In news that shocked Edna and Wilbur Johnson of Beulah, North Dakota, it’s been discovered IITians are really, really smart. Mitra covers the big IIT reunion in DC:

… [IIT] alumni say American friends are starting to rank the institution with Harvard and MIT… Shenoy related that when his son, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, was asked by a professor where his parents went to college, he replied: “My dad went to IIT and my mom went to MIT.”

In turn, his son’s MIT professor said, ” ‘Your dad went to IIT?’ ” Suresh Shenoy recounted, mimicking an incredulous yet impressed inflection. “My wife hates it,” Shenoy said.

No, I bet their son hates it. IIT + MIT = unholy geekiness. Or perhaps your mom helps you install Linux on your iPod. Hey, that’s actually kinda cool…

Tonight on ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel for May 20, 2005: South Asian American author Asra Nomani. Nomani left Pakistan shaken by the brutal murder of her friend Daniel Pearl; citing that as the catalyst for her transformation from devout Muslim to devout Muslim Activist, the iconoclast returned to her home state of West Virginia–where her father had helped start Morgantown’s Mosque– and chose to sit with the men of her congregation. Nomani pointed out that this is allowed in Mecca, but the leaders of her mosque want to banish her anyway. Begin: drama.

From Mecca to Morgantown: Questioning Islamic Traditions will probably air at 11:30pm. Continue reading →

StrategyPage has an interesting description of how the F-16s will impact the Pakistani Air Force –

May 20, 2005: The American decision to sell new F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan comes not a moment too soon for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). PAF used to have technological superiority over it’s Indian counterpart as recently as the 1980s, when PAF received some 40 state of the art F-16 Block 15 fighters. These aircraft were were a cut above the warplanes of the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, all changed in the 1990s, when the US sanctioned Pakistan for nuclear weapons development and stopped delivery of more F-16s. What’s worse, the spares for PAF’s existing F-16s dried up as well and the air force had to effectively ground its F-16 fleet for a few years. Meanwhile, IAF began to induct the powerful Sukhoi-30 MKI air superiority fighter, even as it added new capabilities to its existing Mirage-2000 and MiG-29 fighters by equipping them with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles. This posed a particular threat to PAF, which lacked BVR capability.

(quoting in full b/c of StrategyPage’s non-existant permalinks) Continue reading →

A small bit of press for a hugely awesome event in New York this weekend:

C H I A S M A T A May 20-22, 2005 A three-day literary festival celebrating South Asian writing The South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC) invite you to our third annual literary event, celebrating the works of South Asian writers. Participants include Amitava Kumar, Abha Dawesar, Ginu Kamani, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Meera Nair, Tahira Naqvi, S. Mitra Kalita, Bushra Rehman, Shahnaz Habib, Prageeta Sharma, Alka Bhargava, Anna Ghosh, Pooja Makhijani, Sangeeta Mehta and Neesha Meminger.

…and ME! 😉 Well, only on Sunday. But I live in DC, so I have an excuse. Did I mention that the Saturday and Sunday events are FREE?

What: Literary festival including two evenings of readings and discussion, a writing workshop for emerging writers, and a panel discussion of south asians in publishing When: May 20, 21, 22 Where: the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, the Village Quill, and the Queens Museum of Art Please visit the event page for further details.

See you there, if you know what’s good for your soul. 🙂 Continue reading →

Two new Desi cities added to the Craigs List family (they added Bangalore last year): Delhi and Mumbai.

Enjoy. Continue reading →

Kollektiv, my favorite party night is bringing the Asian Massive sound to DC and nationwide in the next few weeks, touching down in DC for it’s third installment @ Bossa Lounge (2463 18th St. NW in Adams Morgan) on Friday, May 27th. Taking place monthly in six cities nationwide, Kollektiv brings together the asian electronic stylings of some of the key players bringing the Asian noise: Karsh Kale (Six Degrees Records), Zakhm (Mutiny), DK aka bollygirlNYC (Avaaz/Gen-Om) and Dimmsummer (Ethnotechno). They will be joined on paint and canvas by DC’s own V:shal Kanwar (Imperfections). Continue reading →

Apparently these guys are –

Two tribes living on India’s Andaman islands may be direct descendents of the earliest modern humans who moved out of Africa 70,000 years ago, scientists reported last week. …The Great Andamanese and Onge tribes have remained isolated in the Andaman and Nicobar islands for tens of thousands of years. This helped the scientists to search for signs of origin that erase quickly when populations intermix. …They found the Onge and Great Andamanese — both Negrito tribes — resembled the African population more closely than east Asians or the mainland Indian population of today…These tribes still survive as hunter-gatherer communities using primitive tools and living in the jungle.

And, of course, an obligatory “blame it on the Brits” angle –

Their populations have also decreased steadily with about 20 Great Andamanese and 98 Onge surviving today. It is believed that before British colonizers reached the islands in the mid-18th century, the Great Andamanese population numbered over 5,000.

Continue reading →

India’s most polluted city is full of talk AND action:

Authorities in the Indian city of Calcutta have ordered all vehicles manufactured before 1990 off the roads unless they convert to green fuel…by the end of the year.

“9,587 taxis, 7,464 buses, 6,784 auto rickshaws, 1,164 minibuses and nearly 30,000 goods vehicles” could be affected. Why a ban?

A recent study by the Calcutta-based Chittaranjan Cancer Research Institute and Calcutta University indicated that close to 50% of the city’s residents suffer from major respiratory disorders.

Cases of lung cancer are also increasing throughout the city because of the high level of air pollution.

Continue reading →

Hear, hear! The first Los Angeles Carrom Open is hereby called to order (via Hollywood Masala):

First Prize $501, Entry Fee: $5 Per Person

11335 East 183rd Street
Cerritos, CA 90703
(562) 865-9892

All preliminary rounds will Start at 10:00 AM on Saturday, June 4, 2005
Quarterfinals, Semi finals and Finals will be on Sunday, June 5, 2005

A striking idea. I have a feeling that ‘Big Middle Finger’ Nooyi and her super-slippery talcum powder have this one in the pocket.

Continue reading →