1st Sikh in decades graduates Army officer school - Yahoo! News

1st Sikh in decades graduates Army officer school - Yahoo! News

By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer – Tue Mar 23, 7:37 am ET
SAN ANTONIO – The soldiers in standard-issue fatigues and combat boots stood side-by-side repeating their creed: "I am an American soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army values ...."
Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan was no different except that he wore a full beard and black turban, the first Sikh in a generation allowed to complete U.S. Army basic officer training without sacrificing the articles of his faith. He completed the nine-week training Monday after Army officials made an exemption to a policy that has effectively prevented Sikhs from enlisting since 1984.
"I'm feeling very humbled. I'm a soldier," said the 31-year-old dentist, smiling after the ceremony at Fort Sam Houston. "This has been my dream."
Rattan had to get a waiver from the Army to serve without sacrificing the unshorn hair mandated by his faith. An immigrant from India who arrived in New York as a teenager, Rattan said he hopes his military commitment will allow him to give back to his adopted home country and will help diminish prejudice Sikhs sometimes face in the U.S.

Full story at--
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_army_sikh_soldier

============================================================

The Asian Monsoons

The recent monsoons have devastated Burma, last year and the year
before Mumbai relled from catastrophic monsoons, the pattern is slowly
becoming clearer. "GLOBAL warming could cause a major Asian famine and
result in the toppling of governments, an Aberdeen expert has warned
in a new book. Monsoons are likely to become stronger and stormier and
lead to catastrophic flooding before they reach a tipping point and
give way to severe drought within decades," according to an article in
UK's The PRess And Journal.

The article says that, "The predictions have been made by Professor
Peter Clift, Aberdeen University geosciences lecturer, in his book The
Asian Monsoon: Causes, History and Effects. He warned that sudden
"weakening" of monsoon rains and subsequent drought had been
considered partly responsible for seismic historical events such as
the collapse of imperial dynasties in China and India. If current
trends continue, he predicted disaster would hit in the next 50-200
years, but he argued that paying more attention to environmental
issues and lifestyle changes such as riding bicycles to work and
burning less fossil fuels may delay or even prevent it. Mr Clift said:
"The monsoon is linked to the rest of the world. "What happens to us
makes a big difference to what happens to them."

Read the full article at --
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/670610?UserKey=0

For Indian Americans, its law, medicine, science and now politics too

Indian Americans are becoming more and more involved in politics. Some
of the key players in both the Obama and Clinton campaigns are those
of Indian origin. Not to mention Bobby Jindal whose name is floating
as the potential VP candidate for McCain and the many other Indian
Americans who hold political offices.

"One in every 26 Indians in the United States is a millionaire,
comprising 10% of the millionaires in the country as defined by net
worth, according to a Merrill Lynch study. Sanjay Puri, Chairman of
United States India Political Action Committee, encourages members of
the baby boom immigrant generation to use their expertise and
resources to engage in the political process even if they aren't
running for office or working on a campaign," according to an article
in Medill Reports.

According to Medill, Indian Americans growing interest in politics
reflects their maturity and standing among ethnic groups in America.
Another excerpt from this article --

"I think that puts the burden on them to give back...Being in politics
or being active in the political process is another way of helping
others achieve the American dream," Puri said, adding that he
encourages his peers to donate to campaigns.
Puri founded USINPAC to impact policy on issues of concern to the
Indian American community in the United States.
Indians are also considered to be among the most educated minority
groups. Almost two-thirds of all Indians in the U.S. have a
professional degree, five times the national average. Indians have
made significant contributions in the Silicon Valley hi-tech industry
and in the medical field.
"Indian Americans know a lot about education; they know a lot about
healthcare," Puri said. There are 40 million people without
healthcare well we need to get some of that expertise pulled in to do
some of those things."
Indians have also gradually been moving to the forefronts of politics
-- no longer behind the scenes.
In 2008, Indians like Bobby Jindal have achieved prominence in the
political arena. Jindal served in Congress and is now Governor of
Louisiana.
"I think it's the second generation that says, 'my country, my
politics, my role.' They start stepping up and I think that's what's
happening with the Indian American community," said Puri.

Read the full article at--
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=88915

Friendship Express Resumes, 40 Years Later

The passenger train service between Calcutta in India and the capital
of Bangladesh, Dhaka, is resuming after an absence of more than 40
years," reports BBC News. Dubbed Maitreyi or Friendship Express, BBC
reports that, "One man in Calcutta, however, is hoping to return to
Dhaka after leaving the city on what turned out to be the last train
out in 1965, when he was nine years old."

After what happened with the India-Pakistan trains, many will keep
their fingers crossed surely, wary of any unrest or religious violence
associated with this gesture of friendship.

Read the full BBC article at--
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7345724.stm

See this story in pictures on BBC at --
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7343248.stm

A Bharatnatyam Knight

Aniruddha Knight is the grandson of the renowned exponent of
Bharatnatyam, Balasarawathi. He is currently touring the US.
Exceptionally talented, he carries the beautiful art of Bharatnatyam
to a new level with ease and finesse.

