| List of Articles |
| 1.
The game of kings and clowns |
Shyam Amladi |
| So much has been written about this so called king of sports, Golf, that I suppose it would be presumptuous of me to think that I could add anything novel. Well, as I reflect further, I think this larger-than-life game can stand another perspective from one of its lifelong victims - me! |
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| 2.
A Christmas Chronicle |
Chandna Sethi |
| I wonder if there other parents out there who have experienced this. “This” is the anticipation I have felt since Christmas, at the thought that it won’t be too long now before my six year old daughter finds out – maybe this year, or perhaps then the next, but surely no later- that her dear, loved Pere Noel (that’s what we call Santa Claus in France) and her sometimes-monster mother are but two sides of the same coin. |
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| 3.
Born Again |
Roshan Sethi |
| All four of them were sitting in a row on the couch, like they had on the plane, with the same awkward expression of waiting on their faces and their hands and legs drawn closely together as if they were constricted by armrests and the seat in front of them. Raj was sitting between his father and his mother. His father’s sister, a petite woman with artificially colored brown hair, was sitting beside his mother. A servant had picked them up at the airport only an hour ago, and they had sat in a torpid semi-silence for the last fifteen minutes. |
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| 4.
The Gift |
Chanchal Singh Bal |
| As a member of the university's, Adopt a Grandparent program, Dana visited Mrs. Chopra at least once a week. The young sophomore was a good listener and had become an emotional support for Mrs. Chopra. Mrs. Chopra's favorite topic of conversation with Dana was her disappointment with her son and daughter. |
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| 6.
Night Owl |
Lalita Noronha |
| The moon is sullen tonight, pouting behind thick dark clouds. Leftovers of the shower that has passed dribble from the jambool tree onto our steep gabled roof. Drifting out on the fringes of sleep, I hear the faint echo of the midnight mail train. And then suddenly, I hear it--distinctly this time--a swish, a cry, a voice pleading, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll try, those aching words in lilting Hindi, a language of lovers. I bound out of bed, ripping the stubborn mosquito net caught in the mattress, down the steps, and out the back door, onto the cold stone path to Rahim's house. |
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| 7.
Choices |
Sunanda Chatterjee |
| I soon realized that knee-highs eventually became ankle-lows, and it's not acceptable to
fasten them with rubber-bands. Another call to my sister revealed the existence of panty-hose. It stays up, she said. I bought them at the K, which, by the way, also sells corn-caps. Now, the thing about panty-hose is that while it makes your scarred and hairy legs look satiny smooth and silky, it is made of nylon and by the end of the day, your feet smell like high school boys' changing rooms, or on a good day, like the backside of a horse. |
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| 8.
René |
Chanchal Singh Bal |
| My mother wrote, "Language was no problem. We developed our own language, part English, part Punjabi, part sign and lots of laughter." As Dilu and René left, my mother told Dilu, "Treat her well. She is one of a kind." |
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| 10.
Since When |
Sunanda Chatterjee |
| This short story explores the challenge of balancing roles and relationships, especially when one lives in America. |
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| 11.
Change of outlook |
Chanchal Singh Bal |
| During the first week, I remained a loner. I enjoyed biology class and so, after classes, I spent most of the time in my room preparing for the project. Matt and Bobby called me Mr. Geek. I didn’t mind it at all as they were funny and gentle.
During the second week, Natasha and I began to spend the afternoons in the biology lab working on our neural communication project. As an aspiring cardiologist Natasha was quite motivated. Her passion and our togetherness inspired me. |
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| 12.
Tuesday Night Poker |
Sangeetha Parthasarathy |
| What made this gentle Kamala leave behind her comfortable home in India and come here? Joe wondered.
He thought about giving up everything at Rolla and moving to New York with his daughter. The city would
suffocate him to death. Not that his daughter would be particularly pleased with this idea. Her fast-paced
lifestyle did not allow her to have any social life, let alone take in an old man. |
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| 13.
“I do”…or “I don’t”? |
Ulrica Pinto |
| What did she want more time for? She’d known him long enough and she knew that he was the best match for her. They had met each other’s families and there was approval all-around. But deep in her heart she knew, or had come to realize lately that something was amiss. What was it that was troubling Hilda’s mind? What was it that was throwing her into these bouts of doubt? |
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| 14.
