Who was “The Great Oom?”

The Houston bureau of Sepia Mutiny (our southernmost outpost) has shuttered its doors, a casualty of the economic upheaval. The Houston bureau chief (me) has returned to Los Angeles to rejoin our offices there. One of the things I will miss most about Houston in my yoga teacher/class. A good yoga place is hard to find (even in the “yoga capital” of the U.S.). And isn’t it wonderful how so many of you nodded your heads in agreement just now. For many of us, finding the right yoga class is as important, and as difficult, as finding the right doctor. On the airplane to Los Angeles last night I read a blurb in a magazine that made me aware that many of us owe a debt of gratitude to one Pierre Arnold Bernard (a.k.a. The Great Oom). He had a significant hand in ensuring that Yoga is now essentially a part of everyday American culture:

… men and women came to his ashram on the Hudson River, two hundred acres of leafy real estate in Nyack, New York, that included a zoo, a yacht, airplanes and a dozen mansions that Mitchell could only describe as the “English countryside estates one sees in the moving pictures.” Bernard had made his fortune teaching yoga, and his students made up a Who’s Who of American life: college presidents, medical doctors, ministers, a spy or two, theologians, heiresses, a future congresswoman, famed authors and composers — some of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world. Doctor Bernard, they called him, and like a benevolent physician he ministered to their needs, body and soul. He sheltered them, entertained them and gathered them together to teach them the art of living. They stood on their heads for him, worked in his fields, sang in his theatrical productions and performed in elaborate, professional-level circuses for his approval. Some of them came to delve deeply into hatha yoga and the philosophy behind it, some for romance and fresh air, some for the Bernard cure, having been abandoned by hospitals and mental institutions. These he literally led back from ruination — from ledges of despair, lethal addictions and Great War nightmares. How he managed to do this has remained his closely guarded secret…

But who was he, really, this uneducated savant who could lecture extemporaneously for three hours on the similarities between the philosophies of ancient India and the Gnostic heresies of the early Christians? This same man was known to stage a three-ring circus, manage a semi-pro baseball team, train a world-class heavyweight boxer, repair a Stanley Steamer automobile and whoop it up on fight nights at Madison Square Garden with nicotine-stained reporters. This last was where he was most at home, some said, shouting, swearing, happily chomping on a cigar. Who was this man of such wild contradictions, a name as familiar to headline writers of the 1920s as Charles Lindbergh? The answer depended to a large degree on who was doing the asking. [NYT]

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[NSFW] MIA’s new happy upbeat video about a boy and a girl in love

I tweeted yesterday about the new MIA video, a short, happy upbeat bit of bubblegum pop about a boy and a girl in love. It’s uplifting and heart warming, yet light and subtle. She’s clearly leaving politics behind and trying to challenge Taylor / Miley / Gaga / Ke$ha in the hearts of tween kids everywhere. Based on this video, I figure her next move is to team up with Justin Bieber for a saccharine duet, something that will show up on Glee within a month. Or maybe she’ll decide to give Jay Sean a run for his money, with a song called “Up.”

CAUTION: The video really is NSFW because of both violence and nudity. Also, you really don’t want to watch a 9 minute long video with graphic imagery at the office, unless you work at the SEC..

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

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Should Indians worry about this scary infographic?

Yes. I think so. They should be absolutely terrified by what it implies

According to this graphic, India is doing pretty well in avoiding packaged food (but also eating a lot less total food…not always by choice) relative to America and some other western cultures. Yet here is the inescapable fact about where India is headed (and China as well):

After an extensive nationwide survey, China has more than doubled the estimate of its diabetic people to 92.4 million from 43.2 million in 2009, thus replacing India as the country with the maximum number of diabetics in the world.

India has 50.8 million people with diabetes.

The China study, published in New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday pushes up the global diabetes estimates from 285 million to 334.2 million.

Diabetes was almost 1.4 times more common among urban residents than rural ones, the study found, sampling 46,239 adults above the age of 20, from 14 provinces and municipalities.

