Why is that White Girl Wearing a Bindi? by Maya Murthy
Off With the Loot by Kalpana Mohan
Sundar Pichai: The Rise of an Indian Engineer by Prakash Narayan
29 Years of Excellence
The Modi Model Narendra Modi’s rise to power is a triumph not simply due to marketing skills, but also to a little known philosophy of humanism that guides him. by Vamsee Juluri
september 2015 • vol. 29, no .6 • www. indiacurrents.com
M
y mixed breed, Mishti, turned nine today, the day I write this editorial. No matter how many birthdays we celebrate, he will always be our baby, our companion, playmate and protector. The last we believe to be true despite the vigorous affection he shows to all who open our front door, with no race, gender, class, kind or prior knowledge bias. We also believe he is bilingual, that he is uncannily intelligent and at least one member of my family is under the unshakeable conviction that Mishti is emotionally sensitive. When he refused to eat his food for the second time in a week, my mother, her face a fervent mask of displeasure, chided me fiercely saying that this was because my dog had heard me remark that he is “overweight.” There is nothing more heart-warming than watching movies about loveable canines (Lassie, Benji, Beethoven, Marley and Me) who can play basketball, rescue kids or streak enchantingly across our screens in slow motion. Did you know that there are 278 entries on Wikipedia under films about dogs? We name animals, ascribe human like qualities to them and scarcely mask the outrage when they are relegated to animal status, hunted or mistreated. Nothing brought this more to light than the global response to Cecil the Lion, who posthumously has his own twitter tag, wiki page and facebook following. His social media cover image is that of a magnificent creature, with a thick blackyellow mane slightly disheveled by the breeze, staring drowsily at the world. To further melt the calcium deposits around your heart, he is the father of two beautiful young cubs. In Zimbabwe, several people have failed to see the import of Cecil’s death and have spoken up about how difficult it is to send their children (who must walk several miles everyday) to school when wild animals roam around. Goodwell Nzou, a doctoral student at Wake Forest University wrote a scathing piece for the Times saying, “And Americans who can’t find Zimbabwe on a map are applauding the nation’s demand for the extradition of the dentist, unaware that a baby elephant was reportedly slaughtered for our
It’s a Dog’s Life president’s most recent birthday banquet.” There were 1,257 comments to Nzou’s article at the time of this writing. Many of them vitriolic. It’s not an equal love that we show all animals. Some animals strike our tenderness chords more than others. Witness the anxiety that many affect at the sight of a spider quietly annexing a forgotten corner of a room for its own gossamer needs. Interestingly, at my writing residency in France this year, one of my fellow residents, a Taiwanese poet, became fascinated with a tribe of spiders copulating on the ceiling of her room. She created a spider sex video, set it to music and verse, and spent several hours investigating humane ways of disposing of the rapidly proliferating colony. After two weeks, and near tripling of the arachnid population in her room, she still had not arrived at a method that she could have found peace with. Ethical rules when it comes to hunting and killing of (non-endangered) animals are difficult to make sense of. We humans can hunt and kill for food but not for sport. I agree. But should we be allowed to
torture animals (cramming and confining them into small crowded spaces) before we plate them, roasted or tikka’d with a side of fried okra? It’s not how we humans kill animals that’s the issue here. It’s how we treat them when they are alive that is often the most difficult to reconcile. For that reason, it is painfully difficult to see the ASPCA commercial, a montage of abused and beaten dogs. To celebrate Mishti’s birthday today, I will take him for a walk in the hills, where if we do come across members of his own ilk, Mishti will likely turn up his brown nose, straighten his spine, and mince derisively away, all while wagging his furry white tail at human leash holders. For sure, Mishti believes he is human. He has virtually forgotten his species’ traits. In this dog-eat-dog human world, all he has to do, really, is wait for us to feed him, to let him out, sit at our say so, and heel when we command. What’s not to like about his life? Jaya Padmanabhan, Editor
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 1
2 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
INDIA CURRENTS September 2015 • vol 29 • no 6
PERSPECTIVES 1 | EDITORIAL It’s a Dog’s Life By Jaya Padmanabhan
Southern California Edition www.indiacurrents.com
20 | INVESTMENT Real Estate Investment Made Easier in India By V. Nagarajan
Find us on
6 | WORDS AND THINGS A Letter to My Husband After the First Weekend Alone By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
21 | TAX TALK Being Prepared for Calamity By Rita Bhayani 32 | TRAVEL Pura Vida in Biolley, Costa Rica By Rama Shivakumar
7 | BUSINESS For Indian Immigrants the American Dream Is Alive By Vivek Wadhwa 12 | SPORTS From Punjab to Texas Basketball Legend By Roshn Marwah 18 | YOUTH Why is That Girl Wearing a Bindi By Maya Murthy 26 | BOOKS The Last Laugh By Jeanne Fredriksen 36 | ON INGLISH Off With the Loot By Kalpana Mohan 38 | MUSIC Music That Bridges Boundaries By Priya Bhatt Das 40 | FICTION 10-4 By Sanjoy Ganguly 56 | THE LAST WORD Masters of Political Theater By Sarita Sarvate
LIFESTYLE
8 | The Modi Model Narendra Modi’s victory is not just about a smart campaign strategy, but also of a new way of thinking By Vamsee Juluri
45 | RELATIONSHIP DIVA Five Questions to Ask on a First Date By Jasbina Ahluwalia 46 | RECIPES Sunday Afternoon Snacks By Praba Iyer 51 | HEALTHY LIFE Best Foods For Building Lean Muscle By Puja Mukherjee
24 | Profile Sundar Pichai–The Rise of an Indian Engineer By Prakash Narayan
54 | DEAR DOCTOR How Do I Bare My Soul in Group Therapy? By Alzak Amlani
14 | Opinion Speak Up, Prime Minister Modi DEPARTMENTS By Vidya Pradhan, Joe Samagond
4 | Letters to the Editor 19 | Popular Articles 22 | Ask a Lawyer 23 | Visa Dates
28 | Films
Reviews of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, WHAT’S CURRENT 48 | Cultural Calendar Drishyam, Bride Hunting By Aniruddh Chawda, Geetika Pathania Jain
50 | Spiritual Calendar
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 3
letters to the editor facebook.com/IndiaCurrents twitter.com/IndiaCurrents Now published in three separate editions HEAD OFFICE 1885 Lundy Ave Ste 220, San Jose, CA 95131 Phone: (408) 324-0488 Fax: (408) 324-0477 Email: info@indiacurrents.com www.indiacurrents.com Publisher: Vandana Kumar publisher@indiacurrents.com Managing Director: Vijay Rajvaidya md@indiacurrents.com Editor: Jaya Padmanabhan editor@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x226 Events Editor: Mona Shah events@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x224 Advertising Department ads@indiacurrents.com Northern California: (408) 324-0488 x 225 Southern California: (714) 523-8788 x 225 Sales Associate: Anu B anu@indiacurrents.com (408) 324-0488 x 222 Marketing Department Ritu Marwah ritu@indiacurrents.com Graphic Designer: Nghia Vuong WASHINGTON, D.C. BUREAU (Managed by IC New Ventures, LLC) 910 17th Street, NW, Ste# 215 Washington, D.C. 20006 Phone: (202) 709-7010 Fax: (240) 407-4470 Associate Publisher: Asif Ismail publisher-dc@indiacurrents.com (202) 709-7010 Cover Design: Nghia Vuong INDIA CURRENTS® (ISSN 0896-095X) is published monthly (except Dec/Jan, which is a combined issue) for $19.95 per year by India Currents, 1885 Lundy Ave., Ste 220, San Jose, CA 95131. Periodicals postage paid at San Jose, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INDIA CURRENTS, 1885 LUNDY AVE, STE. 220, SAN JOSE, CA 95131 Information provided is accurate as of the date of going to press; India Currents is not responsible for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed are those of individual authors. Advertising copy, logos, and artwork are the sole responsibility of individual advertisers, not of India Currents. Copyright © 2015 by India Currents All rights reserved. Fully indexed by Ethnic Newswatch
The Dirty Tag
It was interesting to read the article by Atanu Dey published in the August 2015 issue. I wish to refer to the sentence “There’s no denying that Indians are a dirty people.” I presume he is a strong well wisher of India and the Indian people. I am not sure if he is a Person of Indian Origin or an Indian Citizen living outside India, OR ... In any case, with due apologies to the learned author, I place several queries to him regarding the word “Indians” in the above statement. Does he mean (i) all Persons of Indian Origin or all Indian citizens living anywhere in the world, with the only exception being he himself? (ii) all Indians living in India, excepting, of course, his own forefathers and their families? I can understand his probable intention to do something for his motherland and his forgotten brethren. I would like to quote an example of a person having same intentions but an entirely different line of action. This is a person who got selected to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and worked for five years within the service but was not happy because he could not do social work for the upliftment of the downtrodden. So he quit his job and moved in his chappals from village to village for several years. Finally landing in an interior village where he worked among the landless spending from his own pocket and that of like minded friends. He is still working there for the last 40 years and has greatly contributed to the upliftment of the village. I sincerely wish the respected and learned author gets some inspiration from such noble souls to bring his laudable intentions to practical meaningful actions. Vinod Prakash, Los Altos, CA I wish to refer to the article by Atanu Dey (India Currents, “India, Poverty and The Economist,” August, 2015). It quotes a Rapid Survey On Children (RSOC) report by The Economist in 2013-14 which states that child hunger in Gujarat fell from 44.6% to 33.5% in a decade. I feel that such data do not deserve serious at-
4 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
tention because of the following reasons: i. Malnutrition, Underweight, etc. are well defined parameters but “child-hunger” is a very vague term and there is no way to measure or define it. Every person becomes hungry several times in a day. Perhaps the survey refers to a child who does not get enough food to satisfy his hunger. But then, who was questioned: the child or his parents? What is the reliability of the answer? I know obese persons who feel hungry even after eating twice what they should and also children who say “Oh I am done” after eating only half of what they should. ii. The survey result has been reported to the first place of decimal which implies that they claim an accuracy of 0.25%. This is just ridiculous unless a very large percent of Gujarat children were surveyed and that too with complete reliability. iii. A Times on page 12 of Aug 17, 2015 says that 1 in 6 Americans are hungry. That comes to about 16%. If the most affluent country has 16% hunger, a country having GDP one ninth of US and population four times that of US should be given credit to have kept their hunger within 30 or 40%. I also have a comment regarding the sentence “There’s no denying that Indians are a dirty people.” Without going into the merits of this very general comment, I wish to suggest that such comments may be well taken by sober readers only if it has the tone “We, Indians ...” and certainly NOT if it has the tone “You, Indians...” The author may be better advised to take care of that. Vidya Sinha, Saratoga, CA
Fundamentalism and Favoritism
We enjoyed the last word column by Sarita Sarvate, (India Currents, “Will the Real Bobby Jindal Please Stand Up?). I
SPEAK YOUR MIND!
Have a thought or opinion to share? Send us an original letter of up to 300 words, and include your name, address, and phone number. Letters are edited for clarity and brevity. Write India Currents Letters, 1885 Lundy Ave. Suite 220, San Jose 95131 or email letters@indiacurrents.com.
feel exactly like Sarita Sarvate does about Bobby Jindal. I will vote for Donald Trump (at least he speaks his mind) before I vote for Bobby Jindal. Both Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley converted to Christianity, not for love of Christ, but for political gains. In Marathi there is a saying that a new convert is more fundamentalist and bigoted than original believers. Mr. Jindal seems to speak directly for and to his Bible thumping followers. I doubt that many Indian Americans will vote for him if he is nominated for United States President. I do feel that the editorials by Jaya Padmanabhan, and the column by Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan are more suitable for Berkeley magazines. I confess I am a little biased and favor Sarita Sarvate’s articles as I am from Nagpur, just as she is. Please continue writing dear Ms. Sarwate. We always enjoy your articles and stories of living in the Nagpur area. Prakash Deshmukh, San Jose, CA
Silver Tongued
I read the insightful article about languages (India Currents, “You Lose it in a Generation,” July 2015) by Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan. My son and daughter-inlaw, who is from Czech Republic, have a two-and-a-half year old daughter, Zoya Nayani. They live in Chicago and since she will learn English soon enough when she starts pre-school and kindergarten they decided to teach Zoya Czech now. My daughter-in-law speaks to her in Czech and my son, too, tries to talk to her in his broken Czech. Several of their friends are from Czech Republic, so much so that Zoya is becoming quite good at speaking the language. For us, in the family, it is fun to listen to Zoya speak Czech, even though we don’t understand her and try to converse with a combination of English and sign language. Zoya seems to enjoy our awkward attempts to converse. Of course, her learning Kannada, which is mine and my wife’s mother tongue, is not in the picture, not that we expect it. So to come to Ragini’s article, it was as well English was spoken. If I am not mistaken, we did admire in our younger days for his language abilities, her nottoo-distant ancestor the silver-tongued Srinavasa Sastrigal. Now it seems her uncle Shashi Tharoor’s Oxford debate is not too shabby eiter! Nagaraja Rao, Fremont, CA
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words and things
A Letter to My Husband After My First Weekend Home Alone By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan
Y
I opened an expensive chardonnay, that I had bought for you, ou’re probably not supposed to feel elated when your husturned the AC on, and watched a so-so movie on Netflix (auband and two year old leave on a family trip without you, dibly, and without subtitles, for a change), eating grocery store but I did. carrot cake I normally don’t buy, thinking it will spoil Mrinalini’s Thursday, after I dropped you both at the airport, I dinner. I felt so exhilarated that I imagined making this a regular worked for a little while, then decided to do what I normally can thing: I take her away for a weekend; you take her away for a never do: leave the house during baby’s dinnertime, 5:30, and weekend. We don’t get to spend time together, but lots of marwalk down to the lake with a book. I packed a sling purse with ried people spend less time together than we do, and at least one novel, water, and a cardigan for the lake breeze, and walked the of us will get to have those things I always thought sounded too twenty minutes between our apartment and The Point, where I selfish, too self-indulgent, and too Western: personal space and set myself down on the limestone revetment between Promontory personal time. Point Field House and the families on 57th Street beach. I was home alone for the first time in two years and two Was it my imagination or did the light look different at 5:30? months, but which felt like forever, Refract differently, illuminate a different maybe even ever. No rhythmic demands street? I noticed a house on 52nd I’d nev- Being alone returned to me of work and school, imperatives of er seen before, oddly set back from the companionship and parenting happily road and with too much space between it the desire to see and hear and and the Queen Anne-style rowhouses on smell and think everything I’m abstracted away. All that space and time (three and a half days!). Time to pay either side. I saw what at first appeared to be concave sheets of water suspended normally too busy to see, hear, attention to what I was eating. Time to listen to music. Time to savor a novel. over a neighboring hedge. They turned smell, and think. Time also to do laundry and dishes out to be plastic, and as I drew closer and cleaning: the things that it takes to they resembled the cotton netting that maintain a middle-class life. And space. Space in my head, space approximates spider webs in Halloween displays. A few blocks in the house. Quiet. down, there were framed collages of President Obama lined up On day two, I wasted time because I thought I had it (as before the cafes, strips of newspaper overlain with his face, some usual, it had me). On day three, I wandered a bit aimlessly. On headlines left prominent, others obscured with swaths of paint. day four, I slept fitfully and woke at 5, hearing you both wake And black t-shirts, also for sale: “I can’t breathe.” up some 700 miles away. Being alone returned to me the desire At the Point, there was too much garbage lying about, even to see and hear and smell and think everything I’m normally too though by most accounts there was hardly any at all—nothing busy to see, hear, smell, and think. It also made me keenly aware like the trash heaps that abut even stately homes and national of what I have traded all that time and space for. landmarks in India. Chicago is a clean city, and radiant in summer I thought of my mother who didn’t spend a night away from where Lake Michigan meets the shore. Of course, that makes the me and my brother until we were seven and five. I thought of my odd bit of trash—cellophane, bottle cap, paper bag, bag of chips— father left home alone for weeks, summer after summer, while all the uglier. I sat on the rocks and tried to avoid the rubbish. I the three of us went off to India—how he loved those first few smelled someone else’s joint, heard the waves, couple’s voices, saw days, how he struggled to feed himself as the weeks drew on. a sailboat out of the corner of my eye, and read about a poetry And I thought of you, and of my child who gets me up mornreading in Madrid. ings before I want to get up and makes me stop working before At 7:30, bath time, I rose and started to make my way back I’m ready to call it in. I imagined her little feet with the painted through town. I read the menu at Siam House and contemplated silver toenails—her at-home pedicure a bon voyage gesture from dining alone, but I couldn’t decide whether I would order noodles me—and I thought of taking her to The Point, of walking with or curry, so I moved on. I entered Maravilloso, which it turns out her down the street in search of our shadows. is an extremely popular, spacious Mexican restaurant, and not the And I looked forward to your coming home. n forlorn dhaba we had imagined. It was too loud to think, never mind order, never mind read, and so I left, and that’s how I ended Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is a doctoral candidate up at Pepe’s, where I ordered two-dollar tacos from the wide man in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley. at the counter, who is maybe named Pepe himself. 6 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
business
For Indian Immigrants the American Dream Is Alive By Vivek Wadhwa
T
hey have funny accents, wear strange outfits, eat really spicy food and some wear turbans. IndianAmericans constitute less than one percent of the United States population. Yet you will find them at the helm of great companies such as PepsiCo and MasterCard; as presidents and deans of America’s most prestigious colleges; at the pinnacles of journalism; dominating fields such as technology, scientific research and medicine; and thriving in industries such as hospitality, transportation and real estate. They have also achieved extraordinary success in government: the governors of two of America’s most conservative states are of Indian origin, as are White House senior advisors and the U.S. Surgeon General. Even though the prosperity isn’t evenly distributed and some segments of the Indian community face severe social and economic problems, it is notable that the median annual income of U.S. households headed by an Indian immigrant is $103,000—twice the U.S. median. How could a recent immigrant group achieve such incredible success—and what can we learn from it? First, you need to understand the background of this group; it is highly educated and entrepreneurial. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 76 percent of Indian immigrants aged 25 or more have a bachelor’s or higher degree, and the vast majority are proficient at English. Though some come from poor families, most of the Indians who make it to America are from the middle or upper class; the students who qualify for admission to U.S. universities are the cream of the crop; the workers who get hired by U.S. companies are highly skilled. Only ambitious risktakers willingly leave friends and families behind to shoot for success in foreign lands; they are entrepreneurial in nature. Immigrants who come to America face discrimination just as foreigners in any country do. Americans are generally tolerant and open-minded, but racism is an ugly human trait. People with dark skin or a foreign accent are always at a disad-
One [venture capitalist] told me that the reason he wouldn’t fund my company was that “your people don’t make good CEOs.” My blood still boils when I think about this ... vantage in America. This means that they have to work harder and think smarter. Indian immigrants were typically at the top of the social ladder in the communities that they left behind, but find themselves on the lowest rung in the United States. This is a very uncomfortable experience and provides incredible motivation to do whatever it takes to succeed, as I can tell you from personal experience. I too am an Indian immigrant, and I remember when I first came to the United States as a child in the ’60s. My classmates asked me whether I charmed snakes; parents pointed to me and told their children to think about starving Indians before wasting the food on their plates. This was very hurtful, but it motivated me to do whatever it took to show everyone that I was as good as my classmates were. Later in life, when I returned to the United States after living abroad, I experienced similar discrimination and disparagement from venture capitalists in North Carolina. One told me that the reason he wouldn’t fund my company was that “your people don’t make good CEOs.” My blood still boils when I think about this, but it made me stronger and better. And it’s why I go out of my way to help other groups who have been discriminated against, especially African-Americans, Hispanics and women. And the success of Indian immigrants shows another side of this country. The greatness of America is that a person who achieves success commands the highest level of respect regardless of his or her background, race, and religion. This is the American Dream: an ethos of freedom
that provides anyone who achieves success through hard work with the opportunity for prosperity and equality. There are no absolute barriers to upward social mobility in America; that is why immigrants thrive and why America leads the world. One of the biggest problems in India— and one that holds it back—is that people are divided by region, religion and caste. They may be Gujaratis, Punjabis, or Bengalis; Hindus, Muslims, or Sikhs in India, but when they come to America, they are all considered to be Indians—as are people from other parts of South Asia, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. To Americans, we are all the same. So when South Asians come to the United States, they learn very quickly to put their differences aside. They begin to understand that the key to an individual’s—and a community’s—success is to network, learn, and help each other. That is why they join groups such as The Indus Entrepreneurs, the South Asian Journalists Association, South Asian Americans Leading Together, and the South Asian Bar Association: to help each other—and in the process, to uplift their communities. This too is how Indians become the dominant immigrant company founding group in Silicon Valley. My research team at Stanford and Duke had documented that, as of 2014, nearly 16 percent of the start-ups in Silicon Valley had an Indian founder. The secret of their success lay in learning and mastering the Valley’s rules of engagement: networking, exchanging ideas, and mentoring. The lessons that disadvantaged groups can learn from Indian immigrants are to help each other and “pay it forward.” America shows the world that providing all people with equal opportunity makes a bigger economic pie; that diversity fuels innovation and economic growth. n Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. You can follow him on Twitter at @vwadhwa and find his research at www. wadhwa.com. First published in The Washington Post.
