Indo-American News: March 12, 2021

Friday, March 12, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 11

Indo American News

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March 12, 2021

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Published weekly from Houston, TX

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Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News

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How Indian Americans are ‘Taking Over’

Real, Live Women

P2 P8 Lanka Reconciliation

P2 Photo Credit: Texas Tribune

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COMMUNITY

March 12, 2021

Even Biden Admits: “Indian Americans Are Taking Over Our Country”

Washington DC: In less than 50 days of his presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 Indian-Americans to key leadership positions in his administration ranging from his speech writer to the National Aeronautic Space Administration, to almost every wing of the government.

“Indian-of-descent Americans (sic) are taking over the country.

You (Swati Mohan), my Vice President (Kamala Harris), my speech writer (Vinay Reddy),” Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who were involved in the historic landing of Perseverance landing at Mars.

Nearly half of them are women and a sizable number of them are working in the White House.

So far, the Obama-Biden administration (2009-2017) has the distinction of appointing the largest number of Indian-Americans in any administration, the previous Donald Trump administration was not lagging far behind as it appointed the first ever IndianAmerican with a cabinet rank and inside the National Security Council.

The Biden administration has for the first time appointed such a

Office of White large number of House Counsel; Indian-Ameriand Reema Shah cans in the first as Deputy Associ50 days of his ate Counsel, Office administration. of White House This past Counsel. week, Dr Vivek Tanya Das has Murthy testified been appointed before a Senas Chief of Staff, ate Committee Office of Science, for US Surgeon Department of EnGeneral and ergy; Shuchi TaVanita Gupta is all set to appear Maju Varghese (left), director of the White House Military Office (WHMO), lati: Chief of Staff, for her confir- with US President Joe Biden, JPL Guidance Engineer Swati Mohan, Office of Fossil Energy, Departmation hearing and Vice President Kamala Harris. ment of Energy; for Associate tional Economic Council (NEC); Attorney General Department of Sumona Guha: Senior Director Mini Timmaraju: Senior adviser Justice. for South Asia at the National to the director, Office of Personnel Biden sought to speak with Security Council, White House; Management; Sohini Chatterjee: Swati Mohan, Guidance and Con- and Sabrina Singh: Deputy Press Senior Policy Advisor US Mission trols Operations Lead, Mars 2020. Secretary, Vice President White to the United Nations, Aditi Gorur: Policy Advisor, US Mission to the She is not a political appointee House. though.

Shanthi Kalathil has been ap- United Nations; and Bhavya Lal is Indian-American women ap- pointed as Coordinator for Democ- the Acting Chief of Staff, NASA. Dimple Chaudhary has been appointed by Biden include Uzra racy and Human Rights, National Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Security Council, White House; pointed as Deputy General Counsel Civilian Security, Democracy, and Garima Verma has been named as for Nationwide Resource ProtecHuman Rights, State Department; Digital Director of the Office of tion Programs, Environmental ProMala Adiga: Policy Director to Dr the First Lady; Sonia Aggarwal as tection Agency; Sharmistha Das is Jill Biden; Aisha Shah: Partner- Senior Advisor for Climate Policy the Deputy General Counsel, Deship Manager, White House Of- and Innovation; Office of Domes- partment of Homeland Security; fice of Digital Strategy; Sameera tic Climate Policy, White House; Ruchi Jain is the Deputy Solicitor Fazili, Deputy Director, US Na- Neha Gupta: Associate Counsel, for General Law, Department of

Interior; Meera Joshi is the Acting Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Administration, Department of Transportation; Aruna Kalyanam is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax and Budget, Department of the Treasury.

“We are thrilled that this administration reflects the diversity of America by including an unprecedented number of South Asians.

The Biden-Harris administration’s inclusion of South Asians in key senior staff roles will undoubtedly inspire countless South Asians to aspire to public service and run for public office. This is a proud moment for our community,” Neha Dewan from South Asians for Biden told PTI. Gautam Raghavan, Deputy Director in Office of Presidential Personnel; Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of National Economic Council; Tarun Chhabra, Senior Director for Technology and National Security at National Security Council White House; Vedant Patel, Assistant Press Secretary President at the White House are among several other Indian-Americans who got key posts in the Biden administration.

Tesla is Building a Giant Battery to Plug into the Texas Power Grid Angleton: Elon Musk is getting into the Texas power market, with previously unrevealed construction of a gigantic battery connected to an ailing electric grid that nearly collapsed last month. The move marks Tesla Inc.’s first major foray into the epicenter of the U.S. energy economy.

