Holy Superheroes, Batman: It’s Pavitr Prabhakar!

Two years ago, India’s answer to Spider-Man (a boy named Pavitr Prabhakar) made his comic book debut. Readers today continue to follow Spidy as he maneuvers the tricky streets of Mumbai (Rickshaws! Scooters!) while maintaining his admirable commitment to veganism.

For a superhero, Spider-Man is about as down-to-earth as it gets–and Peter Parker’s desi incarnation is just as likeable. When Prabhakar isn’t hanging out with his Auntie Maya (aka Aunt May), he’s spending some QT with main squeeze Meera Jain (Mary Jane) and concentrating on his “studies.”

Prabhakar is part of a new, increasingly global world of comic book characters. You may have grown up with Archie, Veronica and the warriors of Gotham City, but today there’s a whole new gang of superheroes ready to duke it out in the land of popular culture.

This generation of comics and graphic novels includes the ten-part series Buddha
(readers can tag along on the illustrated voyage to enlightenment) and The 99: where a bevy of superheroes, demonstrating the attributes of Allah, kick some serious bad-guy butt.

Now just imagine if they all banded together.

That would make for some crazy Shazam!

How Opal Mehta Got a Life (Take Two)

Kaavya Viswanathan fans (OK, fan): Wondering what’s up with your fave chick lit plagiarist? Turns out she’s saving lives in Africa.

No, seriously. Check it out.

Get Your SALTAF on This Weekend in DC

NetSapDC in conjunction with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program is sponsoring SALTAF, the 6th annual South Asian Literary and Theater Arts Festival.

This year, for a small entrance fee, you can hobnob with the cognoscenti during the opening night fundraiser and cocktail reception at the Fly Lounge. Here are some tips on how to mingle and mix with the literati: Don’t forget to ask Kiran Desai if a Booker Prize is actually a prize—is it a statue, is it a piece of paper, huh, huh? While you’re at it, make sure to inquire after Devyani Saltzman’s mama’s project, Water. If you don’t come across as a complete bumbling idiot, maybe they’ll let you hang around after the 9 p.m. closing call. Why so soon?

And if your hangover wanes by Saturday morning, you’re in for an all day (10 a.m.–6: 30 p.m.) FREE desi artsy-fartsy extravaganza at the Baird auditorium. You’ll be privy to the US premiere of DOR, followed by a Q&A session with auteur Nagesh Kukunoor. Damn, how exclusive are you?

Soon thereafter, you’ll have a lunchbreak. You’re on your own here (the event is FREE after all) —although what’s a macacafest without food, yaar?

Next up are two literary panels: Writing on the Edge: Collapsing Borders in South Asian Diasporic Literature and Second Chances in Life and Literature. The panelists are Kiran Desai, Samrat Upadhyay, Tarun Tejpal, and Devyani Saltzman—moderated by Terry Hong and Jyoti Mohan. Uh, we don’t know everyone on this list, but we promise you by the time these panels end, we’ll all be reschooled in Homi Bhaba, Gayatri Spivak, Edward Said and every other post-colonial theorist we couldn’t wrap our heads around in college. Ah, the agency, the difference, the location of culture, and the binary orientalism of it all!

After a short break (Yay!), you can kick back and watch the DC debut of a Sundance and Tribeca film festival selection: Punching the Sun, a film by Tanuj Chopra.

Keeping company with all the accolade-ridden artists for a whole weekend may rub off but we’re not promising anything except a few morsels of enlightenment.

A Film Festival for Every Fancy

Last week I attended the press conference for the upcoming Sixth Annual Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival, and judging by the filmmakers who spoke, this festival promises to be one good show, so to speak. If you don’t already know that Mira Nair’s much-awaited film The Namesake is premiering at the festival’s first night, where have you been? Seriously, opening night is going to be quite the event—there will be the requisite red carpet, of course, followed by speeches from a line-up of South Asian gliteratti: Aroon Shivdasani (IAAC executive director), Salman Rushdie and Mira Nair herself. Word on the street is that Padma Lakshmi and Kal Penn will be there, too. And here’s what is making my mouth water: After the show, Jhumpa Lahiri herself will be part of a discussion with Mira Nair (led by Premiere magazine editor-in-chief Peter Herbst). Don’t have your tickets yet? What are you waiting for? (Sadly, the gala dinner after the screening and discussion is already sold out.)

