Monthly Archives: February 2005

New Bollywood songs screw parental authority

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The Christian Science Monitor focuses attention on a growing epidemic in Indian society: kids no longer listen to their parents. The cause? Perhaps it is the glorification of parental disrespect and all the “following your heart” crap embedded within today’s Bollywood songs, as compared to those of yesteryear that kept it real (Mera Juta Hai Japani).

Indians have as many words for “love” as the Inuit have for “snow.” Songwriters choose from the many subtle variations: pyar (affection), mohabbat (love, in Urdu), prem (love, in Hindi), ishq (passion), or even junoon (obsession).

These sweet nothings are timeless, but the lyrics surrounding them have changed dramatically. In the 1950s, boys and girls would pine for each other, but accept their parents’ or society’s better judgment. Today’s lover lives and dies by his or her own mistakes or inner faults – immaturity, pride, poor dress sense – and the modern concept of love is spreading at the speed of sound to cities and villages, on radios and music videos, and into the minds of the humming masses.

The result, cultural watchers and filmmakers say, is a country teetering between its traditional rules and the giddy individualism of the West, with profound effects on India’s urban youth.

“This is the first generation that believes that tomorrow will be better than yesterday,” says Santosh Desai, president of the advertising firm, McCann Erickson, in New Delhi. “There’s this sense that the world is opening up with the lifting of constraints. There is an unspecific optimism, and one part of it is economic, but the other part is the lifting of mental barriers.”

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Ramesh Ponnuru stirs the teakettle

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Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean took his famous blandness for a stroll by being flippant about minorities in the GOP (via Political Animal):

“You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room?,” Dean asked to laughter. “Only if they had the hotel staff in here.” [Detroit News]

Black Republicans were outraged at a statement that sounds borderline racist. It’s like Hillary Clinton’s wisecrack about Gandhi and gas stations:

Both Republicans calling for the apology are prominent black leaders, JC Watts and Lt. Gov. Steele… [Dean’s comments] are based on a fairly stereotypical premise that blacks are likely to be found washing dishes and bussing tables. If a Republican had come close to making this sort of comment, he’d be slaughtered. [National Review]

But conservative pundit Ramesh Ponnuru calls it a tufan in a teakettle, saying it’s an accurate comment on political tokenism:

Give me a break. Dean is saying, hyperbolically, that there aren’t many blacks or other nonwhites in the Republican party. He’s right. I’ve been to many, many Republican dinners where most nonwhites present have been serving the food. (Or giving the keynote.) [National Review]

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An orgy of sepia prose

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SAJA is hosting a remarkable literary festival, an evening of readings in Manhattan.

Those reading include Suketu Mehta, Jhumpa Lahiri, Shashi Tharoor, Amitav Ghosh, Anita Desai, Kamila Shamsie, Manil Suri and Meena Alexander. Those mingling include Akhil Sharma, Jonathan Franzen, Kiran Desai, Marina Budhos, Pooja Makhijani, Meera Nair the author, and S. Mitra Kalita. Park Slope is apparently emptying out for the evening.

And the wine and samosas are for a good cause: SAJA is putting together fellowships to report the tsunami in-depth well after the initial reports fade.

The idea is to help a group of journalists… from the U.S. and Canada cover the affected areas SIX TO NINE MONTHS after the disaster and have their reporting available to a wide global audience… A New York Times story… explains it all… “All too often when disaster strikes, the relief mission seems to last only as long as the media attention.”

Buy tickets here.

Update: Please note the new schedule, which has been moved up by two hours.

SAJA Authors Day: Saturday, March 12, Manhattan; $35; CUNY Grad Center’s Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave. / 34th St.; 1:30-2:30pm registration, 2:30-4:30 readings, 4:45-6:00 tipsy schmoozing

Bay Area Unites!

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The organization “Bay Area Unites” will be holding a large Tsunami fundraiser on Feb 20th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Over 10,000 people are expected to attend:

The event will benefit the victims of the tsunami in seven of the hardest hit countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, the Maldives, Malaysia and Somalia. The organizing group, called “Bay Area Unites” (www.BayAreaUnites.org), is a coalition of several business, civic, cultural and religious organizations. The Cities of San Jose, Milpitas Morgan Hill and Fremont are also co-sponsoring the event.

“The Bay Area is a true melting pot of cultures from around the world, many from countries devastated by the tsunami,” said Vish Mishra, convener of the event.

“Local groups are banding together to create an unprecedented event that will bring several thousand people together to continue the relief and rehabilitation efforts for the victims of the recent Tsunami disaster,” said Mishra, Senior Venture Partner, Clearstone Venture Partners and a Director of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs).

There is an All-star line up featuring Deepak Chopra and an appearance, via videocon, by former President Bill Clinton. But that is not all:

-Interfaith vigil led by Dr. Deepak Chopra
-Personalized video message from Bill Clinton
-Music by Grammy-nominated singer Lisa Loeb
-Children’s programs, music and entertainment
-Celebrities to call for pledges, including philanthropist Dr. Malini Alles
-Performance by critical acclaimed choreographer, Danica Sena
-Masters of the double violin, performance by Shankar and Gingger
-New perspectives on the songs Bob Dylan by ‘Mostly Dylan’
-Balinese performance by Gamelan Sekar Jaya
-Fusing pop and rock performance by Tina Sugandh

Holy crap! Lisa Loeb? Will the Nine Stories be there also? Roadtrip!