The Roles We Play |
Radhika Shivaraman |
| My three year old son is a girly-boy. He loves all things girlish. His first love was purple and it has transformed to pink. I was mildly amused by his gender defying color choices, but being the mama that I am, did not fret or worry about it. |
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| 15.
An unlikely seer: when tradition stumps science |
Shyam Amladi |
| It seems the more advanced our society becomes, the more tradition binds us. Consider a man-made tradition that occurs here in the U.S. each year exactly at sunrise on February 2. It has been observed unfailingly for the past 166 years! |
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| 16.
Sequel to the Name Game |
Supriya D. G. |
| We decided that our child would not carry either of our surnames. One had caste implications and the other, being a
grandparent’s first name, was irrelevant. According to Indian tradition the child automatically “belongs” to the caste of
the father. I was against any concept that involved practices that might separate my own flesh-and-blood from me. |
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| 17.
Accountability in Washington, but not in Islamabad |
Boston Brahmin |
| In the international coverage of the Bajaur event, there is no problem with a head of state openly claiming that he executed a large group of his own civilians based only on a charge: no evidence, no trial, and no independent judge. Even George W. Bush, protected by the Republican congress, never wielded that kind of power in America. |
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| 18.
Of Biodatas and Proposals |
Dhwani Mehta |
| I have a guideline that I have to follow when looking for a mate for myself. My parents expect me to marry someone who is a tall, smart Gujarati-speaking Hindu and who comes from a “good family background”. I can’t even imagine the disappointed look on my parents’ faces if any of the above attributes are missing. If he is a doctor, well, that’s just icing on the cake. |
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| 20.
Interfaith Leadership: A profile of Dr. Eboo Patel |
Shyam Amladi |
| Dr. Patel has an interesting cultural background. A devout, practicing Muslim, he has made "pluralism" and interfaith practice his daily creed. Moreover, unlike many Muslims who feel disenfranchised in the U.S., Dr. Patel is in love with America, its culture and its promise.IFYC, the organization that he founded brings together young people from diverse faiths to create understanding and respect while serving their communities. |
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| 23.
Notorious |
Sujatha Sundar |
| One writer's fictionalized account of the events leading up to the Kaavya Viswanathan plagiarism scandal. |
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| 24.
A coming out of sorts: A profile of Rev. Manish Mishra |
Nandini Pandya |
| When my Pakistani-American friend told me that one of the ministers at her Unitarian church is of Indian origin, I was intrigued. I myself joined a local Unitarian church about six years ago in what was a departure from the norm for us South Asians. Partly because I am the only ethnic/racial minority in this religious community and partly because it has become a very important part of my spiritual life, I am curious when I run across others like me who have stumbled along a similar path and have ended up in the same place. |
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| 26.
Project Grandma |
Revti-Raman Chauhan |
| He browsed through old albums at home, the ones with black and white photographs, each one held in place at the corners by pasted retainers. Some of the photos were missing. He also went through the albums in grandma's house. Then he looked at his parents' wedding album and paused long and hard to register what grandma looked like at that time. Then he wanted to look at grandma's wedding album. There was none, his mother told him. |
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| 27.
Learning to live in Barbie World |
Chandna Sethi |
| Have I been wrong to consciously avoid the purchase, all these years, of toys such as Barbie dolls and related accessories, for my four and a half year old daughter Indira? How many fairy and princess costumes does one little girl really need? Should I make sure she has nice hair accessories to match all her clothes? Should I buy trinkets such as necklaces and bracelets quite often, so that she too has boxes full of these things like some of her friends, though to my mind a couple of each is enough already? And most important of all - how many pairs of shoes is enough? (I could write a whole another essay about that vexed question alone.) |
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| 28.
