Back to nature

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As you know, we like the rustic life out here in our bunker in North Dakota. We’re off the grid, we get our internet via satellite and we generate half our electricity by making Abhi run on a treadmill. We find our lifestyle … bracing, especially at this time of year.

However, my relatives in India share little nostalgia for simpler times, so I was surprised to read that just as Bangalore is transforming itself into a replica of Silicon Valley (traffic jams and all), a village just outside of Bangalore is selling the experience of rural life to harried city dwellers:

Some of India’s richest people are paying $150 a night to live like peasants at a “native village” in the southern state of Karnataka. The village, Hessargatta – just outside India’s IT capital, Bangalore – is designed to encourage the preservation of some of India’s rural traditions. It offers visitors the chance to qualify in tasks like milking cows and looking after the other animals. [Link]

Like Tom Sawyer, they manage to sell the arduous tasks of daily life as a privilege rather than a hindrance:

Transport around the village is by bullock cart ride – “probably the slowest ride you’ll ever go on”. …Because of the slow pace, you notice so much more of life. It’s quite philosophical in my view,” [Link]

That’s right – the antidote to the aggravation of travelling slowly in traffic jams is … travelling slowly in a bullock.

This sort of idealization of rural life is nothing new, either in India or elsewhere. Gandhians have long argued for the “greater purity of rural life“, modern Americans have dude ranches, and Marie Antoinette had the Petit hameau de la Reine where she played at being a milk maid. Still, it’s a bit jarring to see rich Indians shell out big bucks (far more than the poor make in a month) for a Disneyfied version of the very life that the poor are trying to escape.

Still, if this floats your boat, you can book your vacation here.

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Conflict in Pakistan – the Long View

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It’s rare that I single out a post from another blogger as an excellent news source. However, this particular one from Richard Fernandez (aka “Wretchard”) of Belmont Club presents one of the best end to end views of where the fractures in Pakistan came from, the shape they’ve taken now, and what might need to be done to clean things up.

I’ll put up a few excerpts here to give you a taste but, I recommend reading the whole thing –

The degree to which the Pakistan has been patched together is expressed in its very name. “The name was coined by Cambridge student and Muslim nationalist Choudhary Rahmat Ali … he saw it as an acronym formed from the names of the ‘homelands’ of Muslims in northwest India — P for Punjab, A for the Afghan areas of the region, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and tan for Balochistan, thus forming “Pakstan”.

…Unable to compete in conventional war with India, even with the acquisition of nuclear weapons, Islamabad began to use proxies to advance its foreign policy objectives. In the late 1980s and 1990s, Pakistan engaged in two conflicts with nuclear armed powers largely using proxy terrorist organizations and infantry under the cover of plausible deniability. The first was its war against India in the Kargil district, fought at a time when both nations already had nukes. The second of course, was the ISI’s participation in ousting the Soviet bear from Afghanistan.

With 9/11, the Pakistani’s were forced to choose between the West and the Taliban. While heretofore Pakistan had a de facto “export the problem” approach like the Saudi’s, American involvement in Afghanistan brought the state of affairs to an end. And thus, Fernandez argues, the real dynamic is how blowback from the fall of the Taliban exposed the weak seams of Pakistan’s patchwork…

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Desi Food, in Theory

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Through a post on the News Tab (thanks Bobby32), I came across an interesting “local food tourism” piece in the New York Times, featuring Krishnendu Ray, a Professor of Food Studies at NYU (can anyone think of a better discipline to be in? I can’t).

Professor Ray is the author of an intriguing-looking book called The Migrant’s Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households.

The Times has the cerebral Prof. Ray go on a tour of a series of very different Desi restaurants around New York City, beginning with high-end fusion food in Manhattan (Angon), passing through Jackson Diner (a cross-over favorite), stopping by the Ganesh Temple Canteen in Flushing (intriguing choice), and ending at a working class place in Brooklyn called Pakiza.

Ray’s comments are really intriguing. First there is a general, theoretical comment about the function of the Desi restaurant as a space of cross-cultural interaction in American cities:

“The immigrant body is a displaced body — it reveals its habits much more than a body at home, because you can see the social friction,” Mr. Ray said. “The ethnic restaurant is one of the few places where the native and the immigrant interact substantively in our society.”