Watch his dancing at--
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1416570538/bclid1497977517/bctid1494387761

An excerpt from the Newsweek article--
"He is tall, slim, and strikingly long limbed. Dressed in
jewel-colored silk tunics and antique ornaments that are family
heirlooms, he looks more like a handsome young maharaja than a
traditional South Indian dancer. But at 27, Aniruddha Knight is the
ninth generation heir of a 200-year-old family of professional dancers
and musicians from Chennai, India. He is also half American. His
father, Douglas Knight, married into this artistically rich family
when he studied classical drumming on a South Indian mridangam at
Wesleyan University, where Aniruddha's late grandmother--T.
Balasaraswati, India's prima danseuse--and her two musician brothers
had taught since 1962. This spring, Knight is touring the Northeast
with his six-member musical ensemble (including his father) and new
works in a program entitled "From the Heart of a Tradition."

That tradition is bharat natyam, one of India's six major--and
distinct--classical dance styles. It is taught to every middle-class
girl in India and now, with immigrant teachers and establishment of
dance schools across suburban America, it is vigorously practiced by
Indians and Americans alike. However, the version that Knight dances
is stylistically unique. It originated as a temple offering performed
by young women who were dedicated to serving God by retelling ancient
Hindu myths through music and dance in the temple courtyard. It was
art in the service of religion, an act of worship, not popular
entertainment. Eventually, some of the dancers were inducted by local
princely families into becoming court performers. A stigma attached to
the professional dancer that only disappeared when dance was
recognized as a national art form at the time of India's independence
in 1947, when the patronage of all dancers and musicians was taken
over and sanctified by the secular government.

It was in this climate that Balasaraswati was recognized as the
greatest Indian dancer of all time. Dance for Knight, as for his
grandmother, is spontaneous, not rehearsed as the music is: as the
ensemble sings a composition, he improvises movements; he follows the
music, even joins in. He takes the lead, giving his accompanists a cue
to move to the next line of text. In short, there is constant
communication between dancer and the accompanists. The star of the
show is first the music, then the dancer, who still uses the old
compositions handed down as prayer, a love song to God. As Bala
describes it, the aim is to create joy through beauty--a transporting
ecstatic experience that is shared by dancer and audience through
melody, rhythm and mime. Done right, the dancer could transport the
audience through a near out-of-body experience into a rapturous
state."

Read the full newsweek article at--
http://www.newsweek.com/id/131556

The Living Goddess

I was 11 years old, during a 2 week school excursion to Northern India
and Nepal, that I was awed by my first visit to see the "Living
Goddess." My friends and I were so jealous of this young girl who was
just a couple of years younger than us, and we wished we were
princesses too... Litlle did we know then the difficult lives that
these young girls lead, after giving up their childhood.

An excerpt from Reuters --
"A controversial young Nepali girl worshipped by many Buddhists and
Hindus as a Kumari, or "living goddess", has given up her divine
position following a request from her family, an official said on
Sunday. The 11-year-old Sajani Shakya was revered for nine years as
the Kumari of the ancient temple-town of Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu, in
a centuries-old tradition."

Read the full story at --
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDEL18739720080302

A Diabetes Education Campaign in Queens, NY

South Asians are at high risk for heart disease and diabetes, though
culturally, it is preferred not to make a big deal of this. It is
certainly good to see someone doing something about this and bringing
the issues out into the open...

An excerpt from the New York Times --

"But Type 2 diabetes strikes a sixth of the more than 200,000 New
Yorkers whose families are from the Indian subcontinent. That gives
them the highest rate of the disease among the city's major ethnic
groups.

In this population, "people expect that everybody has it," said Dr.
Jyotsna Changrani, the director of the South Asian Health Initiative
at New York University. "All of your friends have it, all of your
family has it," she said.

Researchers have concluded that less body fat is needed to trigger the
disease for South Asians. "The people of South Asian descent that we
see are often not obese," said Dr. Daniel Lorber, chief of
endocrinology at the New York Hospital Center of Queens. "You'll
frequently see men with just a little bit of a potbelly, right at
ideal weight based on Caucasian standards."

Mindful of this vulnerability, the New York State Health Foundation, a
private group, has donated $255,000 to Beth Israel Medical Center to
help bring to the South Asian communities of Queens a diabetes
education campaign like those found in Harlem and the Bronx.

The campaign will not lack an audience in Jackson Heights, where it is
rare to enter a store without meeting someone who suffers from the
ailment generally referred to, even in Hindi or Urdu conversations, as
"sugar" or "sugar-hogi."

Read the full article at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2008/03/02/nyregion/thecity/02diab.html&tntemail0=y

15 Companies That Will Change The World

In an article titled "The Next Disruptors" CNNMoney.com lists 15 companies that they think will change the world. About 5 of them are headed and/or founded by South Asian Americans.