Kindergarten in America |
Anuradha Gupta |
| ‘Louis laughs at my name. He giggles during the morning meeting. He tells kids, "What kind of a name is this?" I am so DIFFERENT. I am glad you listened when I told you not to put parathas in my lunch box because children eat bread but nobody eats parathas and I look so odd otherwise. When I refused chicken nuggets (‘coz I am a vegetarian), Isabella must have felt ‘no connection’ with me (common kindergarten parlance, I was to discover). When I am the special student, what do I say is my favorite dinner? Who will understand ‘muttar-paneer’? Can I say pizza instead? At least some kid will say ‘connection’ and point to their heart. And please don’t ever wear sari’s to my school – they are not allowed…’ There was so much pain in her voice and a few little tears trickled down her cheeks. |
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| 30.
Crafty Conclusions |
Sujatha Sundar |
| I have more than a dozen UFOs from the constellation Craftia hiding in my closet, wondering when I will finally let them see the light of day. These UnFinished Objects are in various stages of completion- I’m hoping that highlighting some of them in this article will jog me into going back and finishing them. |
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| 32.
Anita’s Responsibilities |
Anu Chopra |
| How could she tell them? It was not that she loved them less but that Diana was her responsibility - and as much her child as either of them was. She hated the idea of leaving Diana with a servant. She just did not trust any one enough. Diana with her cataract, her arthritis, her large, brown eyes and quiet demeanor. God how much she loved her! |
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| 34.
Nine Nights’ Wonder |
Sujatha Sundar |
| Having religiously celebrated Easter, Halloween and Christmas for five years, I decided it was high time I started setting up a kolu during Navaratri. It was easier said than done. |
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| 36.
Birds of Different Feathers Can Flock Together |
Shyam Amladi |
| It is your daughter Nandita, or your son Shekhar with the metal rings. Or with a tattoo. Or that he informs you he is going to go out on a late night date with a girl of a different race. Or imagine Nandita says to you, "I am not ready for marriage; I want to try it out for a year and live with Sumit, my boyfriend." |
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| 37.
Runnin’ From Rita |
Gauri Sirur |
| I found it hard to participate in the Rita love-fest. If the eye of the storm centered over Galveston, then Houston which was a little over 40 miles inland was bound to feel the effects of Rita’s august presence. All I could see in my mind just then were bleak, water-logged images of New Orleans post-Katrina. |
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| 38.
Battling the baby blues |
Anita J. |
| I feel indescribable joy whenever I think of her. But I also battled major postpartum depression for close to four months after she was born. And every time I felt I would like to die, I thought - who will take care of my little girl like I do - and abandoned the thought. |
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| 39.
A desi in an American Mess |
Shyam Amladi |
| After 25+ years in the U.S., I am still a desi at heart. Which is to say, I love the U.S. and its people, and yet have not given up my love for India and things Indian.
So how do I manage my love for two distinct cultures? Read on… |
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| 40.
English as a foreign (or not) language |
Chandna Sethi |
| The prevalence of English in the former colonies, and the advantage this confers on their citizens in a global economy where they are taking jobs that the former colonizers are either unwilling or unequipped to take, makes me – well - glad. I like to think of it as a sort of empire strikes back. |
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| 41.
Raising a Teen |
Usha Pandrangi |
| As teens we pleased our elders and did what made them happy. Now as parents of teens we strongly feel that by giving them freedom we are not repeating history but are ensuring that we are conducive to change. |
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| 42.
Finding Manju |
Madhumita Gupta |
| That’s why, Ridhima, I feel so happy to see you. You too are a wife, you will be a mum soon, but above all you will remain Ridhima. And very frankly, I’m thankful to you for opening my eyes. Indeed, the old can and should take lessons from the young. |
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| 43.
When love blooms, a second time… |
Ulrica Pinto |
| She sat all by herself and tried to reason things out. She was afraid of being betrayed again. A deep-rooted feeling of insecurity captured her. Time couldn’t heal the wounds that Hilda had carried for almost three long years. And she realized how badly she was hurt, now, when the time had come to love again. |
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| 44.
WOM vs STOM |
Radha Aravamudhan |
| It’s a topic that has been discussed at every forum, gone through every mother's mind and has been extremely controversial for years now. This article is about my perspective and the choice I made and not a judgment on what is right or wrong. |
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| 46.
Right on Track |
Smrithi Mohan |
| She was short, somewhere around 5 feet and an inch or two, so she had short legs as well; the short runners were never encouraged as much as those with longer legs who were capable of taking larger strides. She had never been pushed to do her best. Then, why was she feeling so much pressure? |
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| 47.
