooms.
In those days artichokes and mushrooms were rarely used in Indian cooking. We hit up all the libraries in town for articles and books to read for research. There were many moments when we wanted to give up on the vegetables we had chosen. We considered okra and eggplant, but then we wanted to be different from the crowd. Many Friday evenings, during that time, we caught the 6 p.m. bus to Ooty on our way to her farm. Together, we picked artichokes and mushrooms to begin recipe testing. We grilled, ground, boiled, and fried, all the while discussing our lives, and longings. We had big dreams and aspirations, but destiny had other plans for her. Exactly a year ago, she left this world to permanently belong to her soil in Ooty. Here’s to my dear friend, my Artichoke Girl. n Praba Iyer is a chef instructor who teaches team-building through cooking classes and custom cooking classes in the bay area. She is a consulting chef at Kitchit (www.kitchit.com). You can reach her at praba@rocketbites.com.
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 49
At the Heart of Artichokes Chilled Artichoke Soup
This chilled soup is a hearty soup for a hot summer day.
Ode to the Artichoke
Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 3 cloves of garlic minced 1 small onion minced 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 can artichoke hearts drained and rinsed 2 cups vegetable broth 2 tbsp lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Fresh chives to garnish
The artichoke With a tender heart Dressed up like a warrior, Standing at attention, it built A small helmet Under its scales It remained Unshakeable, By its side The crazy vegetables Uncurled Their tendrils and leaf-crowns, Throbbing bulbs, In the sub-soil ...
Method Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the garlic and onions. Saute for a few minutes until translucent and then add the artichoke hearts and vegetable broth. Puree this mixture in a blender with lemon juice and add it back to the sauce pan and warm it. Remove, let it cool, check seasonings and refrigerate. If it thickens, add a little water to loosen. Serve it with sprinkles of chives.
by Pablo Neruda
Artichoke Pakoras
For the batter: ½ cup chickpea flour 1 tsp cayenne powder 1 tsp garam masala powder 1 tsp amchur (mango) powder 1 tsp cumin powder Salt to taste ¼ cup fresh cilantro stems minced Water to mix into a batter Oil for frying
Ingredients 1 can of artichoke hearts drained and rinsed
Method Mix the batter with water and set aside. Heat oil in a fryer to 350 degrees.
Artichoke soup 50 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | July 2016
Chop the artichoke hearts into half. Dip each piece in the batter and fry until it is crispy and golden in color. Remove and serve hot with chutney, ketchup or dip.
Spicy Artichoke Chutney Ingredients 1 tbsp oil 2 shallots chopped 3 garlic cloves chopped 1 jalapeno chopped 1 tomato chopped 5 -6 curry leaves Salt to taste ½ can artichoke hearts drained and rinsed For tempering: 1 tsp oil ½ tsp mustard seeds ½ tsp urad dal Curry leaves Method Heat oil in a small pan and saute the onions, garlic, jalapeno, tomato and curry leaves. Then add the artichoke hearts and sauté for a few minutes. Remove and grind the mixture to a smooth chutney. Heat oil in another pan, add the mustard seeds and once it splutters, add the urad dal and curry leaves. Remove and add it to the chutney and serve. n
Artichoke pakoras
Since 1988!
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 51
travel
In Royal Style on the Palace on Wheels By Usha Rao
H
aving had a modest wedding ceremony 25 years ago, my husband and I found a perfect romantic getaway for our anniversary, a compromise between his desire for luxury and my own ascetic leanings. We took a celebratory trip on the Palace on Wheels, the imperial train that runs through Rajasthan. Meant to be a blast from the past, this is royal nostalgia, retrofitted. After a magnificent welcome with red carpet, shehnai, fresh flower garlands, and tilak, the train left Delhi heading west. During the day, the panorama of yellow mustard fields whizzed past. Nights were reserved for longer train journeys to arrive early next morning at one of the cities on the schedule.
The author and her husband being welcomed
The Saloon Culture
Each saloon (train car) held eight tourists. Designed for two adults, the royal suite came with a bathroom, shower included. Named after Rajasthan’s cities— Bharatpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur—there were 14 saloons (compartments) in all. Stylishly decorated, they came with TV, WiFi, and two dedicated hosts. In the Bharatpur Saloon, Virendra Singh and Om Prakash, our personal genies, were dressed in Rajasthani suits, turbans, and smiles, bowing as they appeared at the click of a button. Coffee, tea, and snacks materialized in minutes, adding to our sense of luxury. Located somewhere in the middle of the train were the spa saloon (appointment only please) and the bar. Sanjay the bartender cheerfully displayed his knowledge and worldwide selection of alcohol from behind the counter. The rest of the car was furnished with ornate furniture, where guests relaxed before and after a meal. Strategically located after the bar were the Maharaja and Maharani restaurants, sandwiching a kitchen from where the chefs presented their array of delicious Indian food. Every morning, we stepped onto the red carpet and beheld a new city. Each time we were welcomed with a band, garlands, tilak, and an occasional elephant or 52 | INDIA CURRENTS |West Coast Edition | July 2016
camel ensemble.
Colorful Characters
Umesh was the coordinator and manager of our third of the train. “Gooood Morniiing Hooonorable Gueests,” Umesh would greet us every morning in his long drawl. Umesh spoke in his very own Rajasthani flavor of English. Our amalgamate English had Indian, American, British, Indian American, Indian British, French, and Belgian flavors. Umesh dressed every morning in a suit, a tie, a well-twisted mustache and a ready smile. His eyes lit up when one of us noticed the coordination of his ties—Taj Mahals for Agra, camels for Jaisalmer, and elephants for Jaipur. With gentleness to his walk and talk, he bowed his way in and out of situations, pleasant and unpleasant. One thing he could not hide was his passion and commitment 34 years into this journey. Happily taking charge of his allotted set of 35 tourists, Umesh meticulously planned our activities everyday. “Todaaaay, you will be in the Maharaani Restauraant for the 7:30 pm dinner shift,” he would say apologizing profusely if there was any deviation from the plan. With the charac-
teristic Indian tilt of the head, he left us every night with a detailed plan for the next day. “You will have some pain and some pleasure from the next activity,” I remember him saying before our camel ride in Jaisalmer, “the pain you will feel just for two days, but the pleasure you will treasure for life,” he added. He always concluded the day, with a short recap. “As you saw today honorable sirs and madams, we need three things to drive in India—a good horn, a good break and good luck.” Together with Umesh, the city tour guides added color and character to our trip. There was the well-dressed, English proficient, history major at Jodhpur; the casually clothed Agra gentleman with a water bottle held high, so we could spot him; the 20 year old who spoke in numbers; and a young man who even pulled it off with a few words of English between Hindi and vigorous gesticulations of his arms. There was the young “cycle rickshaw ornithologist” at the Bharatpur bird sanctuary who knew his birds in English and Hindi. “Cor-moo-rant” or “Jal-kaag” he said, hoping we could spot one in either language. Our parade of rickshaws must have been a spectacle for the visiting birds. Early one cold morning, armed with woolen blankets from Umesh and caps
and gloves quickly acquired from vendors, we set out in an open bus to the Ranthambore National Park. Once a hunting reserve for royalty, the animal sanctuary was abuzz with jeeps and buses. The search for a glimpse of the “fearful symmetry” of the royal tiger ensued. Our breaths held, we strained to spot stripes amidst the golden grass. Sadly, the creature remained elusive and we returned to the train with nary a glimpse. Yet I took back a sense of wonder at the bounty of peacocks that we encountered.
A Slice of History
The palace hopping happened by bus, boat, golf cart, tuktuk, and, on one occasion, an elephant. Point, click, shoot—our camera lenses absorbed the well-preserved grandeur and glory of the forts and palaces, as the guides shipped us back and forth from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The weapons that survived stand tribute to the victories won and battles lost. As we toured the zenana or women’s quarters, I could feel the agony and ecstasy of the wives and concubines of the Maharajas. Secret passages clearly demarcated the pecking order. Women were tucked away from plain sight behind exquisite architectural design. I stopped to view the world through the latticed marble screens for a vicarious moment, but quickly traded the grandeur for my unobstructed view. The site of the largest Jauhar, selfimmolation of royal women (and children), in Chittorgarh stands testimony to the screams and honor trapped within. The menfolk in the mardana, or men’s quarters, exhibited elaborate mustaches. As a commentary to the past, men with extravagant whiskers model at the museums, palaces and hotels. History is quite magnificent. Standing testament to the 18th century Raja Sawai Jai Singh’s scientific proficiency is the observatory Jantar Mantar in Jaipur. Literally meaning “calculating instrument” in Sanksrit, this astronomical wonder is an oversized work of masonry used to measure time, predict eclipses, and track planets and stars. The large hemispherical bowl in the earth—Jai Prakash— is a mirror for heavenly bodies and links planets to horoscopes. The size of the world’s largest sundial (88 feet tall), the
Jantar Mantar
Samrat Yantra, was meant for precision. With childlike excitement, we fact-checked the time shadow with our watches. A three second difference for 18th century technology was remarkable. The Jantar Mantar remains the crown jewel of our trip.