A Tesla subsidiary registered as Gambit Energy Storage LLC is quietly building a more than 100 megawatt energy storage project in Angleton, Texas, a town roughly 40 miles south of Houston. A battery that size could power about 20,000 homes on a hot summer day. Workers at the site kept equipment under cover and discouraged onlookers, but a Tesla logo could be seen on a worker’s hard hat and public documents helped confirm the company’s role.

Tesla hasn’t announced the Gam-

bit battery project liability Counbut the site is viscil of Texas, or ible in Angleton, Ercot, the nonlocated about 40 profit group miles outside of that manages Houston. the flow of Property reelectric power cords on file with to more than Brazoria County 26 million cusshow Gambit tomers. “Not shares the same earning that address as a TeR,” he wrote. sla facility near Musk, 49, rethe company’s cently moved auto plant in Freto Texas and mont, California. his various A filing with the companies are U.S. Securities expanding opand Exchange Tesla power storage project under construction in Brazoria County. erations in the Commission state.

As winter storms pummeled lists Gambit as a Tesla subsidiary.

7The battery-storage system beExecutives from Tesla did not Texas in February and left millions ing built by Tesla’s Gambit subrespond to multiple requests for without power for days, Musk took sidiary is registered with Ercot. to Twitter to mock the Electric Re- Warren Lasher, senior director of comment.

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system planning at Ercot, said the project has a proposed commercial operation date of June 1. The site is adjacent to a Texas-New Mexico Power substation.

Back in March 2015, Musk unveiled a home battery product, dubbed the Powerwall, with a splashy event at its design studio near Los Angeles. Scores of utility and energy executives attended. A year later Tesla acquired SolarCity, the solar-panel installer founded by Musk and his cousins.

Musk then hawked a “solar roof” that has gone through several iterations without becoming a strong contender in the market.

Tesla’s giant battery project in South Australia is adjacent to a wind farm, allowing surplus power held for daytime demand.

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COMMUNITY

March 12, 2021

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Sewa International’s Dharma Report Documents $50 Million Covid Relief Houston: Sewa International has released a report titled, “Joining Hands: A Community Effort to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic,” at a virtual event that was attended by more than 1,400 people.

Congressman Ami Bera was the chief guest at the unveiling of the report that highlights the contribution of 125 dharmic organizations in alleviating the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What a commendable effort, and what a fine example of bringing organizations together to serve the country during the pandemic,” Congressman Bera said.

“Sewa International’s work, and especially their ability to bring others to collaborate in tackling the pandemic, is therefore significant,” he pointed out speaking from his office at the Capitol.

Congressman Bera is the Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the longest-serving Indian American Member of U.S. Congress.

As a trained physician himself, he said he understood how much of a challenge the pandemic had posed the nation and the world.

The virtual unveiling of the report, streamed live on Facebook, was planned over a month, and it took the efforts of dedicated Sewa volunteers across the country to ensure that the February 6th event was successful.

The event began with a video summary of the work done by Sewa International and the impact it has had on communities across the country. Included in the video were commendations of Sewa’s work: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who urged Sewa to keep

up the good work and said that “Sewa International represents the best what America has to offer” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city was “thankful for Sewa’s work and charitable contributions,” and how Sewa had over the past fifteen years had grown from a small to a mid-size charity organization, and been recognized by The Houston Chronicle as “one of the top 100 charitable organizations in Houston” Representatives from national emergency and disaster management organizations took part in a roundtable discussion offering viewers their expert analysis of how the pandemic took by surprise most people, how community and disaster relief organizations can join hands and leverage the help and expertise of the national organizations.

Participating in the discussion were Gina Cross, the Acting Director of AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), Dinusha Weerakkody, Emergency Management Specialist of the Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA), Carol Flores, Texas DCMP Grant Coordinator of the National Voluntary The Sewa International report identifies 125 of the more than 500 organizations that Sewa volunteers worked with across the country raising money, distributing food, face masks and other PPE, offering help to stranded international students and travelers, participating in food and PPE drives, offering hot meals to the hungry, and managing ten hotlines responding to calls for help from around the world.

“We did not know what would

be demanded of us in this pandemic situation.

It was a first-time experience in dealing with the kind of medical/ health disaster that has affected the whole world. Ten months into it, and more than a million volunteerhour commitment later, partnering with hundreds of organizations who put their trust and faith in us, we believe we have made a difference in our local communities, across our forty chapters, in 28 states, around the country,” said Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International, inaugurating the session.

