Archive for category October 2009

This is not some synchronized sports event or a scene in street theater in one of New York’s ethnic festivals. This is during the official flag lowering ceremony at the Indian-Pakistan border at Wagha between the states of Indian and Pakistani Punjabs — yes, India and Pakistan have states with identical names. The white line at the bottom is the official border. Soldiers in black are Pakistani soldiers and those in khaki are Indian jawans.

This 50-plus year old well choreographed simulated spectacle in jingoism by Pakistani and Indian soldiers is a daily tourist attraction. One wonders how the two countries that do not agree diplomatically on anything, mutually evolved this absurd synchronized jugalbandi tamasha.

There is a new twist to this daily ritual. In July 2010, India unilaterally decided to lower the theatrical aggression in what The Hindustan Times calls “good-natured rivalry.” Soon, Pakistan reciprocated, lowering its simulated belligerence. But don’t expect any thaw between the two countries whose views of their own common history is at such wide variance.

The reason for the reduced belligerence in the ridiculous enactment is more orthopedic than diplomatic. The soldiers participating in the daily rituals ended up with mild-to-severe knee injuries. If you Google search “Change of guard at Wagha border,” you will get several video clips and see for yourself the absurdity of this aggressive seema-tamasha.– KSV

By Premlata Venkataraman

The flowery overblown descriptions of wines amuse me; I guess I just am not the type to go overboard over a glass of wine. While living in the Bay Area decades ago it was chic to go to wine-and-cheese tastings. Also at their peak of popularity were fondue parties — but that is another story for another day.

Recently Palate Partners, a specialty wine retailer at the Strip run by Deb Mortillaro and Mike Gonze, held an open house to demystify all the verbiage — body, bouquet, aroma, vintage— in the wine vocabulary. Their simple message: learn to enjoy wines by experimenting with different types. They do this through their affordable ($12/person) wine appreciation classes with six wines to explore.

The teaser in their e-mail was: Do you know which wine to serve with special foods? This has been a sore point with me, as I am sure it is with most readers. How do you pick wines to go with spicy Indian dishes? Even though wine is not routinely served during Indian dinners, we would still like to know which wines go with our spicy dishes for those rare events. Seeking some enlightenment on this, I went.

To my pleasant surprise, Mike and Deb, our wine gurus, were practical, friendly and helpful. Emphasizing that there is nothing objective in matching food with wines, they offered a few broad general ideas:

• Opposites attract. Spicy food needs fruity wines.
• Textures should match. Light foods with light wines and heavy foods with heavier wines.
• Popular wines don’t always match with spicy food.
• Try a new wine even if it isn’t the most popular du jour. It’s fun to try new wines and see what you like.

Anu Chandrasekhar grew up in Srirangam and earned her M.Sc degree in Chemistry. She came to the USA in 1987 after living for five years in Switzerland and Germany. She lives in Penn Hills and recently earned her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. 

 

(Satyameva Jayate, na Asatyam)

It was the 15th of August, one of the proudest and most poignant days in India’s history, the day of the country’s independence. I was a freshman in high school. The principal was addressing us explaining how lucky we were to be in a free country and detailing the struggles the freedom fighters had undergone to liberate India from the British Rule. I could not control the tears of joy rolling down my cheeks when the Indian national flag was hoisted and we sang the national anthem.Then the mayor of the city delivered a speech that was very lucid, eloquent and simple to understand. He narrated the story of Harishchandra – a great King in Indian legends who was revered for his unflinching adherence to truth. The Gods tested him, cruelly at times, driving him to adversity and exile, even bribing him to tell a lie so that he could regain his kingdom. However, all the sufferings he had to endure, losing his wife and only son, did not change his stand on truth. Satisfied, the Gods restored him to his former glory and gave him back his wife and son.

Though I was impressed by the teaching, in many instances I got into much difficulty when I told the truth. When I was in middle school, I was selected to participate in a school play. My mother did not want me to stay after school for anything other than school work. I did not like to drop out of the play; so to keep my mother happy I told her I had to stay after school for school work. It never even occurred to me that I was lying. But when my mom came to know the truth from a friend of mine who was proud of my getting the leading role in the play, she screamed at me for lying to her and asked me to promise never to tell a lie.