The Fond Farewell
“Tonight we have a special surprise,” declared Umesh one evening after our camel ride. “Please come in your party clothes,” he requested. We were ferried to a palace turned hotel. There, on the lawns, dinner was laid out in a colorful festive arrangement. As we dined, a Bhavai performer gracefully balanced eight earthen pots on her head while dancing on the edge of a sword. With colorful clothes, ornaments, and bracelets covering her entire forearms, she quickly enticed the audience to dance along. Generally shy, I had never felt more compelled to get up and dance at
that moment. With traditional turbans, the Manganiars (musicians) on stage captured the spirit of Rajasthan with a high pitched, haunting rendition of the folk song “Kesariyaa ...” Rajasthani women cover their heads and wear embroidered bright yellow and red clothes. Mirror work on the skirts, ornaments and large bangles covering most of their arms enhance the colors. Men don signature orange or red turbans. Even camels and elephants flaunt these colors. The historic palaces and forts have given their cities their own colors—Jaipur the pink city, Jaisalmer the yellow city, Udaipur the white city, and Jodhpur the blue city. And woven between them is a diverse landscape ranging from the orange sands of the Thar desert to dry forests, green hills, and endless patches of yellow mustard farms. In Rajasthan the land of the kings (Rajas), it seems like an eternal festival of colors. We ended our journey with a stop at the Taj Mahal. This greatest monument to love was the perfect finale to our celebration of 25 years together. The seven days and seven nights of wining, dining, dancing, laughing, talking, and sharing with people from around the world made for a memorable cultural kaleidoscope. The last meal was bustling with farewells to our newly extended family. We reserved the best and last goodbyes for those who made this a trip for our history books, the “honorable hosts”—the true wheels of this palace.n A technology entrepreneur, Usha Rao is influenced by her children’s flair for writing. She lives in Seattle and can be reached at Ushats. rao@gmail.com.
The sitting lounge on the Palace on Wheels July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 53
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Bharata Natyam Arangetram Solo Dance Debut
Anjali Patel Disciple of Guru Dr. Malini Krishnamurthi Director, Natyanjali School of Dance
On Saturday July 16th, 2016 At 5.30 pm
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60 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
Bharata Natyam Arangetram Solo Dance Debut
Harika Kalidhindi
Disciple of Guru Dr. Malini Krishnamurthi Director, Natyanjali School of Dance
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On Saturday July 23rd 2016 At 5.00 pm
Attendance by Invitation Only For more information call Raju Kalidhindi at 626-536-8995 Info@Natyanjali.org
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 61
Natyanjali School of Dance
Sri Ram Presents
A Bharata Natyam Dance performance by the students of Dr. Malini Krishnamurthi. At the Clarke Theater, Mt SAC 1100 N. Grand Ave, Walnut Ca 91789
On Saturday July 30th, at 5pm In Aid of Akshaya Patra Tickets: $50, $30, $20 All seats reserved. www.sulekha.com/sriram
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Orchestra: Nattuvangam Vocal Mridangam Violin
– Dr. Malini Krishnamurthi – Akshay Padmanabhan – Mysore Shivu – Satish Kumar
Anjali Patel
Harika Kalidhindi
Packaged Dinner will be available for a donation of $10. For Info Call Vasanthi Sridhar 909-720-3202 www.IndianDanceSteps.com | www.Natyanjali.org | Info@Natyanjali.org
62 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
perspective
In the Holy Womb of the Siddhivinayak Temple By Vyoma Hadkar
O
ne fine day, I realised I hadn’t been to Siddhivinayak, a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh in Mumbai, ever since I had come home from the United States. And thus began a tryst with holy destiny. On a day that I awoke to the thick aroma of buffalo’s milk that clawed its way into every corner of the house, my father, mother and I set out on our journey . Since I was a “US-return,” my father insisted that we take a taxi. It was an indication that our status had risen. Our taxiwala uncle was a Muslim, judging by his beautiful and intricate, small, round cap. I asked him, “Siddhivinayak?” He nodded and asked us to sit inside. Dad took the front seat while mom and I sat at the back. The morning held purpose, especially for Dad, as he had skipped his morning puja, thinking the visit to Siddhivinayak surmounted his daily ritual. When we arrived at the temple gates, I noticed how men and women were ushered into separate lines. The men’s queue had access to the bag scanner while the women’s didn’t. I had to walk towards the men’s section and place my Michael Kors very carefully on the scanner. As I was frisked, I saw my parents not paying much heed to the security routine. Siddhivinayak has real gold domes, so I suppose the security had to be strict. As we removed our slippers at a stall and picked up a plate of flowers for the deity, I realized that in the many years I’d lived in Mumbai, I had never questioned the honesty of the man who kept watch on my slippers before I stepped into the holy temple. Nowhere in the world would I show this kind of blind faith. But with this man, my trust came easily. It was an unsaid pact that had probably begun during the 2006 floods. During that time of upheaval, I had been proud to be a Mumbaikar. Mumbaikars hadn’t taken advantage of the floods to loot one’s neighbor. And with that thought, I walked towards the long lines. As the three of us walked between two metal rods that guided our way to the
deity, the women were diverted toward a shortcut within the temple. Dad, quietly joined the longer queue. I felt a bit disappointed about the separation. Since I came back from the United States, I’ve had a bit of trouble adjusting to the way things are done in India. I remember taking the Metro train from the Union station in Los Angeles and keeping in mind the one and only rule that those in the train were to alight first. I let the thought drift and joined the hordes of ladies waiting to get into the “womb” where the Lord resided. As I marveled at the ladies who wore saris in the unbelievable heat of Mumbai, my mom started her tirade about paying our respects from the outside instead of inside the sanctum sanctorum. It was because i) she was drenched in pearls of sweat and ii) she was being pushed into the row of ladies at the front. The scene looked like a crowd of football fans getting crushed and as I stretched on my toes, the view from the top looked like a human wave. I took the plate of flowers from my mother’s hands, as she wobbled forward. The smell of coconut oil pervaded the air. I noticed that all of a sudden a lady appeared out of nowhere and displaced my mother from her original place in front of me to somewhere behind me. I looked back and saw my frail mother smiling at me valiantly. Fury raged within me for the woman who had acted with such aggression in this most sacred place of worship. I moved back and placed myself right behind my mother so that I could protect her.
Finally when we were let into the inner sanctum, pandemonium ensued. Women pushed each other, and the plates rose fiercely in the air, precariously held aloft. (If the plates fell, it would be unfit for God.) I saw Mom quickly put her hands together and pray quickly and hard. Then she rushed out of the sanctum. I stretched out my hand so that one of the pundits would take my gift and offer it to the Lord. I could feel my neck sprain, and my arm twist as I extended my offering. In that instant, I saw the red-colored Ganesha with dark black eyes take notice of me. In a matter of seconds, the pundit stretched his arm with a face that winced and eyebrows that knitted together, and just in the way Adam and God’s fingers met in the Michelangelo painting in the Sistine Chapel, my gift was accepted. I came out of the womb, victorious. When Dad arrived, Mom narrated our experience and made him promise to never enter the sanctum again, because i) it made more sense to watch the Lord from the television outside the womb and ii) they were not young anymore. When we finally sat in a taxi, I smiled at the secularism of our country as we rode back home with another Muslim uncle wearing an intricately designed, white, round cap chattering with Dad about corrupt politicians. n Vyoma Hadkar is an advertising professional and an alumni of MICA, India. She experiments with food, makes great travel plans, ruminates in haiku, dabbles in calligraphy and is a lover of art and museums.
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 63
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School of South Indian Music
Viji Prakash Founder/Director
Shakti School of Bharata Natyam
Offering Individual & Group Classes in • VEENA • VOCAL • KEYBOARD • THEORY
“dance is the song of the soul”
Class Locations: NORWALK and ARTESIA For enrollment and information contact:
Classes in West Los Angeles, Torrance, Cerritos, Orange/Irvine, Woodland Hills
Vasantha K. Batchu, M.A.
www.shaktibharatanatyam.com
Sangeeta Vidwan
info@shaktibharatanatyam.com
Phone: (562) 924-2294
KALANJALI Dances of India Establshed in 1975
CLASSES IN BHARATANATYAM
“Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.” Picasso
India's most ancient classical dance
Following traditional Kalakshetra syllabus - all levels
SACRAMENTO, LAFAYETTE, BERKELEY
Arpana School of Dance
Registration and Information:
www. danceramya.com (949) 874-3662
510-526-2183
Kalanjaliusa@aol.com
ACADEMY OF KATHAK DANCE Classes offered at La Habra Heights, Whittier, Cerritos, Yorba Linda ( Classes can potentially be offered in your area - inquiries welcome)
Visiting Artist and Teacher Abhay Shankar Mishra Aarti Manek
Head of Kathak Department (Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, London, UK)
Contact: 1.714.595.3735 1.714.299.3525 shankaradance@gmail.com www.shankaradance.com
Bharata Natyam Folk Dances Classes: Duarte,Cerritos, Riverside,Chino Hills
Paulomi Pandit Recipient of Post Diploma from
Kalakshetra, India paulomi@rangashree.com www.rangashree.com
626-590-5547 July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 65
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music
Musical Ballot Boxes How music adds to a political candidate’s brand
70 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
comprise the young at heart, idealists, and romantics, the kind of people Sanders is credited to have attracted the attention of.
2015 had Bihar listening to “Phir Se Nitishe” (Nitish, Again) sung by popular Bollywood singer Neeti Mohan and “Iss baar BJP, ek baar BJP” sung by Bhojpuri
Ushering in Politics
well known singer Manoj Tiwari. 2013 had Prime Minister Narendra Modi featured in a song that said NaMo is the Maha Nayak (greatest protagonist), while the Congress was humming along to “Sab Ki Yahi Pukar, Congress iss baar” (Everybody’s calling for Congress). But the most revolutionary election song in South Asia has got to be the 1988 PPP’s (Pakistan People’s Party) “Dila Teer Bija … Jiye, Jiye Bhutto Benazir.” It was iconic because it unleashed melody publicly on the Pakistani masses after Islamization had virtually wiped out social music from making a public appearance; it was the promise of democracy after a long time; it heralded the return of hope to a region with the face of a popular icon; it got the masses in and around Pakistan to its feet. The music was catchy; still is.
kompasiana.com, youtube.com, itunes.apple.com
D
uring an election season, anywhere in the world, candidates need an image: to be likeable, and reliable; a platform: explicating stances on issues; a base: of people who donate, vote, support, and work for the candidate; and to add to this list of musts (at least in most parts of the world)—music. Music is as personal to the candidate as a base, with as much mass outreach potential as an image. It instantly builds a sonic brand; announces and identifies the candidate. It can be as controversial as the platform, with the power to damage an image. This was evidenced by the Trump campaign, when R.E.M. (for “The End of the World”), Adele (for “Skyfall” and “Rolling in the Deep”), and Aerosmith (for “Dream On”) were among those that cease-desisted their songs from being played at Trump rallies. Before she stepped on stage to give her presumptive-candidate speech on Super Tuesday II (June 7), Hillary Clinton had Sara Bareilles’ “Brave” broadcasting her message. She apparently spent a few thousand dollars for a Portland music agency to come up with an official playlist. Lyrics play as much of a role in the selection as the mood. Also implicit in the selection is that the musician supports the candidate; broadening the base and/or appeal. Neil Young and Art Garfunkel had no problems, for example, with Bernie Sanders playing the respective “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “America.” Their fan bases
By Priya Das
Music has made ballot boxes sing the world over. India heard music of the original kind in recent elections. Assam ushered in BJP to the tune of Zubeen Garg’s song saying that “Assam’s joy is everybody’s joy,” the last two words being a play on the candidate’s name, Sarvananda. Tamil Nadu had an election anthem that urged citizens to vote, “Our freedom fighters fought for our right to vote. Let’s vote, it’s our duty.” A trendy Tamil pop song by Put Chutney and Culture Machine urged the electorate to vote NOTA (None of the Above) if they’re disillusioned by mainstream candidates/parties. Trinamool Congress had Anupam Roy composing for Mamta Bannerjee in Bengali, “It’s been five years of great change in West Bengal; Mother, Earth, and Man have flourished.”