Interesting — and possibly true. (Thoughts?) I think what Ray is getting at here is the fact that how we eat is both more intimate and harder to conceal than other aspects of cultural difference. In many other spheres, adaptation and mimicry can be pretty straightforward: you buy a certain kind of suit and shoes, and fit in at a workplace or school, more or less. But eating is closer to home, and the Indian restaurant in particular is a space where “old habits” (like, say, eating with one’s hands) can come out safely. But, as Ray also points out, the rules are somewhat different when the Indian restaurant in question has a mix of Desi and non-Desi patrons.

On $6 for a tiny, pyramid-shaped mound of Bhel Puri at Devi, Ray says:

“We like this very clever insider joke,” Mr. Ray continued. “We are taking something cheap and from the street, and reducing the quantity, turning it into a pyramid, putting it on a big plate, and all these white guys are paying 20 bucks for it.” (link)

Heh. His bewilderment at the idea of veal at a restaurant named “Devi,” as well as at the ingenious preposterousness of “Masala Schnitzel” is also worth a look. I also agree with him about the greatness of Saravanaas, on Lexington Avenue, and on a few other things as well. Continue reading →

Portraying Monkeys Is Paramount in Preserving Our Culture?

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Greetings Mutineers! I am Nayagan and I am guest-blogging here to fight the good fight for pittu, sodhi and the thosai which embraces us all in it’s fermented glory.

hanuman.jpg

Listen up desi parents: Bina Menon, a classical dance teacher from West Orange NY, has the magical cure to all your ‘heritage preserving’ needs. Indeed, according to the New York Times, a turn in one of her stage productions (portraying an animal of the forest) will do wonders for lifting the Vestern pop-culture cloud which descended over your child’s eyes as soon as he/she exited the womb.

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Drunk Women in Juhu: “What were they expecting?”

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shame on them.jpg Soon after New Year’s Eve, we began receiving tips about a dreadful incident in Bombay involving two young couples who were on vacation (Thanks, Rahul and many others):

A mob of 70-80 men groped and molested two young women for some 15 minutes on a busy main street in Mumbai’s glamour district Juhu early on New Year’s Day.
An identical incident had shamed India’s safest city exactly a year ago — a girl was molested by New Year’s eve revellers at the Gateway of India. That incident was captured on film by a popular Mumbai tabloid; Tuesday morning’s horror was shot by two Hindustan Times lensmen who happened to be on the spot.
The women — one in a black dress, the other in a jeans and top — emerged from the JW Marriott with two male friends around 1.45 am, and began walking towards Juhu beach close by.
A mob of about 40 got after them and began teasing the women. One of the women swore loudly at the hooligans.
But the mob, now 70-80 strong, wouldn’t let go. They trapped the women near a vehicle and a tree, and pounced on them. A man in a white shirt tore off the black dress. Another, in a blue shirt, led the assault. As the women fell on the ground, dozens of men jumped on them. [HT]

The story and the wide-spread, collective anger it inspired grew considerably when the Police Inspector tasked with the case expressed himself in a regrettably insensitive way:

The comments of the Mumbai police commissioner, DN Jadhav further enraged the people: “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. Keep your wives at home if you want them safe. This kind of small things can happen anywhere”. [meri]

Excellent. Two women who were brutalized deserved it because they were out and about, instead of in the kitchen. While a few Mumbaikars agreed with that unfortunate view, others certainly did not:

Arjun Ghai, executive with an MNC says, “The act was shameful but the attitude of the police in this regard is even worse. If MF Hussain puts up his paintings or a Hollywood star kisses a Bollywood actress, the Shiv Sainiks come to life, but what about such cases? It is the people of our great nation who need to be blamed. I am sure those who were involved in this gruesome act had sisters and wives sitting at home. Did they think about them even for an instance? No wonder we are living among vultures ready to pounce on the flesh of vulnerable women at the drop of a hat.”
Mira Sud, boutique owner opines, “I heard someone say that the girls might have been drunk or led the guys on. This is absolutely crazy. In a nation like ours where we worship Sita and Laxmi, people tend to lose their moral sense at times. Claiming that a woman might have been drunk is no reason or excuse. What about those instances where the men get drunk and pounce on women? Nobody blames them. In this male-dominated society of ours, we tend to blame the female gender without even considering the situation.”[meri]

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Prêt-à-Porter for Boyz

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Quick, when was the last time I wrote a blog entry on the topic of high fashion for SM? Do some of you view me as a mere niche blogger who only writes about Antarctic exploration or freaky kids? These days, bloggers must remain sufficiently versatile so as to compete in a cut-throat business, one where the profit margins are razor thin and the trolls are out with knifes. And so I bring you news of designer Marc Jacobs’ spring/summer 2008 line (thanks for the tip “Meenbeen”):

Marc Jacobs can do anything he wants now. He’s even feeling confident enough to open up about a troubled private life that he once kept very private. And one expression of that confident spirit is the injection of willfulness he’s given to his collections. It’s a definite boon to the menswear in his second line, which can occasionally seem a little too close to the contents of College Boy’s closet. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but Jacobs has proved himself a virtuoso at distilling the talents of his various collaborators, and he has some keen ones at M. by M. We could rightly expect a little more. With this latest effort, we got it.

