{"id":2802,"date":"2006-01-02T11:35:49","date_gmt":"2006-01-02T16:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com?p=2802"},"modified":"2006-01-02T09:38:30","modified_gmt":"2006-01-02T14:38:30","slug":"california_drea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/2006\/01\/02\/california_drea\/","title":{"rendered":"California Dreaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Author Gurmukh Singh is set to release his new book this month titled: California Dreams – India shining in the land of Hollywood:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Four British Army Sikh soldiers who landed in San Francisco April 5, 1899, were the forerunners of a massive wave of Indian migration to southern California – the region that is home to a staggering 200,000 of the over 1.5 million Indian Americans in the US. <\/p>\n

It is in southern California that people like Dilip Singh Saund began the Asian struggle for equal rights; it is there that Indian mystics and yogis like Paramhansa Yogananda and Jiddu Krishnamurthy started preaching the wisdom of the East; it is there that transcendental meditation and yogis gained global recognition. \n

“California Dreams – India shining in the land of Hollywood” (British Columbia Books) traces this magical journey as author Gurmukh Singh skilfully chronicles the contribution of 24 Indian Americans in propelling the Sunshine State to a major economic powerhouse within the US. [Link<\/a>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

<<\/p>\n\n

p>One of the selling points of this book seems to be that it is filled with lots of pictures (some rare) which would make it a good coffee table book even after you’ve finished reading it.<\/p>\n\n

“The inspiring life stories of these most remarkable Indian Americans are a testament to ever growing enterprise and ingenuity,” notes Stanley Wolpert, professor emeritus of South Asian history at UCLA, in his foreword to the 208-page, profusely illustrated book priced at $20 (Rs.999 in India). [Link<\/a>]<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<<\/p>\n\n

p>The book is filled with fun fact that you can use to impress an dinner parties. I know that I will be using the following two facts in a random conversation sometime soon:<\/p>\n\n

The Pacific Palisades chapter of the Self-Realisation Fellowship founded by Paramhansa Yogananda is the only place in the world where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes are still preserved. Not even in India are Gandhi’s ashes preserved. \n

In the 1920s, Baroda’s Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad used to own land from Bel Air all the way to the Pacific Ocean. He defaulted on his taxes and the state reclaimed the land. Today a Baroda Drive in Bel Air is the only reminder of those heady days. [Link<\/a>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

I will update this post with a link so that you can purchase this book when it comes out later this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author Gurmukh Singh is set to release his new book this month titled: California Dreams – India shining in the land of Hollywood: Four British Army Sikh soldiers who landed in San Francisco April 5, 1899, were the forerunners of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,8,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}