Author Archives: vinod

Banner Shout Outs

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One of Sepia Mutiny’s signatures is our revolving banners. Back when Abhi first proposed a desi group blog, we pretty quickly figured out the overall theme on the writing side. But, interestingly enough, the banners took more rounds of discussion, trial & error to nail down — in part cuz too many of us were budding artistes / advertising impressarios but also cuz we recognized that the banners greatly shape the overall emotional tone of the site.

Our / my goal with the banners was sorta summarized in this old email conversation w/ the other proto-mutineers –

The logo needs to be dirt simple, pref monochromatic and scale well w/ size…. my ideal example is the Absolut Vodka bottle. In one of the many posts that went back and forth between me / Kiran & the Absolut Vodka company [re: the] Mulit ad, the Absolut folks said that the key to thier ad campaign was to extend the theme of Absolut as the “universal cultural observer” on behalf of the viewer. The Absolut bottle bonds w/ the ad viewer by showing the viewer an interpretation of an otherwise familiar / interesting scene.

Sepia Mutiny[‘s banners] could be the same thing….

How about just locking / loading on a single, stylized font and then printing that font in diff colors across diff desi themed picts?

Now, back in the day, banners were mostly made by SM staff (esp. Manish) although we did have a round of submissions from a few friends of the blog.

Recently, however, we received an extraordinarily beautiful set of banners submitted by Sank of EthnoTechno which totally captured the spirit. As we learned at the NYC meetup, Sank’s a designer by trade and his eye for layout, color, and detail are readily apparent in these images. A few of his submissions are below –

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NYC Meetup Writeup

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Been WAY too busy to write up detailed notes since the NYC meetup last weekend (since NYC, I’ve been in San Diego, Kansas City, SF and am on my way to Hawaii & Barcelona over the next 2 weeks – work can be a beeyatch sometimes).

Manish trying to hide his obvious jealousy of Anna…

Luckily, some of the loyal friends of the blog have stepped in to fill the gap.

Last Saturday’s NYC meetup was the largest meetup so far (~25ish people over the course of the afternoon) and brought in a lot of new blood, new bloggers, lurkers and almost pulled in a few anonymous patrons at Kati Roll.

The effervescent Jane of All Trades (who, BTW is currently reading one of my recent fav books – David Mccullough’s 1776), posted a good writeup, hints at an interest in a caste-no-bar mutineer 4some & put up handful of her picts.

Our own Suitable Girl blogged, fotolog’ed and flickr’ed the event & some of its aftermath.

Some of the other folks in attendance (reconstructed from my + Manish’s hazy memories of the event… apologies in advance if I missed anyone)-

True to form, the Mutiny family continues to amaze and the people at the meetup were each interesting specimens of the desi diaspora. And they certainly have no trouble striking up a boisterous conversation with folks they’ve just met. Some folks were nothing like their blog / comment persona’s. Some were exactly like them. Others were bigger. One thing we all agreed on – while the blogposts brought ’em in first, it’s obsessive comment checking 15 times a day that really destroys the @work productivity. We heart all the Mutineers.

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Some Folks are Just Too Sensitive

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An Oldie but not covered here before –

Angry youths in this Kerala capital Friday burnt an effigy of US President George W. Bush, not because they are anti-American but because he has named his cat India.

Members of the citizens group Prathikarana Vedi assembled before the Kerala assembly saying that Bush calling his cat India was an insult to the country.

“This is a disgrace to our great country and this has come from none other than US President George W. Bush. This is nothing but an insult to India because there are hundreds of thousands of Indians in US, and many who occupy key posts in the White House,” said M.A. Latheef, president of the group.

“He should make amends,” Latheef added.

The members of the group walked to the front gate of the assembly building but were stopped by police. After a brief speech and some slogans, the members burnt an effigy of the US president.

Behold the latest tool of post colonial oppression and humliation. In response to Bush’s callous racism, citizens’ group leader M.A. Latheef, speaking on behalf of 1 Billion desi’s decreed that he had named his girlfriend’s … err, wait, that’s too easy.

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Reminder – NYC Meetup – Sat, Jan 21, 1pm @ Kati Roll

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A quick reminder – the NYC Mutineer Meetup is less than 24 hours away. On tap – 2 blog geeks and a blog diva – Vinod, Manish & Anna (you figure out who’s who) and other mutineers / commentors / readers / lurkers of various stripes.