The menswear took the mixed-up, mumbled-up, shook-up world that Marc presented for his signature Spring collection and toned it down to one key discombobulation: asymmetry. [Link]

The above review was written during 2007’s Fashion Week in NYC. Since the majority of the clothes-buying-public didn’t attend Fashion Week, they will mostly base their opinion of his men’s clothing line on print ads seen in prominent men’s magazines, and based on the reviews of prominent fashion bloggers like myself. Some of you may recognize one of the models he has chosen to show off his new men’s line: the musician M.I.A. Below each photograph I will comment on the effectiveness of these ads from the perspective of a male with a disposable income.

In the above picture M.I.A. poses like that one potential child molester uncle in the family who the relatives all shield their kids from. Her clammy skin and disheveled hair seem to scream, “what!?” and I imagine that in the next frame (had it been published) her head and chest would have been lurching forward as she said just that into the camera. This look would suit a stockbroker or I-banker, the kind who will never be the best in his field, but has some cocaine to party with after work…so its all good. And those hands. Greedy, clutching, talon-like hands that will find a way to collect what’s coming to them. All things eventually find their way into those hands so you may as well just “give it up” without a struggle. Belt not needed for a look like this (in case you were wondering). The man wearing those pants shouldn’t have to be bothered with a belt anyways. Those pants need to be easy to pull down and easy to put on in a hurry when he needs to sneak out. And he sneaks out often. The tie? The subliminal message being sent by this ad is that even if you think the tie is ugly, you can still use it for something else. Like to tie something in place. Utilitarian clothing is in for 2008. [As a side note, this is the most attractive I’ve ever seen M.I.A. look, and I’ve seen her up close. I kept looking to see if there was a wire leading from one of those red sockets at the bottom left of the photograph, into her, to make her so electric].

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The Moral Instinct (Updated)

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One of my favorite scientist/writers, Steven Pinker, has an excellent feature article in the NYT on the evolution of Moral sense. He begins his piece with a series of examples that are highly relevant to India and which illustrate the classic divide between Intentions and Consequences –

Which of the following people would you say is the most admirable: Mother Teresa, Bill Gates or Norman Borlaug? And which do you think is the least admirable? For most people, it’s an easy question. Mother Teresa, famous for ministering to the poor in Calcutta, has been beatified by the Vatican, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and ranked in an American poll as the most admired person of the 20th century. Bill Gates, infamous for giving us the Microsoft dancing paper clip and the blue screen of death, has been decapitated in effigy in “I Hate Gates” Web sites and hit with a pie in the face. As for Norman Borlaug . . . who the heck is Norman Borlaug?

Yet a deeper look might lead you to rethink your answers. Borlaug, father of the “Green Revolution” that used agricultural science to reduce world hunger, has been credited with saving a billion lives, more than anyone else in history. Gates, in deciding what to do with his fortune, crunched the numbers and determined that he could alleviate the most misery by fighting everyday scourges in the developing world like malaria, diarrhea and parasites. Mother Teresa, for her part, extolled the virtue of suffering and ran her well-financed missions accordingly: their sick patrons were offered plenty of prayer but harsh conditions, few analgesics and dangerously primitive medical care.

The big difference between the 3 is that Mother Teresa clearly intended to save people through direct, personal sacrifice. Borlaug, a previous SM profilee, did it more indirectly through a systematic application of science. Gates did it either 100% indirectly by helping bring down the cost of computing OR somewhat more directly by taking his billions of wealth and funneling it through charity while living in a 50K sqft mansion on Lake Washington. Modern India is benefitting from all 3 although lately, I’d wager in particular from the cheap, mass market computing & telecommunications revolution that Gates helped produce… Continue reading →

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Return of the Papaya!

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Papaya!.jpg

Yay for reader Pallavi, who alerted me to this life-altering news: Sanjaya is back! How’s THAT for some Friday fluff? Via Page Six(sixsix):

No this isn’t a game of: “one of these things is not like the other.” PageSix.com has learned that Sanjaya Malakar and his sister Shyamali are in talks to headline their own variety TV series called The Sanjaya and Shyamali Show! The program plans to showcase a special blend of singing, dancing, comedy and, naturally, their lush manes of hair.

