Author Archives: Abhi

About Abhi

Abhi lives in Los Angeles and works to put things into space.

A dialog between generations

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Two weeks ago a friend of mine in Houston forwarded me a link to an ongoing discussion on the website of Dr. Vijay Mehta. Dr. Vijay Mehta is best known for the many appearances he makes at various South Asian conferences and gatherings such as SASA, Bhangra Blowout, etc., in an attempt to create a database of potential South Asian bone marrow donors. I myself have registered for the database.

In addition to the bone marrow drive, Dr. Mehta’s website tackles several other issues that are usually swept under the rug of South Asian American society. I encourage you all to visit the site for yourself. It is the first instance I have seen of a healthy discussion between first gen’s like many of our parents, and second generation young adults. The post that I was forwarded in particular was written by a young woman named Reena who lives in Texas. Continue reading →

Philatelics get ready to grab up Dilip

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First, they were going to hang a portrait of him in the U.S. Capitol Building. Next they were going to name a building somewhere in California after him. NOW they are thinking of commemorating him on a stamp! Dilip Singh Saund is the most popular brown man in America right now even though he’s dead.

There is only one problem as I see it. This idea is coming too late. Last week Stamps.com announced a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service which will allow anybody with spare change in their pockets to create a customized stamp. That’s right. Now you can put your own picture on an official U.S. stamp and mail it anywhere you want. That being the case, the once sacred honor of being displayed on a stamp, has been cheapened. How cheap you ask? Well to put it into perspective I took the liberty of creating a stamp of me, which I could now purchase from the USPS, and one of Saund. Honestly now, which one would you choose? Which one would you choose?

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Like brown kids aren’t ALREADY freakishly smart

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Great news for South Asian 6-10 year-olds whose Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George books, just weren’t providing enough depth for discussion over afternoon tea. They now have a new literary magazine named Kahani:

Our Story [from the Kahani website]

It began as a wish for more, a wish to enrich a little girl’s life with literature rich in characters and plots through which she saw her everyday reflected. From that special grandma far away to the neighborhood friends she plays with, the little girl could read about her life, her unique experiences of growing up in overlapping cultures.

Many years later, that wish has come true as Kahani, a South Asian literary magazine for children who call America home. It’s the perfect title to reflect the simple but empowering concept of the magazine: ‘kahani,’ the Hindi word for ‘story.’ Named by that ‘special grandma,’ Kahani would be just that, a place where the stories of South Asian children – just like that little girl – would be told.

What began as one mother’s vision now includes the drive and energy of three other committed women. As parents themselves, the Kahani idea resonated immediately. Even more amazing, each brought in specific professional skills crucial to Kahani’s success. (How their initial meeting happened is a separate story in itself. Let’s just say it was meant to be.) Cradling crying babies in one hand, while jostling spreadsheet numbers with the other, they got down to work. The magazine was no longer just a vision.

Continue reading →

You must know some Vedic methods?

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It is bad enough that the women I meet at bars sexualize me by assuming that just because I am brown, I must have Tantric skillz. NOW my collegues at school are going to ask me, and all of you other brown scientists and engineers, if we are skilled in the Vedic methods as well:

What is the square of 85? In an instant, a 17-year-old boy said without blinking, “7,225.”
Kamlesh Shetty had used a trick from a quaint concept called Vedic math, a compilation of arithmetic shortcuts believed to have been written by ancient Indians who lived centuries before Christ, during a glorious period in Indian history called the Vedic Age. Its math has now crawled into the 21st century to further Shetty’s dream of cracking a nasty engineering entrance exam.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that the word “nasty” was used in the above paragraph.

Wanted: Non-descript brown guy

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The FBI is looking for this man, Adnan el-Shukrijumah in connection with a future terrorist attack. The Bush Administration is pretty worried about him. According to TIME Magazine he attended a recent terrorist summit in Pakistan’s badlands.

It was a gathering of terrorism’s elite, and they slipped silently into Pakistan from all over the world in order to attend. From England came Abu Issa al-Hindi, an Indian convert to radical Islam who specializes in surveillance. From an unknown hideout came Adnan el-Shukrijumah, an accomplished Arab Guyanese bombmaker and commercial pilot. And from Queens in New York City came Mohammed Junaid Babar, a Pakistani American who arrived with cash, sleeping bags, ponchos, waterproof socks and other supplies for the mountain-bound jihadis.