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Interested candidates may send their application and resume along with all supporting documents (for educational qualification/ passports/ visa/work permit etc.) latest by March 22, 2021: By email to: admn.houston@mea.gov.in By post to: Head of Chancery, Consulate General of India, 4300 Scotland Street, Houston, Texas 77007 For further details, visit the website of Consulate: http://www.cgihouston.gov.in

Indo-American News • Friday, march 12, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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INDIA

March 12, 2021

India Complains to UK about Debate on Farmers New Delhi: India on Tuesday summoned the British high commissioner and conveyed strong opposition to the “unwarranted” and “tendentious” debate on the farmer protests by a section of UK parliamentarians in the House of Commons.

Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the UK high commissioner to India that such a discussion represented a “gross interference” in the politics of another democratic country. “He advised that British MPs should refrain from practising vote bank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to another fellow democracy,” the government said in a statement.

Earlier, the high commission of India in London issued a strong statement over the debate held in Westminster Hall at which 17 out of 18 British MPs attacked the Indian government’s handling of the farmers’ issue and press freedom.

The Indian mission pointed out that foreign media, including British media, had been present and witnessed the events surrounding the farmers’ protests in India firsthand and therefore any “question of lack of freedom of the media in India does not arise”.

“We deeply regret that rather than a balanced debate, false assertions – without substantiation or facts – were made, casting aspersions on the largest functioning democracy in the world and its institutions,” a statement issued by the high commission said, following the debate which stemmed from an e-petition that attracted over 100,000 signatures on the parliamentary website.

“All issues raised are the remit of well-established independent democratic institutions in India

Women farmers attend a protest against farm laws outside New Delhi [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]

for addressing the same. It is also a matter of concern that, once again, comments were made to mislead the British Indian community, raising doubts about treatment of minorities in India, alleged human rights violations in ‘Kashmir’ etc,” it said.

During the debate, MPs – from both Labour and the ruling Conservatives – condemned India for its treatment of farmer protesters and alleged crackdown on the press, as well as Internet shutdowns and arrest of activists.

The mission said it would normally refrain from commenting on an internal discussion involving a small group of honourable parliamentarians in a limited quorum.

“However, when aspersions are cast on India by anyone, irrespective of their claims of friendship and love for India or domestic political compulsions, there is a need to set the record straight,” the statement said.

In a related development, thousands of women joined protests by farmers on the outskirts of New

Delhi to mark International Women’s Day, demanding the scrapping of new agricultural laws that open up the country’s vast farm sector to private buyers.

The demonstrations on Monday were held at multiple sites on the capital’s fringes where tens of thousands of farmers have camped for more than three months to protest against the laws, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government says are necessary to modernise agriculture.

Wearing bright yellow scarves representing the colour of mustard fields, the women took centre stage at one key site, chanting slogans, holding small marches, and making speeches against the laws.

“This is an important day as it represents women’s strength,” said Veena, a 37-year-old from a farming family, who gave only one name in order to protect her identity. “I believe if us women are united, then we can achieve our target much quicker,” added Veena, who travelled from Punjab to the sprawling Tikri protest spot.

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5 Art Teacher: Using Multiculture to Express Artistic Creativity

COMMUNITY

March 12, 2021

By Jayashree Krishnan Dallas: My name is Jayashree Krishnan, and I am an Indian American educator located in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy working on different forms of folk art from around the world and like others, have an inherent wish to create something unique and original. I was born and raised in India, a country that is symbolized by the variety of its culture and traditions. Every region has its own folk art, which can be characterized by a unique pattern and style of art. This form of art can be very simple, but still remains colorful enough to speak volumes about India’s rich culture and heritage.

Folk art is not restricted only to paintings, but also includes other art forms such as pottery, home decorations, jewelry making, and fabric painting. Though India serves home to many unique art techniques, I did not have the opportunity to fully exhibit my creativity through art during my youth.

Coming to the United States after my marriage in 1998, my love for arts and crafts began to grow.

I self-taught some Indian folk-art techniques such as Warli art and Madhubani paintings, and also self-taught different multicultural arts such as the Japanese art of paper folding, paper filigree, clay modeling, and nylon flower mak-

ing.

With my prior experiences working as an elementary teacher at a private school in Dallas, and as a craft educator for children in my community over the past decade, I have realized that incorporating multicultural arts into education can help children to take pride in their own cultural identity while allowing them to gain respect for other cultures’ art and values. It helps children to learn about diversity and teaches vital skills to stay connected with different cultures present in their community, nation, and the world around them.

