The last few weeks have been full of getting things ready for the production. I have been spending all my time shopping, a stressful activity in itself, testing out equipment and exchanging faulty pieces of gear. In the midst of all this we’ve been clearing out things from our storage space, so life has pretty much been a dust-filled frenzy.

Yesterday when we visited our storage space, tired and streaked with dirt, on the elevator to the basement, the elevator man suddenly announced, “I had a dream. It was snowing. But it was only snowing on me. Everywhere I walked, the snow would follow me.” Then Kerim said, “Yeah, some days are like that.” This Thanksgiving I am thankful to be reminded that Bunuel wasn’t making stuff up.

An interesting bit of news from The Hindu, about chapters on Babri Masjid and Godhra in the standard XII Political Science textbooks, among other things:

The two events will be discussed under Chapter X titled “Recent Issues and Challenges” that will look at various issues including challenges and responses to globalisation, the new economic policy of the Government and opposition to it, rise of other backward classes in North Indian politics, and Dalit politics in the electoral and non-electoral arena.

Textbooks, especially History textbooks, are a hugely politically contentious subject in India. When I was in school, we mostly had the conservative historian RC Majumdar’s version of history, then things changed with the rise of the BJP (which thankfully, I escaped) and the tug of war continues, the Hindutva brigade is already making noises about these changes.

The changes described above seem a lot more interesting than what we had to study in school. Interestingly, its how to teach Political Science and History that become political issues, and not Creationism, or “intelligent design” like in the US. India is just not as religious or religious in the same way as the US.

Religious conversion has managed to become a highly charged issue in India. What with missionary activity being closely related with colonialism, and the more recent Hindutva activity around attacking missionaries, and “re-converting” Tribals. In the midst of all this the Bnei Menashe community in Mizoram and Manipur finds itself in an odd position.

First, a brief history of the community from Wikipedia. The Bnei Menashe claim to have been expelled from Northern Israel by the Assyrians 2700 years ago. They wandered along the silk route, finally settling in Northeastern India. Christian missionaries converted them in the 19th century, and it was only in 1951, when a pastor from the community had a series of visions, that they realized that their oral history and religious practices were Jewish. And indeed there is some evidence from population genetics that points to ancestors in the Levant, through strands of DNA carried by the women-folk of the community.

It took them twenty five years before the Israeli government would accept their claims of being one of the lost ten tribes of Israel. After being recognized, they were allowed to migrate to Israel and settled in the Occupied Territories (where else?). In order to migrate they need to be accepted as Jewish and have to undergo a conversion ritual, a requirement fulfilled by visiting Rabbis. However, the Indian government frowns on conversions. The BBC reports:

“The Indian authorities, through official channels, told us they do not view positively initiated efforts at conversions to other religions,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, Mark Regev, said.

The Israeli government is taking the complaint very seriously, since India buys a sizable amount of arms from the Israelis.

This convoluted story leaves me with several questions. First, I thought Judaism was similar to Hinduism in the sense that you were born into the religion and couldn’t really convert. Second, if these people claim to be Jewish, then why would they need to be converted again? I guess it just proves religious laws can be made to bend whichever way you want. Whether its the government of Israel or India, the Hindutva folks or Jewish orthodox and not so orthodox groups.

Check out Micropixie’s music from her debut album, “Alice in Stevie Wonderland.” I normally don’t like most electronic music, but I enjoyed Micropixie’s music and lyrics.

Micropixie is Ugandan Indian, born and brought up in London, and transplanted to San Francisco via Paris. You can listen to samples of her music on this web-site.

She is performing in NYC on:

Tuesday, November 15th
7 – 11 PM * FREE
Kush Lounge
191 Chrystie Street (Lower East Side)

Friday, November 18th
10.30pm * FREE
Avaaz: a global noiz system
Mo Pitkin’s NYC (upstairs)
34 Avenue A @ 3rd Street

A charming story from the BBC about a village in Kerala called Moscow, where people named Lenin, Stalin, Pushkin etc are meeting to talk about their names. It seems Stalin and Krushchev have lost their popularity as names, but Lenin is still going strong. Before you conclude that this is just a Keralite communist eccentricity, consider the case of the babies who were named Dhamaka Singh or Visphote Singh in Rajasthan, after India tested its nuclear missile. Or the unfortunate pet-names Bengali babies often seem to get- Poltu, Motu, Bhondu, I could go on.