Where: the new Kati Roll – 140 W 46th b/t 6th & 7th

When: Saturday, Jan 21, 1pm

If precedence holds, Manish & Anna will vie for the honor of live blogging the event while Vinod will vie mightily for even more incriminating picts .

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NYC Mutineer Meetup – Saturday Jan 21, 1pm – UPDATED (again)

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Calling one and all to the first mutineer meetup of ’06. Turns out that this weekend, we’ve got a triple threat lined up – Anna, Manish & I are all in NYC…

Where – Kati Roll – 140 W 46th between 6th & 7th [Note updated place!]

When – Saturday, January 21, 1pm [Note updated date/time! We moved this from Sunday to ensure the lovely AJP could join the festivities]

Lassi opened to some fanfare last April, and NY metro’s Underground Gourmet gave it rather favorable reviews praising it’s nouveau take on classic Indian street food and “inexpensive” prices. Others, including a few mutineers, weren’t entirely happy with the nouveau.

Several readers (particular thanks to NYCDesi, Ace, Sank, Emily, and others) have pointed out that Lassi is probably too small for our plans for world domination. So we’re moving to the new Kati Roll

As usual, given previous meetups, worst case – the food sux but the company will titillate.

As usual, if you can make it, leave a comment or drop us a note so we have some idea of how many folks to expect & how much space to cordon off @ the restaurant.

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Gonna Buy Me Some Edumacation

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It’s been said that when it comes to Capitalism, the Poor often have much to teach the Rich. And if there’s one place where the Poor are a veritable petri dish of experimentation, it’s India. Marginal Revolution has an interesting series of posts on the emergence of private education in this sector of da homeland. They quote a Washington Post column by Sebastian Mallaby who cites a growth story of nearly Google-esque proportions –

Vellore is a small town in southern India, poor enough for some of its buildings to have thatched roofs rather than the rain-proof metal sort. Until a few years ago Vellore was notable only for its large Christian medical center, erected with the help of foreign money. But now it has sprouted this 9,000-student technical college, complete with a sports stadium, an incubator for start-up high-tech businesses and a bio-separation lab.

…The college started out in 1984 with just 180 students…In 2005 India produced 200,000 engineering graduates, about three times as many as the United States and twice as many as all of Europe. But the really astonishing statistic is this: In 2005 India enrolled fully 450,000 students in four-year engineering courses, meaning that its output of engineers will more than double by 2009.

The lesson for other developing nations? The role of private education –

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DhamaalSF touring…. India

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Any self-respecting, well-connected desi in SF has found himself at a DhamaalSF party or 2 over the years. Dhamaal’s recent Halloween party, for example, was a world-beater – at least when it came to mutinous content. Alas, the denizens of the city by the bay will have to go a while longer before the next one. Our boyz are back in da homeland –

Dhamaal Soundsystem, one of America’s most vibrant South Asian club performers and music bands, is currently touring India, and plans to set dance floors on fire in Mumbai, Goa and New Delhi.

San Francisco’s native sons are taking on the world with their unique twist on South Asian soundz –

The San Francisco-based group, which is a rage among alternative and South Asian music lovers in the US, consists of 20-odd members, including technicians, who trace their roots to different parts of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka.

“Our goal is to showcase South Asian or sub-continental music, including sufi, Hindustani and Carnatic classical with a Western perspective,” Maneesh Kenia, who set up Dhamaal in 1999 with DJ and producer Janaka Selekta, told IANS.

…”Please do not perceive us as another group which just hitchhikes on Bollywood remixes and Bhangra-hip hop,” said Maneesh, an Indian American who quit his career in music software to follow his passion.

DNA India gives us a few blurbs about the origins of this veritable SF institution –

Dhamaal was born when a few friends got together and hosted a house party seven years ago. “We’re a 20 strong group and we do the whole live experience with the DJs, video, artistry, etc,” says Dhruv.

Their parties are renowned for the eclectic mix of desi’s, non-desi’s, artistes, techies (we’re in SF, afterall), and alterna-culture fans across the Bay Area. Dhamaal’s website, gallery, and, most importantly, music clips can be found on their website – http://www.dhamaalsf.com/.