“The ageing of the population, urbanisation, nutritional changes and decreasing levels of physical activity, with a consequent epidemic of obesity, have probably contributed to the rapid increase in the diabetes burden in the Chinese population,” wrote Yang Wenying, head of endocrinology, at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, who carried out the study between June 2007 and May 2008. [Link]

We Americans are likely to continue to export our food culture around the world. Or rather, countries like India and China will continue to enthusiastically import it and are probably even less equipped than us to deal with the repercussions.

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Timothy Geithner’s India trip

I had no idea until the NYTimes reported it earlier this week that our Treasury Secretary once lived in India:

Geithner was born in New York City but spent most of his childhood in other countries, including present-day Zimbabwe, Zambia, India and Thailand where he completed high school at the International School Bangkok. [Link]

Here is a picture of Geithner when he was a kid in India. For the love of…why didn’t some local teach him some cricket??

And while in India, Geithner needed some ironing done. Why can’t we buy those big ol’ irons here? My shirts are never pressed as well as they are in India.

Actually, this man is the local ATM machine. Click on the picture for an explanation

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Arjun Basu Wins Shorty Award for Literature

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There are two kinds of people: those who use Twitter and those who don’t. I belong to the former group. But even a Twitter fanatic like myself can appreciate the apathy that inevitably creeps in when the initial excitement of sharing your world in 140-characters dies down. After a while – it’s easy to become disinterested in the Tweets of the people you follow.

A couple of months ago, I became curious about sharing narrative via Tweets. Upon further Googling, I discovered the concept had been realized in all its glory by Arjun Basu, who Pavani first bought to the Mutiny’s attention last summer. I started following Basu on Twitter and ever since then, have been consistently entertained by what he calls Twisters, short stories told via Twitter. There’s something about seeing a full story told in such a succinct, boiled-down way that appeals to my fancy. And it looks like I’m not the only one who’s a fan. This past month, Basu’s work was acknowledged at the second annual Shorty Awards, which recognizes the “the best people and organizations on Twitter.” Basu won in the Literature category in a surprising upset over Neil Gaiman, the so-called “rock star’ of the literary world.” For someone still working on his first novel, the award was quite a coup. Basu was kind enough to answer some questions for the Mutiny. Continue reading

Imaad Wasif’s “The Voidist”

In 2006, Siddhartha profiled Imaad Wasif, after the release of his debut album on Kill Rock Stars Records. I had sort of forgotten about the post — and not really remembered Wasif’s music — until I was in a Barnes & Noble the other day. imaadwasif.jpgThere I found, as an actual CD, Wasif’s third CD, The Voidist. (As a side-note, whenever this happens I’m reminded of how much I miss actual record stores. Music browsing on the internet just isn’t the same!) In between 2006 and now, Wasif had released a second album, Strange Hexes, and also worked with Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) on the soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are.

Here is a music video from the new album, “Fangs”:

I’ve been listening to Wasif’s music all week this week, and this time I’m feeling it. (What do you think?) By comparison to the first CD, The Voidist feels more like 1970s rock ‘n’ roll, with some songs with big power chords. It’s also less confessional in tone (and less dark), and much more of a collaborative (band) effort than a solo performance. All that said, Wasif’s new CD also reflects less of an impact of classical Hindustani ragas, though I do hear some trace of them in “Redeemer” (see the somewhat mysterious official music video on YouTube. Note: Video is slightly NSFW, with artfully out of focus female nudes).

You can download an early MP3 for Wasif’s “Out in the Black”, which has a clear raga/Hindustani influence, here. It’s actually one of my favorite tracks by Wasif. Another recommended track is “Oceanic“. All of his albums can be downloaded from ITunes, including the collaborative work he’s done on films.

Imaad Wasif is touring the U.S. right now; you can see the dates on his website. He’ll be in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia (@North Star Bar) towards the end of April. Continue reading

KKHH goes to the dogs

I saw Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with my family at the historic Raj Mandir theater in Jaipur, India back in the winter of 1998. I generally dislike what Bollywood has to offer but it was really hard to dislike that film. Good music, feel-good plot, fresh samosas at intermission. But Bollywood just can’t help but copy a movie already made. It even copies itself. Karan Johar decided he wanted to remake KKHH almost exactly like the original…but with animated dogs in the lead roles.

