CULTUREOutsourced being
cancelled?  Ok
so much has been written (including in this newsletter) about
this show...it may appeal to some, but for those who have
visited or lived in India, its full of clichés...I understand
the article's viewpoint " But one quality of �Outsourced�
that everyone can agree on is that the show has meant work and
exposure for a gaggle of Desi talent, including Geetika Tandon
Lizardi and four other Desis on the writing team,
and actors Anisha
Nagarajan, Rizwan
Manji, Sacha
Dhawan, Parvesh Chenna and nearly two dozen
more"....and I'm all for giving work to South
Asian artists, but the
writing team needs to kick it up a notch... "
CULTUREBook review: The Palace of
Illusions So I was stuck at an airport today for
over four hours (ironically in the city where Divakaruni is
based), and had this book with me. I, like most people of
Indian origin, had heard and read stories from the
Mahabharata, the epic Hindu poem detailing the rise and the
fall of the Kaurava and Pandava dynasties in India.
Among the
more memorable parts of the epic are the final battle between
the Kaurava and Pandava armies, and the court scene with
Draupadi, which eventually leads to this war. That was
probably the extent of my knowledge of Draupadi - before I
opened this book. Once I started reading the book, which is
written from Draupadi's viewpoint, with stories woven in as
flashbacks, I found myself unable to put the book down. The
way the life of Draupadi is described, from her birth from the
fire, to her youth, her marriage, her longing for Karna, to
her final end - with her commentary on the events unfolding
around her - is spellbinding. If you check Wikipedia, you will
see that the author has taken pains to maintain the facts as
stated in Mahabharata - but embellished them with magnificent
detail and prose.
Some passages
hinted that this book may be an allegory - " I wasn't ready to
let go of my life. How amazing it seemed to me with its
victories, its adventures, its moments of glory. Even the
shame that had struck like hot iron, branding revenge into my
brain, seemed suddenly precious in its uniqueness. I wanted to
live it all again - with more wisdom this time!.."
...Are we
really like Abhimanyu, stuck in the Chakravyuha, with no way
of getting out? read
on...
SOCIETYFacing Islamic Traditions with
Basketball?"It�s
also illustrative of how families in orthodox neighbourhoods
can challenge social
mores. Nagpada is a community
of Muslim
families. Seven mosques are within a stone�s
throw of the outdoor basketball
court and on the dusty,
noisy streets here, where chickens and goats run free, most
locals still say girls like Afreen should not be playing
basketball.
In the
world�s biggest democracy, there are no laws preventing women
from playing sports, but as with customs about marriage dowries,
which remain prevalent even though they've been illegal for a half
century, traditions here have a grip on the local community
that are as strong as any legislation..."read
on...
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