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 7
cover
The MoDI Mo By Vamsee Juluri
It is likely that much of the coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to California will focus on business, since that is what governments do and talk about these days. But describing Modi as nothing more than an efficient pro-business leader is as simplistic as describing the Bay Area as a decent place to build some office parks, without recognizing the rich history of idealism, intellectual adventure, creativity, and social consciousness that has underscored revolutions here.
O
ne might call it a mythology, but one of the great things about the Bay Area is its propensity for frequent dreams of a better world: Gadar in the early 20th century, the United Nations Charter in 1945, Free Speech and Anti-War movements in the 1960s, Marriage Equality in 2004, and most of all, in recent years, the worldwide promise of social media for free speech and democracy. While some utopian dreams about how Facebook and Twitter would topple dictatorships and enshrine democracy proved premature in some parts of the world, in India something close to that did happen, and is happening, still. Conventional news narratives have failed to notice this. Established academic paradigms on South Asia with their colonialera tropes on religion and secularism have not accounted for it. Modi’s victory was not just about a smart campaign strategy, but also the apex of a wave of new thinking; hope and change in India’s digital generation about what
it means to be Hindu, Indian and human. The truth is that a renaissance is taking place in India and its diaspora today. It may not be fully pretty, because it is a postcolonial renaissance, an attempt to take decolonization beyond the nominal political independence that was obtained in 1947. It has challenged a profoundly corrupt, selfish, and dishonest politicalmedia nexus that has occupied primacy over the very definition of what it means to be Indian for several decades. It has given a jaded nation, and its overseas children, a sense that they belong to not just a land or a clan, but to an ideal about what it means to live on this earth in ways that respects nature’s integrity and humanity’s diversity. If it sounds like a rebirth, a stirring
8 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
of a deep passion, a love, indeed, after centuries of colonialism and decades of self-denial, we are not mistaken. After several centuries of having financed and inspired (to say it euphemistically) renaissances and economic and scientific revolutions elsewhere in the world, India is having a renaissance on its own terms now. And its face is Narendra Modi.
Claiming the Dream
There is a reason Narendra Modi is not well understood, sometimes even among his own supporters, who see only the “strongman” but not the poet and ascetic beneath. The intellectual
odel
many, and Hindus are not ancient resources to make sense of the ... India is having a renaissance on Nazi settlers from Europe lording philosophy that animates him its own terms now. And its face is it over native minorities (even if have simply not been created and some Hinduism “experts” seem to made available on a wide enough Narendra Modi. think so). Narendra Modi, most scale. These are not simply tools of all, is speaking to his audience for glorification, though the sofrom a position not of identitarcial media strategies that helped and alleged vanity written even into the ian power and authority (as allegations Modi outflank one of the longest-runseams of his coat, it is easy to apply a of Hindu majoritarianism view it), but ning, relentless, and dishonest global whole palette of Frankfurt School era from a place that is profoundly different. media smear campaigns might seem that theories about celebrity, fascism, and the We might call it simplicity, humility, selfway sometimes. like on to him. lessness, but these are words that don’t With his 3D Modi Hologram camYet, to anyone who has been listenfly in today’s vitiated media-intellectual paign appearances, ubiquitous masks, ing to Modi, and observing the proclimate where reverence and kindness one-man public persona (recall how he found resonance his words have with the are held to be ideologically suspect. We went straight to speak to the people at people in India, the inappropriateness, don’t understand it because the paraMadison Square Garden without stopif not occasional ludicrousness, of such digms are shifting, and slippery. ping for pleasantries with the several comparisons are obvious. Modi’s words and actions cannot political dignitaries on stage already), Postcolonial India is not Nazi GerSeptember 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 9
be explained without recognizing where he’s coming from. The received explanation, repeated ad nauseum in classrooms and editorial pages in clueless capital cities far from ordinary people, is that Modi comes from a rabid Hindu nationalist ideology called Hindutva that hates minorities and believes India belongs exclusively to Hindus and is “prepared to use violence.” The Gujarat riots of 2002, when over a thousand people, “mostly Muslims,” (to use the common phrase, though the exact figures were about 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus, which suggests an uneven riot rather than a “pogrom”), were killed, led to one of the most singularly focused media campaigns to discredit an individual in recent history (it has to be noted that the media hardly noted the terrible terrorist act that precipitated the riots, the burning of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims including women and children by a Muslim mob). When Modi won in 2014, the same media observers predicted great doom for minorities in India, and to this day, a shameful pattern of front-page hysteria against Modi’s government followed by inside-page corrections and retractions continues to take place even in some once esteemed Indian newspapers. A “Hitler,” a “merchant of death,” Modi has been called. Yet, to paraphrase British Prime Minister David Cameron’s phrase after Modi’s election, more people spoke up to clear his name and claim his dream for themselves than had happened for any other politician in history. Even if some small portion of his supporters voted for him because of some crude tribalistic logic (and this logic was not innate to India but left there like a slow poison by the divide-and-rule politics of the British duly inherited by the Congress party after independence), the sheer facts of Modi’s actions in public life were what ultimately spoke to India last summer.
One is an acronym that has been recklessly used in media and academic discourses to evoke fear and confusion. The other is a philosophy that sounds so quaintly well-meaning no one would imagine it having a place anywhere other than an ephemeral election manifesto, and yet it is that philosophy that is being brought to life by Narendra Modi today on an increasingly global stage at that. First, the RSS. Narendra Modi is indeed a child of the RSS (for “product” sounds too sterile a word), and shed tears of gratitude while speaking about it soon after his election last year. There is a tendency at the moment to rationalize a grudging acknowledgment of Modi’s peaceful and inclusive track record by either distancing him from the organization he views as a mother or by holding on to the notion that Modi’s inclusiveness is only the deceptive face of a sinister, raciallyobsessed far-right group. This is not surprising, given that for several decades the RSS was viewed with suspicion by academics and media. It is clear now that the academic and media consensus on Hinduism and Hindus has been largely flawed, and so has the demonization of Narendra Modi since 2002. It might well be the case that the dominant assumptions about the RSS, too, require re-examination and for that one might choose to look at what the RSS has been saying and doing. What one finds, for example, in Jyoti Punj, a book of essays written by Modi about elders in the RSS who have inspired him, is a sense of humility, love, and service. In the lives of the RSS elders he admires, we see a history of effort being made to cleanse Hindu life from within, both of internal inequities like
RSS and Modi’s Ideal of Service
Narendra Modi cannot be understood correctly without recognizing two things.
10 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
casteism, and colonial legacies like fear and loss of self-respect. At its core, what the RSS seems to stand for in the life and worldview of Modi is a family-like association of volunteers determined to bring certain deeply felt Hindu values of dharma and seva into organized action. If there is such a thing as an RSS sensibility, it is the idea of the body as an instrument to be deployed in seva. India is not some Hindu-race homeland in Modi’s book, but simply a land where a sage would give up his bones if asked, a king his land, and a teacher his teachings for free. Idealistic (“the purpose came with a body”), but not the militaristic fantasy critics have made it out to be either. One reason for the paradigmatic confusion that exists in academia and media about Modi and the RSS is the fact that there has rarely been an effort to make honest inquiries, and the RSS for its part, like any organization that has been battered and pushed to borders of respectability, if not existence, has remained intellectually slow off the bat. For Modi, what the RSS represents is ultimately a “journey in the refinement process,” a process of self-transformation that happens through friendship, company, and most of all, service.
Integral Humanism
The second point of general confusion about Modi and the RSS is that their reigning social philosopher is not the “homeland” ideologues of the colonial or pre-partition era, but a simple, sage-like philosopher who could barely even keep up with the RSS’s physical regimen. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (1916-1968), whose birth centenary year is being noted by Modi with great respect, is the architect of Modi’s intellectual and moral model, more than anyone else perhaps. Upadhyaya’s “Ekaatma Maanavta” or Integral Humanism lectures of 1965 represent a profound moment in Indian intellectual decolonization along the lines of Mahatma Gandhi’s
India is not some Hindu-race homeland in Modi’s book, but simply a land where a sage would give up his bones if asked, a king his land, and a teacher his teachings for free.
ress defined in material terms. Examining the choices before India presented by the postcolonial moment such as democracy, socialism, and capitalism, Upadhyaya calls for an understanding of the national self that is rooted in a universal ethical notion of dharma (which he emphasizes, should not be confused with religion, much less a theocracy). The goal for Pandit Upadhyaya, is the creation of a state that will elevate “nara” to “Narayana,” or the human to a state of divinity.
Modi’s New Age
Hind Swaraj, written in 1909. While the Mahatma’s incredible vision was not taken seriously even by his own Nehru, much less by the Congress party that ruled in his memory for decades afterwards, Integral Humanism has not only been kept alive in the RSS (it remains the official philosophy of the BJP), but has been brought into public play today with the full force of convictioncharisma of Narendra Modi. The Integral Humanism lectures seek to answer the question of “what will be the face of the new Bharat after independence?” Pandit Upadhyaya’s answers should serve to reassure skeptics who still fear for secularism and minorities in India. He rightly warns against pursuing fantasies of some pure golden age in the past, and also cautions against blindly subscribing to Western notions of prog-
There is always a risk that such a nuanced manifesto could be reduced in less adept minds to a caricature, a golden age fantasy written into stone with modern instruments. But that risk should not feed the sort of arrogance that has made a small and increasingly disconnected intellectual class mischaracterize the Modi phenomenon as some gloomy disaster for Indian secularism. The Modi we have seen and heard has been consistent with the ideals envisioned by Pandit Upadhyaya, speaking from its worldview rather than about it like some pedantic ideologue. Modi seems too quick, protean, a master of both moment and spectacle in the digital-sharing age (hashtag selfie), to be seen as a paradigm-builder in any conventional sense. He recognizes, perhaps, that the age of top-down cultural authority is over. Yet in his unquestioned moment of supremacy as the hope of a new India, he appears ever more humble, driven, even. His “cool,” unlike the creation of several marketing experts
in Western politics, is not an act, for he bridges grassroots and hi-tech in a way that is his own. He might sound as if he believes digital technology has all the answers, just like some other CEO-style technophile politicians in India did earlier. But like Pandit Upadhyaya cautioned, he is unlikely to view technology (or American dreams of the same) as ends in themselves. The end of all our sharing and liking, ultimately has to be more than our selves and our vanity, if anything good is to still exist in this world. Modi marks the beginning of a new age in media, culture and politics (and no wonder his campaign team liked to call itself “new age”). None of the usual assumptions and clichés about them might stand. After all, it was a supposedly “free” media in India and abroad that censored most accounts that were contrary to their idea of Modi, allowing a reckless fear campaign to run on to this day. After all, it was supposed to be a “secular party” that ignored its own long record of complicity in inter-religious riots in Gujarat, New Delhi, and elsewhere to paint Modi as the enemy of secularism. Modi carries the promise of a nation in long recovery from a long colonization that even the “free” media can sometimes be made “freer,” and even “secularism” can be done better by a man rooted deeply and devoutly in his religion. n Vamsee Juluri is a professor of media studies at the University of San Francisco and the author of Rearming Hinduism: Nature, Hinduphobia, and the Return of Indian Intelligence (www.rearminghinduism.com)
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 11
sports
From Punjab to Texas Basketball Legend A snapshot of Satnam Singh’s Summer League By Roshn Marwah
A Facebook image
The significance of such a scenario is that Satnam has not played against any high levels of competition that would allow his development into an NBA ready player. At this point in Singh’s career two of his biggest assets are his drive and aggression. Many young developing players, especially those who are not native to the United States struggle under the pressure and stunt their development through their inability to communicate. Kaleb Canales the head coach of the Mavericks Summer League team said of Satnam Singh, “his communication on defense has been great. He’s been aggressive. He’s not shy which is a positive I think. He’s not afraid to attack on offense. And on defense he’s been talking pick and roll coverages but also hitting the boards.” The other large positive that the seven foot two center displayed was his ability to run the court and his overall athleticism. Satnam, who after first arriving to train in the U.S. had a weight issue that he attributes to a change in diet, at one point weighed in at about three hundred pounds. Since then, he says that he has completely changed his diet and has been focused on advancing his development as a player through healthy eating. After the Dallas Mavericks game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Mark Cuban remarked, “I thought Satnam played pretty well. He raised a lot of eyes … I think people didn’t expect him to move as well and be as skilled as he is. I think he comported himself very well.” The former high school homecoming king used his time in Las Vegas during the NBA summer league to get
12 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
A Facebook image
T
he San Antonio Spurs led by the first female head coach in NBA history brought the basketball summer league to a close by defeating the Phoenix Suns, 93-90. Now, that the summer league is over it has become abundantly clear that Indian Mavs prospect Satnam Singh will be playing in the NBA D-League for the Texas Legends. The player who the Celtics referred to as an “international man of mystery,” averaged about seven minutes a game and showed his ability to not only rebound but also to shoot the ball with surprising efficiency. Satnam’s play in summer league games showed that he has the raw skills and fitness level to be a good NBA player, but lacks the knowledge of some of the basic NBA concepts and terminology. Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban stated, “I don’t see him playing in the NBA this year… We’ll give him time to develop.” This comment comes as no surprise considering that Singh is the first player, post the introduction of the NBA age restrictions, to enter the NBA without having played in college or in a foreign league.
acquainted with, practice with, and ultimately impress some of his fellow NBA players. He was seen chatting with Jordan Crawford throughout the fourth quarter of the Mavericks game and worked out with Wizards guard Traevon Jackson. The former Wisconsin player was impressed by Singh’s size and his ability to shoot the ball stating, “He was on my team (during the workout). He set some big ball screens and he can really hit the pull-up, pickand-pop shots. So he’s definitely going to be on a team.” At the end of the day you wont see Satnam Singh starting for the Mavericks this year, but given some time and the right environment to develop in, the Indian giant could be a force to reckon with in a few years. n
Roshn Marwah is a junior at Purdue University.