If you’d like to volunteer, and maybe get the chance to meet Lisa Loeb (“I missed you, stay”) then you can visit the Bay Area Unites volunteer page. Continue reading →

“Electro Indian sitar” on a Tuesday evening

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Stumbled upon a hidden musical gem while listening to one of iTunes’ streaming radio channels:

Anup Patel is a unique musician who combines traditional classical Indian music with western pop music. Anup proficiently plays the sitar, table and the keyboard, with his personal favorite being the sitar. Although Anup does not consider himself a master, he has been playing both tablas and sitar for over 30 years, a fact which is easily noticeable in his music.

Sure, it probably isn’t for everybody, but you don’t have to waste any money to figure out whether you’ll like it or not. Online music label Magnatune is so confident that you’ll enjoy Patel, and their other offerings, that their entire library is available on a “try before you buy” basis. You can listen to Patel’s entire album for free, as much as you’d like, and without having to register. Check out “Sweet Dissonance” and “Resolve.” If you’re into it, show the uncle some love and buy the album.

Magnatune: Anup Patel

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Odds-defying, Death-defying…

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Another miracle:

A teenager who survived December’s tsunami has been rescued by police from a remote island on India’s Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.
Eighteen-year-old Jessy is said to have lived on wild fruit for 45 days.
She was found on Wednesday close to the site where nine survivors of the tsunami were found last week.

Jessy is part of the Nicobarese tribe. She fled the tsunami and sought shelter in the forest. When she tentatively made her way out several days later, “the rest of the population had been either evacuated to Campbell Bay or swept away by the waves”.

Her husband and year-old baby are among 1,000 people who are still considered missing; apparently, the “lucky” survivor told police that she believes her family are actually among the 2,000 archipelago-dwellers who died. 🙁

Sigh. I’ll take every bit of good that I can get.

:+:

via the Beeb: Tsunami woman found after 45 days Continue reading →

Yurt lit

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That’s just great. After years of bitching about the colonialism of language and reverting city names to their pre-British originals, South Asian countries are about to lose their economic advantage. Yes, Outer Mongolia is learning English:

Within a decade, Mongolia is expected to convert its written language to the Roman alphabet from Cyrillic characters… “If there is a shortcut to development, it is English; parents understand that, kids understand that…” In Chile, the government has embarked on a national program to teach English in all elementary and high schools. The goal is to make the nation of 15 million people bilingual within a generation. The models are the Netherlands and the Nordic nations, which have achieved proficiency in English since World War II…

Mongolia, which, suspiciously, rhymes with Elbonia, has big plans for the tech industry:

“If we combine our academic knowledge with the English language, we can do outsourcing here, just like Bangalore…”

As you may recall, Kemal Ataturk forcibly converted the Turkish language from Arabic to Roman script decades ago. Turkey has done relatively well and is hoping to join the European Union. So Mongolians are welcoming their new Hinglish overlords only:

Mr. Tsagaan… explained in English that Mongolia hoped to attract English teachers… from India, Singapore and Malaysia.

You know what this means: bookshelves packed with weepy Mongolian memoirs written from the barren hinterlands of SoHo. The book covers will be edged with sensuous yak skins, yurts and thick-lipped models. That hot new novelist from Ulan Bator will be munching canapes, showing up in Granta and getting shortlisted for the Booker.

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Everyone’s having sex except you

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It’s Valentine’s Day. Half of the country will be f–king like wild billy goats. The other half will just be f–king bitter. The good folks at Durex have something for both camps. The former can indulge in the contraceptive concern’s wide range of STD- and pregnancy-busting prophylactics. And for the latter — nothing less than an international-sized reminder of how much play they’re missing out on.

Durex, a subsidiary of London-based SSL International, recently released their annual survey of sexual behavior around the world. The "Global Sex Survey," now in its eighth year, polled more than 350,000 people from 41 countries, and is billed as the largest such study around. Among the 16 questions, the following six stood out to me (I only listed results for first place, Canada, global average, India, U.K., U.S. and last place):

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Hindus and Muslims find common ground

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Who says Hindus and Muslims disagree about the fundamentals of culture and religion? In certain instances they CAN be in agreement. What better day than Valentine’s Day to showcase said agreement. Or should I call it “Prostitution Day?” From NDTV.com:

Shiv Sainiks continue to play spoilsports on Valentine’s Day.

The Delhi unit of the Sena has planned to hold a protest march near the Delhi University area, and have decided to call it ‘Prostitution Day’, because of what they see as a poisoning influence of western society.

“Valentine’s day is turning the youth away from our true culture and traditions. Growing commercialisation by certain vested interests is further leading them up the wrong path,” said Delhi Shiv Sena chief Jai Bhagwan Goel.

The government in Saudi Arabia has similar sentiments as reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Each year shortly before Feb. 14, the country’s religious police mobilize, heading out to hunt for – and confiscate – red roses, red teddy bears and any signs of a heart.

In a country where Valentine’s Day is banned, ordinary Saudis find they must skirt the law to spoil their sweethearts.

The Valentine’s Day holiday celebrating love and lovers is banned in Saudi Arabia, where religious authorities call it a Christian celebration that true Muslims should shun.

The only good part about this is that forgetful men, who are bad boyfriends, have a legitimate excuse to show up without flowers. “Look honey what do you want from me? The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice would have arrested my ass.”

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