Take a look at this video (via onegoodmove, and thank your Chris T.). Since the government wants to preserve “our freedoms and our way of life,” maybe they should listen to the “people” regarding where those threats are coming from. I am scared!

No Indian wedding is complete without a small army of extended family and friends showing up. Its a testament to the prestige of the families involved. But what if you don’t know that many people. You don’t have to worry, you can rent your guests. The BBC reports:

The Best Guests Agency has around 70 people on its books. They can turn up either traditionally dressed or in smart Western clothes, and are briefed on family history and pretend to be friends from the past.

Who are these pretend friends?

Some of the guests for hire are students, but others are doctors, chartered accountants, and other professionals.

“You might wonder why doctors want to come,” Mr Syed said.

“But I suppose they don’t mind having a nice evening out, and I pay them well.”

The amount charged per guest is varied according to what Mr Syed described as the “level” required, and how smartly it is wished that they dress.

Three categories are offered, with the highest – at around 600 rupees – being be-suited guests who are tall, well-built, light-skinned and who can converse well.

Mr. Syed says none of his “guests” have ever been outed. If you can hire mourners for a funeral why not guests for a wedding?

There is a sudden enthusiasm for dress codes in Indian universities. First it was Mumbai University, then it was Delhi and now its Anna University. And mind you, this dress code only applies to women. The logic goes something like this–women are getting harassed, they are getting raped and molested because men are tempted, and they are tempted by mini-skirts and spaghetti straps.

I have news for these, mostly, middle aged men who are so keen to protect female students–YOU CAN BE COVERED HEAD TO TOE AND STILL BE HARASSED. Did these people bother to actually speak with women before they came up with this brilliant idea? I don’t think so. Understandably the students have been up in arms about this “blame the victim” measure. It doesn’t take a sociologist to figure out that sexual harassment is about gender discrimination, and the exercise of patriarchal power. Com’on you Phd-ed knuckle-heads.

Update: There is a petition on the web you can read and sign.

Manish over at Sepia Mutiny has a funny post riffing on the acronym for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ being the same for the ultra right wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It got me thinking of another words that have unintended double meanings, like ‘Dasani.’ Apparently the Coca Cola company chose this name for its bottled water because “it means nothing,” and suggests something cool and refreshing. Now, if I understand my Sindhi correctly, ‘Dasani’ means ‘from the house of slaves.’ So does this mean that Coca Cola’s bottled water comes from slave labor? or they track down the finest slave households and put a bottle to their taps?

I am trying to think of other words that work like RSS and Dasani, it would probably make a good little playlet. Meanwhile, the humorless Hundutva sympathizers have been posting comments at Sepia Mutiny, and I am guessing there is enough hateful stuff there for the comments to have been closed for that particular thread. I wonder if those who worry about injuries done to Coca Cola’s pride will post here with any enthusiasm? or doesn’t poor Coca Cola have any righteously indignant defenders?

Very often, Indian newspapers have the word ‘flaying’ in their headlines. E.g today’s Rediff article: BJP flays Sonia’s ‘silence’ on Nanavati report. The Dictionary.com website defines flaying as:

1. To strip off the skin or outer covering of.
2. To strip of money or goods; fleece.
3. To whip or lash.
4. To assail with stinging criticism; excoriate.

The papers mean #4 when they say flay, not #1, the way I understand the term, and which is how most people, I think, understand the term. As far as I can remember, it was not a popular term till the eighties. Whence its popularity? Maybe there is a whole S and M level to public discourse that I am unconscious of. Think of it. A national obsession with “twatcha,” the skin that needs to made ‘fair and lovely.’ The brides who are homely but ‘wheatish’ in complexion. Tales of British colonial brutality that often involve whipping with ‘hunters.’ My own experience in school with corporal punishment for not doing homework. Brides being killed with attacks on their “twatcha” with kerosine and a match. The resurgence in separatist violence in the eighties in the Punjab and Kashmir. I wonder what the connections are.