Multicultural art education helps children to get inspired and think

critically, do research on different countries, and learn about their history, folk traditions, food, clothing, dance, performing arts, paintings, and writings. Children from different cultural backgrounds can better socialize with each other without being shy to express their thoughts and ideas when involved in such art related activities in the classroom. My intention to teach multicultural art was to impart the knowledge that I have gained over the years and instill interests in young children through my art workshops. It is the perfect pathway to create awareness on unique art forms that have originated from different parts of the world,

while emphasizing the importance of each country’s rich culture and heritage.

As an educator, I have hosted presentations on multicultural arts at various elementary schools in Dallas to educate students and widen their knowledge. I have also conducted workshops for young children in camps and community centers in Dallas. However due to the current pandemic and in order to maintain social distancing, I have been conducting virtual art workshops on Indian Folk Art and the Japanese art of paper folding techniques. I try to make my classes interesting and interactive by not only teaching about the art techniques involved, but also sharing my knowledge of the history behind the art and its cultural

connection with other countries.

For example, I taught about the connection between the Indian festival of Navratri Kolu and the Japanese festival of Hina Matsuri during one of my classes. My students were certainly fascinated and gained a wealth of knowledge during this and many other of my online art classes.

As a tribute to Indian folk art, I went ahead to create and name one of my art pieces “Rudra,” which means “one who eradicates problems from its roots” according to the Indian mythology. As discussed, multicultural art has served as an outstanding venue for me to express my creativity and share the importance of diverse art forms – and “Rudra” is just one of many examples.

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CRICKET

March 12, 2021

Laxman: “Pant Can be a Match Winner in T20s”

By Sandeep G.

Ahmedabad: Former batsman VVS Laxman believes Rishabh Pant can be a match-winner for India in the T20 format and needs to be given a longer rope keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup in mind.

The 23-year-old wicket-keeper batsman was recently named in the limited over squad for the upcoming five T20Is against England after being dropped from the whiteball leg of the Australia tour.

Pant has been in terrific form in Tests and played a key role in India’s win in Sydney and Brisbane against Australia and the fourth Test against England in Ahmedabad.

“We have seen him play under pressure for Delhi Capitals and win matches. As a left-hand batsman, he gives that option where the opposition captain can feel the heat once he gets going,” said Laxman said on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.

“I think he is a great addition and I hope they don’t judge him by one or two innings because if you’re keeping in mind the world cup, it can be a long rope. Once he has the security, we know that he can win matches just by himself.”

Pant had cracked a breathtaking 101 off 118 balls to help India score 365 in the fourth Test, besides scoring a 97 at Sydney and

an unbeaten 89 at Brisbane that led India to a historic series win against Australia in January.

India will be taking on England in a five-match T20 International series, starting on March 12.

Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, feels Pant can fulfil the finisher’s role in the team along with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.

“In this situation, it could just strengthen the finishers in the Indian team because over the last one and one and half years, we are overly dependent on Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja when he comes at number 7,” Laxman said.

“But if there is one batsman in the Indian batting line-up who from the first ball can play those

shots is Pandya. Pant with the kind of form and maturity; it’s not only about the form but the maturity with which he’s batted in test matches, I think he (Pant) will be a matchwinner.”

Laxman had words of praise for Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who had earned his national call for the T20 series against England, starting March 12.

“He deserves it, I think he (Suryakumar) is a great role model for youngsters, especially in India,” Laxman said.

“We’re not sure if he (Suryakumar) will get to play in the playing XI but he definitely deserves a spot in the squad of that T20 Indian team.”

-- Indian Express

India Women Level ODI Series vs. SA Lucknow: Veteran Jhulan Goswami’s four-wicket haul was beautifully complemented by Smriti Mandhana’s sparkling 80 not out as Indian women outplayed South Africa by nine wickets in the second ODI to level the fivematch series 1-1 on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old Goswami returned with figures of 10-0-42-4 and she was ably supported by fellow seamer Mansi Joshi (2/23) and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (3/37) as India dismissed South Africa for a paltry 157 after opting to field.

Opener Mandhana (80 not out off 64 balls) and Raut (62 not out, 89 balls) then shared an unbeaten 138-run partnership for the second wicket with India overhauling the target in only 28.4 overs to bounce back from their eight-wicket loss in the first ODI. Mandhana blasted 10 fours and three sixes while Raut dropped anchor at one end but also hit eight boundaries.

Mandhana made her intentions clear right from the start when she clubbed the first two balls of her innings for sixes off Shabnim Ismail (1/46).

However, India lost an early wicket when Jemimah Rodrigues (8 off 19 balls) dragged one to the stumps in the fifth over.