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 13
opinion
Speak Up, Prime Minister Modi Where are the “achche din” that was promised India? By Vidya Pradhan, Jawahar “Joe” Samagond
I
ndian voters handed a huge mandate to the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) coalition in 2014, reducing the ruling Congress-led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) to near irrelevance. It was as much a vote for the BJP leader Narendra Modi’s promise of good governance as it was a vote against the Congress Party’s nepotistic, sycophantic, and corruption-laden decade of scandals. Despite worries over Mr. Modi’s associations with right-wing Hindu fundamentalism and his tarred reputation in the wake of communal riots in Gujarat, Indians voted for his manifesto of change. They argued that the need for good governance outweighed other concerns, convinced that Mr. Modi would rein in the fundamentalist elements of his party once he was elected. With a clear majority, the voters signaled that Narendra Modi had the full authority to clean house and deliver on his promise of “Achche Din” (Good Days). It has been 16 months since that mandate. Have the voters received a glimpse of “Achche Din?” Or is the BJP government devolving quickly to UPA’s third term?
The Economy
On its face there has been cause for cheer at the healthy rate of GDP growth of 7.6% for the fiscal year 2014/15, which appears to put India on par with its biggest competitor, China. However, falling oil prices have played a significant role, as has the change in the GDP calculation formula. According to a Wall Street Journal article published on August 20, 2015, the profits of companies in the benchmark Sensex index rose by only 1% during the April through June quarter, compared with 24% growth in the same period a year earlier. Mr. Modi’s signature economic campaign has been his push to “Make in India” (a Nehruvian philosophy that has had the support all previous governments) encour-
Narendra Modi: In aggressive campaign mode
aging industries to manufacture in India to create jobs and establish self-reliance. While several high profile companies have pledged to invest, the initiative has not trickled down to small business owners who still struggle to compete globally. Arguably, a grand initiative like that needs time to solidify, but for it to succeed the government needs to take specific actions to improve infrastructure, capital flows, and streamline regulation. There is no evidence that these actions are in the pipeline. In the meantime, industrial output fell sharply recently to 2.1% after having risen 5.6% the previous 12 months (under the previous government). Growth in the core sector, (which includes electricity, coal, cement, steel, and petroleum) has fallen 0.1 percent. It grew 7.3% the previous 12 months.
Governance
Good governance has been at the heart of Narendra Modi’s appeal to the electorate and the Prime Minister certainly started off with a bang—removing cushy
14 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California |September 2015
perks from members of the bureaucracy, insisting on regular attendance and clean desks and vowing to root out entrenched corruption from the babudom. There is some evidence that top-level bureaucratic corruption is down. There is also a plan to replace India’s patchwork of taxes with a single, nationwide levy, which might simplify collection and improve revenues in a country notoriously known for evading taxes. (Ironically, the Goods and Service Tax, now touted with great fanfare by the BJP government, was a proposal by the previous premier Dr. Manmohan Singh that was vociferously shot down by the then-in-opposition BJP!) But a proposed land acquisition bill, which would have given the government sweeping authority to acquire land for business development, has been derailed because of insufficient communication with stakeholders like farmers. And in a direct stain on Mr. Modi’s anti-corruption stance, his foreign minister S. Swaraj and the BJP Rajasthan Chief Minister V. Raje have been accused of improperly helping a
cricket magnate, Lalit Modi (no relation), who is under investigation by Indian authorities over financial irregularities in the Indian Premier League. Another huge scandal has erupted in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP-run government is part of federal law enforcement probe over allegations of graft by a government examination board. Prime Minister Modi’s response has been a distant silence, but the media onslaught and opposition pressure over these events have brought the government to a standstill. One of the most publicized of Mr. Modi’s initiatives, the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan”(Clean India Initiative) got off to a great start, with celebrities, politicians, and common people joining in an effort to clean and beautify public areas. In true Modi style, however, most of the emphasis has been on publicity, without a comprehensive plan to fix the underlying infrastructural issues like sewage treatment and user education. A much ballyhooed promise to build more toilets has run out of steam, with the annual rate of addition lower than the previous government. While the government claims to have constructed 80 lakh (8 million) toilets under the program, a quick check by Mail Today reveals that many of the toilets are either unused or exist merely on paper.
Freedom of Expression
Given that Mr. Modi’s signature appeal for the intelligentsia is the slogan “More Governance, Less Government,” the last 12 months have seen quite a bit of interference by the government in social and cultural expression. New Film Censor Board chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, a BJP appointee has already circulated a list of words to be disallowed in movies. Movies and documentaries with controversial subjects have also come under the gun like “Unfreedom,” a movie with a strong lesbian theme that was banned on the grounds that it might “ignite unnatural passions.” In July 2015, the Indian government blocked 857 pornographic websites because it didn’t want such content to become “a social nuisance.” Recently cops in Mumbai raided hotels entering rooms of consenting adults to fight “public indecency.” Mr. Modi’s coming to power has unshackled deeply held conservative attitudes and emboldened irrational behavior driven by religious and communalist zeal.
The fervor shown by Mr. Modi’s acolytes extends to vicious responses, filled with ugly threats, to any dissenting voices in the media, which threatens a key pillar of democracy. Gujarat Police officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who took on Narendra Modi over the 2002 riots in the state during Mr. Modi’s tenure as Chief Minister, was sacked recently over the most trivial of allegations. Human rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who has been an unrelenting campaigner against the atrocities in Gujarat, was declared a “threat to national security” and has been the target of incessant harassment. After the appointment of an unqualified Gajendra Chauhan to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) some of the students who went on strike to protest were arrested for “rioting.” A disturbing pattern emerges from these incidents.
NGO Witch Hunt
NGOs like Greenpeace India, an environmental group, have had their funding revoked and threats have been issued to cancel their registration. Others like the Ford Foundation have been placed on a watch list because the Modi government accuses them of slowing down industrial projects on social and environmental grounds, a worrisome development for citizens concerned that new economic development under this regime might come at the expense of the environment and human rights. Indeed, the targeted persecution of NGOs working in the human rights space suggests an attempt to whitewash the country’s reputation by pretending its problems don’t exist.
Religious Freedom
Mr. Modi’s response to the religious riots in Gujarat several years ago has always been a blot on his reputation. Supporters reasoned that as Prime Minister Modi would be more temperate, but the unabated rise of Hindu fundamentalism in the last year has been a cause of grave concern and India’s minorities have won little reassurance. It appears that a “saffronization” of sorts is taking place as evinced by the following incidents: • Banning the consumption and production of beef products • Hindu organizations affiliated to the BJP have forcibly converted poor minorities to Hinduism under a “Ghar Wapsi
“I will not accept any such gag order. I was exercising my fundamental right and this is not just about me, but the right of every citizen of the country.” Priya Pillai, Campaigner, Greenpeace, India
(returning home)” campaign. • Modifying textbooks used in government schools—Retired school principal Dinanath Batra, who has successfully removed Wendy Doniger’s book The Hindus from Indian bookshelves, is a senior figure in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and has the ear of this government. He happily accepts the term “Ban Man” and is on a warpath to modify textbooks to suggest a more glorious Hindu past for the country. • In the words of 86 year old, Julie Ribiero, a retired IPS (Indian Police Service) officer, and a former Indian ambassador to Romania—“As a Christian, suddenly I am a stranger in my own country. Is it coincidence or a well-thought-out plan that the systematic targeting of a small and peaceful community should begin only after the BJP government of Narendra Modi came to power last May?” • In New Delhi last year, Mr. Modi’s Union Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told voters that they must choose between “Ramzadon” (those born of Ram) and “Haramzadon” (illegitimately born), a dig at Muslims. • RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, an ally of the ruling party, suggested that all Hindu
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 15
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stanis (Indians) are Hindus, because they live in Hindustan (“home of the Hindus”). While Mr. Modi may not be directly involved in many of these decisions, his silence and inaction have emboldened the right-wing elements of his party to proceed with the remaking of the country in a reactionary, religion-driven mold. For a Prime Minister who eagerly embraced social media, his lack of engagement on social issues has been surprising and revealing.
Symbolism over Substance
That silence has not extended when the Modi government has been eager to take undue credit for successes—many of which were the result of years of effort by the previous government. Some of these include the Aadhar program, a massive attempt by the UPA government to provide unique identity numbers to each of India’s billions, which was almost scuttled by the incoming BJP government before a plea was made by its architects. The much celebrated nuclear deal with the United States was in fact begun by the Congress Party when in power, and was, at the time, strenuously opposed by the BJP opposition.
The Opportunity
Any Indian, whether local or nonresident, whether supporter or critic, can only wish for the success of Narendra Modi’s promise to bring “Achche Din” for the people of India. To do so, Prime Minister Modi has the challenging task of focusing on economic growth while keeping check on the fundamentalist elements of his party who would derail years of social progress and religious tolerance. To his supporters, who pooh-pooh any criticism of this government asserting that “It also happened under Congress rule” the whole point of changing the guard was to usher in a new administrative era that was efficient, corruptionfree, and economy-centric. What we have got instead, at least till now, is empty symbolism and social and religious paternalism. It behooves us as concerned citizens and Indians abroad to make very sure that the Emperor’s new clothes are indeed real. Tweets, photo ops, and clever slogans cannot bring about the change India needs. If Mr. Modi wishes to be the transformative leader that Indians gave him a mandate for, he must back up his
inspiring rhetoric with action. He needs to fill the ranks of government with talented administrators, pledge to openness and transparency in government affairs, and unreservedly condemn and sideline the communalist forces among his allies. Indians have been incredibly patient and forgiving of an undeserving, corrupt, incompetent and shameless political class that has consistently failed them for far too long. It is time to do right by them, Prime Minister Modi. n Jawahar “Joe” Samagond is a technology communications professional based in Northern California. Originally from Bombay, India he has spent time on both coasts (Boston and San Francisco). He is an avid reader and serves on the Fremont Library Advisory Commission. He is interested in global politics, science, technology and social trends. Vidya Pradhan is a freelance writer and a published author of children’s books. She was the editor of India Currents from June 2009 to February 2012. She hosts the popular Safari Quiz Show every Saturday on 1550 AM in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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What about those interest rates?
Well, the Fed is poised increase the rates, in case you missed the news from Forbes, in March 2015. Last time Fed increased the rate was about 10+ years ago. They raised it on 17 different occasions over 2004–2006, in equal increments of 0.25%. However, even if the Fed does not begin to raise interest rates until late 2015, that does not mean that mortgage rates won't increase. Back in 2013, there was a perception of rising interest rates change. Even though the Fed actually did not take any action, mortgage rates went from 3.500% in April 2013 to 4.500% by December 2013.
What should you do?
If you have a good rate, say 3.750% for a 30 years fixed program and if you are happy with it, do nothing. However, if you want to switch to an ARM, get cash from equity, consolidate debts, get rid of PMI or have been dreaming about switching to a 15 years fixed, do it now. I know many clients who switched to 10 years fixed in the last refinance boom of 2004. Their homes are paid off now! Who says you need to keep a 30 years mortgage? Let me help you get your financial house in order! Call me now to get these smoking hot rates! September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 17
youth
Why Is That White Girl Wearing a Bindi? By Maya Murthy
T
here’s a picture of me at my kindergarten graduation—I’m all of six years old, wearing white shorts, school t-shirt, and white graduation cap set precariously on top of my hair. I’m also wearing a half set of blue bangles on each wrist, and a bindi on my forehead. That was the last time I wore a bindi with a t-shirt and shorts. The bindi had little meaning for me at the time beyond adding formality to an important occasion, and it was the last time I treated my heritage as a natural extension of my public persona. I can’t do that anymore, because wearing a bindi with my name and skin tone sends a message to people I can’t afford to project. Wearing a bindi tells people that I’m an immigrant, that I can’t assimilate,
especially of oppressed people’s cultural eldelegitimizes their value, turns them into ements by members of a dominant culture. nothing more precious than costume jewIn the case of the bindi, cultural apelry—something beautiful to adorn a body propriation is when a white girl (my stand for a little while, before being thrown in for all non-Indians) wears a bindi at a away. music festival, someone who wasn’t inOne of the most common refrains in vited to wear a bindi in the proper context a conversation about appropriation is the but instead uses it as a fashion statement. idea that a culture is not a costume, and As an isolated situation, this doesn’t part of that argument is the idea that much sound particularly probSelena Gomez wearing a bindi and performing “Come and lematic. Sure, Get It” at the MTV movie awards 2013 it might be a little disquieting, especially for people who see the bindi in its original religious context,
Aishwarya Rai in the movie Devdas
and that I’m religious. The bindi is a visible symbol that I’m not American. Of course, all of this only applies because I’m Indian. If I were anything else, the bindi would be nothing more than a fashion statement—a quirky sign of my worldliness for all of my Instagram followers to see. “Cultural Appropriation” is defined as the adoption of elements of one culture by members of a different cultural group;
but the vast majority of Indians use it for decoration anyway, right? Right. But while cultural appropriation seems harmless, in reality it reinforces the idea that there are bits and pieces of one’s ethnic identity that can be taken without permission, that can be hacked away and repurposed for the sake of the white experience. Taking pieces rather than the whole out of their proper context
18 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
of cultural appropriation hinges on the idea that the dominant culture is capable of viewing everyone else as nothing more complicated than a caricature, a costume to be purchased and donned and taken off at leisure. There are white people who insist that they have done their homework—that they’ve read up on the subject, understand the bindi’s place in cultural history. They say that for them, the bindi is an affirmation of their spirituality and identity, just as it is for other South Asians. For them, the issue becomes a little more complex, because now we have to take into account the existence of the imperfect world we live in. I’m not a scholar, but I think that white people, regardless of their spiritual outlook, should not be wearing bindis. And the reason is really, really simple:
... in reality it [non-Indians wearing the bindi] reinforces the idea that there are bits and pieces of one’s ethnic identity that can be taken without permission, that can be hacked away and repurposed for the sake of the white experience. because I cannot. The issue of cultural appropriation isn’t completely about the act, as much as it is with the society it takes place in. In a perfect world, both I and the white girl would be free to wear our bindis with the same lack of judgment from outside parties. We would both understand the history of the bindi, the significance behind wearing one, and if we eventually chose to place a dot in between our brows, we would both be treated as the equal citizens we are. This is not the case, and so cultural appropriation becomes another destructive example of privilege. Kylie Jenner is lauded on the internet for her new “edgy” dreadlocks, but Zendaya is mocked by the Fashion Police for hers. Kourtney Kardashian wears a burka for Instagram, but Muslim schoolchildren in France are barred from wearing the hijab in class. Selena Gomez wears a bindi on stage, but I am forced to carefully wipe off the kumkum on my forehead on the way to school after morning prayers, because when I forget I am asked if I have a disease. When we wear symbols of our heritage, it is always seen as proof of our “otherness,” a sign of our status as second class citizens who are simply unable to conform to the American Ideal. It’s seen as a reason to discount our value, a reason to believe that we can’t be as normal as our peers. very piece is forced to represent more than what it is or might be—what we deem as fashionable or cultural pride is weaponized against us through the prejudice of the dominant culture. And yet when that dominant culture does the same: peels the bindi off our foreheads and places it on theirs, the bindi automatically becomes stripped of the layers of intolerance. The bindi is content to exist on white skin as an example of everything we might have wanted it to represent on ours. Perhaps I’m being petty, but it hurts
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a little to see a white girl defending herchoice to wear a bindi as an example of her freedom of expression, when I watch Indian girls brave enough to wear one in class called backward, and assumed to be people of far less worth than they are. Cultural appropriation is often seen as the quintessential molehill made into a mountain—something small that doesn’t seem to do much harm, at least in comparison to other more visible forms of racism. But racism isn’t just defined by acts of violence. It’s a mindset we indoctrinate, low doses of poison that slowly seep into our veins without us realizing. Big blaring issues are easily recognizable, and we hope eventually can be defeated. Mindsets, on the other hand are harder. Stating that issues like cultural appropriation don’t matter in the larger scheme of things allows the attitudes that breed racism to fester and grow. It cements the idea that culture is something that can be taken rather than given, an us versus them mentality that differentiates between ethnicities. I am not allowed to appreciate my culture unless I don’t belong to it. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t carefully remove all aspects of my heritage, wouldn’t divorce myself from my culture in a myriad of ways in order to keep my place in society. I wouldn’t deliberately mispronounce Indian names, wouldn’t bite my tongue at the demolition of my religion at the hands of textbooks, wouldn’t remove my bindi in the mornings. In a perfect world, I would be allowed to be as Indian as I wanted. And in a perfect world, everyone else might be too. n Maya Murthy is a senior at Monta Vista high school in Cupertino California, where she writes for her school newspaper and literary magazine. In her admittedly limited spare time, she sings Carnatic music and sometimes can be found walking the family dog. She interned at India Currents over the summer.