The Banyan Tree |
Sandhya Srinivasan |
| The new shoots are always going outwards, never too close to the main branches, but never too far either. They are still connected and part of the main tree. Isn't it exactly how a family is? |
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| 48.
Sheer Madness! |
Rohini B. Ramanathan |
| I resolved not to give in to the tyranny of misbehaving siding. So I decided not to bother anymore about how bad the front looked. My rationale was: I tried to fix the problem; the problem won’t go away; ergo, let me not bother any more. So I went back to my martini-filled, bare-foot, blissful life. |
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| 50.
Death and Dignity |
Shanthala Damle |
| Death and suicide are topics that often sneak into group conversations. A friend of mine, whom I will call "Kavya", wishes to live over 100 years even if she is bed-ridden or in a coma for years. I believe I would choose death if I became permanently disabled or if I no longer found a purpose or meaning in life. |
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| 51.
Vege-Terrain |
P. Gayatri |
| Bai makes quite a sigh, carrying as she does a huge vegetable basket that obscures her head. Her fluorescent sari ensures that she will be spotted from even a mile away. Her bony structure is clad with wrinkled skin. But her physical stature is not indicative of her inner forte. |
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| 52.
And then a tear escaped… |
Ahalya N. |
| would sit for hours and stare at the placid surface of a pond and look at the beautiful ripples dancing across. That fascination died one day when I fell into it and for 10 ten minutes I was grappling with the silt, algae and weeds until I was rescued - never to step near the pond again. I saw that what was so beautiful could hold so many dark secrets inside. And I think people are like that as well. They show only what they want to show and keep the dark secrets inside. I knew someone like that once. |
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| 53.
Home Alone |
Gauri Sirur |
| My mother hesitated. "I was thinking…" she said. "Could you take the kids somewhere… anywhere… for just five or six days? I want to be home alone – all by myself - with nobody to cook for and nobody to look after." |
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| 54.
Third Date |
Heartcrossings |
| Shiv, I am not at the right time in your life for love. You need a conscious loss before you can love again. Having overcome many losses already I am now ready for love. You and I don't intersect. We are the right people for each other but at the wrong time, |
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| 56.
Black Pride |
Sangeetha |
| Amazingly, the baby is fair-skinned. It is clear that she gets it from Ramesh. I flinch inwardly each time my in-laws or the cousins compliment me on her complexion. Sometimes, I sense a certain envy – it is as if they are thinking "how could someone as dark as her have such a fair baby?" |
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| 57.
Identity |
Smrithi Mohan |
| She stared out her window with her big, dark eyes, watching the rain slowly fall, listening to the pitter-patter on the roof above her. Her legs were folded, her long black hair draped her face, and she stared off into space once again lost in one of her many daydreams. How she longed to go exploring around her new home, her new neighborhood, and possibly find another little girl her age to play with. |
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| 58.
American Yatra |
Amruta Mudambi |
| Last weekend, I took a long walk. A 60 mile walk from Nashua, NH to Cambridge, MA over three days. There were 1300 of us and we raised $ 3.79 million for breast cancer research. |
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| 59.
Being Not-so-Nice |
Rekha I. Nambiar |
| I was a not-so-nice person all of last week. I can say this because nine nice people have confirmed it! Nine is a lot of people. Nine into not-so-nice is a lot of not-so-niceness being dished around. Nine means that I have run through my entire life support system. |
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| 60.
Secular Humanist |
Anil |
| After about ten minutes of explaining what being an atheist means, the kids around me were in awe. "You’ll go to hell," one kid told me, "because you don’t believe in God." Smiling, I replied: "I can’t go to hell; I don’t believe in it." |
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| 61.
A Visit to Mauritius |
Arun Chebium |
| Many have acclaimed Mauritius as a perfect ‘getaway’ destination. But I didn’t exactly welcome the idea of visiting it. It doesn’t make sense, I thought. I am from the sweltering tropics. I’ve already had enough of the heat; is there any need for more? |
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| 62.