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Justice Syriana Style

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Amnesty International has issued an urgent action report to save a Mallu dude from getting an eye gouged out by the famed prison surgeons of Saudi Arabia –

Puthen Veetil Abdul Latheef Noushad has reportedly been sentenced to have an eye removed. The sentence is said to have been passed to a higher court and if upheld, could be inflicted at any time.

According to press reports, the sentence is punishment for partially blinding another man during a fight in April 2003. He was apparently working at a petrol station in the city of Dammam, in the eastern region when he had an argument with a customer over payment. A fight broke out which left the other man with partial loss of sight. Puthen Veetil Abdul Latheef Noushad said that he was acting in self defence. He is detained in al-Dammam prison, Dammam.

The government of Kerala & India have entered the fray –

The Keralaites Association, a government agency looking after the welfare of migrants working in the Gulf, has asked the Indian foreign ministry to intervene. [link]

The Indian government has asked Riyadh to pardon an Indian worker whose eye is set to be gouged out as punishment by a Saudi Arabian court, a minister told parliament on Thursday.

“India has sent a mercy petition to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and to the governor of Dammam, where worker Puthen Veetil Abdul Latheef Noushad is imprisoned,” junior foreign minister E Ahamed told parliament. [link]

Noushad’s last remaining hope is an official pardon from the Saudi Royal’s –

The only option for the Noushad family now is to appeal to the Saudi king for royal clemency, which is granted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia acceded to the Convention against Torture in 1997. However, Noushads case is the third known instance over the past year in which a Saudi court has issued a sentence of eye-gouging, Human Rights Watch said.

Sepia Mutiny’s been following the issue with many posts on the subject (indexed on Manish’s Syriana post). In recent years, the crap these workers endure has been slowly making its way into the spotlight and with luck, Noushad’s fate is hopefully more promising than it might have been not too long ago.

(FWIW – I suppose it will matter to some that I came across this story first via Little Green Footballs…. To them, I paraphrase Fareed Zakaria who was addressing another object of unblinking vilification by the Left — Somethings are true even if LGF reports it.)

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Honor Killing Watch

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(via Little Green Footballs) Now you can devote an entire blog to the depressing topic of modern day honor killings in the Pakistani hinterlands. In fact, LGF sorta fills this role. But this killing was particularly gruesome and makes me damn thankful on this Christmas eve for the society we’ve been blessed to have been born within –

MULTAN, Pakistan – A father angry that his eldest daughter married for love slit her throat as she slept, then killed three other daughters in a remote village in eastern Pakistan, police said Saturday. Nazir Ahmad, a laborer in his 40s, feared the younger girls, aged 4 to 12, would follow in their 25-year-old sister’s footsteps, police officer Shahzad Gul said.

There’s a sort of North Korean / Nazi / Stalinist sense of justice here – you don’t just bring down the perp but his / her family too. Not only to stomp out the meme but also to ensure that any future individuals are thoroughly disincentivized. Fascism comes in forms big and small.

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The Miseducation of Fareed Zakaria

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Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria is a favorite subject on Sepia Mutiny and the man is rapidly achieving prominence as one of the top foreign policy pundits in the World (desi or otherwise). Surfing around, I came across a pretty interesting profile of Zakaria in NY Metro magazine from back in April of 2003.

Of particular interest was the Desi-inspired origin of Zakaria’s politics (views which apparently run against the “prescribed’ Asian American grain) –

Zakaria became a conservative, he says, from observing the Indian state. “People often say, ‘How could you, living in India, end up a Reaganite?’ Well, the answer is, live in India. There are two things that people don’t understand. One is the degree to which a highly regulated economy produces masses of corruption because it empowers bureaucrats. It just has to be seen to be believed.

“The second,” he continues, “is that you are very quickly inured to the charms of pre-industrial village life. Whenever someone says the word community, I want to reach for an oxygen mask.”

Few examples out there demonstrate the degree to which certain high minded political ideals can utterly fail to mesh with reality than the lost 40 years of post-independence Indian development.

Fareed has raised the ire of many desi liberals (check out the comments on this thread, for ex) for, among other things, his (equivocal) support of the polarizing Iraq war. Serious detractors may attack his conclusions but most acknowledge the intellectual weight of his arguments (well, with the exception of anonymous ones who dismiss him as an “Uncle Tom“)

For more of Fareed’s musings, his eponymous website can be found here. SM’ers might be interested in a summary / review of his book The Future of Freedom on my personal blog here.

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