“Let’s ask Ram about it!” is the start of a flirty Q&A sponsored by Nepal’s Election Commission and Democracy and Election Watch, which regularly employs Lok Dohori (Street/People Musical Performance) to coax the uninitiated population into the voting process. This video has four men and four women dressed in folkwear and featuring voter registration how-to. As is characteristic of most folk tunes, the rhythm has your head nodding in no time.
Rocking Indonesia
The most “rocking” note was in Indonesia. Current Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) 2014 election can be partially attributed to his musical campaign, a precursor of which was the success of his 2012 Governorship campaign music video. Jokowi’s volunteers had created a parody of One Direction’s “What makes You Beautiful” that lamented Jakarta’s state of bureaucracy, the reason to elect him, of course. The Youtube video shows a twenty-something getting out of bed in a panic because he has to update his ID card. The panic grows as he is held up by traffic and then long queues at a government office; at long last, an official comes out to announce it’ll take years. Conclusion: Jokowi is the need of the hour! Inside, Indonesia has reported that even musicians Sting and Jason Mraz and rock group Arkarna encouraged Indonesian voters to support democracy and get behind Jokowi in 2014. Jokowi’s rival Prabowo Subianto tried to make music campaigning history by featuring a popular rock icon called Ahmad Dhani. However, it spectacularly backfired, as it had Nazi-looking imagery and tones, completely annihilating the spirit of the song it was based on—Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” It was no competition for Jokowi’s captivating music-video and a sold-out open-air concert attended by tens of thousands, featuring a rapper called Kill the DJ and a crowd shouting and holding up two-fingered salutes—Salam Dua Jari. #2 was Jokowi’s number on the ballot and it made music for him. n Priya Das is an enthusiastic follower of world music and avidly tracks intersecting points between folk, classical, jazz and other genres.
relationship diva
Five Ways Men Can Get Over Fear of Rejection By Jasbina Ahluwalia
N
o one likes feeling rejected by another person, it creates feelings of anxiety and sadness. For men, rejection can affect how they feel about themselves as men and could take a toll on their self-confidence. Therefore, many times men refuse to approach a woman they find attractive or want to get to know. This is unfortunate, since they may be missing out on a wonderful opportunity to create a loving and fulfilling relationship. That being said, there are ways men can mitigate this fear of rejection. i) Tell yourself: It’s not you, it’s her. She may not be interested in getting to know you for a variety of reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with you. For instance: she’s already seeing someone, not interested in dating anyone, or maybe she just had a horrible day at work. Whatever the reason, her turning down your attempt at flirting may have very little to do with you personally. ii) Fear is far worse than reality. When you see a woman that you may be interested in dating, approach her immediately. If you wait too long, fear will set in and you’ll drum up all kinds of excuses to not approach her. iii) Rejection happens to every man. You are not alone. Every man who has attempted flirting has been rejected at
some point. It does not matter how handsome, wealthy, or witty he may be. iv) Don’t base your self-worth on others’ perceptions. As much as rejection can hurt, keep in mind that this person doesn’t know the real you. When a woman is approached by a man, if she is interested in dating him she has to make a snap decision based on little information. v) Learn to dread regret instead of rejection. A powerful practice to adopt is to consider the risk of regret more so than the risk of rejection. Think to yourself: how much will I regret not talking to her later? We lose every shot we don’t take; and we tend to regret the actions we don’t have the courage to execure more than those that we do. Don’t allow the fear of rejection to paralyze you. Have faith in the knowledge that you’re worth getting to know. n
Jasbina is the founder and president of Intersections Match, the only personalized matchmaking and dating coaching firm serving singles of South Asian descent in the United States. She is also the host of Intersections Talk Radio. Jasbina@intersectionsmatch. com.
VISHWA SHANTHI DANCE ACADEMY Bharatanatyam Arangretram of
SKANDA SURESH Son & Disciple of Shreelata Suresh With Guru V. Krishnamoorthi, Harini Krishnan, Shanthi and N. Narayanan
Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 5-6:30 p.m.
Theater at College of San Mateo,1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402
ALL ARE WELCOME If possible rsvp at http://evite.me/XyafqGEdJt www.vishwashanthi.org;
650-248-3269 July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 71
72 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
dance . music
BharathaKala Kutiram Artistic Director:
Jayanthi Sridharan offers Bharathanatyam Classes in North San Jose
Call: (408) 251-3438 e-mail: bkkdanceschool@gmail.com
Private Lessons ALL AGES & LEVELS
MUSIC Lessons with Peter Block
ENGLISH Lessons with Sita
and Adults
• Saxophone, Guitar, Flute, Clarinet Writing, reading & speaking skills • Classical, Jazz & Pop styles • Prepare for high school and college • Includes comprehensive program of playing, • Word choice, vocabulary, grammar, diction rhythm & ear training, theory, recitals, etc. • Essay, academic & creative writing • Qualify for local youth symphonies, wind ensembles, jazz bands, & college music. Peter: (408)
839-2476
1/2 or Full Hour Lessons
music_lessons@comcast.net
Sita: (408)
253-1051
s_tyar@comcast.net
Vocal Music Classes By DR
MOUSOOMI BANERJI
(disciple of late Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan) * Teacher of repute and artiste having numerous stage and TV shows. * Elementary lessons for beginners in Indian Classical Music (Hindusthani style) and Light Classical Music - including bhajan, ghazal, etc.
* Special lessons in Bangla Gaan - (Bengali) ClassesseIn, San Jo Puraatani, Tappa, Nazrulgeeti, Sunnyvale ra Atulprosad, Raagprodhan, etc. & Santa Cla mousumi_999@yahoo.com Contact: (408) 799-1102 • (408) 823-3918 mousumi.banerji@gmail.com
Bansuri Bamboo Flute
Jeff Whittier
• Flutes of the Highest Quality • Lessons in North Indian Music in Palo Alto & Fremont • Video Instructions Available • Light Classical Music for Indian Weddings
(650) 493-2187
E-mail: Bansijeff@aol.com
Director:
Srividya Eashwar 10th Year of Artistic Excellence Classes offered in a combination of styles including Folk, Semi-Classical, and Fusion at various locations in Cupertino and San Jose. CONTACT INFORMATION
408-246-3005 / 408-838-3079 Email: vidyasdance@gmail.com Web: www.xpressionsdancemusic.com July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 73
events JULY
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! AUGUST issue deadline: Wednesday, July 20 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and click on List Your Event
Check us out on
special dates U.S. Independence Day
July 4
Eid ul Fitr
July 5
Guru Purnima
July 19
Rath Yatra
Aug. 14
Indian Independence Day Aug. 15
CULTURAL CALENDER
July
2 Saturday
Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent. This presentation is the
first in North America to celebrate the diversity of South Asian art by examining the relationship between aesthetic expression and the devotional practice in the three native religions of the Indian subcontinent of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Ends Aug. 28. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St, Santa Barbara. www.sbma.net.
Bharatanatya Arangetram of Thar74 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
Ajoy Chakrabarty in Concert, August 10 in Bellflower
shana Prakash. Student of the late KP Kunhiraman and Katherine Kunhiraman, Artistic Directors and Founders of Kalanjali. Organized by Kalanjali. 2 p.m. Del Valle Theater, 1963 Tice Blvd., Walnut Creek. Free. (510) 526-2183. kkunhiraman@aol.com. kalanjalidancesofindia.com. Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Shanaya Mullan. Student of Sundara
Swaminathan, Artistic Director, Kala Vandana Dance Company. Accompanied by musicians from Chennai. Organized
by Kala Vandana Dance Company. 4 p.m. Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. Free. www. kalavandana.org, www.facebook.com/kalavandana.
Art of Excellence and Bliss—A Unique Ensemble of Odissi and Folk Dance. The Adruta Home has
been taking in orphaned and deserted girls from Odisha state since 1998. Relying on the kindness of strangers and government grants, the Home provides
events
What’s hot this month
MUSIC In keeping with the tradition of charity concerts held by M.S. Subbulakshmi for the benefit of several of those in need, Sankara Nethralaya is conducting a charity concert in honor of her birth centenary. Asha Ramesh performs in a commemorative concert, accompanied by artists Jay Shankar Balan on the violin and Vignesh Venkataraman on the mridangam. Asha Ramesh is a well-known Karnatik vocalist has trained under renowned gurus and feels a deep understanding of the magic of M.S. Subbulakshmi. At the time that she grew up in India, the musical renderings by M.S. Subbulakshmi were filled with devotional fervor and permeated the minds of audience members and young students alike. One of the distinguishing characteristics of M.S. Subbulakshmi’s music was her bhava-laden singing and Asha Ramesh is known for the depth of devotional feeling in her musical renderings. As part of the centenary celebrations Sankara Nethralaya is planning to perform over 2000 free eye surgeries in India, with each surgery estimated
M. S. Subbulakshmi
to cost $65. Free eye surgeries, and eye care camps in rural areas have been part of their avowed mission. In partnership with IIT, the organization has established mobile double decker buses fitted with surgical units, to transport medical technical units to rural populations. In a telling
statistic that speaks to its mission, onethird of over 50,000 surgeries performed in 2015 were free. n July, 10. 4 p.m. CET Soto Theater, 701 Vine St., San Jose. Free (donations will be collected to support Sankara Nethralaya). www. sankaranethralayausa.org.
