The Daily Delicious for June 1, 2008

Mehta, 21, in Mumbai with ABC’s Dan Harris. (Alice Maggin/ABC )

21 And The World Is Yours - Mumbai
“Mehta’s mother never went to college, doesn’t work and cannot make major decisions without the consent of her husband…and her mother has actively encouraged her not to follow in her footsteps. In this way, her mother is…a ‘quiet feminist.’”

From a series on young people in different countries, a profile of Nisha Mehta. She is an ambitious sales manager at a medical testing company who sleeps on a foldout couch with her younger brother, manages 5 people older than her and, to the amusement of the reporter interviewing her, neither knows nor cares who Brad Pitt is. —Pavani
(tags: india(n) news mumbai women feminism)

The Daily Delicious for May 31, 2008

Muraqqa’: Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
“Among the most remarkable of Mughal paintings and calligraphies are those commissioned by the Emperors Jahangir (r. 1605-27) and Shah Jahan (r. 1627-58) for display in lavish imperial albums.” May 3, 2008–August 3, 2008 at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Gallery of Art. “The Persian word muraqqa’ means ‘patched’ or ‘patched garment,’ similar to those worn by Islamic mystics (Sufis) as a sign of poverty and humility. It came to be applied to Mughal albums due to their patchwork construction…”
(tags: art mughal painting history smithsonian DC)

S-U-C-C-E-S-S: Life After Spelling Bee
“I was born in America and when I was growing up I was American as can-be, minus the skin and the accent. I played sandlot baseball and joined Boy Scouts and felt that those activities tapped into American culture. Spelling was always something I enjoyed doing. I didn’t do it because I thought it would lead me anywhere. It is an American tradition that stresses diligence and studying,” says George Thampy, 1999 champ featured in “Spellbound” documentary
(tags: spelling america(n))

San Diegan Stops at Satyagraha in Spelling Bee
“Justin Song’s advance in the Scripps National Spelling Bee came to an end shortly after 6 p.m., when he added an extra letter while attempting to spell the Sanskrit word ’satyagraha.’” From the comments: “One would think they would stick to English words in a National spelling bee. Dang.” This year’s desi quotient in the Top 10 is 50%, including Indiana boy and winner Sameer Mishra.
(tags: spelling gandhi)

Desifest Returns to Toronto

Dias, Jayadevan, Autorickshaw, Kat Eyez, Shahid Ali Khan, Shobha.

For a second year, in celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, Desifest transforms Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square into a colourful South Asian bazaar on May 31, Saturday, featuring a free 12-hour music festival. The lineup includes the original bhangramuffin star Apache Indian, master musicians and artists as well as a number of fresh and rising performers. Toronto is the grand finale of this year’s national tour which also hit Montreal and Vancouver.

Previously: The T-Dot Heats Up With Summer Festival
On Flickr: photos from earlier lineups at Desifest

The Daily Delicious for May 30, 2008

Rock Cult or Nice Kids That Do Their Homework?
I’ll admit, no specific South Asian angle here. But seriously, BBC? Wasn’t this trend story keg all tapped by 2002? —Nalini
(tags: music media UK crybabies)

Imaad Wasif
Speaking of emo, Wasif has tons of summer shows coming up soon. Look for the ethereal, gaunt guitarist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs rocking out at a bar near you. Strange Hexes, recorded with Two Part Beast, a band made up of some longtime friends, is his second solo album. —Pavani

The Daily Delicious for May 29, 2008

The Making of Independent Film “A Dream In Doubt”
“A scene that has deep meaning to me is the presidential election exchange…Rana (who wears a blue turban) and Harjit (who wears a red turban) argue over whether Democrats or Republicans would be better suited to fight terrorism.” Official site.
(tags: film politics sikh 9/11 turban)

NY’s Asian-Pacific Origin Students Face Race-Based Harassment
Nearly 85,000 APA high school students regularly face such harassment. The affect on their mental health is often overlooked due to a “common belief that the community is a model minority group,” according to a survey by ASAP, a youth leadership project of the CACF.
(tags: education race asia(n) health)

T.Tandon
A second clothing line from NY designer Tina Tandon. The Spring 2008 collection includes a Chikan embroidered georgette shift dress. —Pavani
(tags: design fashion nyc)

Staten Island Hindu Temple Celebrates Third Stage of Completion
From May 23-25, the temple celebrated the second phase of the Prana Pratistha, a three day ceremony during which the consecration of deities brought from Rajasthan took place. The temple will be called Shree Ram Mandir. —Pavani
(tags: religion hindu nyc)

Narayanhiti Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Nepal Abolishes Monarchy, Becomes Republic
“After approving the move by an overwhelming vote,” Nepal’s newly elected leadership “said it would send a letter to 60-year-old King Gyanendra and his family, informing them that they have 15 days to vacate the royal palace.”
(tags: nepal south_asia(n) politics)

Sharon Stone Blames “Karma” for Chinese Earthquake
“The outspoken actress was talking to a Chinese media outlet on Thursday when she linked the recent disaster, which left more than 67,000 people dead, to China’s recent treatment of Tibetans.” (Update: Apology issued.)
(tags: celebrities asia(n) china)

The Daily Delicious for May 24, 2008

Photo by The Sartorialist.