While Indian women have not played for a year before the ongo-

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Smriti Mandhana scored 80 no.

ing series, Jemimah’s poor form dates back to the World T20 time as she hasn’t been amongst runs for a considerable period of time.

Raut then took some time to get going but Mandhana was in full flow as she picked up boundaries regularly to keep the scoreboard ticking.

If the short balls were dispatched over the ropes, one outside the off-stump was sent to the thirdman boundary with a deft late cut and anything fullish was driven through the covers.

Raut exploded in the 15th over, blasting two fours off Nonkululeko Mlaba.

BOOKS

March 12, 2021

The Woman Beside Gandhi

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Biography of Kasturba, Wife of the Mahatma Houston: As we begin Women’s History Month, I am overjoyed to share the news that my Mom’s book has been published! Mom started her research and writing the biography of Kasturba Gandhi many years back. She took sabbatical from her University teaching and went to India, where she visited many villages, ashrams and prisons, and she interviewed more than 200 people who knew Kasturba. So much is known about Gandhi, but very little is known about Kasturba. A great deal of research, thought and writing has gone into this book.

Her book is available on Amazon, in both kindle and paperback. https://www. amazon.in/dp/1637540531?ref=myi_title_dp -- Arti Vir Though there are countless references to her in the voluminous works by and about Gandhi, Kasturba remains virtually unknown. And yet it was she who stood up to him, was his teacher in non-violent resistance and the compassionate mainstay of his austerely demanding ashrams.

And yet again it was Kasturba, appointed

by Gandhi to be the leader of women’s re-

sistance, who by her own example, her speeches and her tireless rounds of towns and villages, motivated women by the thousands to make rapid, radical changes in their restricted personal lives and participate in mass civil disobedience for freedom. Seeing Kasturba go fearlessly to prison in South Africa and several times in India, so inspired and empowered women, that they too went to prison, fighting for their cause. The touching stories of these unknown, unheralded women are here in this book, filling an important vacuum in the world of letters especially as it pertains to women’s emancipation.

Three trips to India, meetings with over 200 people who knew Kasturba in person, and a great deal of research through books and places unvisited by other scholars, has gone into the writing of this ground-breaking biography. Sita Kapadia takes the reader with Kasturba, the child bride, and her boy husband from small towns to three continents, through ashrams and prisons. Combining diligent research with engaging interviews in a free-flowing and vibrant narrative, Kapadia shows how bravely and selflessly Kasturba lived her life, unlike anyone else’s in the annals of human history. Gandhian scholar Dennis Dalton calls it a unique and superlative biography.

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ENTERTAINMENT

March 12, 2021

“Bombay Begums”: Series Alive with Flawed, Real, Laughing Women

By Shubhra Gupta

Cast: Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur, Aadhya Anand, Manish Choudhary, Vivek Gomber, Imaad Shah, Danish Hussain, Rahul Bose, Nauheed Cyrusi Director: Alankrita Shrivastava The struggle for women to survive is real, whether they occupy coveted corner offices in plush corporate offices, or much humbler environs on the wrong side of the tracks. Bombay Begums may well have been named so because it is a catchy alliteration, but the six-part series encompasses that age-old truth as seen through the inter-connected stories of its Mumbai-based ‘begums’: if you are a woman, you have to fight for your rights every inch of the way.

Rani (Pooja Bhatt) is the CEO of a bank, zealously guarding her hard-earned turf. Fatima (Shahana Goswami) works in the same bank, and is steadily climbing the ladder.

Ayesha (Plabita Borthakur) is a small-town girl hacking a life in the big city. Shai (Aadhya Anand) is a lonely teenager with mommy issues. Lily (Amruta Subhash) is a bar dancer and a single mother.

Here are your different stratas of society and age-groups united by the single immutable, unalterable fact of gender, and how everything these characters do is circumscribed by centuries of patriarchy and misogyny.

There have been ambitious women in the movies and TV

shows before, so it isn’t exactly virgin territory that ‘Bombay Begums’ treads. But where it scores is in its decision to create fullbodied female characters who refuse to be likeable, or to conform.

And in the way it shows us just how much women themselves are complicit in maintaining the status-quo, once they reach a certain position: a predatory male colleague (Manish Choudhary) at the bank is outed by a new entrant after a sexual assault, and instantly the older women close ranks on the shaken, miserable girl. Has she any idea how her complaint will impact her fledgling career? How drunk was she when it happened?

Wasn’t it consensual? Think of the man, and his happy family: these accusations will ruin his life.