ART Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent
This exhibition celebrates the complexity of South Asian representation and iconography by examining the relationship between aesthetic expression and the devotional practice, or puja, in the three native religions of the Indian subcontinent. Drawn from SBMA’s collection and augmented by loans, the exhibition presents some 160 objects of diverse medium created over the past two millennia for temples, home worship, festivals, and roadside shrines. From monumental painted temple hangings to meditation diagrams and portable pictures for
pilgrims, from stone sculptures to processional bronzes and wooden chariots, from ancient terracottas to various devotional objects for domestic shrines, this exhibition aims to examine and provide contextualized insights for both classical and popular works of art. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring an introduction by
the eminent art historian and curator Pratapaditya Pal, and accessible essays on each religious tradition by John E. Cort, Stephen P. Huyler, and Christian Luczanits. n Through August 28. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St, Santa Barbara. www.sbma.net. July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 75
events not just shelter and education to these girls, but also nurtures them lovingly through art, dance, poetry and music. 4 p.m. Cubberley Theater, 4000 MIddlefield Road, Palo Alto. $50, $25, $20. (510) 9102823. reenaprao@gmail.com. w ww.adruta. eventbrite.com.
July
3 Sunday
Folkfest—Regional Folk Dances of India. A glimpse into the festivities and
folk dance traditions from all regions of India. From the far-east of India with a tribal Naga dance to the far south of India to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and more, with their traditional folk dances. Presented by Sundara Swaminathan, Artistic Director of Kala Vandana Dance Company. Accompanied by live orchestra from Chennai. Organized by Kala Vandana Dance Company. 4 p.m. Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose . General $20, reserved $30, sponsor $50. www.kalavandana.org, www.facebook.com/ kalavandana.
July
5 Tuesday
Chaand Raat 2016. A fun and festive celebration of Eid in all its glory. Eid Shopping, Live DJ music, sumptuous food and iftari menu, mehndi, churiyan, friends, fun, and frolic. Organized by Galleria Shows. 6:30 p.m.-12 a.m. Mehran Restaurant and Catering, 5774 Mowry School Road., Newark. galleriashows@gmail. com.
July
8 Friday
Oye Oye—TGIF Bollywood Party. Social and happy hour, ultra lounge with led screens, laser and disco lights, dancing. Meet and greet with Nargis Fakhri. Organized by Bay Area Desi Party. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas. sulekha.com/oye, eventcombo.com/ oye, tickethungama.com/oye.
July
9 Saturday
76 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Ranga Puja of Deepa Biswokarma.
Student of Jyoti Rout, Artistic Director of Jyoti Kala Mandir. Organized by Lisa Pious and Stefan Milnor. 4 p.m. Woodside Performing Arts Center, 199 Churchill Ave., Woodside. (510) 684-3823. deepa@minor. net. www.jyotikalamandir.org.
Antara Asthaayi—Tale of a Kathaka. Through rhythm, music, and spoken
word-Antara Bhardwaj brings to life the ancient story-telling dance form of kathak from North India. Kathakas were storytellers that traveled from village-to-village, sharing tales from the ancient epics through dance, music, and mime. Bhardwaj weaves a tale of what it means to be a story-teller in modern times through her fiery footwork, swift pirouettes, and vibrant musicality. 6 p.m. MVCPA MainStage, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. $23$103. (650) 903-6000. tickets.mvcpa.com.
July
10 Saturday
Hindustani Vocal Solo Concert by Anjana Chandran. Student of Sujata
Ghanekar. Accompanied by Vivek Datar (harmonium) and Ravi Gutala (tabla). Chief Guest Arati Ankalikar Tikekar from Pune. 4 p.m. Jackson Theater, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont. Free. anjanasolo2016@gmail.com.
Celebrate the Birth Centenary of M.S. Subbulakshmi. With a commem-
orative concert by Jay Shankar Balan (violin), Asha Ramesh (vocal) and Vignesh Venkatraman (mridangam). Organized by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai and Sankara Nethralaya Om Trust, Maryland. 4 p.m. CET Soto Theater, 701 Vine St., San Jose. Free. www.sankaranethralayausa.org.
July
12 Tuesday
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of
Antara Asthaayi, July 9 in Mountain View
these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health. 5:30-7 p.m. Berryessa Library, 3355 Noble Ave., San Jose . Free. (408) 472-9705. www. classical-ayurveda.com.
July
13 Wednesday
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health. 1:30-3 p.m. Tully Library, 880 Tully Road, San Jose . Free. (408) 472-9705. www. classical-ayurveda.com.
July
16 Saturday
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events 6-7:30 p.m. Evergreen Library, 2635 Aborn Road, San Jose . Free. (408) 472-9705. www.classical-ayurveda.com.
July
23 Saturday
Bharatnatyam Arangetram of Harika Kalidhindi. Student of Malini
Krishnamurthi, Artistic Director of Natyanjali School of Dance. 5 p.m. Attendance by invitation only. (626) 322-7092. natyanjali.org.
Sunidhi Chauhan and Ayushman Khurana live in concert, July 17 in San Jose
these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health. 2-3:30 p.m. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 150 E. San Fernando St., San Jose . Free. (408) 472-9705. www.classicalayurveda.com.
Veena Duet. Guhan Venkataraman and
Arthi Nadhan on the veena. Accompanied by Vignesh Venkataraman and Athrey Nadhan on the mridangam. Organized by SR Fine Arts. 2:15-4:45 p.m. Community Of Infinite Spirit, 1540 Hick’s Ave., San Jose. Free. (408) 569-0860. dirsrfa@gmail. com. www.srfinearts.info.
Hindustani Classical Raga Concert.
Devotional songs and music with vocalists Sandhya Shankar and Amrita Rao. Organized by Sangeet Dhwani. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 North First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. pradjoshi@gmail. com, Balajitemple1@gmail.com.
Bharatnatyam Arangetram of Anjali Patel. Student of Malini Krish-
namurthi, Artistic Director of Natyanjali School of Dance. 5:30 p.m. Attendance by invitation only. (626) 322-7092. natyanjali. org.
An Evening of Karnatik Music.
Performances by Aditya Prakash (vocal), Rohan Kirshnamurthy (mridangam) and Shiva Ramamurthi (violin). 7:30 p.m. Ali Akbar College of Music, 215 West End Ave., San Rafael. Reserved: General $25, students/ members/seniors $20; At the door: General $20, students/members/seniors $15. (415) 454-6372. office@aacm.org. www.aacm.org.
July
17 Sunday
Sunidhi Chauhan and Ayushman Khurana Live in Concert. Organized
by Instant Karma,Hemant Dhingra Daya Sumitra Educational Society Inc, Shor Media and Cal Coast Financial Corp. 6:30 p.m. San Jose Civic Center, 135 W San Carlos St, San Jose. $39-$750. (408) 579-9426. instantKarmaOnline.com.
July
21 Thursday
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health.
Kathak and Violin Concert. A unique collaboration of kathak and violin featuring Labonee Mohanta and violinist Indradeep Ghosh. The concert will also feature a violin solo. Organized by Basant Bahar. 5 p.m. Jain Temple Auditorium, 722 S Main St., Milpitas. $30 general, Basant Bahar members, free. www. basantbahar.org, surinderc@gmail.com. Odishi Rangapuja of Sarika Pradhan. Student of Jyoti Rout, Artistic
Director of Jyoti Kala Mandir. 4 p.m. San Leandro High School, 2200 Bancroft Ave., San Leandro. www.jyotikalamandir.org.
July
24 Sunday
An Introduction To Ayurveda.
Background information on the different complementary modalities and how they differ from conventional medicine. The presentation will include steps to determine the constitution of an individual and how it can be disrupted by environmental factors and also by our own lifestyle and diet. The presentation will conclude with an explanation of how imbalances occur and how they can be rectified. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Sai Datta Sai Temple and Cultural Center, 1901 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon . (925) 854-8111, (925) 820-1402, (650) 390-9401. gopal.lata@ gmail.com, obmdgyn@gmail.com. www. tirungopal.com.
July
26 Saturday
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 77
events
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Performance. By students of Malini Krishnamurthi, Artistic Director of Natyanjali School of Dance. In aid of Akshaya Patra, with a live orchestra, Malini Krishnamurthi (nattuvangam), Akshay Padmanbhan (vocal), Mysore Shivu (mridangam), and Satish Kumar (violin). Organized by Natyanjali School of Dance. 5 p.m. Clarke Theater, Mt SAC, 1100 N. Grand Ave., Walnut. $20, $30, $50. (909) 720-3202. www.sulekha.com/sriram, info@ Natyanjali.org, www.natyajali.org.
July
31 Sunday
Bharatnatyam Arangetram of Varsha Raghavan. Student of Mythili
Kumar, Artistic Director, Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose. Organized by Abhinaya Dance Company. 4-7 p.m. Mission City Center for Performing Arts, 3250 Monroe St., Santa Clara . Free. (408) 871-5959. abdanceco@gmail.com. abhinaya.org. Bharatanatyam arangretram of Skanda Suresh, August 6 in San Mateo
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health. 5:30-7 p.m. Edenvale Library, 101 Branham Lane E, San Jose . Free. (408) 472-9705. www.classical-ayurveda.com.
July
30 Saturday
What’s Done is Done—Classic Broadway Drama. Featuring Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ranveer Shourie and Kalki. Organized by Bollywood Events. 7 p.m. Fox Theater Redwood City, 2215 Broadway, Redwood City. events.sulekha. com.