Advani and Jinnah |
Dr. M. I. H. Farooqi |
| In my opinion Mr. L.K. Advani’s utterances in Pakistan, particularly with regard to Ayodhya, have created the right atmosphere of communal harmony in India. His remarks on Mr. Jinnah have also created some healthy controversy among secularists and a dirty one among communalists. |
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| 63.
Drowning |
Vandana Singh |
| I want to hear about the Alices and Josephs and Laurens of this world, and yes, I love English, the language that I mostly write in, now, but must I do so at the expense of all those other ways of expressing being human? Where are the Rams and Jyotis and Raghunathans and Kabirs and Mallikas? |
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| 64.
Mind Blowing |
P. Gayatri |
| "It's a place for people not as fortunate as you", she replied. Her statement evoked only disbelief in me, caught up as I was in my own feeling of depression. I thought I was the most unfortunate creature on the face of the planet. |
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| 65.
The Beggar |
R Anbu |
| In his book "Thus Spake Zarathustra", Nietzsche comments on beggars. He advises that one should keep away from beggars since both giving and not giving alms to them makes you feel bad. |
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| 66.
Indian vs. Indian |
Suseela Ravi |
| Looking at all the elderly people lined up at the window, I wondered how the man at the counter expected persons with senior moments to remember all the dates of when they graduated from high school or when they got married? Didn’t he know that there were times when they had to ask for today’s date and try hard to remember their mothers’ maiden names? |
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| 67.
"Cross country Google" and "Small Wonder then…" |
Revti-Raman Chauhan |
| Two poems. The first one is inspired by the new spirit of friendliness coursing through Indo-Pak relations, isnpite of the frozen and formal official postures. The second one reflects the rigours of everyday life in Indian villages,untouched by the recent nuclear and IT advances. |
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| 68.
Kargil |
Madhumita Gupta |
| Born and brought up as he was in hot and arid Rajasthan, he just couldn’t stand the cold. But he smiled wryly, remembering his commander’s oft repeated words, "Duty is duty." |
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| 69.
Rethinking one day cricket |
Prasanna Lal Das |
| Two simple ways to reinvigorate the game -- a
larger roster, and more flexibility with the 15 over
rule. And it seems, ICC is thinking on the same lines
as the author. |
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| 70.
Return to the homeland |
Radha Aravamudhan |
| It’s definitely not the culture aspect, as many desis put it, that we want to go back to India for. The cultural values that I grew up with and the society I grew up in don’t exist in India anymore, and even if they did, I am not sure that I would want my daughter to grow up in such an environment. |
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| 72.
A Letter for Roshna |
Heartcrossings |
| I am writing this to you - or should I say it is my wish and desire that you should read what I am writing to you. Long after my ashes have filled their urn and the wind blown them over the Ganges. Long after that I would still long for you. |
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| 74.
The Young Writer |
R Anbu |
| Then she said, "To write briefly, one has to know everything about the subject. We people think of big things only and cannot appreciate small things. What right do we have to force our views on the child?" |
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| 75.
The Pope at the Pearly Gates |
Devika Rajan |
| The setting for the events described below is the Pearly Gates, the Gateway to Heaven, where the concept of time, as we know it, is non-existent. However, in order to accommodate the fussy reader let me date the occurrences at 12.05 am, Sunday the 3rd of April – GMT. |
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| 76.
Status of Muslim Societies Around the World |
Dr. M. I. H. Farooqi |
| According to one United Nations study, when it comes to education, health and economic wealth Christian societies are the most advanced in the world whereas Muslim societies are the most backward. This essay is a thoughtful analysis of the study by a well-known scientist and scholar. |
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| 78.
The Fan Conflict |
Left Arm Over |
| Far from exchanging heat, the fan has often led to heated exchanges between them - with the result that they now sleep in separate rooms, one with the fan on, and the other without. |
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| 79.
Kids? No Kidding! |
Shanthala Damle |
| "When are you starting a family?" Relatives, friends and acquaintances often ask. "Why? I already have one, and a happy one at that!" I reply. Perplexed, they clarify, "I mean, when you are having kids?" "Never!" I say - and immediately see their jaws drop. |
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| 81.
