Thursday, May 31, 2012

Interesting article in NYT about fashion from Bengal

Fresh From Kolkata, 'Bengali Style' Emerges - NYTimes.com

A great article describing the Bengali art style in Indian fashion, and its top proponents. We love Sabya's work ourselves - and have dabbled heavily in the "zardozi" and "kantha" work done in our designs, with embroiderers from Kolkata....come see us for some samples!

"Ms. Khanna said she believed that the main advantage of being in Kolkata is that she is far from the fashion centers of Delhi and Mumbai — something other designers from the region concur with. “Being away in one corner means you have time to think,” she says. “Calcutta is a patient city and is much more subtle in its expression. Plus, the preservation of the arts is something that’s in the air here.”

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Reforming Myanmar looks to India for enlightenment

Reforming Myanmar looks to India for enlightenment - Yahoo! News

Myanmar's new assertiveness towards Beijing and desire to return to the fold of nations give India a rare chance to steal a march on China in the regional jostle for maritime power and energy supplies....

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Tribe Desi, vol 242: Kagaz ki kishti, Dented Tubas, and ramen noodles

Please signup for the newsletter at www.TribeDesi.com to see a better visual format...thanks












SOCIETY

Are we making sure we neglect our
young?

I found Sukhraj Beasla's story by
accident - I was looking to do some research on CNN's iReport
public reporting experiment, and the story title caught my
attention. Reading through it, and the associated comments on
the blog, some things are very clear - which not be obvious to
the mainstream reader.


The comment from her father
that "'God, you're 30 years old and I
really expected you to be somewhere right now,'"
 is not unheard of in
the Indian-American community, which has high expectations of
its children. 



ARTS

A Painter - and an immigrant success
story 

One of Dallas' own - started painting as a hobby,
not influenced by Hussain and now doing gallery
shows and selling from Southlake to Sweden....Ladies and
Gentlemen, presenting Rahul Vyas...


CULTURE

Who are the men behind the
tubas? 

We have all seen them - a fixture in the streets
of North India (or in movies) - especially during wedding
season, in their hand-me-down uniforms and dented tubas...who
are these men, and what is the life behind the
glitter of the wedding lights? An interesting video, exploring
their lives by Poh Si Teng...




FASHION

Saffron is popular? 

What does this picture remind you
of?
Yes, the Saffon-clad sadhus...now coming to
Herm?s ready to wear Spring Summer
2012...



Please send any recommended Non-profits, with South Asian
involvement, to 
desi@TribeDesi.com, to be
considered for inclusion in this newsletter.
Thanks


Painter and an immigrant success story...

Star Local News > Plano Star-courier > News > Plano resident has passion down to a fine art

"I am always fascinated by the variations in nature," Vyas said. "In nature, you can see so many different varieties of animals, forms, textures and colors."

Vyas often employs contrasting primary colors red and blue to make certain areas of an image pop.

"I am attracted to the red color," Vyas said. "It is a very warm color and it gives you energy. Then blue cools down the whole composition."

Although his works of nature are among Vyas' most renowned, he does not like to limit himself. He is currently exploring Hindu mythology as a means to expose himself to the tales of the religion.

"I am not looking at the current Hindu religious symbols due to any religious reasons," Vyas said. "I am not a very religious person. My religion is summed up in a few words: 'Be nice to others and lead a good life.'"

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Men Behind the Great Indian Wedding Band

The Men Behind the Great Indian Wedding Band - NYTimes.com

We have all seen them - a fixture in the streets of North India - especially during wedding season, in their hand-me-down uniforms and dented tubas...who are these men, and what is the life behind the glitter of the wedding lights? An interesting video, exploring their lives by Poh Si Teng...

Why Hasn't India Produced an Innovator Like the Apple Founder?

Why Hasn't India Produced an Innovator Like the Apple Founder? - NYTimes.com


The other great bugbear of entrepreneurship in India has been what Mr. Sood calls the country’s “socialist flirtation,” which stifled the creativity of individuals and corporate houses. That flirtation ended in 1991, and Mr. Sood has sensed reasons for optimism since then. “The fact that Steve Jobs’ death made such big news in India shows that young people are seeing themselves in him,” he said. “To be that brashly innovative, and to expect that kind of world-remaking success – people expect that in this generation.”
But innovation, in this case, can be defined too narrowly, as a particularly Jobsian focus on high-end consumer technology and sleek capitalism. True innovation must involve making the most impressive use of a common resource. For Jobs, that resource has been the high density of technologists in Silicon Valley, while in India, that resource is inexpensive labor. To convert this labor into a company with the stature of Infosys is also a form of innovation, even if it seems to hew closely to what Mr. Mahindra told theEconomic Times: “We think like a sweat shop.” (In his quoted comments, Mr. Mahindra mentioned only one recent technology innovator from India: Sabeer Bhatia, the inventor of Hotmail, although Mr. Bhatia did his innovating while he was based in the United States.)

A tribute to the master of ghazals

A tribute to the master of ghazals - Home - livemint.com


"The city turned some of us lonelier by the day. We fell in love, suffered in love, lost our near and dear ones, made careers, or what is perceived to be a career. Our hair went grey. Emotions lost their edge. But on some balmy night, when there was no one else to go to, we would seek refuge in Jagjit Singh’s voice. Long ago, he sang these lines of Ghalib’s: “Maut se pehle aadmi, gam se nijaat paaye kyun...” Sitting in a metro train, when I learnt about his death, I hoped that in death my friend would be rid of life’s sorrows..."