This one is called Koochie Koochie Hota Hai. So what do you think 30-something desi parents? Is this destined to become part of the collection of movies you use to distract your kids with? If I ever see this playing in the back seat of an SUV on the road I fully reserve the right to roll my eyes derisively.

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Watch What Happened, at the State Dinner

Salahis and O.jpgI admit it. I watch two of the Real Housewives series [to be clear, I mean NY and NJ— no ATL for me, that’s alll mutineer Vinod ;)]. When it comes to mindless entertainment with which to while away time on a cardio machine, this reliable train-wreck is mesmerizing to behold.

Earlier this month, when Bravo introduced their newest programming, it looked as if my adopted hometown would not be the next player in the RH cesspool. After all, Bravo proudly announced that Beverly Hills would be the next frontier for fame-whoring, with nary a peep about boring, old DC. And yet…

Today, the Daily Beast has confirmed from two sources that the so-called White House gatecrashers, whose prank ultimately cost presidential Social Secretary Desiree Rogers her job, are poised to take center stage once again as the most visible members of the upcoming Bravo series “The Real Housewives of D.C.” After one of the most visible reality series auditions in history–yes, Bravo cameras were on hand as the Salahis arrived for that ill-fated White House event–the couple has now been fully embraced as the focal point of the series, expected to premiere in July.

A source close to the series tells the Daily Beast that Bravo executives were more than relieved to learn the Salahis wouldn’t be prosecuted. In-house viewing of the audition footage and sample programs made it obvious that it would have been next to impossible to edit out the commanding presence of the statuesque platinum blonde, Michaele. [db]

Oh, good! They won’t be punished for their dangerous antics. Whew, that’s such a relief. I mean, let’s focus on what matters– good television!

According to Gawker, footage of Tareq and Michaele crashing the State Dinner which was held in honor of Indian PM Manmohan Singh will be shown during the DC season finale. Bravo’s slogan is “Watch What Happens”, and I probably I will. Am I rewarding bad behavior? Yes, but if I had the self-restraint required not to gawk…I wouldn’t read Gawker. Or enjoy Bravo. Continue reading

A more intimate look at the President’s spirituality

Yesterday I asked for help from SM readers (also known affectionately as the “Great Brown Horde”) to ascertain the identity of the man on Obama’s “lucky charm.” Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader we now have a definitive answer. It is Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, the current spiritual leader of Kriya Yoga International.

Paramahamsa Prajnananandaji is the president of Kriya organizations started by Baba Hariharanandaji Maharaj and the current head of a great lineage of Kriya Yoga Guru Parampara.

Paramahamsa Prajnanananda is based in Puri, India, and travels up to 300 days per year, holding seminars and retreats all over the world. He runs the main Kriya Yoga ashrams in Balighai, Cuttack, Vienna, Holland , Miami, and the centers world-wide. He is also the founder of Prajnana Mission, which provides free medical assistance units and centers, residential schools for unserved areas, and many other charitable and educational activities.

Paramahamsa Prajnanananda is known as a powerful and loving teacher, author and speaker on world religion. On August 10, 1998, the highest title, Paramahamsa, a designation reserved for monks and saints who have attained the summit of realization was conferred upon him by his Master Paramahamsa Hariharananda. [Link]

Here is a brief background on the history of Kriya Yoga (from Wikipedia):

Kriya Yoga is described by its practitioners as the ancient Yoga system revived in modern times by Mahavatar Babaji through his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya, c 1861, and brought into popular awareness through Paramhansa Yogananda’s book Autobiography of a Yogi. The system consists of a number of levels of Pranayama based on techniques that are intended to rapidly accelerate spiritual development and engender a profound state of tranquility and God-communion. [Link]

My post yesterday was meant to be light an humorous. Today’s is not. In posting this picture I am exposing an intimate detail that was probably (almost assuredly) never meant to be revealed. I feel like I am violating the President’s privacy. There is nothing more private than one’s spirituality. I have little doubt that some extremists that believe he is a Muslim, a socialist, a Nazi, etc. may just latch on to this as more evidence of his “otherness.” So what? In my view you cannot combat ignorance by hiding truth. I have made the conscious decision to shed light upon and pursue this and so now feel compelled to explain why…

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