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investment
Real Estate Investment Made Easier in India By V. Nagarajan
A
n estimated 30 million NRIs living in 160 countries are looking at India for real estate investment opportunities. India has been consistently rising in terms of the quantum of expatriate US dollar remittance for years now from $55.6 billion in 2010-11, $66.1 billion in 2011-12, $67.6 billion in 2012-13 to $ 70.68 last year. The Indian government recently approved a proposal allowing investments made by NRIs to be deemed as domestic investment on par with resident investments. Thus NRI investment norms have been considerably eased. We use the term NRI here to include OCI cardholders as well as PIO cardholders. Due to the cascading impact of recession over the years, property prices have plateaued and are now stagnant in most cities in India. Home loan lending rates have been reduced with special rates for women home buyers. Above all, there is no differential pricing for projects whether sold in India or abroad. A number of developers are undertaking luxury apartment projects and ultra luxury villa projects for globe-trotting Indians accustomed to enjoying the luxuries of life abroad. Such niche homes are marketed through exclusive road shows abroad. For the average NRI looking to invest in apartments or row houses, the timing is appropriate as pre-launch offers are made by several property developers to minimize working capital needs. An NRI investor can look for a return of 20-25 per cent on his investment while investing in such projects which takes at least 18-24 months for implementation. For medium term investors investing in plotted development projects will get a compound growth rate of 25-30 per cent per year. For those NRIs holding land parcels or inherited properties in cities, joint venture agreements with leading developers would enable them to convert their land into
Chaithanya Villa
productive and income generating assets. For those investors looking to invest in leased commercial property, availability of commercial property investment options is limited, particularly of smaller units and the investment cap for commercial properties varies from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore ($770,000 to $1.5 million). The yield varies from 9 to 11 per cent depending on the building, developer, tenant, location, specification and amenities offered in the project.
Investment Norms Eased
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has considerably eased investment norms for NRIs/PIOs in real estate. They can buy, sell, gift and inherit immovable property. The prohibited categories of properties include agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouse. In the event of sale of immovable property, the authorised dealer may allow repatriation of sale proceeds upto two residential units. An NRI/PIO may remit an amount, not exceeding $1 million per financial year out of the balances held in NRO accounts. However, the repatriation is subject to production of documentary evidence in support of acquisition, inheritance or legacy of assets and payment of applicable taxes in India. In a further move to ease norms, the RBI has also clarified that income and sale
20 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
proceeds of assets held abroad by NRIs need not be repatriated to India and can be retained and invested outside India. On the taxation front, wealth-tax has been abolished. On capital gains received while selling immovable property, the cost inflation index will enable NRIs to minimize tax liability. For instance, if an NRI sells a plot of land bought at Rs 1 million in the year 1978 for Rs 4 million in 2012-13, the resulting capital gain is Rs 3 million liable for tax. The indexed cost price would be Rs 8.5 million leading to complete exemption from tax.
Ground Realities
NRI investors are advised to follow ground realities while investing in real estate. Property management companies have entered metros to provide NRI services. ven leading developers extend similar services as they are keen to tap the vast Indian diaspora market. Verification of title deeds, revenue documents, encumbrance certificate for a minimum period of 30 years, planning permission and proof of documents to get basic amenities would minimize hassles. n V. Nagarajan is a property consultant and columnist on real estate investment, and represents a PE fund in India. He can be reached at +919176627139 or by email: nagarajan53@gmail.com.
tax talk
Being Prepared for Calamity By Rita Bhayani
Important Tax Date Third-quarter individual estimated tax payments are due by September 15.
Weather Disasters
B
eing prepared for the worst is always a good idea. Your plan shouldn’t only include bottled water, batteries and candles—but also your financial and family documents. While putting together your emergency kit, don’t neglect your financial kit. Store copies of important documents either in a safety deposit box at the bank or in a weather-proof box at home. Another option would be to put PDF copies on a password-protected USB drive or in cloud storage. Have accessible copies of insurance documents and contacts, as well as other financial documents, including bank statements, credit card bills, family records (birth, marriage, death certificates), photocopies of credit and identification cards (e.g., passports, driver’s licenses), all tax records and any supporting documents. Take inventory of your home (and business) by photographing all of the items inside and out. At the very least, you should do this on an annual basis, but more often is ideal. When taking inventory, also make it a habit to back up your computer, especially if you store important documents and pictures on it.
Dealing With the Aftereffects A casualty loss from a weather-related event is defined as damage, destruction or loss of property. To claim this loss on your tax return, you need to know the value of what was lost. Generally, this is the fair market value. You also need to know the change in value of the property from before the damage occurred to after it occurred. If the decline in value is less than
your cost, then the smaller amount is used for calculating the deductible loss. This amount is decreased by any insurance or other reimbursement you receive on the property. Sometimes reimbursements can actually lead to a gain from the casualty instead of a loss, in which case different rules may apply that limit or defer reporting gain to the IRS. The loss after insurance reimbursement is reduced by $100 and reported on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. The aggregate total of all casualty losses will be reduced by 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. n
Reprinted with permission from the National Association of Tax Professionals. Rita Bhayani is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant practicing at Pleasanton, CA and she protects the clients from the IRS. She provides tax planning, accounting, payroll and outsourced CFO services too. For more information log on to www.ritacpa.net. Reprinted with permission from the National Association of Tax Professionals.
Quote Corner
Did You Know? Nine out of ten lightning bolts strike land rather than oceans.
“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” ~Mark Twain
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 21
ask a lawyer
Will I Face Immigration Issues Since I Was Charged With Felony Theft? By Indu Liladhar-Hathi
Q
I am currently in California on an H-1B status and plan to get married to a US citizen. However, I was recently charged with felony theft and am afraid that if I am convicted, I will not be able to adjust my status.
A
In November 2014, California voters passed the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, also called “Proposition 47.� Prop 47 changes California Law so that some low-level, non-violent offenses will be punishable as misdemeanors instead of felonies. These offenses include crimes like theft, shoplifting, receipt of stolen property, passing bad checks, and forgery, as long as the amount is $950 or less. By changing some felonies to misdemeanors and reducing the penalties for these crimes, Prop 47 will help people with immigration problems. This particular provision should allow you to adjust
your status, assuming that the amount involved is $950 or less. Please check with your legal representative to see whether Prop 47 can assist you. It should also be noted that people can get help with past convictions. A qualifying prior felony conviction can be re-designated as a misdemeanor. Also, individuals who still are serving in jail may be able to get their sentence reduced and be released early under Prop 47. For more information, go to www.myprop47.org.
Q
Effective June 24th, 2015, the USCIS designated Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months based on the conditions resulting from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25th, 2015. What does this mean?
A
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It means that eligible nationals of Nepal residing in the United States
may apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The TPS designation for Nepal will be in effect through December 24th, 2016. The designation means that, during the designated period, eligible nationals of Nepal (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) will not be removed from the United States and may receive an mployment uthorization Document D . he 8 day TPS registration period begins June 24th, 2015 and runs through December 21st, 2015. The eligibility requirements are fully described on the TPS webpage at www. uscis.gov/tps. n
Immigration and business attorney Indu Liladhar-Hathi has an office in San Jose.(408) 453-5335
legal visa dates Important Note: U.S. travelers seeking visas to India will now need to obtain them through Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Call 1-866-978-0055, email enquiriesusa@ckgs.com or visit www.in.ckgs.us for more information.
September 2015
T
his column carries priority 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 September 2015.
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 Dec 15, 2007 2A Mar 1, 2014 2B Dec 22, 2008 3rd May 08, 2004 4th Jan 15, 2003 N numbers sub ect to per country limit are available to applicants beginning with priority dates beginning February 01, 2014 and earlier than March 01, 2014.
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profile
Sundar Pichai–The Rise of an Indian Engineer Google CEO Pichai known as solution-oriented, soft spoken and diplomatic By Prakash Narayan
W
hile the whole country was consumed with news about Cecil the lion and Donald Trump, Google jolted us with the news that it had named Sundar Pichai as the new . Mainstream media the world over reported (and regurgitated) on his humble beginnings and meteoric rise within the ranks of Google. The facts of his education at Vana Vani High School (in Chennai), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur (B.Tech Metallurgy), Stanford (MS), Wharton (MBA) have been repeated far too often. There were some contrarian opinions too. Paraphrasing what one of them said, he new oogle deserves kudos, but his elevation has been a tad over hyped by the media. His real achievement lies not in gaining the corner office, but in helming the team, which created the Chrome browser. Much before Pichai there was Vinod Dham who oversaw the birth of Pentium. Rather than going into paroxysms of joy over a corporate promotion, we should celebrate the creative side of these techno gurus.” The reason I am highlighting this (perhaps singular) opinion is that it helps provide focus on everything that is commendable about Sundar Pichai’s accomplishments. With due respect to Vinod Dham, he did his creations under the watch of a Hungarian-born immigrant. Google’s first , ric Schmidt, was appointed by the Board to provide “adult supervision” to Sergei Brin and Larry Page. When the kids “grew up,” it was natural for one of them to assume the reins as . oing through the ranks of the World’s most admired company and being named its
Sundar Pichai
Photo: “Sundar Pichai” by Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italy–Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google. Licensed under CC
deserves to be “over hyped”—because it is a big deal. In the book, High Noon–The Inside Story of Scott McNealy and the rise of Sun Microsystems,” Karen Southwick writes on inod hosla’s firing as the of Sun Microsystems in 1984, “His bluntness and outspoken criticisms weren’t appreciated as the company grew.” Khosla was among the first (of Indian origin) to be at the helm of a technology company in Silicon Valley. In contrast, 30+ years later, it is the people skills of Sundar (who was barely 12 years old at the time of Khosla’s firing) that is attributed to his rise. “Sundar is a compassionate leader who recruited, mentored, and invested in the people that worked for him,” is the refrain that is heard both within and outside the walls of Google. This is a trait that probably links Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayen, Sanjay Jha
24 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
and Ra iv Suri all s of influential technology companies). Their innate humility, strong technical education, respect for others and strong aspirations are qualities that led them to the top of the corporate ladder. To help explore that tenet of Sundar Pichai, I spoke to professors Sanat Kumar Roy and Indranil Manna. Roy, who to this day continues to teach in the Metallurgy Department at IIT Kharagpur, remembers Sundar as a student in 1989. “He was a calm and quiet boy. He was introverted and did not have a large number of friends.” A major component of the Teacher’s Assessment of the student is the Vivavoce on the Theory and Laboratory work. This helps the professor judge whether the student has “memorized” the material or has an “innate understanding.” Roy remembers Sundar Pichai being analytical
in his approach. IIT Kharagpur was one of the first colleges to introduce non-metallic materials in the curriculum. Sundar Pichai blazed the trail in his final year thesis. While most of the students in his class worked on metals for their project, Pichai did not hesitate on the opportunity to work with silicon wafer. He completed this work under the guidance of Professor Manna (who is currently the director of IIT Kanpur). Manna remembered that Pichai’s closest friend was Swaminathan Jayaraman. While Pichai went to Stanford for his MS, Swaminathan went to Johns Hopkins to pursue a Ph.D. Unfortunately, Swaminathan died in a car accident in 1998 along with two other IIT friends. In the recently concluded (July 24-25, 2015), Pan-IIT Global Leadership Conference, Shyamal Roy released a coffee table book titled IMPACT of the IIT Alumni in USA—an artistic endeavor showcasing 72 exemplary alumni (from among the 50,000+ graduates of IIT who have sought to pursue their careers in the United States) who have made a difference in fields ranging from innovation to entrepreneurship to corporate leadership to education to philanthropy. ach one has made a lasting contribution. Ironically, Sundar Pichai’s name is not included in this list. Sridhar Ramaswamy is the only Google VP to be included. With his promotion to , Sundar ichai will not only make the list, he would catapult to be among the top achievers. Nikesh Arora summed it up when he retweeted Prime Minister Modi’s tweet that congratulated @sundarpichai, “Now, I feel cheated. Lol. Congrats (sic)” In a sense, many of these over-achievers could serve as the of a ortune ompany given the right opportunity. Such is the rich background and training of Indian engineers. Sundar ichai’s ourney as the has just begun. He has a lot more to accomplish. He certainly is an inspiration for of every Indian engineer in the Valley. Collectively, I am sure every one joins me in wishing him more success as he steers Google forward. n Prakash Narayan is a aoftware engineer living in Fremont, California. His twitter handle is @kpn320 September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 25
books
The Last Laugh By Jeanne E. Fredriksen YES, MY ACCENT IS REAL: AND SOME OTHER THINGS I HAVEN’T TOLD YOU by Kunal Nayyar. Atria Books, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.: New York. September 2015. Available as hard cover, e-book, unabridged audio download,and unabridged CD.
R
ussell Peters, Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari. They are comedians and comedic actors of Indian background who have written books. Now, it’s Kunal Nayyar’s turn. The actor who plays astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali on the hit CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory freely and openly takes the reader on a ride— bumps and all—in his collection of over 30 personal essays titled Yes, My Accent Is Real: And Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You. From his childhood in New Delhi (but he’ll point out that he was “Made in ngland to his college days at the University of Portland to marrying his wife Neha Kapur (Miss India 2006, “My Big Fat Indian Wedding”), Nayyar neither uses the book to promote himself as a Hollywood fixture nor sets himself up on a pedestal. Rather, he reveals a man who stumbled now and then, felt the full spectrum of emotions, and carried on like any other person whose sights are set on getting it right no matter the chosen profession. What stands out above all in this collection of hilarious essays, cocktail napkin wisdoms (“Thoughts Recorded on an Aeroplane Napkin,” “More Thoughts ...,” “Still More Thoughts ...”) and caringlycrafted lists (“My A-to-Z Guide to Getting Nookie in New Delhi During High School,” “Kunal’s Twelve Quick Thoughts on Dating,” “Thirteen Things I’ve Learned from Playing an Astrophysicist on TV”), and brief musings (“Why Being Indian Is Cool,” “The Art of the Head Bobble”), is the joy that permeates his life His recounting exudes happiness through a wry sense of self as he looks back at his trials, shyness, triumphs, friends,
creative endeavors. Along his journey as a business major, he decides to check out the university’s Theater Department because that’s where the pretty girls are (“Judgment Day in Boise”); discovers a love for the stage and is compelled to confess to his parents that he wants to be an actor (“How I Knew”); finds his footing when it seems he no longer has a sidekick/support system (“Diaby and Me”); and learns that love at first sight can truly happen (“And Then I Fell in Love”). This candid glimpse into the actor behind one of the most beloved sitcom misfits is both refreshing and inspiring. The majority of the offerings find Nayyar musing about the morals of each as if casually offering advice that he, himself, may have had to learn the hard way. Wise words also are discussed in “Dinners with Dad” where he learned at his father’s table the important concepts of “Treat a king and a beggar the same,” “Stand up when it counts,” “Disarm with a smile,” and “Use a spreadsheet.” Relationships loom large in his life, and there is a sparkle that comes from a restrained amount of manly conquest talk versus a large helping of honest analysis of his failure, near-miss, and success regarding some of them (“The Forbidden Kiss,” “The Girl I Went to Mass For,” “Lollipops and risps . In verything I now bout Kissing I learned from Winnie Cooper” Nayyar swings from an inaugural kiss at the age of twelve from the first love of his life (his cousin’s friend) to the third season of Big Bang when a script called for him to kiss the other first love of his life: guest star Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper on the TV show The Wonders Years. Nayyar also explores with open eyes his initial loneliness, being different, not knowing how to handle certain situations at college (after all, his exposure to American college life came from watching the film American Pie). He struggles with not being cast in roles he coveted juxtaposed with
26 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
the slow realization that it wasn’t drama but comedy at which he excelled. Later, he realizes that all of his adventures and misadventures along the way had prepared him to be cast as Raj in 2007. With that in mind, this collection gives hope to those whose social unease has held them back; bolsters those who find themselves in a sea of confusion regarding place and time; and offers encouragement from someone whose every dumb act, silly assumption, creative inventiveness, and eventual take-charge attitude has led him to the totally fulfilling life he leads today. Whether your weekly TV viewing schedule regularly includes The Big Bang Theory (I’m surprised he didn’t title “Holiday Traditions Part 3: Holi” as “The Big Bhang Theory”) or it doesn’t, this entertaining trip into the life of Kunal Nayyar is an upbeat and worthwhile read. Charming, introspective discourse and self-deprecating humor run hand-in-hand, allowing the reader to feel that the last chapter, titled “Goodbye,” is truly as his father explained to him: just an opportunity for hello. n Jeanne E. Fredriksen lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where she is the managing editor of a monthly newspaper and is a Books for Youth reviewer for Booklist magazine, a publication of the American Library Association. Between assignments, she writes fiction, hunts for the perfect Bloody Mary, and heads to the beach as often as she can.