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Young, Unemployed, and Indian-American...

Without a job, California woman forced to live a lie - CNN.com


I found Sukhraj Beasla's story by accident - I was looking to do some research on CNN's iReport public reporting experiment, and the story title caught my attention. Reading through it, and the associated comments on the blog, some things are very clear - which not be obvious to the mainstream reader.


Northern California has a large Punjabi population - to which she obviously belongs - which is very tight knit, especially in areas like Yuba City, Gridley etc. Without generalizing, agriculture is big in the community, and most  social occasions revolve around the local Sikh Temple. 


The comment from her father that "'God, you're 30 years old and I really expected you to be somewhere right now,'" is not unheard of in the Indian-American community, which has high expectations of its children. 


There are several unanswered questions in her story, which have been brought up by other readers, like why isn't she sharing an apartment etc, but on the whole, it should be a wake-up call for our community, which is an expert in creating new organizations and collecting funds for building bigger places of worship, but maybe not doing enough for the young and the elderly, who have fallen through the social cracks....


So what am I doing about it? Apart from raising the awareness for her situation in the Tribe Desi newsletter, I will be contacting her to get her resume'...

Friday, September 30, 2011

INDIA: End of texting spam, masala style

INDIA: End of texting spam, masala style - latimes.com

Slim down. Goose your sex life. Buy a dream home. De-fang auntie’s evil eye -- all at the click of a button.

Indian cellphone users have faced dozens, sometimes hundreds, of short-message advertisements at all hours of the day and night.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Are Foreign-Born U.S. Women Getting enough Mammograms?

Foreign-Born U.S. Women Getting Mammograms - US News and World Report


October is breast cancer awareness month. Did you know that in the United States, one out of every eight South Asian women will get the disease, the highest incidence in the world?


According to the article, "There is progress, overall, in use of mammography among foreign-born women in the United States, but there is still a lot of work to do to improve their use of recommended breast cancer screening," study lead researcher Nengliang (Aaron) Yao, a doctoral student in health policy and administration at Pennsylvania State University, said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research.


The study authors said foreign-born women are less likely to get breast cancer screening due to factors such as lack of health insurance and a regular place to get health care..."


 According to the American Cancer Society, South Asian women have the second highest incidence of cancer among Asian Pacific Islanders. Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. According to the ACS, if caught early, the survival rate is 98%, but if caught late, the survival rate drops to 27%. The best way to detect breast cancer early is through regular mammograms. The American Cancer Society continues to recommend a yearly mammogram for all women 40 and older every year, regardless of family history.


For a "Desi friendly" place in Dallas, please check out http://www.womenslinkplano.com/ . You can call scheduling at (972) 612-6500 . They will be having a "Mammo Midnight Madness" on October 10th and will have extended hours for screening. In addition, they also provide genetic testing to see if you may be predisposed to breast cancer.


For more information on this topic, please email cancer@tribedesi.com


Also, please see this initiative by Susan G. Komen Foundation: 
http://ww5.komen.org/KomenNewsArticle.aspx?id=19327353484

Pakistan's Paris Hilton?

Popularity of Mathira underscores Pakistan contradictions - latimes.com

"TV host Mathira Mohammad has been called all that and more. Love her or hate her, she's making waves, as critics in Pakistan accuse her of immorality and supporters laud her willingness to tackle taboo subjects such as sexuality, love and HIV/AIDS.

"A lot of people judge me by what I wear, say I'm not a good woman," she said, loping through the lobby of a five-star hotel in Karachi wearing leopard-skin shoes and a sleeveless Ali Baba outfit, as jaws dropped and necks swiveled. "The clothes aren't anything."

Other celebrities show more cleavage and wear shorter skirts, but don't catch on, said Mathira, as she's universally known. "Whenever I go, the show starts. When I leave, it ends."

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Humor Comes of Age in India - NYTimes.com

Humor Comes of Age in India - NYTimes.com

"“In the 1980’s, women told men, love me but don’t touch me,” said Mr. Chakradhar, a professor of Hindi at Jamia Millia Islamia, a university in New Delhi. “In the 1990’s, they said touch me but don’t kiss me. In 1995, they said kiss me, but nothing more. In 2000, it was do whatever you want but don’t tell anybody. In 2010, they say do something otherwise I will tell everybody you don’t know how to do anything.”
Just as the display of affection has shifted from puritanical restraint to explicit display, humor is becoming freer and more adventurous in India. Young writers, directors and media producers are starting to experiment with satire, dark humor, sexually explicit jokes and other expressions that earlier faced stiff resistance...."

Have Indian Railways Derailed James Bond?

Have Indian Railways Derailed James Bond? - India Real Time - WSJ


"Few things can stop James Bond, with the exception, perhaps, of Indian bureaucracy. Plans to film the latest James Bond sequel in India have been shelved, reportedly because the film’s production company failed to reach a timely agreement with Indian Railways.
Originally, “Bond 23” was meant to include an action sequence filmed on the railway tracks in Sabarmati, in India’s state of Gujarat, according to railway officials. Other rumored Indian locations included parts of Mumbai and Goa. Last month, spokespersons for the production companies, EON and their Indian partners Take One Productions, confirmed plans to film the Bond sequel in India but declined to provide further details..."