This incident opens up old

wounds of sexual harassment that a character had to suppress, and difficult truths come tumbling out, so timely in the #MeToo era.

Not everything works. I wasn’t quite convinced about the way the bar dancer’s strand is shoehorned into the narrative, but Amruta Subhash’s playing of Lily is so good that you want more of her. Some twists feel contrived and too convenient. And the coming of age of the privileged teenage girl is a bit too literally realised, but again there are so few cinematic attempts of pubescent teenagers becoming aware of their bodies, that I will take this too, thank you.

What joy to see women getting their due, speaking up, speaking out. Pooja Bhatt owns the part of Rani, the woman who’s got to where she wanted, her scars show-

ing. She is in a relationship with a powerful man (Rahul Bose); her spouse (Danish Hussain) is in the know. What happens between partners in these so-called ‘open marriages’? And just look at that gorgeous wardrobe, the sarees she wears, each better than the other.

Shahana Goswami makes us empathise, effortlessly, with her Fatima, who is not in the happiest of places with her husband (Vivek Gomber), and who comes alive only when she is in the boardroom.

Motherhood is not what will fulfil her; a place at the high table wil Alankrita Srivastava has been consistently pushing boundaries with her portrayal of women’s sexuality. The most powerful element in both ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ and ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamaktey Sitare’ was the recog-

nition of women’s desire, and how its absence can create permanent hollowness. We see this playing out in these ‘begums’ of Bombay: in the character who is ‘bi’, and who wants freedom to explore fully, in the unhappily unmarried older woman who has a passionate affair and finds a kind of fleeting happiness she’s been missing in her arid marriage, and in the mostly-happily married woman who learns the value of true love.

Flawed, real, hurting, laughing women who make you stay with them, and root for them. What are the trade-offs on your journey to the top? And where are your hard stops? These questions, which the series places front and centre, make it a meaningful addition to contemporary feminist fiction.

-- Indian Express

Aamir-Elli Music Video

Elli AvrRam on Monday released a teaser of her upcoming music video titled “Har Funn Maula,” which also stars Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan.

“Har Funn Maula” will feature in the upcoming Kunal Kapoor film “Koi Jaane Na”

SONY KOHLI YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT 832-766-6662

Indo-American News • Friday, march 12, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

March 12, 2021

After giving an insight into the ‘arranged marriage’ set up with Indian Matchmaking, Netflix is all set to celebrate the big fat Indian wedding with The Big Day. The series will take a deep dive into the multibillion-dollar wedding industry, and gives the audience a chance to be a part of the most unique and lavish modern weddings.

The trailer of the first season of The Big Day was released on Monday.

The video is nothing short of a live Pinterest board on dream weddings for millennials. From lavish settings, designer clothes to some exciting themes, the series showcases it all. The show will also have couples talk about crafting their happily ever after.

The makers have chosen six different stories, and each of these couples do not believe in toeing the line. From planning a truly sustainable wedding, which is the need of the hour, to a bride that does not believe in following traditions blindly, the stories would definitely touch a chord.

Celebrity makeup artist Daniel Baeur, who got married to partner Tyrone Braganza in 2019, also features in this special wedding series.

Produced by Conde Nast India, The Big Day will have couples navigating their way through an eye-opening list of shenanigans and soul-stirring moments that go into creating spectacular Indian weddings. There would also be a dash of family drama, unique personal struggles, triumphs and much more.

The Big Day will start streaming on Netflix from February 14.

Indo-American News • Friday, march 12, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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OPINION

March 12, 2021

When Gods Could Take a Joke On February 25, a single-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court rejected a plea for anticipatory bail by Aparna Purohit, the India content chief for Amazon Prime Video.

Purohit has been booked in 10 FIRs across the country for hurting religious sentiments as a part of the team that cleared Tandav, the political drama starring Saif Ali Khan and Dimple Kapadia that appears to have raised the ire of many.

For the court, the show’s title itself is objectionable: “The use of the word ‘Tandav’ as the name of the movie can be offensive to the majority of the people of this country since this word is associated with a particular act assigned to Lord Shiva who is considered to be creator, conservator and destroyer of the mankind all together.” Then on March 3, Amazon Prime Video offered an unconditional apology — likely in the hope of escaping further judicial and politically-backed ire. And while the apology may help producers in their legal battle, a little bit more of the freedom that makes the small joys of popular art possible has been lost.

Cut to Vijay, also in theatres in 1975. His soliloquy takes place in a Shiva temple, against a background score rousing enough to invoke the true tandav. Amitabh Bachchan’s character in Deewar was the quintessence of the Angry Young Man, one who expressed frustration at an unjust system. Vijay found success in a life of crime but never validation. For the latter, he needed the approval of his “Ma” (Nirupa Roy).