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September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 27
films
Lady and the Tramp By Aniruddh Chawda
BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN. Director: Kabir Khan. Players: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Harshaali Malhotra, Om Puri, Nawazudin Siddique, Sharat Saxena, Meher Vij. Music: Pritam. Hindi with Eng. Sub-tit. Theatrical release (Eros)
S
alman Khan made his mark first with spot-on drama (Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun) and then with lucrative hyper-action entries (Kick, Bodyguard, Dabangg, Ready). Khan has thus far avoided roles with heavy political content, although his rogue Indian spy falling for a rogue Pakistani spy in Ek Tha Tiger pointed in that direction. With Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Khan leaps forward to having his own blockbuster movie with a decided political angle. Bhaijaan, a welldressed story about re-connecting with one’s roots through lost identities is a fine entertainer that resonates with a surprisingly sharp why-can’t-we-just-get-along pan-South Asian ring. The gifted Vijayendra Prasad has amazingly scripted not only the recent box office juggernaut Bahubali: The Beginning but also Khan’s huge hit Ek Tha Tiger. For an encore, Prasad now takes a much more restrained posture with Bajrangi. A young mute Pakistani girl (Malhotra) on a pilgrimage to a Muslim shrine in New Delhi becomes separated from her mother (Vij). Pawan Chaturvedi, AKA Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Salman Khan) rescues her from the streets and then reluctantly—passports and a heavily trip-wired border be damned— agrees to accompany her back to Pakistan relying on little more than determination and the sheer will of his devout Hindu convictions. Prasad’s story exploits stereotypes, tapping into the antiquated caste system to create pseudo-divisions in the rank. Bajrangi’s patron is Dayanand (Saxena), whose body-building school for men who, like the camp’s founder, are presumably all also (upper caste) Brahmin. Not knowing the background of the lost girl, now named Munni, Dayanand’s camp assumes that she must be Brahmin
because she is fair-skinned (sic). Bajrangi coming upon Munni praying in a mosque decides that her being Muslim must be kept from everyone except Dayanand’s daughter Rasika (Kapoor), a school teacher that Bajrangi takes a shine to. In a role first offered to Aamir Khan, who recommended Salman Khan instead, this Khan comes across as a subdued simpleton who, except for one unscheduled stop at a brothel, is a grounded, bumpkinish upcountry distant cousin of his actionhero usual self. For Salman Khan, this is a hugely refreshing twist. The counterpoint to Khan is not Kapoor’s level-headed Rasika. Instead it is Munni played by pint-sized newcomer Malhotra to precocious perfection. Malhotra aces projecting an air-tight sense of what it must feel like to be left behind; feeling abandoned and forced to navigate a new country, all without uttering a single word. At some point her fears become our collective fears. Bajrangi is at heart a road movie, since chunks of narrative are comprised of the trip that the vagabond and the shy girl with a 1,000-watt smile take from Delhi to Pakistan controlled Kashmir—by foot, truck, rickshaw, bicycle and train and at times even in drag. Boosted by Puri as a wise-owl teacher and village elder and Siddique as a Karachi TV paparazzi on the prowl for a juicy story—a profession he spins with seriocomic flair—much of the low-tier adventure is trying to stay one step ahead of Pakistani border guards and local cops. At press time, PK, Bahubali: The Be-
28 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
ginning and Bajrangi Bhaijaan—all released since Christmas 2014—have the 1-2-3 ranking for the all-time biggest box office movies from India. These numbers are adding up. Forbes magazine recently reported that by 2016, Indian movies will generate $4.5 billion in revenue (compared to about $10.5 billion for Hollywood) and that two of the top ten highest paid actors in the world are Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar who each took home about $30 million in 2014. These impressive numbers point to a bright future for India’s film industries. Released under Salman Khan’s own SKF banner, the producer and director enlisted a talented international crew to architect Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Filmed entirely in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Kashmir, with some jaw-dropping mountain scenery captured by helicopter and drones, the filmmakers also rounded up 7,000 extras for one crucial border crossing scene. In musical accompaniment, Pritam’s score includes Atif Aslam’s lilting “Tu Chahiye” and Vishal Dadlani and Nakash Aziz’s catchy “Selfie Le Le” number have dominated the charts. Despite this sprawl, the lasting impressions from Bajrangi are those smaller, human moments from slices of everyday life. It is Bajrangi rescuing Munni from the clutches of human traffickers. It is Bajrangi amusingly surrounded by traditional body-building wrestlers in their male-cleavage plumage. It is also a helpless Munni—lost as ever—dutifully making time at a New Delhi mosque to pray and Munni innocently and fatefully stepping off of a train to rescue a lamb. Bajrangi is no ordinary lost-child story. There will not be a single dry eye within miles! n
Lies Wide Shut DRISHYAM. Director: Nishikant Kamat. Players: Ajay Devgan, Shriya Saran, Tabu, Rajat Kapoor, Kamlesh Sawant, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jhadav, Rishabh Chaddha. Music: Vishal Bharadwaj. Hindi with Eng. sub-tit. Theatrical release (Viacom 18)
I
n a non-descript police station backroom, a policeman stands in front of a line of suspects. He orders one suspect to step forward. This is an everyday round-up. The policeman, we learn, is a brutal, badge-abusing bully and the suspect that steps forward is a terrified little schoolgirl about to be interrogated for a crime her family—who make up the rest of the lineup behind her—may or may not have committed. This tense scene, one of many that exemplify filmmaker Kamat and story-writer Jeethu Joseph’s taut family thriller Drishyam is a memorable stop in a not-to-be-missed movie. In a sleepy backwoods village, Vijay Salgaonkar (Devgan) idles away long hours operating his cable-TV store while his wife Nandini (Saran) spends time raising their two daughters at the family’s remote home. The Salgaonkar’s high school age daughter Anju (Dutta) returns from a school fieldtrip, soon followed by Sam (Chadda), a creepy classmate who secretly shot a compromising video of Anju and threatens Anju with blackmail. Confronted by Anju and Nandini in a violent outburst, Anju accidentally kills the blackmailer. Vijay returns home to learn of the horrific turn of events. Learning that Sam is the son of Inspector General Meena Deshmukh (Tabu), the area’s powerful police commander, and her businessman husband Mahesh (Kapoor) proves to be just the beginning of a quagmire the Salgaonkar’s have stepped into. As Sam’s missing person trail lands at the Salgonkar’s doorstep, a couple of realities begin to sink in. The family will have to act out an outwardly normal-appearing life. While doing so, they must also patch together the perfect alibi and live that lie. Compared to recent generic-sounding Hindi movie titles (Thank You, Happy New Year, Partner, Bang Bang or Ye Stupid Pyar), Drishyam is catchy. This Sanskrit word for the view, or more appropriately the point
of view, is exactly what the plot pivots on. The exploitation of a lie—excruciatingly scrutinized, minutely de-constructed, witnesses mobilized, alibis told and then re-visited—all boil down to the he-saidshe-said of entangled memories that don’t always overlap the truth. The big screen etymology of Drishyam owes a huge bow to Jeethu Joseph’s own 2013 Malayalam language entry by the same name. Joseph’s Drishyam cast the great Mohanlal in the lead role and the movie went on to become Malayalam cinema’s highest grossing movie to date. Followers were soon drawn to this powerful, mostly-original story. Samat’s Hindi remake has rolled to sizable box office and critical acclaim. As an actor, Devgan falls somewhere in the midst of great-actor to action starspectrum. From his debut in the actionpacked Phool Aur Kaante (1991) and later tough-guy roles in such entries as Omkara (2006), Once Upon A Time In Mumbai (2008) and Singham (2011) to his restrained everyman Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and especially Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat (2004) Devgan has time and again proven his adaptability to bankable niche roles. While both Devgan’s stoic-breadwinner and Tabu’s tough cops are impressive, however, the real scene-stealer here is Jhadav’s school girl Annu, the Salgaonkar’s younger daughter. Scared for her family’s safety and petrified of physical threats from the police, Annu cleverly conveys both fear and determination on the exact
same face. The fate of her family may well depend on how she reacts to police scare tactics. Joseph’s outline also taps socio-economic differences between the Salgaonkars and Inspector Meera’s family. Ajay is discredited repeatedly for his humble middle class background—his having a fourth grade education is mentioned numerously —and hence viewed as too dumb to have this seemingly iron-clad alibi. While so much of the eye witness account depends on the credibility of exactly what the bullycop Gaitonde (Sawant) saw on that fateful day, that account enticingly becomes suspect for a well-known previous grudge Gaitonde holds against Ajay. ven though Joseph admitted that the story indeed bears some resemblance to Japanese writer Keigo Higashino’s 2005 critically acclaimed bestseller The Devotion of Suspect X, there is enough material to substantiate a working original story for these movies. If one suspends the authoritarian strong-arm ethics or the legality of questioning an entire family as murder suspects while treating them as virtual prisoners or threatening them physically for not “cooperating” with the police or a police inspector with a missing son being allowed to officially investigate that disappearance herself, Drishyam makes terrific viewing. n
Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator, Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.
LATA’S FLICK PICKS ali Baahub ngi Bhaijaan Bajra eli eela k ah ani i Adhuri Kah ar Ham ada Hawaiza
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 29
Padmashri Aruna Sairam Saturday September 26, 2015 at 4 pm | Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School, Long Beach
Sriranjani Santhanagopalan Saturday September 5, 2015 at 5 pm
Sri Ganesh and Sri Kumaresh Saturday September 19, 2015 at 5 pm
Sangeetha Swaminathan
Saturday October 24, 2015 at 5 pm
Ramakrishnan Murthy
Saturday Novermber 7, 2015 at 5 pm
Trichur Brothers
Sunday October 11, 2015 at 4 pm
Sri D. Seshachary
Saturday November 14, 2015 at 5 pm
Hoover Middle School Auditorium Lakewood, CA For additional information: visit simala.net Contact L Vasan 909-618-7685, Vidya Tadanki 408-910-5328, or Kumar Sivaraman 626-437-3286 30 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
Bride Hunting By Geetika Pathania Jain MEET THE PATELS. Director: Ravi Patel, Geeta Patel. Players: Champa V. Patel, Geeta Patel, Ravi Patel. Screenplay: Matthew Hamachek, Billy McMillin, Geeta Patel, Ravi Patel.
M
ama Patel is clanging the pots and pans in the kitchen, her lips pursed in a tight line of displeasure. “I am not giving up my culture so easily,” she manages tersely. The threat to her culture? Not massconversions of her kin. Not even a contested holy site. The threat to her culture is a red-headed girl called Audrey. The love of her son’s young life. Audrey is white American. And most decidedly un-Patel. Yes, it is the age of marriage equality, but can you blame Mama Patel for all that lip-pursing? Feeling the tug of his Indian ties, Ravi has broken up with Audrey. He wants his kids to have the warmth and love of the reat Indian Joint and xtended amily System. He hopes that his kids will stop at Patel motels on their journeys and be immediately accepted as part of the Patel collective. He is, in short, ambivalent about leaving the comfortable world of Aunties and Uncles, Betis and Betas to venture out into a hyphenated world. And so, with much encouragement to “give life a chance,” Ravi embarks on a search for a suitable bride. The trajectory of this search takes him to interesting territory. Speed-dating at the Patel Matrimonial Convention, bio-data exchanges, and marriage advice by well-meaning elders only occasionally result in hurt feelings. Most of these matrimonial exchanges occur within a brisk and business-like climate, akin to a search for education or employment. Or a washer-dryer, for that matter. The film takes a fresh look at so many of the familiar memes. Arranged marriage, preference for wheatish-brown skin, marrying within the community, all come under scrutiny. In the hands of the filmmakers, the arranged marriage is given a more loving examination. The film also speaks of grit. It took six and a half years to make, and the funding came in trickles from sources that are
with, and we said: let’s send this to PBS. Maybe there’s a Morgan Spurlock or Michael Moore type journalistic project here. Maybe it can be super entertaining and funny. The folks at PBS really loved the relationship between us two siblings, with one of us filming the other.
varied and numerous. The payback came in the form of delighted audiences and numerous audience awards at film festivals. The animated sections are skilful, and provide an introspective look. The fastpaced editing is tight. Geeta’s cinematography, jerky with a hand-held camera, remains a running joke between the siblings. In the end, it felt like a very humorous, very loving look at the Indian diaspora. Like being included into the chaos of the Patel household. Champa is making the rotis, Dad is reading the paper, and the kids are all right. I was delighted to speak to the witty Patel siblings. Let me ask you why you decided to make this film? Ravi: Ya, it started out as a home video. Geeta had just come off a previous documentary called Project Kashmir, and she had bought this camera, and she wanted to learn how to use it, which I regret to say she never did. Geeta: Ha ha. Ravi: We went on this family trip to India. Geeta had this camera. At this time, as you saw, I was single, and my Mom and Dad were pretty obsessed with solving this international crisis of getting me married. We had these conversations that people in our generation were really struggling
It seems like you were trying to understand the values of second-generation Indian kids and their parents, the challenges that present themselves. So these film-makers were your inspiration for making this film? Ravi: Yes, and we love romantic comedy. Geeta: Additional films like American Splendor, When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, Jerry McGuire … we love them all. What if we make a documentary that doesn’t feel like a documentary. I did see your homage to Dirty Dancing. That was so hilarious, how you contrasted the “no kiss” culture of Bollywood to the “kiss” culture of Hollywood afwtind having to negotiate these cultures. It seems like you managed to spoof many of the “big ones:” the arranged marriage, the color preference, the aunties. Geeta: There’s a lot of media out there about India and being Indian. We didn’t want to make a film making fun of arranged marriages. Instead, we wanted that people would come out of the film saying “God, I wish my parents would do that for me. God, I love your parents. They are so loving. That is a really beautiful process.” We hope that they would see the other side of it, how beautiful the relationships are. Ravi: Worst case, you will laugh a lot in this movie. n
Geetika Pathania Jain. Ph.D. is a frequent contributor to India Currents magazine.
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 31
travel
Pura Vida in Biolley A close look at a coffee habitat in Costa Rica By Rama Shivakumar
N
ightfall had descended on the Talamanca Mountain like a dark shroud as we turned off the highway onto a dirt road. We trundled uphill in a Toyota four-wheeler towards Biolley, a little hamlet, located at the edge of the La Amistad International Park. The inky blackness of the surrounding jungle enveloped us; we listened to the noisy cicadas and the wind rustling through the dense cover. Our destination was Jardin Coffea Diversa, a coffee plantation owned by our dear friends, Fanny Garcia and Gonzalo Hernandez. Located in a remote part of Costa Rica, close to the Panama border, this would serve as the venue for a meeting of a close circle of friends from many years ago. In the three days that followed, we learned a lot about this rural community; their interconnected lives and the bountiful nature that sustains them. After an hour’s drive, we reached the hacienda, a spacious log cabin, perched in
an idyllic clearing. Viewed in the morning sunlight, the windows framed open vistas of the sprawling valley below. The log cabin had been built by the local folk, with pine logs felled from the land on which it was built. The garden was lush with laden guava trees; white and red varieties of Ixora; brilliant red Heliconias and banana plants. Vines of Thunbergia framed the big picture window, it’s beautiful yellow and maroon blooms hanging like garlands, inviting hummingbirds to whirr around them. We were welcomed with a warm traditional Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto, a rice and black bean dish with peppers and cilantro accompanied by warm tortillas prepared by Lili, the farm help. This was followed by a farm fresh fruit salad of mango, papaya, bananas and completed with freshly brewed coffee grown at the plantation. The aroma of coffee was everywhere as were reminders of how central coffee is to the world’s culture. The dining room featured an arresting photo collage: black and white photos of world leaders, pop and movie stars drinking coffee. Another wall showcased vintage coffee collectibles from grinders to decanters and mugs.