Sri Ram—A Bharatanatyam Dance 78 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
August
6 Saturday
Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Skanda Suresh. Son and student of
Shreelata Suresh, Artistic Director of Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy. Accompanied by V. Krishnamoorthi, Harini Krishnan, Shanthi and N. Narayanan. 5-6:30 p.m. Theater at College of San Mateo, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo. Free. (650) 248-3269. www.vishwashanthi. org.
August
10 Sunday
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.
A talk on ayurveda by Ashok Jethanandani. Have your blood glucose levels been creeping up in your annual tests? Are your triglycerides elevated? Have you added inches of fat around your waist? All of these may be clues to the same metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected by addressing the underlying causes. We will discuss dietary choices that can reverse the progression, and ayurvedic herbal medicines that help restore balance of health. 6-7:30 p.m. Joyce Ellington Library, 491 E.
Empire St., San Jose . Free. (408) 472-9705. www.classical-ayurveda.com.
Ajoy Chakrabarty in Concert. A
scion and doyen of the Patiala-Kasur Gharana (style), primarily representing Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Barkat Ali Khan sahibs gayak. He will be accompanied by musicians from India. Organized by Dakshini Bengali Association of California. 2-5 p.m. William and Jane Bristol Civic Auditorium, 16600 Civic Center Drive,. Bellflower. $100, $50, $30 (Includes admission, tea, light snacks at interval, and dinner). (714) 483-0853, (562) 704-2720, (323) 610-2620. bidhanray@yahoo.com, sampurnadube@gmail.com, subharoop@gmail.com. www.dakshini.org.
August
13 Saturday
An Evening of Classical Ragas.
Featuring Lyon Leifer (flute), Joita Bose Mandal (vocal) and Apurva Mandal (vocal) , accompanied by Gopal Marathe (harmonium), Debasish Chaudhuri and Jyoti Prakas on tabla. Organized by Kamalanjali Jayanti Sangeet Samaroh and Los Angeles Sangeet Sankalp. 5:30 p.m. George Nakano Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive., Torrance . RSVP required. (314) 520-8831, (314) 277-5795. joitabosemandal@gmail.com.
August
14 Sunday
Bharathanatyam Arangetram of Prathibha Kattirasetty. Student of
Anushya Rajendra, Artistic Director of Nritta School of Dance. Accompanied by Babu Parameswaran and his crew from Keerthana School of Music. Organized by Nritta School of Dance, Elk Grove. 3 p.m. Richards Brunelle Performance Hall, Davis Sr. High School, 315 W 14th St., Davis. Free. (408) 229-2691. pshettyarangetram@ yahoo.com. nrittadance.org. © Copyright 201 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 79
SPIRITUALITY & HEALTH
July
1 Friday
Meditation. Self-inquiry meditation
instruction by Nome, silent meditation, dialogues. 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/calendar/, satramana. org/web/events/meditation/.
July
2 Saturday
Get Happy Bay Area—A One Day Immersive Experience. Discover “the
how” of lasting happiness, and watch stress and frustration melt away. With Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and expert Art of Living teachers, you’ll experience Sudarshan Kriya meditation and yoga. Organized by Art of Living. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Hilton Union Square, Continental Ballroom, 333 O’Farrell St., San Francisco. $95. www. artofliving.org/us-en/gethappy.
July
3 Sunday
Kriya Yoga: The Spiritual Science of God-Realization. Sunday Service.
In NorCal— SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times. In SoCal—Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www. yogananda-srf.org.
Sri Akhanda Ramayana (Sri Ramacharita Manasa) of Goswami Tulsida. Singing of the qualities of Sri 80 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
Rama,Sita, Laxmana,Shatrugna, Hanuman and all the illustrious characters in the Ramayana, illustrates the triumph of Good over Evil, and portrays the exemplary personalities as role models. All accommodations provided during the 28 hours. Ends July 4. 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www. badarikashrama.org.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse and
dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. Recitation in Sanskrit and English of Vedantic texts. Recitation of Tamil Ribhu Gita, followed by prasad, and puja to Lord Siva and Sri Ramana. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz . Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@ cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/calendar/.
July
6 Wednesday
Atmotsava. Meditation, readings by Nome from devotional texts, chanting of stotrams, bhajans, learning to recite in Sanskrit and Tamil followed by prasad. 7:30-10 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/ web/events/atmotsava/, satramana.org/web/ bhagavan-sri-ramana-maharshi/, satramana. org/web/sat-temple/sri-sadisvara-mandiram/.
July
8 Friday
Mahalakshmi Abhishekam. Organized by Balaji Matha Temple. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www.balajitemple.net. Ribhu Gita. Silent meditation, reading
and commentary by Nome from the book, Ribhu Gita. 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/calendar/, satramana.org/ web/events/boundless-wisdom/.
July
9 Saturday
Get Happy Los Angeles—A Three Day Immersive Experience. Discover
“the how” of lasting happiness, and watch stress and frustration melt away. With Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and expert Art of Living teachers, you’ll experience Sudarshan Kriya meditation and yoga. Ends July 11. Organized by Art of Living. Art of Living Center, 948 West Adams Blvd, Los Angeles. $95. www.artofliving.org/us-en/GetHappyLA.
Balaji Abhishekam. Organized by Balaji Matha Temple. 5-7 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www. balajitemple.net.
July
10 Sunday
The Source of Lasting Hapiness.
Sunday Service.In NorCal— SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yoganandasrf.org. Contact temples for times. In SoCal—Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse
and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. Recitation in Sanskrit and English of Vedantic texts. Recitation of Tamil Ribhu Gita, followed by prasad, and puja to Lord Siva and Sri Ramana. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/ web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/ events/calendar/.
Sri Durga Homa and Music. Followed by Mahaprasad. 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
Lecture on Inflammatory Body, Calm Mind: The Role of the Mind and Breath in Living with Physical Ailments. Practice breathing meditation
together with Connie Hills. 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. culturalintegrationfellowship.org.
Shiva Sutras—The Supreme Awakening. Satsang with Swami Shri
Anubhavananda Ji Saraswati. Ends July 17. Organized by Vedant Group. 6-8 p.m. Sai Datta Sai Temple and Cultural Center, 1901 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon. Free. (408) 257-4988. www.behappyinc.org.
July
11 Monday
Yoga Vasistha—The Art of Self Realization. With Swami Shri Anubhavana-
nda Ji Saraswati. Ends July 15. Organized by Vedanta Group. 7-8:30 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 North First St., San Jose. Free. (408) 257-4988. pramod@modaks. com. www.behappyinc.org, www.youtube.com/user/smilingswami.
July
13 Wednesday
Atmotsava. Meditation, readings by Nome from devotional texts, chanting of stotrams, bhajans, learning to recite in Sanskrit and Tamil followed by prasad. 7:30-10 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana. org/web/events/atmotsava/, satramana. org/web/bhagavan-sri-ramana-maharshi/, satramana.org/web/sat-temple/sri-sadisvaramandiram/.
July
15 Friday
Ashada Ekadasi Panduranga Abhishekam. Organized by Balaji Matha
Temple. 6-8:30 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www.balajitemple.net.
Meditation. Self-inquiry meditation instruction by Nome, silent meditation, dialogues. 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free.
(831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/calendar/, satramana. org/web/events/meditation/.
July
17 Sunday
The Spiritual Art of Getting Along Wit Others. Sunday Service.In Nor-
Cal— SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times. In SoCal—Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
Gurupurnima Celebration. Will include Sri Gurupuja and Sri Satyanarayana Swami puja and katha. 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@ pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
July
19 Tuesday
Purnima Celebration with Sri Ramakrishna Puja. Gurupurnima
celebration continues on the full moon with worship of Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Satyanarayana Swami Puja will be performed. 6:30-9 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www. badarikashrama.org.
Guru Purnima. Meditation, readings by Nome, puja to Sri Ramana Maharshi and Lord Siva with devotional singing of bhajans, followed by prasad. 7:30-10 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth, 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/ festivals/guru-purnima/.
July
22 Friday
Ramana Darshanam. Silent medita-
tion, reading and commentary by Nome from the book. Talk with Sri Ramana Maharshi. 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/calendar/, satramana. org/web/events/ramana-darshanam/.
Sanata Hara Chaturthi Ganesha Pooja. Organized by Balaji Matha
Temple. 8:30 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www.balajitemple.net.
July
24 Sunday
What is the Soul? Sunday Service.In NorCal— SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Berkeley Temple, 3201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 984-0084. www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times. In SoCal—Lake Shrine Temple and Retreat, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-4114. Hollywood Temple, 4860 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-8006. Glendale Temple, 2146 East Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale. (818) 543-0800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org. Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse
and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. Recitation in Sanskrit and English of Vedantic texts. Recitation of Tamil Ribhu Gita, followed by prasad, and puja to Lord Siva and Sri Ramana. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio. com. satramana.org/web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/calendar/.
Sri Bhagavad Gita Talk and Kirtan by Suman and Sargam Shah. 11 a.m.-
1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444.
July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 81
badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama. org.
July
27 Wednesday
Atmotsava. Meditation, readings by
Nome from devotional texts, chanting of stotrams, bhajans, learning to recite in Sanskrit and Tamil followed by prasad. 7:30-10 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio. com. satramana.org/web/events/atmotsava/, satramana.org/web/bhagavan-sri-ramanamaharshi/, satramana.org/web/sat-temple/ sri-sadisvara-mandiram/.
July
29 Friday
Meditation. Self-inquiry meditation instruction by Nome, silent meditation, dialogues. 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@ cruzio.com. satramana.org/web/events/calendar/, satramana.org/web/events/meditation/.
July
30 Saturday
Sundar Khand and 108 times Hanuman Chalisa. Organized by Balaji
Matha Temple. 5-7 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www.balajitemple.net.
July
31 Sunday
How Devotion Reveals the Invisible God. Sunday Service.In NorCal—
www.yogananda-srf.org. Contact temples for times.