It is when this mother is dying that Vijay goes to a temple and both mocks and pleads with god. He begins with a sarcasm that the guardians of fanatical piety would not be able to stomach today: “Khush toh tum bahut hoge aaj…” He attacks Shiva, asking him why he makes a woman who has worshipped him selflessly suffer so much.

To be fair to the Allahabad HC, it is not just offended on behalf of Shiva. The order takes particular umbrage at a scene from Tandav in which a college play uses many gods of the Hindu pantheon, satirically, to highlight the corruptions, hypocrisies and injustices of politics in India: “The scenes in dispute are likely to cause disturbance and threats to public order. The reference to Hindu gods and goddesses in the scenes in dispute in berating light cannot be justified.”

Unfortunately — or perhaps thankfully — the court doesn’t seem to be aware of arguably the funniest 12-odd minutes of Indian cinema. In the “Mahabharat scene” in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1984), Om Puri, while impersonating an actor playing Duryodhan, says in a thick dilli Punjabi accent to one of the Pandavas, “Tu kaise Draupadi ko le jayega… hum sab shareholder hai!” Draupadi, through a series of hijinks, is the corpse of a corrupt government official called D’Mello. Heroes, gods and even Emperor Akbar make an appearance. In Old India, it seems, figures both divine and historical could take a joke.

Deewar and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro were accessible films.

Two were mainstream blockbusters, the third, a cult classic. What made them popular was not that people were divorced from their gods, or “deracinated” secularists. Rather, our gods lived with us, an inextricable part of our culture and reflection of our humanity, which was expressed in art.

-- Abridged from Aakash Joshi in Indian Express

Anatomy of a Sri Lankan Reconciliation

By George Willy Part 2. Adapted from a speech made before the Association Professional Sri Lankans (APSL) in the UK. I am certain that President Gotabaya and his brother Prime Minister Mahinda want a lasting reconciliation. I had spoken to both, some years ago. They were quite eager to get to the table. Between where they are and the table there is a deep and wide moat full of crocodiles. What I proposed begins to lay some vital economic bridges over the moat which can eventually lead to a political solution. Once collaboration and co-operation become the norm, and economic benefits begin to flow to all the competing interests, the groundwork will be laid for a political solution.

There are some examples in history which are recent and verifiable.

The Marshall plan in Japan and Germany turned 2 sworn enemies of the US into staunch allies. All it took was a bold reconstruction plan, purely economic. Even the American society mended after the civil war when the North invested heavily in the South. Economic collaboration makes ethnic and tribal differences insignificant for two reasons. 1. Both sides gain in the project. 2. It creates dependency among the collaborators. If they were to build a bridge over a river, the calculations of one engineer will be relied upon by the engineer who lays the beam across the water. An error by any of them can be disastrous. When we create vested economic interests in multiple projects, those who have economic interests in them will silence the extreme voices. The silencing of the extreme voices will allow the political leadership to find a more permanent solution. I have a wife and two daughters. All three of them, extremely bright.

Watching them over the last few years I have been driven to near despair wondering about why men excluded women from vital decision-making activities or from education and development. We excluded roughly one half of our society from critical contributions.

From the beginning of our species nearly 3 million year ago I guess

we excluded billions of members of our society from contributing to our progress. This I believe is historically, the costliest mistake we have made. Just imagine if we had allowed this half of humanity to contribute to our progress. If with only half of the human effort we have achieved so much, just imagine what we may have achieved if the other half had been allowed to participate. I think we may have already reached the stars and achieved what we dream about in science fiction. Similarly, excluding a group of humans from vital activities of a society only makes us crippled in all what we do. Embracing them on the other hand enriches us. We also need to shed our ethnic chauvinism. We have succumbed to a pernicious practice of downgrading the other ethnic group. There is a deeply felt sense of superiority over the other group. Often such superiority is based on nothing more than myths handed down by the older generation to the new without any evidence for such claim. They may be handed down either through spurious arguments or more often by funny lines. We need to begin to appreciate the contributions of all the ethnic groups in Sri-Lanka.

I am a proud Tamil from Jaffna. I grew up in awe of the Tamil language. Tamil poetry and the reach and depth of its expression were mesmerizing. We were told of the Chola king’s conquest of the far east and the mathematical genius of the Tamil people. I remain enthralled by these triumphs of the Tamil culture. However, achievements of one culture should not

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lead to the blindness of the other.

