Parveen Babi passes quietly

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Parveen Babi, a screen rival of Zeenat Aman, passed away prematurely a couple of days ago at home in Bombay. The actress from Ahmedabad, a Gujarati Muslim, starred in Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewar, Namak Halal and Shaan opposite Amitabh Bachchan, made the cover of Time magazine, filmed a serial in Italy with her lover Kabir Bedi and lived in New York for many years.

Hailing from the nawab family of Junagadh, Parveen Babi did her schooling from Ahmedabad… Deewar personified the new Bollywood woman through her — smoking, drinking, not shying away from a live-in relationship, and yet desperate for the sindoor in her maang. If the film made the coronation of Bachchan as the “angry, young man” official, it also established Parveen Babi as the new western face — and figure — of the desi silver screen. [Telegraph]

Her hour of glory came when Time featured her on the cover [in 1977], much to the consternation of her screen rivals. A product of the flower children, yoga, Beatles and the students’ movement of the 1960s, Babi remained an outsider in Bollywood. Her cinema career came to an abrupt end amidst reports of alcoholism and drug abuse. [ToI]

She lived in a fishbowl, reportedly suffered from schizophrenia and then turned recluse:

Some claimed it was… the release of Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth (a semi-autobiographical look at his extramarital relationship with Parveen) and her disturbed state of mind that prompted her to abandon everything. [Rediff]

[Babi] led the life of an absolute recluse because she was afraid people were trying to kill her… Babi was afraid of doorbells and phone calls. [Telegraph]

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The fight for the proselyte

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I snapped this billboard on MG Road in Bangalore last month. The celebrity televangelist is so quintessentially capitalist cheese, so ’80s camp, so late-night TV that the ad seemed utterly incongruous. ‘This town has gone completely Amrika-crazy,’ I mused.

Since the guy has brown skin, it never even occurred to me that he might not be desi. Turns out it’s the American evangelist Benny Hinn (no relation to Benny Hill), he of whom bloggeth Abhi yesterday. Hinn is a Christian Arab Israeli from Florida. There will be a pop quiz on that in 30 minutes.

Hinn kicked off his prayer meeting at an airfield outside Bangalore today. The airfield resounded with the usual miracle healings, but violent protests against the convention flooded central Bangalore with torched buses and tear gas.

I’ve seen it all before, this bubble. It’s a land grab for souls and page views, folks, and India’s perceived as a wide-open market. It’s one of the largest and most passionate markets for religion in the world, so Hinn’s hungama is nothing but a trade visit, really. American churches already outsource prayers to Kerala. And for false miracles, every American charlatan put together couldn’t hold a candle to Indian holy men. Check out Gita Mehta’s brilliant Karma Cola:

Gita Mehta details the extent of the hippie infatuation with South Asia in her classic book… Westerners seek instant salvation; Easterners the quick rupee. Gurus could pack entire astrodomes in the ’60s, levitation was believed to signal salvation, and Western disciples believed above all else in moksha through easy sex and hard drugs. At one point there were over 100,000 hippies trekking all over South Asia searching for enlightenment in woolly-minded religious platitudes and a variety of uppers and downers.

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USINPAC Hosts a Presidential Inauguration Reception

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The US-India Public Action Committee (USINPAC) followed yesterday’s inauguration with a little reception for members of Congress that it hopes to woo toward it’s policy beliefs. How’d it go?

Newly elected Congressman Bobby Jindal (R-LA) (who, as an aside, met recently with Rumsfeld) observed, “USINPAC is a very important bridge between the US Congress and the Indian-American community. Their work on and access to the hill has had an impact on several issues that are important to the community. I look forward to working with USINPAC.”

Art Estopinan, Chief of Staff of Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the newly elected Republican Co-Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, remarked “Indian-Americans have embraced the American political system and show increasing voting power and government participation, demonstrating a magnanimous affinity for public service. Such efforts cannot be overlooked.” In a letter written specially to USINPAC and its members, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen said, “I would like to thank you and commend you for your efforts. Your organization recognizes the flourishing relationship bonding our nations together. Through our united efforts, India and America can present an inspiring example of freedom and prosperity to the world, a guiding light that I feel privileged to be a part of.”

Katherine Harris (R-FL) noted, “Thank you USINPAC on performing a very important function. The Indian-American Community will benefit greatly by your work.”

Katherine Harris? I confess, the name still makes me shudder. A full description of USINPAC’s position on various issues can be found here.

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Hardline Hindu’s don’t seem to like Christian Evangelists

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As long as we are talking about biscuits and conversion, I thought I’d point out this story by the BBC on what happens when non-biscuit based conversion is proposed:

Hardline Hindu activists in southern India have protested against the visit of American TV evangelist Benny Hinn. Some businesses in Bangalore were also shut in response to a strike call by the activists against Mr Hinn’s three-day visit to the city.

Mr Hinn is one of America’s most famous evangelists and has his own daily television show, This Is Your Day.

He is expected to hold well-attended prayer meetings on the outskirts of Bangalore on Friday.

The BBC’s Sunil Raman says there have been a few incidents of stone throwing, damage to public property and attempts to stop traffic by protestors.

Banners and posters saying “Benny Hinn Go Back” have also been put up in Bangalore, hub of India’s software industry in Karnataka state.

The BJP apparently doesn’t approve of Hinn. Who would have guessed?

Bangalore-based Hindu organisations, including a main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, say that Mr Hinn would use these meetings to convert Hindus to Christianity.

Organisers deny such allegations.

Dr Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, said this was not the first time Mr Hinn was in India.