In SoCal—Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www. yogananda-srf.org.
Satsang. Silent meditation, discourse
and dialogues on Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry. Recitation in Sanskrit and English of Vedantic texts. Recitation of Tamil Ribhu Gita, followed by prasad, and puja to Lord Siva and Sri Ramana. 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple), 1834 Ocean St., Santa
82 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
Cruz. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio. com. satramana.org/web/events/satsangs/, satramana.org/web/events/calendar/.
Lecture on The Origins of Tara by Anne Teich. Who is the Buddhist
Goddess,Tara? How and from where did she originate? What does she represent spiritually and metaphysically? Buddhist scholar and teacher, Anne Teich explores these questions and the history of the Goddess of Compassion. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco. (415) 668-1559. cuturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. www.http:// culturalintegrationfellowship.org.
Sri Ramanama Sankirtana and Meditation. The monthly recitation of
108 stanzas of the Ramayana. Includes readings from Ramakrishna or other sacred books, kirtan, followed by mahaprasad. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www. badarikashrama.org.
Vasavi Devi Abhishekam. Organized
by Balaji Matha Temple. 12:15 p.m. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www. balajitemple.net.
August
2 Tuesday
Pradosham Shiva Pooja. Organized
by Balaji Matha Temple. Balaji Temple, 5004 N. First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www.balajitemple.net.
August
6 Saturday
Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas. Monthly recitation
of Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas. Led by Ram Saxena and group. Followed by mahaprasad. 2:305:30 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama. org.
Sundar Kand and 108 times Hanuman Chalisa. Organized by Balaji
Matha Temple. Balaji Temple, 5004 N.
Self realization seminar with Dada Bhagwan, August 9 in Norwalk.
First St., San Jose. (408) 203-1036. balajitemple1@gmail.com. www.balajitemple.net.
August
7Sunday
Sadhana Day—Gayatri Japa and Homa. Group recitation for 4 hours of
Gayatri Mantra led by Ram Saxena and group. Followed by Gayatri Homa from Noon-2 p.m. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama.org.
Lecture on Sri Aurobindo in Baroda by Kundan Singh. This lecture will
cover the period of Sri Aurobindo’s life from 1893-1905. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. www.culturalintegrationfellowship.org.
August
9 Tuesday
Self Realization Seminar. Realize and
experience your pure soul with the help of an Atm-Gnani. Ends Aug. 11. Organized by Dada Bhagwan Pariwar Southern California. 7-9 p.m. Sanatan Dharma Temple, 15311 Pioneer Blvd., Norwalk. Free. Tea, snacks, lunch and dinner will be served. (877) 505-3232, (562) 965-0554. Losangeles@us.dadabhagwan.org. www. Dadabhagwan.org, dsmp99@yahoo.com. © Copyright 2016 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
Om Sri Mathre Namaha
Friday, July 1st At 5.00 pm Sri Bhuwaneshwari/Sri Lalitha Devi Abhisheka, Sri Kritika Vratha, Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha, Sri Subramanya Abhisheka, continued with Sri Lalitha Sahasra Nama chanting, Aarti and Mantra Pushpa Saturday, July 2nd At 4.00 pm Sri Venkateshwara Abhisheka, continued with Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama chanting, Sani Prasadosham, Sani Tryodasi, Shiva Sri Rudra Abhisheka, Aarti and Mantra Pushpa Monday, July 4th Independence Day Weekend At 5.00 pm Shiva Abhisheka Aarti and Manthra Pushpa Sunday, July 10th At 8.30 pm Aani Thirumanjanam Sukla Shati Night, Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha, Sri Subramanya
Sahasra Nama Archana Saturday, July 16th Sri Dakshinayana Punyakala/Punyakalam Aadi Pandigai Sunday, July 17th At 4.00 pm Pradosham Shiva Sri Rudra Abhisheka, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Abhisheka, Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha, Sri Subramanya Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Tuesday, July 19th At 5.00 pm Shiva Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 6.00 pm Guru Poornimapournami Vratha, Sri Sathya Narayana Swamy Pooja/Vratha All are welcome to participate with Family Saturday, July 23rd At 12.00 pm Sri Nava Graha
Homa/Sri Saneeswara Graha Homa continued with Sri Nava Graha Abhisheka/Sri Saneeswara Graha Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 2.00 pm Sri Venkateswara Abhisheka continued with Sri Vihsnu Sahasara Nama chanting, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Thursday, July 28th At 5.00 pm Shiva Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 6.00 pm Aadi Kritikai Kavadi Festival, Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha, Sri Subramanya Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Sunday, July 31st At 4.00 pm Pradosham Shiva Sri Rudra Abhisheka, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Abhisheka, Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra pushpa
FOR BHAJAN'S RELIGIOUS DISCOURSES, MUSIC AND DANCE PERFORMANCES, PRIVATE POOJAS PLEASE CONTACT TEMPLE FOR FURTHER DETAILS MANGALANI BHAVANTHU,SUBHAM BHUYATH,LOKA SAMASTHA SUKINO BHAVANTHU, LOVE ALL SERVE ALL LOVE IS ALL For Pujas & Rituals Contact: PANDIT
GANESH SHASTHRY
880 East Fremont Ave #302, Cupertino Villas, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 245-5443 / Cell: (925) 209-7637 E-mail: srikalahatheeswara@yahoo.com
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ö XI m;;F;e n;m;/ All kinds of Hindu traditional Pujas and homas Ganapathi, Navagraha, Vasthu, Ayushya Homas, Marriages, Seemantham, Nama-karnam, Upanayanam, Sathyanarayana Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Durga Sapthasathi Yanthra Puja. Hiranya Sradha and last rites. American born children’s horoscopes.
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God's Unfailing Love…… D
o you have the real Joy, Peace and happiness in your life? Have you ever asked this question What is the purpose of my existence in this world? What is a person profited, if he/she shall gain the whole world, and lose his/her own soul? (Or) What shall a person give in exchange for his/her own soul? Is there anyone in this world who can truly love me? Many times we are lost and finally end up asking these questions. There is no one in this world, who can truly love us, except God. Initially, God created human kind (both man and woman) in HIS own image. The purpose of creating mankind was to be with God. But human kind sinned against God and lost the greatest gift of being with HIM. God is Holy. A person with sin cannot dwell or exist with God. Also with sin, human kind earned curses from God. The result of sin was death & curses.
What is sin?
Anything we do that separates us from God’s presence is called SIN. We cannot hide anything from God. God knows our troubles, problems & everything. What the World can offer us is the Lust of flesh, the Lust of eyes & the Pride of life. Anyone who takes what the World offers ends up committing sin against God.
What is the result of committing sin?
The result of committing sin is a broken heart & soul,having guilt which makes us weak before God, with sadness, no peace, sickness, curses and separation from God. The Bible says, when we were born, we were born with sin because our parents brought us into this world with a sinful nature. For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The wages of sin is death. No one in this world including our parents or spouse or kids or friends or relatives can love us more than God. The Bible says, God is Love and HE manifested HIS love by sending God's only Holy SON Jesus Christ into this world to save us from all our sins and redeem us from this sinful world. For God so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth in Jesus should not perish, but have everlasting life, the life after death with God in Heaven. Jesus came to this earth only to die for us and shed HIS blood so that we can be saved by HIS grace and then receive HIS gift of Salvation. Without HIS shedding of blood there is no redemption from sins. So God sent Jesus Christ to this world to die for you and me. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins. If we confess our sins to Jesus, HE is faithful and just to forgive us from our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus said "Come unto ME, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” For every sin we commit, we need to pay the penalty individually. However, Jesus took all our sins upon himself, when HE died for us. By giving HIS every drop of blood, we are saved and free from the penalty of sin & death. Jesus 86 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
died for our sins and on the third day, HE rose again from death and became victorious over death, hell and sins. Jesus is a living God. HE is the same yesterday, today & forever. In the Name of Jesus there is Victory, Deliverance from sins & curses and there is Healing from sickness & Miracles in our life. Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to God the Father, HE is the Truth and HE is the Life. No one can go to God the Father & Heaven, except through Jesus Christ. Our family or friends, our caste or creed, our education or position, our money or riches or status, or by doing charity or by doing yoga or by doing fasting will not take us to God or to Heaven. When we accept & ask Jesus Christ to come into our heart & cleanse our sins with HIS precious blood, Jesus comes into our heart and makes us a new creature, by giving us HIS Love, Joy, HIS Peace, Hope & eternal Life with HIM. This is the TRUTH and the truth shall set you free.
Now how can I redeem HIS gift of Salvation in my life?