From the article -- "This year's selection is the culmination of an extensive search for the most disruptive startups in the country, including a multi-city series of roundtable discussions last spring. At events in Boston, Los Angeles and Chapel Hill, N.C., we convened more than 100 entrepreneurs, some of whom are represented here. We also launched a weekly Web video series on CNNMoney.com called The New Disruptors (available as a podcast on iTunes). In it you'll find video profiles of companies featured here, plus many others. If you know where to look, disruption is everywhere."

Interesting article. Read the full story at the link below--
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/09/01/100169862/index.htm

What is proper art?

In Baroda, a student was arrested for rendering improper art.

The New York Times reports--

The tempest began on May 9 when a lawyer accompanied by police officers and television news crews marched into the art department at the respected Maharaja Sayajirao University, a state-run institution in Vadodara, in western Gujarat state. (Gujarat’s elected government is led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.)

The lawyer, Niraj Jain, based locally and affiliated with the party, said he was aggrieved by several works exhibited on a wall in the department library, including a painting — or rather a digital enlargement of a painted work — depicting a female form wielding weapons in her many arms, evoking a goddess from the Hindu pantheon, and giving birth. It was the final-year art project by Chandramohan, a graduate student who goes by one name.

the full article is at the link below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/arts/design/19hind.html ex=1337227200&en=dd40d4b9887d2cb1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This brings up the question of what is proper art? A question that is going to raise many controversies and ruffle the feathers of some religious fundamentalists.

Create, Energize, Enrich!!!

I just returned from 3 days of hob-nobbing with fellow desi writers, at the Kriti conference in Chicago. What a wonderful experience it was. More than anything the energy and enthusiasm that was flowing was fantastic, the quality of work was excellent.

Most of all I was touched by the desire of the participants to write and their love for the craft. Many, like myself if I might add, have quit high paying jobs and lucrative careers to pursue their dream. And besides those lucky ones, like myself, who have a pouse to support us through these times, there are an amazing group of people who hold full time day jobs and then make time to moonlight as writers.

Hats off to these folks who are excellent at what they do and are pursuing their dreams, come what may... Full steam ahead!!!!

Stars of South Asian descent are on the ascent

By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

It's not just Apu anymore.
After years of relative anonymity, performers of Indian heritage are establishing a small but growing presence in TV and film, breaking stereotypes along the way. From Sanjaya Malakar of American Idol to actors on some of TV's most popular shows, U.S. viewers are seeing a broader range of performers who trace their roots to the world's second most populous country.

"Things are opening up — very slowly, but it's definitely happening," says Sendhil Ramamurthy, who plays genetics professor Mohinder Suresh on NBC's Heroes, TV's biggest freshman hit.

Navi Rawat, a native Californian of Indian and German heritage, encountered a first when seeking the role of mathematician Amita Ramanujan on CBS' Numb3rs. "It was the first time I was cast in a role specifically written as someone who was Indian," she says.

Other actors of at least partial Indian descent on network TV include Naveen Andrews, ABC's Lost; Parminder Nagra, NBC's ER; Mindy Kaling, NBC's The Office; Ravi Kapoor, NBC's Crossing Jordan; and Aasif Mandvi, CBS' Jericho. Kal Penn, who stars in the film The Namesake, appeared this season on 24 and is in an ABC pilot, The Call.

Rawat says it's good for audiences to see that actors who share the same heritage can represent a range of birthplaces, backgrounds and appearances: "They don't fit one stereotype."

For decades, people of South Asian descent rarely were series regulars. (Kavi Raz held that status in the 1980s on St. Elsewhere, and Apu is a long-running animated character on The Simpsons.) In 2002, CBS' Presidio Med, a medical drama set in San Francisco, premiered with no doctors of Asian heritage.

That many of the characters have a medical or scientific background shows TV is starting to reflect a reality in which many doctors are of South Asian heritage (not to mention medical correspondents, such as CNN's Sanjay Gupta), says Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center, a civil rights organization that has studied diversity on TV.

Oddly, acting opportunities grew in the aftermath of 9/11 as films and TV cast actors of Indian heritage as Middle Eastern characters, says Ramamurthy, a Chicago native who speaks in Indian-accented English on Heroes.

Narasaki wants to see Asian-Americans getting to play all roles, such as Penn's stereotype-defying stoner in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and not just those that fit a newer stereotype, such as "the model minority." TV also needs more diversity on its writing staffs, she says.

Kaling, also a writer on The Office, called on her knowledge to write "Diwali," an episode that featured the Hindu festival of lights. Says Mala Chakravorty of the online Indian-American magazine NRIPulse.com: "It brought about this sense of cultural sensitivity and acceptance."

Kriti Conference in Chicago

For fans of South Asian literature, Kriti will be a four-day event celebrating South Asian and diaspora literature, with panel discussions, performances, readings, music and song, storytelling for kids, and much more! I have the honor of being a panelist this year, and am looking forward to four days of fun, education and interaction with like-minded folks.

Visit their website forcomplete details -- http://www.desilit.org/kriti.html