Category Archives: The Subcontinent
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. Continue reading
Filed under Bay Area livin', Indo-Americana, The Subcontinent
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 … Continue reading
Filed under Indo-Americana, The Subcontinent
Indian. Secular. Kashmiri. Muslim.
After the Mumbai terrorist attack, a friend in New Delhi with a fondness for Batman comic books emailed me her thoughts. She is Kashmiri in ethnicity, Muslim in roots, and would probably self-identify as secular in practice: “I can’t seem … Continue reading
Filed under The Subcontinent
Smiles from Bihar
My Mumbai friend Avehi Menon took some pictures on a recent trip to Bihar, one of India’s less developed states. Avehi and I used to hang out during my six months in Delhi. Bihar faces significant challenges: poverty, corruption, and … Continue reading
Filed under The Subcontinent
The language of the victims
It makes a difference what language your victims speak. By targeting foreigners and wealthy Indian elites, the Mumbai terrorists have received saturation coverage — at least in U.S. media. Why? For one thing, it is a national U.S. holiday, and … Continue reading
Filed under Politico Analytico, The Subcontinent
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 … Continue reading
Filed under Indo-Americana, Politico Analytico, The Subcontinent
“India’s 9/11″
It is a curious thing, this business of labels. The terrible attacks in Mumbai could easily be called 11/26, but instead, the corner of the screen says “India’s 9/11″.
Filed under Politico Analytico, The Subcontinent
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 … Continue reading
Filed under Indo-Americana, The Subcontinent
Slumdog Millionaire
At times, I felt like the movie-going version of a “poverty tourist.” Little Jamal, Salim, and Latika make their way through every twist and turn of poverty’s grind. This is Slumdog Millionaire, a movie worth seeing. You’ll stretch every muscle … Continue reading
Filed under The Subcontinent
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 … Continue reading
Filed under Coming home, Indo-Americana, The Subcontinent