By Anu Chandrasekhar, Penn Hills, PA

By Sridevi Rao James, McDonald, PA
Email Sridevi about this article.

Now our vacations involve beaches and amusement parks.

When I was young I spent my weekends at the temple at Bharathanatyam dance class, youth groups and programs that involved singing, dancing or acting. Now my weekends are spent at kids’ birthday parties, softball games and watching the Steelers. I have performed pujas with my parents and still observe Indian holy days. I can recite the Satayanarayan Katha verbatim and tell you the meaning of “eating the prasad” but don’t ask me the recipe for the prasad. I’m not sure that is enough to keep the flame going for years to come.

What I’m trying to say is, I’m not sure my generation will know what to do with that baton if it is passed to us. This is sad but true. Hopefully it doesn’t mean the end of temples or Indian cultures.

We need to find a way to bridge that gap between generations. Mr. Kotwal’s article has given everyone, both the current managers of the temples and youngsters like me, something very worthwhile to think about.

By Meenakshi  Kapoor, Greentree, PA  

Meenakshi Kapoor was born and raised in Saharanpur, UP. After working in Saharanpur and New Delhi, she reached these shores in 2000, reaching Pittsburgh in 2002. After working for several IT companies, now she has her own staffing and consulting business in Pittsburgh. Her hobbies are reading, cooking and listening to light and classical music.

County executive Dan Onorator addresses the gathering.

They say, you can take us out from India but you cannot take out India from us.  The proof for this, if one needs a proof at all, was India’s Independence Day celebration gala — some say, it is a mela — in Pittsburgh.  August 15^th is a very important day in the lives of Indians in almost all parts of the world. The Indian American community, spread across the United States takes pride in celebrating India Day every year, as we too do here under the aegis of the Indian Nationality Room, University of Pittsburgh.

Children dance at the gathering.

This popular event attracted a large number of Indian-Americans with several hundred people gathering to witness and participate in showcasing the India’s rich and diversity. The atmosphere was charged with festivity and vibrancy of Indian polyglot culture with many people waving the tricolor, participating in the parade that started from Bigelow Boulevard and went across the Cathedral of Learning.

Kirti Gulati sang “Vande Mataram” in her melodious voice, followed by “Jai Ho.”  People passing by were fascinated by the Garba and Bhangra dances performed on the road during the procession by the young men and women draped in bright, colorful dresses.

Inside the Cathedral of Learning, flags of US and India were hoisted, followed by the national anthems of both countries respectively sung en masse. The ceremony saw Indian American youths dancing to peppy Punjabi and Bollywood music and classical and folk dances.

Various organizations, groups & dance academies – all based in Pittsburgh Metro area — presented dances of India performed by our youth in vibrant costumes. Some of the entrepreneurs of the area had set up trade tables to sell beautiful sarees, kurta, jewellery and other knick-knacks.  The food served was so delicious that many items got over in no time.

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg from University of Pittsburgh, Dan Onorato, Chief Executive of Allegheny County and Councilman Bill Paduto from the City Council  addressed the gathering stressing the growing presence of Indian community in Pittsburgh and their diverse contributions to the Metro area in many ways.

As we celebrate India’s Independence and freedom, we remember the long course of history and the men and women who made it possible for India to celebrate this anniversary.

Long live India and her independence. Indians throughout the world salute the martyrs who made it possible for us to see this beautiful day.  Jai Hind !!

By Kollengode S Venkataraman

The recent US Census Bureau’s study shows a disturbing feature of poverty among Asians that does not typically draw our attention.

The Bureau defines $22,000 annual household income as the threshold for poverty. On this basis, despite their high median family income, Asians also have relatively high percentage of their population living below the poverty threshold. Here are the poverty statistics:

Asians: 11.8%; Whites: 8.6%; Blacks and Hispanics each around 23%. A disturbing trend is that the percentage of people in poverty in all demographic groups has increased between 2002 and 2008, the increase being sharpest among Asians.