Profile of Sohiny Das
The Sartorialist profiles Sohiny Das, the well-known Delhi-based fashion stylist. I like her answers: Very pragmatic without being dull. — Nalini
(tags: fashion india(n) shopping)

The Daily Delicious for May 22, 2008

Erasing Borders:Passport to Contemporary Indian Art
“The exhibition…explores the contributions of artists whose origins can be traced to the Indian Subcontinent.” In 2004 the Erasing Borders exhibition was “the first to focus solely on Indian diaspora artists.” Touring NY now through October.
(tags: art painting photography diaspora subcontinent(al) india(n))

The Daily Delicious for May 19, 2008

5/19/08 - Confronting an Epidemic: Conference on Asians, Pacific Islanders, and HIV/AIDS
Sapna Pandya of the South Asian Health Initiative presents “Scaling the HIValayas: An Overview of HIV/AIDS in South Asia.” NYU Langone Medical Center. Free admission. No advance registration required.
(tags: health south_asia(n) AIDS medicine)

Desi Manifesto Blog: The Forum for South Asian American Men
“As Indian men, we’ve shared numerous experiences that sometimes only other South Asian men can grasp…But up to this point, the only way to really discuss these experiences freely, among other men, was to have a set of brown friends…Until now.” Sadly, the desi dose burrito story sounds familiar, like something my dad told me about being asked if he was a messenger when he went to see his attorney. —Pavani
(tags: blogs men desi south_asia(n))

Desi Online Matchmaking, no gays allowed
“After extensive research I found out that Shaadi.com had no plans to make a section for Queer Desis. Their reasoning was that they are based in India and they have to follow Indian law. According to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code it states it’s unlawful to have “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” This code has also been used to prosecute acts of oral sex, sodomy and bestiality,” and ultimately to “discriminate against homosexuals.”
(tags: desi web dating gay queer)

Online Dating for Indian Gays and Lesbians
“This just in! Check out Indus Gay, a site that caters to the queer Desi Community.” (via)
(tags: dating gay queer desi south_asia(n) web)

Bharatanatyam on the BART: Zavain Dar

Zavain Dar. (Photo by Weiferd Watts)

I wasn’t the only one struck by the dancer in the poster at the Civic Center BART station in San Francisco. As passengers exited the platform, I saw others also taking more than a cursory look at the young man captured in a graceful pose. He made a striking figure in a black short-sleeved tee, with ornate traditional jewelry layered on top in bold relief. Bharatanatyam, I thought, and wondered if “Zavain Dar” was a visiting artist from India.

Actually, Pakistan-born, Berkeley-raised Dar is an undergrad at Stanford, where he has participated in competitive garba raas, among many other activities. Dar has studied the Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam with teacher Arul Francis for several years (his dedication is evident in a 2003 story that encounters a young Dar at his lesson, where Francis mentions that his students from Pakistan have outlasted all his Indian students ). Francis says, “Zavain started learning from me when he was an 11-year-old child in 2000. Now he’s turning into a very talented dancer and so for his varnam, I chose “Danike” the very difficult varnam in ragam Todi.” View moments from their lesson of March 16, 2008.

Francis’s Guru, Pandanallur C. Subbaraya Pillai, passed away just days ago on May 12. He was the last surviving of three famous gurus from an ancestral dance-teaching family known for being the leading teachers of the Tanjore Quartet dance compositions. For more information about the Pandanullar style and the dance Guru’s life, please see additional articles—”With a firm grip on tradition,” “Guardian of Pandanullar tradition,” “Zealous guardian of a tradition“—plus Francis’s personal reflection on the passing of his Guru.

Dar’s performances for this weekend conclude Sunday evening, 6pm, at 3316 24th St., San Francisco. (More event details.) Also performing Bharatanatyam in the Bay Area this weekend is Srekala Bharath, an accomplished senior dancer from Madras. 3pm, Sunday May 18, 2008. (Tickets plus venue info.)

The Daily Delicious for May 15, 2008

Image from a Tulir poster.

Genes ‘up Indians’ obesity risk’
“The finding might provide a possible genetic explanation for the particularly high levels of obesity in Indian Asians, who make up 25% of the world’s population, but who are expected to account for 40% of global cardiovascular disease by 2020.”
(tags: health medicine india(n) genetics)

TULIR- Centre for the Prevention and Healing Child Sexual Abuse
Chennai-based TULIR is dedicated to preventing and bringing awareness to child sexual abuse. TULIR created colorful posters in English, Tamil and Hindi that define child abuse (e.g., “employing a child in your home” is on the list) and show kids how to protect themselves. —Pavani
(tags: children health chennai india(n))

R.I.P. Gopal Raju, founder of “India Abroad”
His legacy extends beyond the well-thumbed pages of IA gracing many coffee tables in the desi diaspora. Raju founded the IA newspaper, the Indo-Asian News Service, the Indian American Foundation and the Indian American Center for Political Action. —Pavani
(tags: journalism india(n))

A Brown Paper: The Health of South Asians in the U.S.
Seeing the importance of addressing the health and well-being of SA communities, a group of public health professionals and students formed SAPHA in 1998. In 2002 came the Brown Paper, the “first ever health literature review of South Asian Americans.”
(tags: health south_asia(n) activism)

Payal Singhal trunk show
Thursday, 5/15, 3 -8 p.m. Indomix, 232 Mulberry St., NYC. View the Fall 2008 collection of cocktail dresses inspired by 1920’s flapper fashion. Cocktails will be served.
(tags: fashion shopping history)

Obama Statement on APA Heritage Month
“The APA story and community are also personal to me. Members of my family are of Asian descent and it is a community that I became a part of while growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia and living in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.”
(tags: politics barack_obama)