Coffee in Costa Rica
Coffee has shaped Costa Rica’s economic and political landscape ever since its arrival from Jamaica in 1808. But the coffee farming in Costa Rica is very different from other Latin American countries where elite barons own large plantations and oversee a huge labor force. Given its rugged terrain, coffee farming in Costa Rica has stayed on a smaller scale, undertaken by families with small independent holdings. After breakfast, we followed our hosts, Fanny and Gonzalo, for a tour of their plantation. Lili’s two girls ac-
32 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
The hacienda at Jardin Coffea Diversa
companied us, leading the way quickly like the nimble pumas found in the forests above. We came to know many of the little children that lived on the hillside. Fanny told us that their families were all related to each other. Gonzalo pointed out that the plantation, located at 1350 meters above sea level, was a perfect ecological setting for growing coffee: the taller cedars provided the much needed shade for coffee plants, protecting them from the rain and sun, preserving the soil and habitat for an incredible variety of natural animal and plant species. The sign “Jardin Coffea Diversa” at the entrance, Fanny said, was made by Pancho Quesada, an award winning artist. The sign, made using mortar and recycled bottles, looked like a large undersea creature. We learned a lot about Pancho and his unique lifestyle in the next couple of days and happened on a lot more of his art on the property, and elsewhere in the country.
mountain.
Picking For a Living
Fanny and Gonzalo employ a number of local people to work on the plantation all year round. During the coffee-picking season, migrant workers traveled across the border from Panama into Costa Rica. ach year, the same families arrived to live in the houses on the plantation. The coffee pickers are mostly illiterate, our hosts told us. They live close to the land; their weathered hands pick the cherries, dry them, sort them, but cannot count them. Medical help is almost never sought, even though the Costa Rican government does have a health provision for migrant workers. Fanny told us about a coffee picker’s son who she took to the Children’s Hospital in the capital San Jose for treatment of filariasis that he had contracted back in Panama. It turned out that this was a trip of a lifetime for the little boy who rode his wheelchair like a car in the hospital hallways, and warmed the nursing staff with his wide eyed, open thrill of all the comforts that the hospital provided him.
A Hard Life
Jardin Coffea Diversa is a boutique plantation. Many different varieties of coffee are cultivated here: Gesha, Mokka, urpurascens, recta and others, which have rare and unique flavors. This is unlike other plantations that only grow one botanical variety of coffee. The different varieties are grown in separate little plots, bordered by flowering shrubs like Brunfelsia. Signs designed by Pancho indicated the variety grown at the start of each plot. Gonzalo explained that while all the cultivars began their lives as little saplings or soldiers, their phenotypic variations became apparent later: they differed in their height, length of the branches, internodal length and leaf area. Yellow buttercups nodded in the breeze, as we threaded our way down to the place where the coffee was processed from de-pulping to drying to finally storing in labeled bags, before being shipped off to their final destination.
We followed the migrant worker’s trail through the plantation past a bubbly fresh water spring, where tadpoles swam in the clear water. Fresh puma paw prints from the night before around the spring alarmed the little girls and it was reinforced why they never walked up to the hacienda after dark. The farm had lost many chickens in the recent months. Our equestrian tour of the hillside on the second day was perhaps the most quintessential Central American experience of our visit. The horses were owned and operated by a local family; their children rode up like seasoned gauchos, to lead us downhill. We were as exhilarated to be on horseback as these kids might be on an escalator in San Jose. We stopped at the local farms as we cantered slowly down the slope and through the surrounding woods. As we rode back to the hacienda, swallows swooped above us, and misty clouds gathered around the crown of the
The lives of the people in this rural part of the world is paradoxical: most people in Biolley have never left the hillside, have only had an elementary school education and yet, they are very adept at using smart phones and very active on social media sites like Facebook and Whatsapp. We learned that the government provided monetary incentives for families to encourage their children to finish high school, as a rural development measure. Lili’s girls had sweet ambitions of becoming musicians or school teachers. As we were to witness later, the government also provided similar incentives for small, independent farmers to buy equipment and increase their productivity. It is a hard life for a farmer in Biolley, despite the government subsidies. Dona Rosita grew the most delicious pineapples: sweet, succulent and bursting with flavor. Her life however mirrored the outside of the pineapple: thorny and prickly. Her husband had died seeking a laborer’s life in the United States, and Rosita had raised her daughters alone. They now have enrolled themselves in college in San Jose, she said, her face crinkling up in a smile.
September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 33
An ice cream shop: Heladaria Artesenal, designed by Pancho Quesada, in the shape of a whimsical mushroom
Coffee being dried at the farm
Ice Cream, Jam and Honey
In an effort to use the resources and talent in the region and to provide opportunities for the community, Fanny has initiated some innovative joint ventures with the people of Biolley. The Heladeria Artesenal is one such undertaking. It is a charming ice cream shop co-owned by Fanny and Roxana, a shy girl from the village. Fanny secured government grants to begin this enterprise and has employed Pancho the artist to create a whimsical mushroom shaped hut in the clearing; like an underwater fairyland with brightly colored toadstools and umbrellas. Fanny makes the ice cream in the farm house with fruits from the local farms and Roxana manages the shop and attends to the customers. The shop also sells small pots of jams and special honey made by a variety of stingless bees that are unique to the region, a contribution of Roxana’s mother. Gonzalo told us that the bees produce only small quantities of honey and are not considered to be economical to harvest on a commercial basis. It was simply the best honey we had ever tasted. The ice cream shop is a meeting place in more ways than one. The community gathers here in the evenings and holidays to eat delectable ice cream in many local flavors: berry, guava, passion fruit, banana and chocolate.
An Artisanal Lifestyle
A steep dirt road up from the Heladeria leads to Pancho Quesada’s studio and tree-house, where he leads a hermit’s life.
Pancho Quesada
The story goes that he drove his car out of the gates of National Biodiversity Institute in San Jose into the mountains, giving up a career and an urban lifestyle to pursue his vision. He built a house on stilts with a huge translucent tarp for a ceiling. He created art from objects-trouve: collections of empty bottles, fishing buoys, cleaned bones of animals, truck tires, twisted metal, dried gourd, every possible kind of shells and hollow reeds represented an organized chaos in his house. On his property, he cultivated seeds from indigenous plants, vines and trees. He has also designed a seed polisher from used parts. These very seeds were used in another joint venture that Fanny organized to empower the local tribal women: the Artesanas del Bosque or the Artisans of
34 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
the Rainforest. This was a social welfare organization that enabled these rural women to use the polished seeds to craft natural, sustainable and entirely charming jewelry to be sold in the international marketplace. A trip to the big fair in the Osa region or up in San Jose was a treat for everyone in Biolley, a way to experience the outside world. The ice creams, jams and jewelry were sold there and the profits shared among all the women. At night, the full moon rose like an illuminated disc, its quiet light spilling down the mountain, its penumbra obscuring the stars of the Milky Way. As the local children slept on the hillsides below, we wondered how many of their dreams would be fulfilled; how many of them would move away from the mountain to seek an education; how many of them would live a life entertaining the “spring breakers” in the nearby Manuel Antonio Park and how many of them would come back to serve their community. It was a hard life for the people of Biolley, but they had taken necessary initiatives towards progress and a better life, and were very fortunate to be a part of a land of abundant natural beauty and biodiversity. n Rama Shivakumar is a short story writer who has published her work in numerous literary journals, magazines and anthologies. Rama lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and eight year old daughter. She works as a scientist in a biotechnology firm and has participated in workshops at the Writer's Center in Bethesda.
September 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 35
On Inglish
Off With the Loot By Kalpana Mohan
loot, noun. goods stolen during pillaging, as in wartime, during riots, etc; goods, money, etc, obtained illegally; (informal) money or wealth. From Hindi lu:t 1788, from Sanskrit loptram, lotram.
W
hen I returned home from India late in June, I noticed Babington Macaulay’s proposal on reforming education in that one of our patio doors had been tampered with. India. In his Minute on Indian Education of February 1835, Burglars had managed to break into our home. EviMacaulay asserted that “all the historical information which dently, they had scatted off when the burglar alarm sounded. has been collected from all the books written in the Sanskrit My neighbor across the road was not so lucky. One evening, language is less valuable than what may be found in the most she swung back into the driveway after a quick dinner date only to paltry abridgement used at preparatory schools in England.” discover that someone had looted her home. He had scooted with At the Oxford debate, Tharoor honed in on the biggest every item of jewelry; there were many an heirloom among them. consequence of British aggression: “The fact remains that In the weeks subsequent to my return, I would hear repeated many of today’s problems in these countries, including the references to “loot.” The home of an acquaintance right around persistence, in some cases, the creation, of racial and ethnic the corner from me was burgled. The family lost jewelry newly and religious tensions, were the direct result of the colonial acquired in India for an upcoming engagement in the family. Apexperience.” parently, local burglary rings gathered intelligence about the ways The wounds from plunder will take centuries to heal. In Indian families operate. They had India, it will take many generations gleaned that the right moment to loot The wounds from plunder will for pride and self-worth to be reinan Indian-American family was bestated. Several hundred years later, take centuries to heal. In India, tween the time a homeowner returned I see the fingerprints of British hefrom a long vacation and headed to the it will take many generations for gemony and imperialism in small, bank to restore valuables back in the seemingly disconnected things: In the pride and self-worth to be reinsafe-deposit box. According to victims 10-rupee entry fee at Trivandrum’s and police officers, burglars in the SF stated. Napier museum with its rheumy, diBay Area had started using detectors sheveled appearance, in the gap beto sniff out gold from other junk; they worked fast, making off tween those Indians who think and speak in English and with the spoils—typically electronics and gold—in under an hour. those who do not, in the forgotten Bronze Art Gallery in The subject of looting seemed very topical to July. It sprang Chennai, in the appalling state of ancient temples in South up one morning in a video I watched of the now famous Oxford India and their callous renovations, in the limited support debate by Indian parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor who stated, in a and sponsorship of literature in India’s regional languages thunderously funny moment, that the British Raj had looted India and in my own inability to understand and appreciate the and also stolen the word “loot.” Tharoor ended his speech askbest of Tamil literature. ing for reparations from the British government, but before that, Some people may deem my use of the word “loot” with he observed that the perpetration of a crime by ancestors didn’t respect to neighborhood crimes a hyperbole. After all, lootexactly absolve today’s Britons and that they needed to acknowling is associated with stealing goods from a place during a edge the “moral debt” that was owed for the “dehumanization of war or a riot and the act itself is often associated with exAfricans in the Caribbean, the massive psychological damage that pensive, rare artifacts. But the act of seizing an object unlawhas been done, the undermining of social traditions, or of property fully—of severing a victim’s ties to an object—is in the realm rights, of authority structures of these societies, all in the interests of loot and plunder. When someone steals an heirloom from of British colonialism.” someone, he deprives another of their dignity. He snips their Tharoor enumerated the quantifiable depredations in a masconnections to their past. terful way. But I wondered about all the intangibles. In their That is exactly what happened to my neighbor this sumrelentless colonizing and warmongering, Britain had looted India mer. The criminal left her sons little to cherish. My neighand other colonies not just of material wealth. It had rooted out bor had planned to give her heirloom—her grandmother’s self-esteem and identity. By supplanting the national language, by engagement ring—to her son. Now there telling Indians overtly and subliminally about the pointlessness was nothing left to give. n of their languages, their superstitions, their cultures and their religions, and by foisting the western notions of science, literature Kalpana Mohan writes from California’s Siliand philosophy, the British created, very methodically, a group of con Valley. To read more about her, go to http:// literate Anglophiles who would be conduits between the “natives” kalpanamohan.org and http://saritorial.com. and the British government. That was indeed the intent of Thomas 36 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
music & dance
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music
Music That Bridges Boundaries By Priya Bhatt Das
I
n February 2015, the Mekaal Hasan Band (MHB) was at the center of a musical discord—within a week, it was nominated and then disqualified for the Global Indian Music Awards. The Pakistani publication Dawn, reported Hasan commenting, “We didn’t ask for a nomination in the first place and given that they deemed us worthy enough to be nominated, disqualifying now doesn’t really make sense to me. The album was not recorded solely in Pakistan, rather half of the work was done in India.” The band is currently on tour in the United States and has an interesting profile—it is Indian and Pakistani, comprising Hasan (guitar) and Muhammad Ahsan Papu (flute) from Pakistan; Sharmishtha Chatterjee (vocals), Gino Banks (drums; yes, son of Louis Banks), and Sheldon D’Silva (bass) from India. Hasan is driven by the Indian and Pakistani relationship: not by the conflict, but by its potential; saying, “The fact that we have hundreds of years of shared musical and artistic history is in and of itself a treasure trove to be delved in deeply as partners in art and culture. While much is made of the often acrimonious relationship between the two countries politically, not enough is done to explore the many wonderful things we can build upon together.” Hasan himself seems to epitomize the prefix “inter:” He is an inter-faith productof a Muslim father and Christian mother; plays inter-genre music (Sufi and rock); works with inter-tradition musicians (classical and jazz); is inspired by inter-ethos poetry (spiritual and modern) and ofcourse founded an inter-geo band. The latest album, Andholan—meaning “organized protest” in Hindi—is aptly named for what the band represents. A listen to the album drives home this aspect: “Kinarey” is semi-classical but philosophical, with Chatterjee starting off in wonderfully clear-toned vocals, Papu’s flute providing soulful accompaniment. “Ghungat” on the other hand, stays true to rebellious rock, strong on the guitar, bass,
drums and the vocals highlighting the conflict in the lyrics—“Your slave is being auctioned free, Come my love and rescue me, No longer can I perch elsewhere?” “Champkalli” fuses classical vocal with a rock score. “Sayon” has playful guitaring and lighter-toned vocals, that belie some deep lyrics l to r: top: Banks, D’Silva, Hasan; bottom: Papu, Chatterjee “I drank the cup of poison, without a thought watching a cricket match as a child. Today, of benefit or loss. I desired this grief, this she aspires to be a better musician and hupain.” man by banding with Indian and Pakistani But the highlight is the track “Malmusicians. “This is a myth-breaking band kauns,” where its namesake raga has never with a female singer in a rock band, an before, to my knowledge, been rendered Indian singer in a Pakistani Band … all as in Andholan, in a heavy metal avatar. sorts of man-made differences that engulf The interplay between drums, bass, guitar human minds. Music truly has no boundis particularly interesting juxtaposed as it aries and barriers.” is between soft fluting and strident vocals. Andholan comes after a five year hiatus Chatterjee’s singing holds every numfor the Mekaal Hasan Band, which has ber together, but the interesting fact is seen some artist turn-over. Proof of its that until 2014, for over a decade, the persuasive music and compelling message band was all-male. She remembers, “Meis in the fact that it was selected as part of kaal Hasan called me one day and asked South By South West’s (SXSW) first ever if I would like to sing for his band. I lineup representing Pakistan, earlier this loved MHB’s music ever since I heard it. year. (SXSW is a well-established, preThe Indian classical element in the music mier conference for music, independent paired with the languages and poetries was films, and emerging technologies held evsomething I found fascinating and I knew ery year in Austin, TX.) Interestingly, the in the process I’ll grow as an artist.” Pakistani showcase was sponsored by the Growing up in Kolkata, Chatterjee Islamabad-based Foundation for Arts Culhas had some rigorous training, “I learnt ture and Education (FACE), a U.S. State Indian classical from my guru Pandit K.C. Department-funded organization counterLahiri. He was basically a violinist and also ing violent fundamentalism with cultural taught instruments like sarod and sitar. So exchange. n my vocal training was rather experimental and very different from the rest. He taught Please visit their facebook page for news and me raag Yaman for 10 years and said if you dates and venues for their September tour manage to learn one raag properly, you can (https://www.facebook.com/mekaalhasansing or pick up anything in the world.” band). The music is available on iTunes. Her musicality took on new dimensions when she came to Mumbai in 2005 and started singing in Bollywood and advertising projects. Priya Das is an enthusiastic follower of world Chatterjee’s earliest recollection of the music and avidly tracks intersecting points Indian and Pakistani conflict was while between folk, classical, jazz and other genres.