Therefore, just because we don’t see our poor cousins in social desi gatherings, let us not assume that we don’t have too many poor among us. One in nine or ten among the Indian-Americans lives in poverty in the US. One needs to analyze this census data and understand the whys.

But the material success of Indians in the US is also due to their skewed demography. An overwhelming majority of Indians are cherry-picked by US for immigration for their education and skills that are in shortage here, which, these immigrants acquired through their access to resources (wealth, connection, influence, their mostly middle class background or better) and the highly subsidized education in India.

With the center of gravity of the global economy shifting towards Asia, Asian populations in the US have come under the media glare. How these relatively new immigrants have succeeded in the US despite their distinctly non-Caucasian looks, languages, foods, faiths, and ethos has been the topic in stories in Business Week, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Look at these 2008 numbers from US Census Bureau on the median annual household incomes:

Asians: $66,000; Non-Hispanic Whites: $56,000; Blacks and Hispanics each have median incomes around $35,000; Entire US: $50,000.

Asians’ — including Indians’— high incomes and net worth, the desirable ZIP codes of their homes, and their Spelling Bee performances are commented upon endlessly. One common theme in these stories is Asians’ strong family identity and honor, respect for elders, thrift, and stress on education, all contributing to their material success.

Understandably, Indians, feel pretty glib about this favorable media glare, even though they subliminally would also like to attribute their success to their supposedly better genes and DNAs. So, among Indians, the working axiom is: If you are a desi, you ought to be well educated with a high-paying job; you ought to live in a desirable ZIP code. If you don’t, then something is wrong with you. ♦

By K.S. Venkataraman

The group of G20 nations is a disparate lot. In addition to industrialized democracies, it includes China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Mexico, Indonesia, and Russia, among others, hardly a compatible group. These 20 nations, accounting for nearly 80% of the world population, may account for even a larger proportion of world’s economy.They have conflicting interests with each maneuvering for better deals to parade as their accomplishments when they go home, and to strategically position themselves in the geopolitics of the world. This is particularly true among emerging economies — some of them have already emerged — as they try to counterbalance the overweening domination of the industrialized nations during the greater part of the last century.

The huge problems facing the planet are complex needing concerted efforts by all the 160-plus nation-states. The G20 nations will try to shape the agenda for the rest of the world to follow even as they jostle to influence each to their mutual benefits driven by self-interest.

 

 

Amidst the gala surrounding the Pittsburgh G20 meeting, the region’s elected officials are eager to project to the world how the region has transformed itself in the last four decades to attract new businesses. We support their effort. But that does not mean that elected officials need to be churlish in muzzling the G20 protesters. Some of them have legitimate concerns over the impact of the decisions the G20 leaders will take. After all, Pittsburgh has a long history in trade union movement, an inevitable response of organized labor to the unbridled capitalist economy of the 20th century. One cannot run away from one’s own history to bring about change. The pictures of the Old Pittsburgh hanging in the lobby of the Inclines on Grandview Avenue is a stark reminder where we were. 

 

Consider these: The farm subsidies in the US, Europe, and Canada are ruining farmers in Africa where overwhelming proportions of the population are subsistence farmers. The commercial fleets of the G20 nations have destroyed the food resources of poor fishermen in coastal Africa. One wonders who will speak for them in the G20 meeting. (September 10,2009).

To my pleasant surprise, Mike and Deb, our wine gurus, were practical, friendly and helpful. Emphasizingthat there is nothing objective in matching food with wines, they offered a few broad general ideas:

 

In addition, their store is chock full of gadgets you probably didn’t even know you need to complement your wine collection.

 

, in the Strip District.

 

 

 

So the next time you feel the need to polish up your wine information while having fun sampling wines, try one of Deb and Mike’s wine appreciation classes. You will enjoy the experience.

But remember this: When you have good company and engage in good conversations with repartees and banter, the verbiage around the wine is, well, ephemeral, relevant only during the first two sips. And once you’re slightly inebriated, the wine’s pedigree may not matter at all.