The Tamils must pay Sinhalese culture the respect it deserves.

Sinhalese language is old, ranksamong some the oldest languages. It grew in parallel to and often interacted with Pali, one of the oldest languages in history, perhaps in par with Sanskrit. They can claim some of the most astounding engineering feats found in the Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and other areas of Sri-Lanka. I still get goose bumps when I climb the Sigiriya although I am not sure if I still can. The stone rug in one of the Polonnaruwa ruins, was redone to rid it of cows out of respect to the King’s Hindu bride. The Sinhalese must also learn, study, and appreciate Tamil contributions. Having lived together in the same Island for thousands of years we know so little of the other’s language, aspirations, and struggles. How many Sinhalese can name one of the most iconic and loved female Tamil poets of antiquity? (Avvayar) How many Tamils can name the Sinhalese author of a Sanskrit version of the Ramayana written in the 6th century? (Kumaradasa) If ethnic chauvinism blinds us to obvious greatness of the other group, we are bound to fail. By allowing ethnic chauvinism to blind us to each other’s greatness we are devaluing our own. The Sigirya is our architecture not merely a Sinhalese monument. The Nallur Kovil is our Kovil not merely a Tamil Kovil. Learning each other’s language will go a long way in bridging this gaping hole. As I said before when we exclude a significant part of a society, we all become victims. Here in the US we recently learned the lesson one more time.

Continued on Page 11

George R. Willy is an eminent Houston-based lawyer, who served as an advisor to the Clinton and Obama administrations on immigration law and South Asia. He hosts the TV show “The Other Side”, where he interviews prominent public figures, and “Minds that Matter”, radio show that features people with extraordinary abilities in various fields of endeavor.

SUDOKU/RECREATION SUDOKU/OPINION Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

March 12, 2021

11

Anatomy of a Sri Lankan Reconciliation

Send us the correct answer before March 17 2021. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com and send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Solution Next Week Continued from Page 10

Last Week’s Solution

Multiethnic New Year Celebration in Sri Lanka

One group claiming superiority over others can be exploited even to the point of threatening the most admired democracy. Efforts to translate major works of Tamil and Sinhalese into each other’s language will be a good start. A commission should be set up with great fanfare and funded by sources that have no political interests.

There have been sporadic efforts leading to some translations, but they have not been consistent or significant. The most recent translations occurred in 2015 under the auspices of the Sri-Lankan government. I believe a grand effort to translate both ways, books of significance, if handled right can encourage reconciliation which can become infectious. Without a comprehensive reconciliation program, Sri-Lanka will be weighed down by ethnic tensions and they will hold back its progress and if ignored we could plunge again into mayhem. Your Queen recognized a few Sri-Lankans on her new year honorees list: Dr. Shi-

Job Posting

kandhini Kanagasundrem, Professor Ravi Silva, Professor Mohan Edirisinghe, Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, Gajan Wallooppillai, Mohamed Hazrath Haleem Ossman If we celebrated only the Sinhalese among them, we will only have 3 names to celebrate, Tamils only 2, Muslim 1. However, if we celebrated the achievements of Sri-Lankans we get to celebrate 6! Which do we choose?

Let me end my remarks with a personal story. Those who are old enough will remember the 1958 riots. Mobs ran amuck in Colombo burning and destroying lives and property of the Tamils. I was an 8-year-old living in Jaffna. My father was a senior official in the prison department. Jaffna prison was placed inside Jaffna Fort. We had a bungalow inside the Fort a few yards from the prison. There was panic among the few Sinhalese families living in Jaffna at the time. Many of them were friends of our family. I am not sure how the logistics worked out, but 8 Sinhalese families moved into our

home for protection. Tents were erected in the front and back of our house and the men slept outside and the women slept inside the house. My parents spared no pain to protect these families. Among the families was an optometrist named Pathirana, who was the brother of the later Chief Justice of Sri Lanka under Srimavo, and the Government agent for Jaffna Wanigatunga and his wife joined us too. I am sure there were Sinhalese families in Colombo that offered shelter to Tamil families.

The friendships that were formed among Tamils, Sinhalese and the Muslims were lifelong. We ate in one another’s kitchens. In fact, my Mom could cook some Sinhalese dishes with the best of them. We can turn Sri-Lanka into a Singapore much faster if all the ethnic groups in Sri-Lanka put their collective shoulder to the wheel. We are all brothers and sisters. We just got lost in the dark side of our own prejudices. Let’s find ourselves again. Let’s return hand in hand to paradise!

MULTI-SKILLED JOURNALIST

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March 12, 2021

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