Continue reading →

A warm shot of SAKI

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For those that haven’t noticed, South Asians for Kerry (SAKI) has a website up and running. Although I don’t know for sure what the “I” in the acronym stands for, I suspect it is placed there simply so that the organization’s name is a homonym of the glorious alcoholic beverage, Sake. Well done, I say.

In an effort to energize the South Asian presence in the political process South Asians for Kerry in 2004 (SAKI) was formed in March of 2003. SAKI is officially recognized by and works closely with the Kerry campaign with chapters in Boston, Washington D.C., New York, and the Bay Area.

SAKI is focused on driving fundraising, voter registration, and policy initiatives throughout the South Asian community.

What I found most interesting on the site was the one-page issues primer.

According to my friend in NYC who works closely with SAKI, there is also an article in the WSJ today titled, “In the U.S., Indians Gain Political Clout.” Unfortunately my poor ass can’t afford the WSJ so I can’t be more helpful.

The Republicans make a play…

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In an election where every vote will make the difference, you have to pick and choose which minorities you might be able to lure into your camp, and then make a play. The ball is in play and we are it. Sify news reports:

In a first advertisment of its kind, the Republican party has re-counted the strides made in the India-US relationship urging Indian-Americans to help re-elect President George W. Bush.

The advertisement, issued by Marc Raciot, chairman of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, said Bush understands India’s potential to become one of the great democratic powers of the 21st century and has worked to transform the US-India relationship.

“Throughout his first term in office, President Bush has honoured the many contributions of Indian-Americans in our country by advancing policies that reflect their priorities. We are grateful for the support the President’s campaign has obtained from Indian-Americans and we look forward to working together to re-elect President Bush,” the advertisement read.

Now I can’t seem to find this “advertisement.” Was it simply a verbal ad or was it print media, or television? I checked both the Bush-Cheney website and the RNC website but no luck so far. Will keep you updated. At times like this I wish there was a Karl Rove equivalent on the Dems side.

The best thing about D.C. in the summertime…

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…the huge influx of smart, cute interns. Oh, stop being so self-righteous. You know that you were thinking it too, I am just saying it out loud. One of the many reasons I miss my old ‘hood.

A survey on Capitol Hill interns last year reveals how the interns straddle two worlds: a left-behind college campus where nose rings reign, and a high-powered city dotted with power ties.

The following quote sums it all up:

Says Ketaki Gokhale, 21, who interned with Congressman Jim Langevin: “I should write a diary: My Experience On The Hill. It’s a slog. I don’t think I’d work there as a staffer. But the nightlife rocks.”

DNC creates IALC. Let’s grab us some power.

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Apparently and Indian American Leadership Council (IALC) was one of the groups that got formed during the Democratic National Convention. What is the IALC? As reported by the IACPA and by the Pacific News Service:

Unlike the Indian American Republican Council (IARC) formed last year by Republican sympathizers in the community, the IALC is not an independent body, but a wing of the [Democratic National Committee] working within the party structure. Besides the IALC, there are five other DNC leadership Councils: the WomenÂ’s Leadership Council, the Hispanic American Leadership Council, the Asian Pacific Leadership Council, the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council and the African American Leadership Council. The goal of each Council is to raise $2.5 million until November 2, 2004.

The use of the word sympathizers really stood out to me in the above paragraph.

I am no novice to politics. I know how the game is played and that cash rules everything, but reading this article it was so apparent that raising money for a cause seems to be more important than defining or debating the cause. I am not blaming the IALC for the impression this story left on me. It could simply be the way the article was written. Continue reading →

McCurry

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Reading this article all I could think of was the Eddie Murphy classic Coming to America where he works at fast food restaurant named McDowell’s that was a total rip-off of McDonalds.

While the Hyderabad-born owner, Mr Anil Jintoorkar, feels that red (kumkum) and yellow (haldi) are the traditional, auspicious Indian colours and also proven marketing colours, the multinational fast foodchain McDonalds thinks red and yellow are their colours.

Yet another egregious example of a multinational corporation pushing around the little guy.