Jai Slumdog

And so it happens. A movie not quite Indian, but more Indian than most, captures the attention of cousins in Mumbai, San Francisco, and who knows where else. Edmonton, Canada? Gold Coast, Australia? I don’t know how many in my clan were watching the American Academy Awards.

A special postmark

On the eve of Christmas eve, I stepped out my apartment door and walked down the stairs. It was cold outside, but I still needed to check my mail. I wasn’t waiting for anything in particular.
I turned the key and opened my tiny mailbox. An envelope sat inside.

Deepak Chopra, CNN Analyst

I always found the export of “Indian spirituality” to be a dubious industry.  Somewhere between the foreigner-oriented ashrams and the exchange of dollars into rupees, I smelled a little exotification.  Still, I maintained a healthy skepticism towards my skepticism.  In concept, there was nothing wrong with the idea of one nation’s ideas being exported to [...]

Festival, subcontinental.

With a big swoosh, it came and went.  The 3rd i International South Asian Film Festival touched down for four wonderful days in San Francisco.  And then it slipped back into its cocoon of email updates and smaller screenings.

For four days, we had our pick of amateur projects, Bollywood splash, and border-hopping Pakistani introspection.  And [...]

The Adapter

By the good graces of Microsoft, a dear friend from Delhi paid me a visit.  In between meetings in Seattle and relatives in London, she squeezed in some twenty hours in San Francisco.
Before her arrival, I was asked me if I needed anything.  Truth be told, there were many things I wish I had brought [...]

Indo-Irish

Somewhere deep down, I always thought the diva culture was wierd. At some point, we Americans were stripped of our own musical voices. We were taught that if you want to sing, you can’t just be a singer. You have to be young, beautiful, and hip. No physical imperfections allowed.
There are [...]

Consultants of love

I guess I’m too used to reading about companies doing park cleanups and school beautifications. Not that I’m against clean parks or pretty schools. And not that I’m against partnerships that put more computers in front of kids — or more books in libraries.
But we all know that there are some lines that [...]

Minority report 1.0

The kickboxing academy had put my membership on hold. And so when I returned to my Inner Richmond apartment, my San Shou kickboxing classes were waiting.
After the warm-ups, Josh and I paired up for our drills. I asked Josh how long he had been training for — “three days.” He asked [...]

Vowel warfare

The a’s are uh’s. The e’s are ay’s. The t’s are thuh’s. And on and on and on. English with an Indian twist.
It’s all fine and good if you are in India. There, everyone knows the rules of Indian English.  But take those spellings out of their original [...]