38 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
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10-4
fiction
Katha Fiction Contest 2015 • Third Prize By Sanjoy Ganguly
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“W
hat does 10-4 mean?” Tina asked Ravi. It was an excuse to talk to Ravi after hours of silence. Not that their marriage was spent, but the demands of life left little room for conversation. Time together had to be scheduled on weekends, their energy carefully rationed between work and play. Ravi looked up quizzically from his morning paper and demanded, “Why?” “You said that three times in your sleep last night.” Ravi’s mind raced back to the events of the evening before. He had been at his dispatch desk at the County Sheriff ’s Office when the call had come in, “Shots Fired, Man Down … requesting 10-13 at the Corner of Mabury and Gillingham.” Ravi dispatched backup “All Units, Code 3 to Mabury/Gillingham.” The base station echoed with Responding Units and their 10-4s. “Unit 7, 10-4.” “Unit 9, Copy.” Ravi smiled at Tina, “10-4 is police code meaning ‘message received.’” Soon 10-4 started being used around the house in everyday conversation. “Don’t forget to pick up some milk on your way back.” “10-4.” Even their son joined in, “Pappu, finish chapter ten by tonight.” “10-4.”
The eyelids quivered and his right eye opened slowly like a curtain in the movie theater. There was a faint smile on Papa’s lips, he seemed to be looking at Ravi and replied as if from behind the clouds on a new moon, “10-4.” Pappu started using the code in school among friends, and friends with their teachers. Soon it reached the Principal’s office. “Mr. Haggarty, the slides are due by 4 p.m.” “10-4.” Tina’s mother shared lengthy recipes with her over the phone and Tina would let a 10-4 slip out every now and then. Finally one day her mother asked, “What is this 10-4, beti?” Tina explained, “It means, I heard you, I understand.” Tina’s mother was impressed. She started using the code in her texts to her kitty party. “Tonight’s meeting at 9 p.m., Mrs. Bhalla’s residence. 10-4.” The pizza delivery boy at Mrs. Bhalla’s house started responding to orders with a 10-4 and mixed it up with LOL and ROFLs in his texts to friends. Tina’s father started using it with the shopkeeper and his college friends. Soon the whole town of Lakhanpur was abuzz
40 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
with 10-4 and people were at a loss to fathom how it all started. The milkman told the butcher to save a goat leg for the family party next week, and the reply was 10-4. It would take two meters of serge for the holiday trousers; 10-4. One day the phone rang in Tina’s mother’s living room. It was Tina, very excited. “Mummy, I have received my Green Card, you must visit us soon. Papa must come too!” “10-4.” Papa instructed the tailor to speed up the order for his trousers and to add a jacket as well. 10-4. Tina’s mother requested the town jeweler to rush order half a dozen gold bangles, the kind Madhuri Dixit wore in her last movie. 10-4. Ravi was at the airport to receive Tina’s parents. “Papa hope the flight was not too long. Sorry, Tina is out of town at a company meeting. I had to come by myself. Hope you don’t mind Ma.”
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Tina’s mother smiled, “Nahi beta, we the house and whisked Papa away on a know life is so busy here. We are so excited stretcher. “Airway clear, breathing ... check, to see all of you. Pappu must have gone to pulse … present.” The ambulance radioed his music class.” The drive back home was the hospital: “Unconscious male, 65, 160 full of banter. How tall Pappu must have lbs. Code Blue … ETA to ambulance bay grown. Ravi had put on weight. Papa’s in 2 mikes.” 10-4. The ambulance raced through the blood sugar had gone up. The neighbor’s son ran away with the other neighbor’s weekend traffic, Thank God it was not weekday rush hour. Ravi, Tina and Pappu daughter. Ma was looking younger. They arrived home just as the sun was followed the ambulance for two stops but then decided to obey traffic signals. beginning to set. Tina’s parents gradually recovered from The ambulance sped away, Ravi drove in jet lag and started going out on morning silence, Tina texted away to an army of walks. Pappu loved to hear Grandpa tell friends. Pappu said, “We should not have stories from his village. Grandma cooked left Grandma alone.” Pappu realized that many rare dishes that awakened Pappu’s there had been no time for Grandma to juvenile palate. He enjoyed bringing his get in the car. She had been looking for homework from school and sharing it her slippers when the ambulance had with Grandpa after a hot lunch. Tina’s roared off. Tina looked at the backseat, father enjoyed the long hot showers and “We will go back for Grandma, someone sitting in the warm sun every afternoon. Tina took her parents to movies and restaurants and malls as much and as His name Amar meant immoroften as she could. When there was no one to drive them around Tina’s tal, and now he was in a distant parents bought a day pass on the local land battling his own mortality. transit and rode buses all day with no destination or schedule in mind. Once they burst out laughing upon realizing that they had returned to the same mall needs to go with the ambulance to sign the that they had left earlier in the afternoon. paperwork.” “Name?” “Professor Amar Saxena,” Tina’s father was still young at heart and Tina told the receptionist. It had been a started singing, “Do deewane shaher mein long time since Tina last used her father’s …” Tina’s mother blushed like she had the name. To her, he was just … Papa. His first time she saw him. name Amar meant immortal, and now It was a Sunday afternoon of a new he was in a distant land battling his own moon night. Guests were due in the evemortality. ning for the Godhuli Lagna puja. They had Tina was aware that Professor Saxena picked an auspicious time of day to begin was a well regarded name in the secretive holy exhortations, a time when cows rebut closely knit circle of fellow nuclear turned home kicking up clouds of dust on scientists. He had seen atoms in motion the orange horizon. Godhuli or cow dust. colliding and disintegrating where others “Did you get the flowers?” 10-4. barely detected any vapor or dust. “Is the mutton fully cooked?” 10-4. “The Professor has been stabilized, we Soon 10-4 started echoing around Tihave moved him to ICU 9” the receptionna’s house. “Papa, have you finished your ist smiled and started staring back at the shower?” No reply. “Papa?” No reply. monitor in front of her. Tina, Ravi and Tina and Ravi began pounding the Pappu raced up the stairs to ICU 9. There bathroom door. “Papa,” “Papa?” … he was, motionless on the bed surrounded “Grandpa!” Finally Ravi took a dumbbell by a medical team in white gowns franand rammed the lock. The door flew open. tically shooting syringes and attaching Papa was slumped over the bath tub, his tubes to his forearms. The doctor looked hands dangling limply on one side. The ambulance arrived within min- at Tina and spoke in a hushed tone. “It is utes, the driver’s lips still greasy from the a ruptured aneurysm, the next 48 hours quick burger he had been having in the are critical. There has been some internal cab. Two burly paramedics stormed into bleeding. We are waiting for him to regain 42 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
consciousness.” Tina’s text reached her friends, “Papa at Good Sam, unconscious. Please pray. Puja canceled.” Ravi went back home to pick up his mother-in-law. Their friends started arriving at ICU 9. The waiting room filled to capacity. Four visitors were allowed in at a time by Papa’s bedside. Technically it was three visitors at a time since Ma occupied a permanent spot by her husband’s pillow. Many prayed, the Godhuli lagna arrived and an elderly uncle suggested bringing a priest to conduct the puja outside in the parking lot. Special permission was obtained and the priest arrived and started chanting mantras in a Dodge Caravan parked in Lot C. The sweet smell of incense collided with the evening aroma of grilled tacos wafting across the parking lot. The priest blessed many visitors as they passed his van. Some smiled, some bowed, others fled. Ma chanted mantras sliding 108 rudraksha beads between her thumb and forefingers continuously in ICU 9 as the priest kept ringing his bell inside the Dodge Caravan. Thirty-six hours later Professor Saxena still lay motionless. The priest had gone home, Tina took Pappu and Ma to the cafeteria for a reluctant breakfast and Ravi sat alone by the bedside staring
Katha 2015 Results FIRST PLACE: LWALA Unsaid by IQBAL PITA a Cherry Valley, Californi SECOND PLACE: JYOTHI Miss, Dolly and Hulk by ia VINOD, Bangalore, Ind THIRD PLACE: NGULY, San 10-4 by SANJOY GA Jose, California ION: HONORABLE MENT LA BUCH, Brink by TANVI CHAW Los Altos, California ION: HONORABLE MENT NTHOSH Courage by VIVEK SA a San Francisco, Californi
outside the window listening to a Jagjit Singh ghazal on his smartphone. “Yeh daulat bhi le lo, yeh shaurat bhi le lo …”—Take away this fame and wealth, return my childhood April showers. The medical team arrived, smiled briefly at Ravi led by Dr. Fitzsimmons and started talking. “We will be pinching his limbs and talking to him to see if he is conscious.” They pinched the right toe, left toe … once, twice, no movement. The doctor squeezed Papa’s palms a couple of times before they felt something wiggle. The doctor looked at Ravi and said, “say something.” Ravi struggled to speak. Finally he gathered himself and said loudly “Papa, Papa … this is Ravi. Can you hear me?” The eyelids quivered and Papa’s right eye opened slowly like a curtain in a movie theater. There was a faint smile on his lips as he looked at Ravi. Tina, Pappu and Ma returned from the cafeteria, bleary
eyed reminiscing about good times in the past. Tina noticed a change in her father. “His eyes are open!” she exclaimed. They rushed to his bedside. “Papa!” “Grandpa!” But his eyes closed again though there was still a slight smile on his face. Finally Ma wiped a tear from her left eye and spoke, “Aji, sunte ho?” This time he
opened his eyes, and as if from behind the clouds on a new moon responded, “10-4.” n
Sanjoy Ganguly is a Bay Area resident exploring life and humanity in all its forms. He considers himself a writer, thinker and yoga practitioner. He has been raising his precious daughter with his better half for the past few years. He believes that like charity, peace begins at home. Judges: Vikram Chandra’s works include Red Earth and Pouring Rain (a novel), Love and Longing in Bombay (collection of short stories), Sacred Game (a novel) and Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, The Code of Beauty (nonfiction.) Sonia Faleiro is the award winning author of Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay’s Dance Bars.
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44 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
relationship diva
Five Questions to Ask On a First Date By Jasbina Ahluwalia
Q
I don’t have a lot of dating experience, and find it difficult to keep the conversation flowing on first dates. Any suggestions?
A
You aren’t alone—keeping first date conversation flowing can be difficult for many. Here are five questions to ask your date in order to keep the conversation flowing. What’s Your Favorite Thing About Yourself? It can be difficult for many people to talk about themselves, especially in a positive light. This question not only causes your date to think about their good qualities, but it will also show them that you want to learn more about them. The answer can also tell you a lot about your date’s character and what they value in life, as well as give you ideas for what you should talk about.
What Motivates You in Life? Motivation is a key factor that keeps us all going. Understanding what lies behind what an individual does can reveal information regarding what is important to them and what they hope to accomplish in the future. The answer to this question can reveal details without making the other person feel scrutinized. What’s Your Favorite Place? This question has no wrong answer and allows your date to share a special place. It could be a favorite vacation place or someplace important because of a past experience. Most people are eager to talk about where they love to spend time. What Do You Do for Fun? If your first date is going well, you will need to come up with some great ideas for your next date. Asking this question can spark new ideas and help you plan for
the future. What Do You Hate About Dating? It may seem silly to ask someone why he or she hates dating, but the truth is that most people dislike at least one part of the process. Understanding what drives the other person crazy about dating can help you avoid it and increase your chances of success.
L
earning about the other person is one of the most important aspects of a first date. Asking these questions can help you achieve that goal. 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.
September 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 45
recipes
Sunday Afternoon Snacks By Praba Iyer
W
hen we lived in Coimbatore my mom and our neighbor, who was at least twenty years younger than her, became the best of friends. Many an evening, as I walked home from school, I would see mom and her bestie sitting on the stairs with a cup of coffee and a plate of their innovative snacks, chatting and giggling away like teenagers. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on their latest creations. One lazy afternoon in California, my son walked in saying “Mom, I wish I could have some animal style fries, right about now.” And I had a quick flashback to Coimbatore and the snacks that my mother whipped up.
line, irritated with the people who cut into the line, and then driven back home in crazy 4 p.m. commute traffic. But I decided to stay home and be creative, instead. It’s not as hard as you might think. Here is an animal fries recipe—a healthier version of what you might get at an In-NOut, which will make your grumpy teen smile from ear to ear. The recipe is for my nieces who can never resist making a pit stop at In-N-Out when they come to visit. n
Animal Fries with Secret Sauce
I could have picked up my keys, driven to an In-N-Out, stood in line, picked up some fries with the so-called secret sauce, then made a detour to an Indian store, picked up some kachoris and samosas, stood in the next never ending checkout
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.
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Crunchy, Crispy, Cubed and Crumbly
Animal Fries with Secret Sauce Ingredients for the Fries 4 russet potatoes cut into matchsticks. 2-3 tbsps oil salt to taste 3-4 slices of American cheese 1 large white onion chopped fine Ingredients for the Secret Sauce 1 cup mayonnaise ½ cup ketchup 2 tbsp dill (chopped) pickles with juice 1 tsp mustard 1 tbsp white wine vinegar ¼ tsp salt a dash of sugar Method Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and whisk it together. Set aside. Heat oil in a non stick flat pan and add the chopped onion and saute until it’s completely browned. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 430 degrees along with an empty sheet pan in it. Place the potatoes in a bowl mix in the oil, and salt. Carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven with a mitten. Brush it with oil. Spread the potato matchsticks flat so each stick is separate. Place this sheet pan with the potato matchsticks in the heated oven. Cook the fries for 25 to 30 minutes until the bottom of the fries is brown, then flip them and let them roast evenly. Assembly Place the fries in a bowl, layer the American cheese slices on top, sprinkle the browned onion, and finally drizzle the secret sauce. Variations: Add a little minced garlic and minced fresh basil to the potato matchsticks before roasting them in the oven for some added flavor. You can also make the same with roasted wedge potatoes, tater tots, or even hash brown.
Idly Chaat
Idly Chaat
This is a crispy crunchy delight that I often crave. I used the leftover idlis in my fridge to make this recipe. Ingredients 4-5 idlis sliced into matchsticks oil for brushing on idlis 1 red onion chopped fine 1 small tomato chopped fine 1-2 thai chilies chopped fine 1 sprig of fresh cilantro chopped fine a dash of chaat masala a squeeze of a lime Method In the same preheated oven at 430 degrees, place the matchstick idlis on the sheet pan and brush it with oil. Brown it evenly by flipping the pieces once they are brown on one side. It takes about 15-20 minutes each side. Place the oven fried idlis on a plate, sprinkle the onions, tomato, chilies, cilantro, chaat masala. Squeeze the lime over. Yum! You got the chaat without the fat. Variations: Sprinkle the idly chaat with sev for an extra crunch.
Bread Upma
This is one of my favorite snacks. It’s crunchy, full of carbs and a perfect match for a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredients 10 slices of any kind of bread (chopped into cubes) 1 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard 1 tsp urad dal 1 tsp chana dal ¼ cup roasted peanuts or roasted cashews a pinch of asafoetida 3-4 curry leaves 3-4 green chilies chopped fine 1 red onion chopped fine 1 roma tomato chopped salt to taste For the Garnish ¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped juice of ½ a lime Method Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and let it splutter. Then add the urad dal, chana dal, peanuts, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilies and red onion. Saute for a few minutes until the chopped onion pieces are slightly browned. Add the cubed bread, mix well, and fry until the bread cubes are crisp. Finally, add the chopped tomato and mix gently without making it soggy. Remove and garnish with cilantro and lime. n
September 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 47
events SEPTEMBER
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Edited by: Mona Shah List your event for FREE! OCTOBER issue deadline: Friday, September 18 To list your event in the Calendar, go to www.indiacurrents.com and click on List Your Event
Check us out on
special dates Krishna Janamashtami
Sept. 5
Ganesh Chaturthi
Sept. 17
Labor Day
Sept. 7
Idu’l Zuha
Sept. 25
Mahatma Gandhi’s B’day
Oct. 2
Navaratri
Oct. 13-21
CULTURAL CALENDER
September
5 Saturday
Vocal Concert by Sriranjani Santhanagopalan. Accompanied
by V.V.S.Murari (violin), Trivandrum Balaji (mridangam) and K.V.Gopalakrishnan (kanjira). Organized by South Indian Music Academy. 5 p.m. Hoover Middle School Auditorium, 3501 Country Club D.r, Lakewood. (909) 6187685, (408) 910-5328. www.simala.net.
September
6 Sunday
Bollywood Heights—A Summer Dance Party and Fundraiser with Achinta S. McDaniel, Artistic Director, with members of Blue13 Dance Company, Sept 20. Photo Credit: Denise Leitner
Nada Sudha Rasa—The Nectar of Sound. A unique bharatanatyam
performance by Divya Devaguptapu and ensemble that celebrates the grandeur of Karnatik music; exploring the oneness
48 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California. | September 2015
of music and dance. The highlight being a special composition by R K Shriram Kumar on violin. Divya Devaguptapu (bharatanatyam), Sreedev Rajagopalan (vocal), KP Ramesh Babu (mridangam),
events Venkatakrishnan Mahalingam (nattuvangam) and Rijesh Cheruvila (violin). Organized by Indian Fine Arts Academy San Diego. 5 p.m. Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla . $20, Free for IFAASD annual subscribers. (858) 229-5696. divyabhinaya@yahoo.com. www.indianfinearts.org, www.divyadevaguptapu.com.