I am glad Shyamali is part of this project. I didn’t really see much of her because she was eliminated from AI and then her brother became this cultural sensation. It’ll be interesting to get to know her better, so that people are aware of more than her occupation.

Sanjaya, who was spotted outside The Groundlings Theater on Melrose Ave over the weekend, was actually at the comedy mecca to cast improv actors for the show, his manager Suzy Sachs tells PageSix.com. “He has a huge following and a background in musical theater,” she says, adding that the duo is currently in negotiations with MTV and plans to film a pilot in early spring.

The Groundlings = teh awesome. Peep their alums and see for yourself, if you haven’t heard of them.

But it gets better Fan-jaya’s! The formerly faux-hawked wonder, who is either the most loved or loathed contestant in the history of American Idol depending on your opinion…

We interrupt this blockquote to declare, loved! Loved! Loved!

…is also prepping to release his first CD. “He’s in rehearsals for a new album,” Sachs tells PageSix.com. Sanjaya is studying with famous vocal coach Seth Riggs (who has worked with artists like Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Ray Charles and Ricky Martin) and is heading into the studio this weekend to begin laying down some preliminary tracks. “He did very well,” Riggs tells PageSix.com of their sessions. “I wish I could have done what he’s doing at 18-years-old.”

In her email to me, Pallavi asked:

Is this the 1st potential live variety show in America featuring Indian-Americans?

I don’t know mutineers, is it? 🙂 Oh, I must prepare! I’ll need puns, and anecdotes and wacky terms of endearment, oh my. This is Sanjaya we’re discussing! That screen-filling smile. That highly-ductile, malleable hair. That bizarre ability to only make one pale, pigtailed-girl cry uncontrollably for the camera…it’s all so…bloggable. Continue reading →

Another freaky Indian kid

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Title says it all. Here is something to think about on the drive home or to discuss with your friends over a beer tonight:

Roller-skating under cars might seem impossible, but it is the latest craze among kids in India and requires the flexibility, strength and balance of a gymnast.

Six-year-old Aniket Chindak holds the unofficial world record for ‘limbo-skating’ and speeds along no more than eight-inches above the ground.

Unfolding his body from his eye-watering position, the wonder-kid explained proudly how he is training to break his own world record of skating under 57 cars in 45 seconds. [Link]

He is like a human transformer. He goes from upright human to some sort of crazy airplane looking thing. Unfortunately, like all other successful child freaks, he will probably go on to face disappointment in a business that exploits youth to provide blog and media fodder.

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The Elephant in the Road? (What Elephant?)

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I would think we’re all more than adeqately familiar with the long list of clichés about roads in India — they’re chaotic, people honk a lot, there’s no clear lane structure, there are all these ultracheap, Ipod-sized cars… and yeah, there’s the occasional animal. Just in case you’ve forgotten some of them, here are the clichés again for you:

Amid a cacophony of horns, a blood-red sport utility vehicle weaved between cars, passing Mr. Sharma within a razor’s edge on the right. A school bus snuggled close up on his left. No one seemed to care about traffic lanes. Cars bounced in and out of crater-size potholes.

[…] Sharing the road with him were a bicyclist with three cooking-gas cylinders strapped to the back of his bike, a pushcart vendor plying guavas, a cycle rickshaw loaded with a photocopy machine (rickshaws often being the preferred mode of delivery for modern appliances).

There were also a great many pedestrians, either leaping into traffic in the absence of crosswalks or marching in thick rows on the sides of the road in the absence of sidewalks. At one point, a car careered down the wrong side of the road. Then a three-wheeled scooter-rickshaw came straight at Mr. Sharma, only to duck swiftly down a side street. At least this morning there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane, as there sometimes is. (link)

I have no problem if a reporter goes to Delhi, notices that the traffic is intense, and writes about it; some clichés, admittedly, are based in truth. (The article, incidentally, is by Somini Sengupta, with contributions from Hari Kumar and Seher Mahmood.) What I do have a problem are silly non-observations, like “At least there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane, as there sometimes is.” In fact, you didn’t see any elephants, did you? Why report on what you didn’t see?

Though I must admit I am no expert either, I have never seen an elephant on the road in central Delhi… Cows and goats, yes. But an elephant, no — it seems like an exceptional rather than an ordinary occurrence.

I think someone is pulling Somini’s leg. Continue reading →