All we have to do is to believe Jesus, accept HIM into our heart & ask him to cleanse our sins by HIS blood by repeating this simple prayer. (Prayer means talking to God in your heart)
Lord Jesus, Thank you for coming into this world for me and my sins. I truly accept you just as I am. Come into my heart; cleanse me and my sins with your precious Blood. Be in my heart forever and help me to live and lead a Holy life like you. I also invite YOU & Your Holy Spirit to come into my heart and give me the Joy, Peace, Happiness, Deliverance from sins, bondages and sickness forever. Thank you for giving me the assurance of being with me forever. In Jesus name I pray Amen. If you have truly meant this prayer, then you have accepted Jesus into your heart. HE will be with you forever. HE will not leave you nor forsake you. If you need prayers or would like to know more about Jesus, then you can visit nearby Churches or email us at info@christforworld.org
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healthy life
Preventing and Reversing Diabetes With lifestyle changes and Ayurvedic herbs By Ashok Jethanandani
T
he numbers are worse than estimated earlier. A recent study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that more than half the adults in California have prediabetes (46 percent) or diabetes (nine percent). Among those who have prediabetes, about 70 percent develop diabetes in their lifetime. Also, according to statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control, the number of United States adults diagnosed with diabetes almost quadrupled from 1980 to 2014 (from 5.5 million to 21.9 million). While these statistics are alarming, diabetes is not a new disease. It was described over 3,000 years ago in the ancient texts of ayurveda among a group of urinary disorders called prameha. Even before urine and blood tests for glucose were developed, sages and vaidyas (physicians) in India had observed and documented signs and symptoms of prameha—like burning sensation of the feet, excessive thirst, weight gain, sweet taste in the mouth, and ants being attracted to urine. They also noted that its pathogenesis was due an to increase in kapha dosha from excessive consumption of sweet and heavy foods like newly harvested grains and sugar products. Sedentary habits are also a major cause of prameha, according to ayurveda. In the last couple of generations our lifestyles have become increasingly sedentary with the convenience of motorized transportation and a large scale shift from farm and blue collar work to desk-bound occupations. Comfortable couches and electronic entertainment also promote inactivity during our leisure hours. This, coupled with an abundance and overconsumption of food, especially foods rich in carbohydrates, has created a perfect storm for the rising incidence of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes today. 88 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
From Carbohydrates to Blood Glucose
Most of the carbohydrates we consume get digested into glucose and other simple sugars, some faster than others. Glucose is then absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to various cells with the help of the hormone insulin. There it is stored temporarily and utilized for our energy needs. This would be fine, except that we are much less physically active now, and before burning the stored glucose we tend to eat another meal rich in carbohydrates, and then yet another. This imbalance between intake of carbohydrates and their utilization overwhelms the organs that store glucose, making them resistant to insulin. As a result, our body’s natural mechanism that regulates glucose concentration in the blood starts to fail, and the levels of glucose and insulin both begin to rise. Insulin resistance is a metabolic dysfunction that underlies Type 2 diabetes and many associated disorders like central
obesity (belly fat), hypertension (high blood pressure), and dyslipidemia (elevated triglycerides and low levels of HDL cholesterol). This cluster of abnormalities is called metabolic syndrome. If blood glucose is elevated, it causes microscopic damage to various blood vessels in the body. Over time this damage accumulates and leads to serious complications like heart disease, stroke, loss of vision, kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, diabetic ulcers, and amputations.
Addressing the Underlying Cause
To optimally manage Type 2 diabetes, the underlying causes of insulin resistance have to be addressed. The main cause is an imbalance between carbohydrate consumption and its utilization. Although some people have a genetic predisposition to diabetes, lifestyle plays the major role in this metabolic dysfunction for most. So its management by medicines alone is not effective. Unless diet and physical activity are improved
significantly, most diabetics find that their condition gets progressively worse, requiring higher and higher doses of medicines, and ultimately insulin shots. Most are afflicted by multiple complications. To reverse this progression of insulin resistance and diabetes, ayurveda recommends a three-pronged approach of (1) food as medicine, (2) regular physical activity, and (3) medicines.
Food as Medicine
Out of these three, choosing the right foods is most important and effective. This means restricting carbohydrate consumption dramatically to reduce the glucose that will be absorbed into the blood. Check with your doctor before making dietary changes, though, especially if you are taking oral anti-diabetic medicines or insulin to manage blood glucose. You may wonder: don’t we need glucose for energy? Yes, but our bodies can also utilize fat for energy. Since fats don’t raise glucose or insulin levels, they are a preferable energy source for diabetics. Moreover, even a modest amount of fat in each meal increases satiety, curbs sugar cravings, and provides a steady supply of energy between meals. After a couple of weeks of carbohydrate restriction, as your insulin levels drop, you start burning body fat for energy. You find that your waistline starts reducing. So, restricting carbohydrate intake and substituting it with healthy sources of fat helps to correct insulin resistance. Start by cutting down on major sources of carbohydrates like sugars (cane sugar, brown sugar, jaggery, palm sugar, agave nectar, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and any processed food that contains them), grains (white rice, brown rice, wheat, quinoa, oats, barley, amaranth, sorghum, corn, millet), most fruits (or fruit juices or dried fruits), starchy vegetables (potato, sweet potato, taro root, parsnips, yam), alcoholic drinks, and sweetened beverages. Your carbohydrate intake will then be mainly from leafy greens and nonstarchy vegetables. Simultaneously add fats from natural and healthy sources. These are fruits (avocado, coconut, olives); tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts); seeds (chia, hemp, flax, sesame, pumpkin, poppy, sunflower); nut butters (almond
Lettuce-Avocado Salad Ingredients: lettuce, washed, spin dried, and chopped half a head, 100 g (red leaf, butter leaf, or romaine) avocado: half, 75 g cucumber, peeled if skin is thick, and diced: ½ cup, 50 g red radish, sliced: 2 pieces, 50 g basil or mint leaves: 6 leaves Mix the ingredients and toss. Garnish with basil or mint leaves. Enjoy with some homemade dressing drizzled on top. For variety you may substitute other seasonal greens and vegetables. Some of my favorites are arugula, endives, jicama, celery, and red bell peppers. Pay attention to ensure that you are easily able to digest the raw foods you eat. Many people have trouble digesting raw vegetables like spinach, kale, chard, broccoli, and cauliflower, and should consume them in cooked form instead.
Salad Dressing
The oil, herbs, and spices in the dressing not only add to the taste, they help in easier digestion and more complete absorption of the beta carotene and other fatsoluble nutrients in the salad. Many commercial dressings contain vegetable oils processed with heat or chemicals. So it’s better to make small batches of dressing at home with the healthiest oils. Choose extra virgin, cold pressed, unrefined olive oil, avocado oil, or macadamia nut oil. Ingredients: olive oil, extra virgin, cold pressed, unrefined: 12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) juice of one lemon: 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) black pepper, coarsely ground:1 teaspoon black salt: ½ teaspoon Mix all the ingredients in a dressing mixer or a small glass bottle. Shake well before dispensing.
butter, peanut butter); oils (sesame oil, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil); dairy fat (ghee, butter, cream, half-n-half); coconut milk; and cold water fish (salmon, sardines). One type of fat that you should completely avoid is trans fat (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil), which has been linked to high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease. You also need an adequate amount of protein (50 to 80 grams per day depending on your lean body mass) but not much more. Vegetarians and vegans can get this from beans, lentils, soy (tofu, tempeh, natto, edamame, soy milk), nuts, seeds, cacao beans, spirulina, cheese, and yogurt. Making these changes in your diet requires sacrifice, but you don’t need to starve or feel deprived.
Think Outside the Thali
You may have to visualize a meal that’s quite different from what you’re used to eating. Instead of grains make a green salad or cooked vegetable the staple. Add cheese, avocado, nuts, fish, chicken or other source of healthy fat and protein, enough to satisfy you, but not make you feel stuffed. Try dal, sambhar, or rasam in a bowl as a soup with a tablespoon of ghee, butter, or coconut oil. Here’s a salad made with fresh, organic, seasonal greens and vegetables that can become a healthy and hearty part of your meals. It is packed with folates, beta carotene, potassium, fiber, and healthy fats, and contains only a small amount of slow-acting carbohydrates. It is colorful, flavorful, and satisfying.
On Your Feet
The second part of correcting this metabolic imbalance is regular physical activity. Regularity is more important than intensity of the exercise, and improves overall health, not just reduction of blood glucose. Just spending more time on your feet moving around your home or office is itself a big improvement. Walking to the local store can help slow down the pace of a hectic day. If you go hiking in a nearby park you will breathe fresh air and connect with nature. Do what your heart desires, whether it is a bicycle ride, swimming, dancing, puttering around in your home garden, or playing with your grandchildren. Some people prefer working out in July 2016 | West Coast Edition | www.indiacurrents.com | 89
a gym on a regular schedule. Others may choose a soothing eastern practice like yoga asana, pranayama, or tai chi, which helps both body and mind. Be spontaneous and vary your activities so that exercise becomes an enjoyable part of your day. After you have optimized your lifestyle and your blood sugars have improved, you may still need to take medicines to lower and stabilize them further. Don’t stop taking medicines without consulting your doctor. Herbal medicines can be used to complement allopathic drugs.
Ayurvedic Herbs
There are many herbs used in ayurveda for prameha. An ayurvedic practitioner can evaluate you holistically and help you choose the best regimen for overall health. Among the most studied herbs for prameha is meshashringi (Gymnema sylvestre), which enhances insulin secretion, improves lipid profile, and helps with weight loss. Its leaves are astringent and bitter in taste and help to balance kapha dosha. The heartwood of vijayasar (Pterocarpus marsupium) particularly helps to reduce
90 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
postprandial hyperglycemia. It is often boiled with other herbs into a decoction. Clinical trials of another plant, mamejjaka (Enicostemma littorale), have shown significant improvement in both fasting and postprandial blood glucose. Yet another versatile ayurvedic medicine is the heartwood of daruharidra (Berberis aristata), which lowers blood glucose through decreased gluconeogenesis and also reduces oxidative stress. None of these herbs can compensate for the onslaught of a high carbohydrate diet, though. Nor can exercise, no matter how long you labor on the treadmill to burn the excess glucose. Minimizing the intake of carbohydrates is essential for reversal of Type 2 diabetes. You may have to give up some foods you love, but you will develop a taste for other foods, which will help sustain these dietary changes. The two most common hurdles to following this regimen are: a belief that you need to eat some grains for energy, and a deep-seated fear of fat. But after a few weeks when you see your blood glucose numbers going down, triglycerides drop-
ping, belly fat reducing, improvement in blood pressure, and a sense of uniform energy and wellness, it will give you the motivation and confidence to continue.n
Ashok Jethanandani, B.A.M.S., practices ayurveda in San Jose, Calif. He is a graduate of Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar. www.classical-ayurveda.com. The ideas and opinions expressed here are for educational purpose only. They are not intended to replace the advice of a physician or medical practitioner. Before beginning any diet program including any recommendations discussed here, it is recommended that you seek your physician’s advice.
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dear doctor
I Am Not the Compliant Person I Was By Alzak Amlani
Q
Most of my life I have been a sensitive, softer, and more compliant person. Now in my late forties, as I deal with some very difficult blocks in my marriage, I find that I get angry and even fierce on occasion. This is surprising, scary, and liberating. Although I hate getting angry, it seems to cut through all the ambivalence and murkiness that I so often find myself stuck in. However, I am afraid of becoming mean or insensitive. As a woman, the idea of being powerful in this way also seems unacceptable in society. I don’t know quite how to negotiate these feelings.