It’s obvious that The Namesake is getting a lot of press, and for good reason—it seems to be the holy trinity of South Asian who’s who (Nair, Penn, Lahiri). But that’s not the only reason you should check out the festival (which runs November 1–5 in New York City). There are some other great gems that are going to be showcased. Besides the popular favorites such Aishwarya’s Umrao Jaan and Rehana Mirza’s Hiding Divya, here are my picks for must-see movies:

Kabaddi Cops: Um, can anyone say hilarious? This short film is about Toronto cops who decide to take up the ancient sport of kabaddi so they can bond with the South Asian community. I am not going to miss this one.

My Bollywood Bride: I want to see this if only because it stars “Smith Jerrod” from Sex and the City! But seriously, this film is about an American guy who meets an Indian woman on vacation. Turns out she’s—wait for it—a Bollywood star! Hilarity, I’m sure, ensues.

Sita Sings the Blues: Nina Paley’s interpretation of the Ramayana set to American jazz classics isn’t nearly done, but you can catch two episodes from the animated feature at the festival.

American Blend: If Anupam Kher isn’t enough reason to see this film, check it out for Sunkrish Bala, a rising Indian American actor whom Nirali will profile next month.

Riding Solo to the Top of the World: This flick won the best documentary award at the Mumbai International Film Festival. It’s about a guy who rides his motorcycle all the way to the remote Changthang Plateau, in Ladakh, bordering China. Bonus: Our esteemed photo editor, Vikram Tank, knows the filmmaker.

Of course, this is just a sampling. There are tons of other films that deserve our attention, so check out the complete schedule online, and get your tickets at MeraTicket.com.

Kiran Desai: The Youngest Woman Ever to Win the Booker Prize

Kiran Desai, winner of the 2006 Booker prize. (Guardian/Eamonn McCabe)

Kiran Desai, the India-born writer who now lives in the US, was announced as the winner of the Booker prize yesterday for her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss.

Known as one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world, the Booker awards £50,000 to the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. Past winners include Yann Martel, Margaret Atwood and Arundhati Roy.

35-year-old Desai moved from India to the UK when she was 14 and currently resides in the US. She was quoted in the Guardian as saying ‘I see everything through the lens of being Indian … I can’t really write without that perspective.’

Desai is the latest in a wave of South Asian authors attaining global recognition. We will explore just what it is about South Asian writing that is garnering the critic’s praise in the December issue of Nirali.

Jhumpa Lahiri in Chicago

Jhumpa Lahiri

The city of Chicago’s One Book, One Chicago program attempts to “cultivate a culture of reading and discussion in Chicago by bringing a diverse city together around one great book.”

After choosing such classics as To Kill a Mockingbird, Night and Pride and Prejudice, the city has picked Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies for its latest selection. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author visited Chicago to discuss her work and her Indian-American identity.

I read and enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies, but I haven’t attempted The Namesake. Should I go for it, or wait for the movie starring Kal Penn and Tabu?

Love Kahani Magazine

Kahani’s Summer 2006 cover.

How awesome is Kahani? We posted about this great literary magazine at our old blog when Kahani was first starting out. Since its launch, it has gotten better with each issue. I just went back to see what they’ve been up to and was so pleased to find that the magazine has not wavered from its original concept. Targeted to the South Asian community, Kahani is a literary magazine which focuses on strengthening cultural connections in children ages 7-12 of South Asian descent.

It’s wonderful to see that it has gotten such great reception from the press and librarians across the U.S. This magazine is everything I would have wanted when I was younger. Lots of short stories, games and puzzles and gorgeous illustrations. A sample issue is available for download on their site so you can see for yourself. A subscription would make a great gift to a young niece or nephew.