If biscuits are passed out, all hell is going to break loose. Continue reading →

For gallantry in action

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Lt. Neil Prakash was just awarded a Silver Star for leading his platoon through a horrific explosive gauntlet to victory against 60 Iraqi rebels.

Well done, soldier.

It took the crew about one hour to fight their way through the next one kilometer stretch of road. Official battle reports count 23 IEDs and 20-25 RPG teams in that short distance, as well as multiple machine-gun nests, and enemy dismounts armed with small arms and hand grenades.

… enemy dismounts were attempting to throw hand grenades into the tank’s open hatches… Prakash’s tank took the brunt of the attack, sustaining blasts from multiple IEDs and at least seven standard and armor piercing RPGs… One round blew the navigation system completely off of the vehicle, while another well-aimed blast disabled his turret…

By battle’s end, the platoon was responsible for 25 confirmed destroyed enemy and an estimated 50 to 60 additional destroyed enemy personnel. Prakash was personally credited with the destruction of eight enemy strong-points, one enemy re-supply vehicle, and multiple enemy dismounts…

“He’s a pleasure to command because he doesn’t require very much direction. He uses his own judgment and he’s simply an outstanding young lieutenant…” Although born in India and maintaining strong ties to the Indian community, Prakash was raised in Syracuse, New York, in what he called a very patriotic American household.

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Biscuits for Jesus

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Some missionaries have apparently been demanding conversion in exchange for tsunami aid (via Angry Asian Man):

Rage and fury has gripped this tsunami-hit tiny Hindu village [Samanthapettai] in India’s southern Tamil Nadu after a group of Christian missionaries allegedly refused them aid for not agreeing to follow their religion… Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked when the nuns asked them to convert before distributing biscuits and water.

It’s the missionaries’ right to distribute aid as they wish, but still, this seems mighty pinch-hearted. In contrast, Muslims have been aiding Dalits when some upper-caste Hindus have not:

Jamaath, a Muslim organisation… been running four relief camps in… Cuddalore district. The overwhelming majority of the victims are non-Muslims but that has not prevented the Jamaath from giving them three meals a day for over three days. Considering there are an estimated 40,000 people in these camps, that’s quite an achievement.

‘Times of India’ pulls a Baghdad Bob

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Power stroker Sania Mirza lost her third-round Oz Open match to Serena Williams, 6-1, 6-4, in 56 minutes. She was all nerves in the first set, which lasted just 20 minutes:

“I had butterflies in my stomach for two days. I couldn’t get to sleep last night. In the first set I was really tight…”

But she found her game in the second. Match point was an ace, the last of 12 Serena scorchers. Williams was a gracious winner:

“I was happy with the match today… I was getting girls who weren’t giving me any pace – but today she was giving me lots of hard balls… It was good to see someone from India for the first time do so well… she had a very solid game… and I see a very bright future for her.”

Here’s a shot-by-shot account. Mirza, who won Wimbledon in the junior doubles category, made $46K and is racking up endorsement deals in India.

The Times of India’s coverage was so fawningly nationalist as to be absurd. The same paper which called Mirza’s previous 50-minute win a cakewalk, treated her similarly rapid defeat like Wagner’s Ring cycle:

… it was plain that the Indian girl was stretching [Williams] to the limits of her game… Sania’s fitness was exceptional. She raced to chase down most balls hit into the corners and this really flummoxed Serena. At this level her physical training looks to be effective… In the sixth game she forced a visibly panting Serena on the back foot through power-hitting of her own…

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A Primer: The India Caucus

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I had intended to write this entry at the beginning of the 109th Congress but it becomes particularly relevant in light of the reported cease-fire violation on the Indian/Pakistani border. Who are the new co-chairs of the India Caucus in Congress, and what will their priorities be? The IACFPA profiled Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Gary Ackerman (D-NY) late last year:

This will be Ackerman’s second stint at the Caucus where he served earlier between 1998 and 2000, leaving an unbeaten legacy including earlier this year when he introduced legislation requiring the CIA director to report to Congress on Pakistani proliferation activities. The measure was adopted by the full House as an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act. Now he expects to handle the newest White House decision to sell high tech military goodies to Islamabad.

On the other hand, less is known of initiatives, if any, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen might have taken vis-à-vis India, other than some letters castigating that country for violating the rights of its religious minorities. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen who is on the House International Relations Committee where she Chairs the Subcommittee on Middle East and Central Asia, and on the House Government Reform Committee where she is on the Human Rights and Wellness Subcommittee, chaired by none other than old India-foe Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana.

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Reason #35236 Desi kids are “Freakishly Smart”

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You snooze, you lose (an eye) –

Indian boy’s eye injured as teacher flings pen at him NEW DELHI: An eight-year-old school boy’s eye was badly hurt when a furious teacher flung a pen at him during class to get him to pay attention in the southern Indian state of Kerala, a report said Wednesday. Al Amin, bleeding profusely, was rushed to a hospital Tuesday where he underwent emergency surgery for a 4.5-millimetre cut in the pupil of his eye, the Press Trust of India news agency said. Doctors who performed the surgery said it was too early to say whether the boy’s eyesight would be restored to normal, the report said. The woman teacher hurled the pen at Amin to make him pay attention during an Arabic lesson at a government school in Kattakkada, near Kerala’s state capital Trivandrum, the report said. Police have filed a case against the teacher, the report added. Indian parents often complain about harsh treatment of students in schools. Many teachers and school administrations believe corporal punishment is the best form of discipline.

When I saw the headline, a little voice inside my head said “I betcha this is in Kerala.”

(fyi – reason #35235) Continue reading →