A
As we move further into midlife we start to access qualities and aspects of us that seem like the opposite of how we were in our twenties or thirties. This is part of psychological maturation. It seems that your marital challenges are forcing a response of strength and clarity from you. Remaining ambivalent, weak or
overly flexible has not worked. Intimate relationships are not only about closeness and harmony. They are also about seeing ourselves more truly, speaking our minds, and working things out with our partners. It is one of the few relationships where there we can truly be ourselves. Have you heard the term “fierce compassion?” I think it arises out of Buddhism, where compassion includes clarity, saying no, being very strong, and cutting through falseness. There are feminine deities called Dakinis in Tibetan Buddhism. They embody qualities of compassion, fierceness and wisdom. This force has an intuitive aspect to it, cutting through intellectual jargon and memorization of principles. Many of us get mired in ways of thinking that keep us stuck in repetitive actions and ways of relating. This is when we need a sword that cuts through the dross and gets right to the heart of the matter.
This energy has a higher purpose and is not just about an individual self or personal needs. It’s making way for a deeper truth, principle or value. Although it comes through a person, it is also not only about the person, but the larger situation. Forming a relationship with this part of you is very helpful in integrating this newer energy that you are describing. How do you feel when you are strong and clear? Take the posture of this woman, feel the energy, presence and what it is doing in your life. The more you can know about this part of you, the less afraid you’ll be and it will support you and others in important moments. n Alzak Amlani, Ph.D., is a counseling psychologist of Indian descent in the Bay Area. 650-325-8393. Visit www.wholenesstherapy.com
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On Inglish
Pugree People By Kalpana Mohan
pugree, noun. < a light turban worn in India; a scarf of silk or cotton, usually colored or printed, wound round a hat or helmet and falling down behind as a protection against the sun. < 1655-65; < Hindi pagrī turban
I
ing a pugree in the style of the n the third week of April, a Norwegian YouTube vidOvernight, a strip of cloth wrapped around times. At Gandhi’s next court appearance, the magistrate eo with English subtitles a head became a marker with which to asked him to remove it. Ganbounced off of Facebook walls. It showed two Sikh males unvilify people and strip them of their right to dhi strode out of the courtroom and promptly wrote to reeling yards of fabric in the dignity and to life. the press about the incident, hall of a railway station on defending his right to wear a “Turban Day” in Oslo. On ofpugree in court. fer for those who signed up to During his two decades sport a turban or pugree was a in South Africa, Gandhi’s experiences representing the marfree ride on the Airport Express. The video camera hovered over ginalized Indian laborers in court strengthened his resolve to the heads of passengers milling about on the platform in colorful fight intolerance and injustice. His struggles formed the bulpugrees tied expertly by the Sikh gentlemen. wark for his credo of non-violent agitation; he would wield The word pugree has been co-opted from the Punjabi language. it powerfully for India’s emancipation from the British. In the Indian subcontinent, it’s a generic term referring to head In The Story Of My Experiments With Truth, he talks gear popular in India’s different regions even though the word about how the ship he was traveling to South Africa almost may have originally referred to the particular turbans worn by capsized during the monsoons: “All became one in face of men of the Sikh faith. During the British Raj, the pugree described the common danger. They forgot their differences and began by the Oxford dictionary as the turban of the British army man in to think of the one and only God—Musalmans, Hindus, India who wore “a scarf, usually of thin muslin, wound round the Christians and all. Some took various vows. The captain crown of a sun helmet or hat and originally fastened so that the also joined the passengers in their prayers.” Gandhi says the ends hung down at the back to shade the neck.” feeling of oneness was momentary: “With the disappearance For our family, the pugree is a symbol of compassion and huof danger disappeared also the name of God from their lips.” manity. In July 2012, when my husband had a nasty fall inside Gandhi’s writings are a reminder of the importance of inthe Golden Temple in Amritsar, an entire regiment of turbaned trospection, of the value of civil intellectual debate between Sikhs marshaled all possible resources to care for him as we dealt people with different ideologies, and of the urgency to see with finding care for the multiple bruises and fractures he had life, literally, from inside another man’s head. The video of sustained. In the days following his injury, the community showed Turban Day felt like a literal, yet poignant, effort towards itself to be tight knit and large-hearted. During that visit, a Sikh that. I considered its relevance in these bleak times. For ethfriend of many years walked us through a langar, a community nic minorities in most of the western world, life is becoming kitchen, in his place of worship. We watched rotis puffing and rife with uncertainty, especially as swarms of Syrian migrants sliding off skillets. Vats of dal and kheer simmered inside the imknock on doors seeking refuge. I could see how, more than maculate kitchen. At every such Gurdwara canteen in cities around ever before, the need to demystify the turban was urgent the world, anyone may walk in to eat—regardless of creed, race, or for Sikhs. religion. Community service is one of the key tenets of Sikh faith. The final segment in the Norwegian video cuts to a scene In the aftermath of the 9/11 incident in the United States, this inside the train where passengers of different ethnicities community became a target for hate crimes when the Sikh turban sporting blue, purple and orange turbans are laughing and was linked with the head gear of the Al-Qaeda, an extremist tertaking photographs of one another. The rorist network that masterminded 9/11. Overnight, a strip of cloth harmony of the scene took my breath away. wrapped around a head became a marker with which to vilify I wished it would last. n people and strip them of their right to dignity and to life. A decade since, intolerance for the uncommon and the unknown is the new Kalpana Mohan writes from California’s Silinormal even in a nation pledged to unity in diversity. con Valley. To read more about her, go to http:// His turban gave much grief to Mahatma Gandhi in South Afrikalpanamohan.com. ca’s Durban in 1893 when he reported for work at the court sport100 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
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the last word
Sexual Power and Politics By Sarita Sarvate
S
female-hater, a man who reduces women to body parts. When omething happened to me on June 7th, 2016. As I Howard Stern asked him to identify three women whose bodies watched Hillary give her victory speech (for being the prehe found hot, Trump named his own daughter Ivanka. When sumptive Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party), the radio jockey inquired if he would still love his wife Melania tears came to my eyes. I was shaken to the core. Rationally, I if she were disfigured in an accident, Trump replied that he could not compute my reaction. But emotionally, I understood would, if her breasts were still intact. it. Are you feeling sick already? As you may well know, I have had a conflicted This election is thus an ultimate referendum relationship with Hillary Clinton. Like millions of Hillary on gender and sexual attitudes in America. And Americans, I haven’t liked Hillary as a person very campaigns in it is in this area that Trump will attack Hillary much even though I have never doubted her intellectual accomplishments. prose, but [Rachel] the most. He cannot tolerate the notion that a middle-aged, somewhat plain woman will be But on that Tuesday night, all my doubts Maddow translates standing on the dais debating him; he will wade melted away. The enormity of the moment overwhelmed me. A woman was on the verge her substance into into the gutter while his working class white male supporters will egg him on. of becoming the leader of the free world. Things poetry. The battle of the sexes has already begun; were never going to be the same again. prominent women like Elizabeth Warren are calling Actually, it was not Hillary who moved me but out Trump’s chauvinism. Rachel Maddow. Maddow, the MSNBC anchor, has a But at the heart of the schism is something very sinister, way of telling a story that lifts politics out of the morass of namely that women have little sexual power in today’s society. the dull and the dreary and elevates it to the romantic. On the Time and time again, I come across men who have gone from eve of Obama’s visit to Cuba, for example, Maddow started her adolescent horny dogs to dirty old men without ever transiprogram with the story of a 1960 dinner at the house of Ben tioning into sensitive family men; men who, even at my age, Bradley, the editor of the Washington Post, and ended up with the objectify me; men who don’t want to know about my writings revelation of a secret peace mission to Cuba that a man named or my intellect or my strength. In a way, feminism has made it William Attwood would have undertaken had Kennedy lived. worse for women because men can now sexually exploit women On the eve of Hillary’s victory, Maddow started her show without facing any social or moral strictures. No wonder then with the campaign of Barry Goldwater and ended up with the that young women today are coerced into sending nude pictures stories of two women who had dared to run for President in to men who simply intend to use them for sex and rape. the ‘60s, Margaret Chase Smith and Shirley Chisholm. Like But what if the women simply said “no?” What if, en masse, many immigrants, I knew nothing of either woman, and as the they refused to be intimate without an emotional connection? story progressed, I was struck by the ‘50s sensibility with which What if they demanded more grace, respect and dignity from even the most ardent female supporters of the two women had men, even at the risk of being alone? treated them, asking them which male candidates they would I know President Hillary Clinton will have other things to support. worry about. Still, I think an honest dialog on gender, along the Hillary campaigns in prose, but Maddow translates her lines of Obama’s speech on race, delivered during his 2008 camsubstance into poetry. So watching the show, I couldn’t help paign, will inspire women worldwide. Perhaps with the help of parse my own reactions to Hillary. I wondered if, deep down, I prominent women like Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara disliked Hillary because she reminded me so much of my own Boxer, and Kamala Harris, President Hillary Clinton could beinner contradictions. Like Hillary, I too have cherished the men gin an initiative to teach young women—and men—about the in my life more than I should have; like Hillary, I have sacrificed correct balance of sexual power in our lives and our society. n my own personal advancement in favor of my family’s welfare. Like Hillary, I have been the butt of put-downs because I have been a strong woman who has not tolerated the “mansplaining” Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has puband other treatments I am subjected to. Like Hillary, I have felt lished commentaries for New America Media, entitled to power and prestige and respect but haven’t always KQED FM, San Jose Mercury News, the gotten it. Oakland Tribune, and many nationwide publiIt is ironic that in the year that a woman is finally a nominee, cations. the Republicans are rallying around a candidate who is a sexist 102 | INDIA CURRENTS | West Coast Edition | July 2016
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