Modi visa denial |
Aparna Sharma |
| Although I am hardly a fan of Narendra Modi, I am far from impressed by the U.S. decision to deny/revoke his visa. |
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| 83.
My Old Mridangam |
Arun Athmanathan |
| Being a Tam Bram (Tamil Brahmin), I was to dive into and drink of Carnatic music - that ocean whose "manthanam" (churning) has produced so many features of Tam Bram life ...... |
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| 86.
Dirty laundry |
Poornima Apte |
| After I moved to the U.S., I delighted in the fact that I would have to do all the household chores without household help. In addition to seeming fairer, it also gave me a sense of freedom. |
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| 88.
Volunteerism In Environmental Education |
Malathi Raghavan |
| America is a land of contradictions. One of the more amazing contradictions is the contribution of environmental educators. This article is about their missions, roles, and accomplishments in the midst of all the the consumption. |
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| 89.
Chasing an Illusion |
Madhumita Gupta |
| My guess is that if you tried with sixty percent sincerity and had forty percent luck behind you - you are more or less where you wanted to be. So you ought to be, if not in seventh heaven, then at least as happy as you could be. But the million-dollar question is: Are you? |
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| 91.
A Culture of Vultures |
Shobhan Bantwal |
| It is regrettable when a grown woman, especially one who was born and brought up in India, needs to be warned to be careful and watchful while visiting India. But that is exactly what happens to me now after having spent a major portion of my life outside the motherland. |
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| 94.
NRI Writers’ Depiction of NRI Characters in Fiction |
Amit Shankar Saha |
| NRIs learn and adjust but a sense of belonging can never arise in a person by making adjustments. NRI writers have explored this angst in their fiction either through their own sense of alienation or through their empathetic observation of the lives of others. What becomes apparent in their exploration is that little things matter much. |
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| 96.
The Journey |
Siddhartha |
| It was serendipity when we received this poem within a few hours of receiving "The man who owned the world". A poem about the first journey. |
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| 98.
Brownie's Lessons |
Madhumita Gupta |
| Brownie is around five months old, and about a month ago the little pup was struck by a terrible illness. Within a week he had lost sight in both his eyes. |
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| 101.
Party Dressing |
Madhumathi Mohan |
| As the day of a party gets closer, a tiny speck of tension starts to appear in my mind, much like mould on a loaf of bread. And that tension is about what to wear to the party. |
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| 102.
In the meantime |
Shashi Gupta |
| Amit led a peaceful and independent life and felt that he was by far a much happier person for that, even if his married friends insisted on telling him how uninteresting his existence really was. He found solace in the thought that they were just plain envious of his carefree, single ways. |
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| 104.
Granny or Nanny? |
Rekha Radhakrishnan |
| Isn’t it interesting, how we link parents visiting the US with having babies? I refer to that convenient arrangement that has Grandma and Grandpa come over from India just around the date of the delivery. |
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| 109.
Birthday Blues |
Madhumathi Mohan |
| This year I did not look forward to October. I dreaded another birthday. It wasn't as if I had turned very old – I was in the last of my twenties. Yet, I felt as if my "fun" days were behind me. |
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| 114.
A Dollar Earned |
Gauri Sirur |
| If a dollar saved is a dollar earned (to tweak a popular proverb), then I’ve stacked up a tidy amount of cash by shopping at dollar stores over the years. I love dollar stores – and the thrill of being able to "splurge" without feeling the pinch. |
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| 115.
One teacher, one village |
Meghana Joshi |
| The panchayat (town council) chiefs were rich and powerful and pocketed the funding coming from the state government. In a travesty of their purpose, the schools were used for political purposes when elections neared. At such times people were "taught" how to vote and who to vote for. |
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| 117.
The Laments of a House-Seller |
Suseela Ravi |
| Sitting on a pot of gold, California gold that is, we had to be happy, right? We should have been dreaming about what to do with the profits we make, and turning our lives into happier and easier times, yes? Wait, understand the trials and tribulations of trying to cash in. |
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| 118.
Of Twangs And Accents |
Sumi Deval |
| The twang in his voice grew more nasal and his words began to run into each other as he continued to apologize. I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. All I could think was that the man had an accent as broad as a bus and he had the nerve to comment on mine! |
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