September
12 Saturday
The Happiest Walk on Earth— Walk for Hope. A compassion themed
3-kilometer art-walk. Visit the Tree of Forgiveness, a Garden of Kindness, Paintings of Inspiring Quotes, and much more. Organized by Be the Cause. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. El Dorado Park East, 7701 E. Spring St., Long Beach. Free. $7 parking. walk@ bethecause.org. www.bethecause.org.
Kabulato Nu Kamthan—A Gujrati Play. Written by Dilip Prabhavalkar;
Adaptation by Pravin Solanki; Producer and Director, Rashmin Pathak. Artists: Ashwin Patel, Deepika Patel, Dharmishta Desai, Lata Pathak, Navnit Desai, Preeti Patel, Rashmin Pathak, Vilas Shah. Organized by Entertainment Committee. 4 p.m. Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. $25, $30 with dinner. (818) 424-3172, (818) 259-6667. Dinker_dato@ yahoo.com, Vijay_bhatt@yahoo.com, jitu@ isdg-inc.com.
Bollywood and Beyond. Kavita
Krishnamurthi performs with L. Subramaniam’s orchestra. The show will feature songs from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali movies. The second half presents a fusion concert by L. Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam with two time Grammy award winning saxophonist Ernie Watts. Organized by India Fine Arts Academy San Diego. 6-8:45 p.m. California Center for the Arts, 340 N Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $25$250. (800) 988-4253. artcenter.org/event/ bollywood-and-beyond/, www.indianfinearts. org.
Violin Concert by Sangeeta Shankar. Shankar is the daughter and disciple of virtuoso and teacher N. Rajam.
California’s Best Guide to Indian Events Accompanied by Hindole Majumdar on tabla. Organized by The Music Circle. 6-9 p.m. Harbeson Hall at Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. $35 General; $5 children and students with ID. (626) 449-6987. MusicCircle@aol.com. www.musiccircle.org.
September
19 Saturday
Ganesh and Kumaresh Violin Duo. Accompanied by Sankaranarayanan Ramani (mridangam) and Tricy Krishnaswami (ghatam). Organized by South Indian Music Academy. 5 p.m. Hoover Middle School Auditorium, 3501 Country Club Drive., Lakewood. (909) 618-7685, (408) 910-5328. www.simala.net.
September
20 Sunday
Bollywood Heights—A Summer Dance Party and Fundraiser. Achinta
S. McDaniel, Artistic Director of Blue13 Dance Company, presentthe show benefiting Blue13 Dance Company and Destiny Rescue, a charity dedicated to rescuing children from international sex-trafficking. The event, which will feature dance performances and lessons, dancing to the music of DJ Sandeep Kumar, a champagne toast, food. Organized by Blue13 Dance Company. 7-11 p.m. Pearl’s Sunset Strip, 8909 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. General $40, VIP $100, $20 for Dance Resource Center members. (800) 838-3006. brownpapertickets.com/event/212765, blue13dance.com.
Bharathanatyam Student Showcase. Contemporary choreography by
students of Sushma Mohan, Aritistic Director of Soorya Dance Company. 4-6:30 p.m. Canoga Park Womens Club, 7401 Jordan Ave., Canoga Park. Free. (818) 730-0371. sushmakasthuri@hotmail.com. www.sushmamohan.com.
September
26 Saturday
Padmashri Aruna Sriram in Concert. Organized by South Indian Music
Academy. 4 p.m. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School, 2001 Santa Fe Ave., Long Beach. (909) 618-7685, (408) 910-5328. www.simala.net.
Thank You Mother India—Malibu Fundraiser. Yoga Gives Back funds
nearly 700 impoverished mothers and children in India, with micro-loans and educational scholarships, with a minimum five-year commitment to each recipient. After a welcome reception, there is a 3-course, sit-down dinner which will feature the first-ever Namaste Award ceremony, followed by a short YGB Films presentation, silent and live auction, raffle, and exciting entertainment from the Odissi dancers. Mallika Chopra, author of Living with Intent, will be the first-ever Namaste Award recipient. Organized by Yoga Gives Back. 6-9 p.m. Residence of Dr Amarjit Marwah, 29057 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. $180. (310) 991-9599. info@yogagivesback.org, kayoko@yogagivesback.org. yogagivesback.org/tymi/malibu.
Sri, Sakti, Sarde, Kalaniketan—Annual Dance Show. Artisits and students
will perform bharatanatyam, kathak (banarasi gharana), folk and film songs and songs by LA artists. Vijaya Bhanu, Artistic Director of Vijaya Bhanu School of Dance will also perform. 5:30 p.m. Sanatana Dharma Kendra, 15311 Pioneer Blvd., Norwalk. $25, $10. (562) 746-1945, (562) 402-1051. vijayabhanuacademy@ yahoo.com. www.vijayabhanu.net.
September
27 Sunday
India Festival 2015. Mela celebrating India’s vibrant culture through her cuisine, textiles, arts, crafts, music and dance. Organized by India Friends Association (IFA). 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Park, 2100 E Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks. Free. (805) 4842263. totmd1@gmail.com. www.indiafriendsassociation.org. © Copyright 2015 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.
September 2015 | Southern California. | www.indiacurrents.com | 49
healthy life
Best Foods For Building Lean Muscle By Puja Mukherjee
I
f lean muscles could be built from beer and chips then everyone could be looking huge with well-defined muscles. Unfortunately this is not the case. It takes a lot of exercises and healthy eating habits to develop lean muscles. But wait; did you know that there are certain foods that can help you to build lean muscles faster? These foods have particular properties, which increase the rate at which your muscles burn fat to look more defined. Below are my recommendations for best foods for building lean muscle:
indeed their ability to boost the development of lean muscles extend beyond the protein value. Eggs are highly functional due to the yolk, which contains sufficient amounts of cholesterol. If you are troubled that the amount of cholesterol could hike from excessive consumption of eggs, it is time you knew that the type of cholesterol
by the human body. Vitamin E is required in the body especially after exercising because it is a potent antioxidant, which prevents free-radical damage that could prevent effective muscle development after workouts. The moment such kind of destruction is prevented; lean muscle development will be accelerated.
Leafy greens
Leafy greens have gone beyond the boundaries of keeping your skin glowing to facilitate the development of lean muscles at a faster rate. They contain a lot of iron, whose function is to speed up the circulation of oxygen during workouts. Similarly, leafy greens contain enough proteins to help build lean muscles further. Some of the greens that have a higher amount of proteins are spinach and kales, and should therefore be consumed in large amounts.
Salmon
While fish has gained a lot of glory as one of the best sources of white meat, salmon takes the lead when it comes to the types of food, which are responsible for building lean muscles fast. Salmon contains a unique blend of the right proteins, B vitamins and other essential nutrients such as magnesium, which is crucial to the repair and formation of new muscles. Besides, scientific evidence has pointed out that salmon boosts mood, which goes a long way in preventing unhealthy eating habits and therefore contributes directly to lean muscle development.
Eggs
Eggs have always been identified as the best source of proteins, and
Apples
obtained from eggs has been shown to lower the amount of bad cholesterol which is mostly associated with cardiovascular infections. Eggs therefore boast of the highest biological value, a measure that depicts how well they support your body’s protein need.
Almonds
Almonds carry a substantive amount of Vitamin E, in a form that is best absorbed
50 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
When it comes to fruits, apples play a crucial role towards the development of lean muscles. These fruits are packed with specific polyphenols, which prevent muscle fatigue while increasing muscle strength at the same time. Apples should therefore be used as pre-workout carb sources because they allow you to train harder and over an extended period of time.
Oats
These are some of the most unique grains that you will find in the local store. If you consume half a cup of rolled oats for
instance, you will get 5 grams of proteins and a number of vitamins which boost metabolism and promote muscle growth. If you observe most bodybuilders, you will find out that they consume oats at the start of their day because it is the kind of diet that that keeps one satisfied for long besides preventing the accumulation of abdominal weight.
Peanuts
Peanuts are mostly consumed for their protein content, forgetting that they contain a host of other nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and plenty of iron. In a single serving of roasted peanuts, you get 12 grams of proteins and all the aforementioned nutrients. Besides roasted peanuts, peanut butter is a good alternative, but one has to be careful not to choose the sweetened varieties.
SPIRITUAL READINGS BY GEORGIA 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Beef from grass-fed animals
Beef contains zinc, iron, B vitamins, cholesterol and proteins. These are some of the best components for anyone who wishes to develop lean muscles, but they should be obtained grass-fed animals. Compared to conventionally raised animals, grass-fed cattle contain a higher level of conjugated linoleic acid, which helps the body in shedding fat in order to develop lean muscles. In summary, there is a wide variety of natural foods which have particular properties vital to the development of lean muscles. However, it is also essential to note that food alone cannot help one to develop lean muscles. As such, one should consume such healthy and balanced diets besides regular exercising before the results start to appear.n
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September
Service: The Power of Love in Action. Sunday Service. 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) 5430800. 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.
Bodh—An Awakening to Self Realisation. A one day experiential
and interactive process retreat that helps one to internally harmonize at all levels, physical, mental, emotional as well as at a deep, undiscovered core level. Organized by MaitriBodh Parivaar. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sanatana Dharma Temple, 15311 Pioneer Blvd., Norwalk . Free. (562) 307-0464. info. usa@maitribodh.org. www.maitribodh.org.
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12 Saturday
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hour walk in the Palisades park with ocean view. Join the peace and fun activities like meditation, free energy healing, face painting and live entertainment like Taiko drums, songs, Zumba, Bollywood dance and music. All registered participants will receive a free T-shirt, water bottle and a snack bar. Organized by Brahma Kumaris. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tongva Park, 1615 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica . Free. (323) 933-2808. losangeles@us.brahmakumaris.org. www. bklosangeles.org.
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September
13 Sunday
Karma: The Law of Cosmic Justice. Sunday Service. 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) 5430800. Fullerton Temple, 142 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton. (714) 525-1291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760)
52 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
Avenue, San Diego. (619) 295-0170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
September
20 Sunday
What Is God’s True Nature? Sunday
Service. 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) 5251291. Encinitas Temple, 939 Second Street, Encinitas. (760) 436-7220. San Diego Temple, 3072 First Avenue, San Diego. (619) 2950170. Call temples for times. Organized by Self Realization Fellowship. www.yogananda-srf.org.
September
27 Sunday
How to Bring God Into Daily Life.
Sunday Service. 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.yoganandasrf.org.
A SUGGESTION: India Currents goes to press as much as six weeks in advance of some events listed in it. Even though organizers do their best to stick to the announced schedule, in rare cases events are rescheduled or cancelled. To avoid disappointment, we recommend that you always check the organizer’s website, and
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dear doctor
How Do I Bare My Soul in Group Therapy? By Alzak Amlani
Q
American therapists often recommend group therapy to people. It seems strange for me to join a group of people I don’t know at all and discuss my private issues with them. Besides, isn’t it more discouraging and even depressing to listen to other people’s struggles and stories each week?
A
You are right, group work is a significant component of therapy in the United States. Psychologists, social workers and psychotherapists lead groups to tackle relationship challenges, shyness, anxiety and depression, addiction (alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex and more) and more. I don’t believe that group work can necessarily replace individual or couples therapy. Individual inner work, augmented by group work from time to time can be very beneficial. There is great value in opening up our troubles, feelings and personalities to other people in a safe, thoughtful and facil-
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itated setting. Most people are afraid and even feel shame in disclosing their issues to others, especially to a group. Being vulnerable in a group plays an important role in helping us heal our psychological ailments. Most of us were raised in families and belonged to various groups as children. We were shaped by and identified with groups and various types of collectives. Our ancestors lived and traveled in groups of fifty to two-hundred. We are social creatures by inheritance. In group therapy we listen to peers who have similar stories, feelings and struggles. This reduces our isolation, shame and self-judgment about our own shortcomings and troubles. We realize that to be human is to have issues and to need help and support. There is a certain kind of intimacy that is meaningful in interpersonal groups because group members reveal their authentic struggles, needs and questions quickly.
The group therapist also facilitates self reflection and helps point out interpersonal dynamics. These include feelings of isolation, judgment, rejection, belonging, popularity and value. A group can mimic a member’s experience of being in his or her family of origin. This is powerful, as most of us have struggled within our families and almost never have had a therapeutic opportunity to discuss and resolve those dynamics. With increased technology and focus on the individual in this culture people are often isolated and less able to be authentic and open about their inner lives and interpersonal needs. Groups can be a great platform for personal resolution. n
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September 2015 | Southern California | www.indiacurrents.com | 55
the last word
Masters of Political Theater By Sarita Sarvate
D
technological advance that we have today, including Intercontionald Trump has climbed to the top of the opinion nental Ballistic Missiles and space ships, were allegedly already polls with his outrageous statements. This is no surprevalent. To defend India’s nuclear tests in 1998, for example, prise. Politics is, after all, theater. But American politiPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee claimed that ancient India cians are rank amateurs when it comes to creating an entertainhad nuclear capability and that when Robert Oppenheimer, the ing yet succinct message for the populous. That talent seems to so-called father of the American atom bomb, quoted the Vedas be reserved only for Indian politicians. when speaking of unleashing “the radiance of a thousand suns,” Take the latest skirmish Indian Prime Minister Narendra he was in fact attesting to this historical fact. Modi has been involved in. He made a casual remark questionNot to be outdone, India’s current Prime Minister, Narendra ing the “DNA of the Chief Minister of Bihar.” Even though he Modi, recently claimed that the elephant-headed god Ganesh immediately clarified his statement as referring to the “DNA of was proof that ancient Indian had expert plastic surgeons. democracy in Bihar,” the Chief Minister of that state responded Compared to Indian leaders, American presidents and conby organizing a shabda wapas or “returning the word,” protest gress members come across as bland and colorless. In a country by sending five million DNA samples of the state’s citizens to where marriage and children border on being mandatory, four Modi. The message was clear; “we all share the same DNA.” of India’s long-running prime ministers have been single, Since the Chief Minister belongs to what the Indian Govidiosyncratic characters. Nehru was a widower and ernment quaintly calls “Other Backward Castes,” the an intellectual who was allegedly in love with Lady gesture really stung. In Mountbatten. His daughter and successor Indira Now that is political theater for you. America, Gandhi was a single mother who was long separated I don’t have to tell you what the parallel here from her husband and rumored to have romantic would be if American women decided to protest when politicians entanglements with cabinet members. Atal Bihari Donald Trump’s derogatory remarks that he want to distract Vajpayee was a confirmed bachelor who few people “saw blood coming out of ” Megan Kelly, the moderator of the first Republican presidential attention from their realized lived with the widow and children of his best friend. Narendra Modi, who claims to have debate. poor policy positaken the vow of celibacy as required of leaders of While American politicians’ theatrics are often laced with malevolence, Indian politicians tions, all they can the Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha, nevertheless has a wife he abandoned long seem to keep their message lighthearted and do is evoke Ronald ago. therefore more appealing. If Modi wants to prove his machismo, he does Mahatma Gandhi was the master of political Reagan’s presinot have to make hawkish comments about terrorists. theater. In an age without the Internet or televidency. All he has to do is lead a crowd of forty thousand in a sion, he saw the power of imagery. A classic example yoga session at the India Gate. The equivalent would be if was when he showed up to meet the king at the BuckPresident Obama led the public in a jazz session on the capital ingham Palace in his dhoti. His theatrics were effective mall. Actually, there is no American equivalent. because they were genuine and laced with humor and kindness. Anna Hazare, the crusader against government corruption, The Mahatma’s example has since been emulated by millions is yet another Indian leader who knows how to captivate the atof Indian political activists from the highest to the lowest levels, tention of the masses with his hunger strikes. so much so that there are now well-established cultural norms As if their characters are not colorful enough, Indian politifor political theater. Maidservants in my hometown of Nagpur, cians dress colorfully as well. So much so that during a recent for example, organize rolling pin marches to demand workers’ visit to India, President Obama expressed his envy of Modi’s rights. If a woman wants to take a righteous stance against a colorful kurtas, wishing that he had one too. personal affront, the appropriate gesture, everyone knows, is to In this American election season, when politicians are getting slap the perpetrator with a leather sandal. Decades ago, when meaner, when, with the departure of Jon Stewart, we no longer the sister of a friend of mine entered the wedding canopy to slap have anyone to tell us what is funny, I look wistfully across the the bridegroom with her chappal for jilting her, she became, not seas to the circus of Indian politics. n a fallen woman, but the town’s heroine. In America, no such remedy exists for personal injury. Sarita Sarvate (www.saritasarvate.com) has pubIn America, when politicians want to distract attention from lished commentaries for New America Media, KQED their poor policy positions, all they can do is evoke Ronald FM, San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, Reagan’s presidency. In India, when politicians want to change and many nationwide publications. the conversation, they evoke ancient India, where every single 56 | INDIA CURRENTS | Southern California | September 2015
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