REMEMBERING 9/11



National Geographic picture

 

 

Imagine all the people,

living life in peace...

-John Lennon

 

                  And then, the twin towers exploded in a volcano of billowing smoke and human screams...

 

                 On the 11th anniversary of Sep. 11, I'm filled with both sadness and jubilation.  What happened in New York 11 years ago rocked our world so intensely that I'm stunned to discover that already 11 years have gone by.

 

                 11 years to reflect on untold, bloodied suffering; innocent lives lost in the carnage of war by an unseen enemy; the freedoms infringed by the passage of the Patriot Act, which ensures that no matter which American airport she flies out of or into, my daughter is searched because she wears an insulin pump; the tears shed when I attended a music concert the week after, and the names of the dead loomed large as they scrolled on the 60-foot screen.

 

                And yet, there is much to rejoice in.  If 11 years ago, it was an American nation savaged by brutality, then a year ago, it was an American nation that triumphed with the demise of Osama Bin Laden and the downfall of the Taliban.

 

                When President Obama announced the news from the Oval office that the Internet had been streaming for two hours before, I was brought to my knees, weeping with pure joy.  That unknown terror that stalked every American mind, when they boarded a plane, had been put to rest.

 

               I ran upstairs and scrounged through my son's toy box.  Rummaging through trucks missing tires, dog-eared books and misshapen and broken cars, I finally unearthed the crumpled two-foot American flag I'd been looking for.

 

              With nerveless fingers, I clawed through the damp soil and planted it jubilantly

among the low-growing shrubs in my front yard.  Let it be known, it said, as the tiny thing fluttered in the wind:

 

                                    "I'm proud to be an American"

 

 

 

 

L.A. Times picture



THE DRAMA OF THE NORTHERN GRID FAILURE

 

Commuters stranded @ Delhi Metro Rail station, pic. courtesy:The Hindu

Ever since I've been back, the question I've most frequently encountered is: "Were you there when the Northern grid collapsed?"

Yes, indeed I was.  On July 30, 2012, most New Delhi residents were awakened from a deep sleep, when their fans and air-conditioners stopped working.  They came out in herds, out of their
over-heated cement homes into a night atmosphere that was like an oven.  Temperatures in the city were in the 90 degrees F, with 89% humidity.

The blackout, the worst to hit India since 2001, began at 2:30 a.m. when the grid covering 8 northern states crashed.  It affected roughly 670 million people, or 10% of the world population and half of India's population.  Officials in Uttar Pradesh, where the problem was believed to have begun, blame three states for overdrawing power from the northern grid, leading to its collapse.

The outage left millions sweltering in the summer heat.  Limited power cuts are extremely common across India; hospitals, major businesses and upscale homes have backup diesel generators that seamlessly kick in during power outages.  Nonetheless, small businesses were forced to close down for the day.  Buildings were without water because the pumps weren't working, and the much-glorified New Delhi Metro, with 1.8 million daily rides was paralyzed during the morning commute.

My cab driver arrived late to pick me up for my daily rounds because the traffic coming from the airport was "murder," he said.  Flights were delayed and the power failure put traffic signals on a blink, causing massive traffic jams across the capital.  My dress designer sent me a text to wait awhile before starting from home, to allow power to return, she said.  Unused to Indian inefficiency, I texted her back, "I'm already on my way."  It took 15 hours from the time it began, for power to be restored - needless to say, I did my dress fittings in the dark!

Media outlets reported an outcry, with heated editorials and blogs calling for government reform.  Furious local citizens asked that electricity supply be opened to the private sector - as it ostensibly is in Mumbai, which therefore, is not crippled by inadequate supply.  It was big news for a day or two in the Capital, and then, at least for the common man, it was 'chalta hai' or business as usual.  While, with the politicians, the finger pointing and name calling...continues.

Vegetable vendors waiting for customers; pic.courtesy: Rediff.com

 

THINGS I PREFER IN THE U.S. VS. INDIA

As the country celebrated July 4th two weeks ago & Americans reaffirmed their commitment to freedom, life & liberty, and on the eve of my trip to India, it got me thinking:

What are the things I love about living in the U.S., my adopted country, vs. the things I love about the country I left behind?  (One of my favorite authors, Monica Pradhan, writes about it as well in her novel, The Hindi Bindi Club.)

THINGS I PREFER ABOUT INDIA

 1. Spirituality

2. Hospitality

3. Sense of community

4. Respect for elders

5. Cultural diversity

6. Family values

7. Multiple languages

8. Traditions & Celebrations

THINGS I PREFER ABOUT THE U.S.

1. Orderly traffic
2. Cleanliness
3. Safety
4. Education

5. Time means actual time, not the different time schedule Indians jokingly refer to as Indian Standard Time
6. Use of  'Please' & 'Thank you' & other common courtesies
7. Infrastructure
8. Work ethic
9. Respect for manual laborers & subordinates
10. Acceptance of outsiders
11. Relatively low corruption
12. Sense of pride for & maintenance of historical landmarks

VISITING INDIA IN 118 DEGREE WEATHER

My family and I are visiting my parents this summer for their 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  Both my brother (also an NRI or Non Resident Indian) and I are dreading the Delhi summer heat.  Every time we meet, the conversation veers off to the topic of getting roasted in the heat ...and stays there.  "I'm going to park myself in front of the a/c in the room and not leave," my brother swears.  My parent's home, like many homes in New Delhi does not have central air conditioning - individual air conditioners have to be mounted separately at considerable effort and expense.

My other brother, who's currently an expat, working and residing with his family in Gurgaon, Delhi visits the Bay Area every summer.  The Bay Area doesn't usually warm up until July or Aug. and can be counted on for unsettled weather, even a leftover winter storm or two.  Last year when my brother was visiting the U.S., a cool gust of wind rolled in from the hills, as we sat in my backyard.  I and my kids shivered in the 70 degree summer climate of the Bay Area, while my nephews, hailing from the 112 degree heat of Delhi clapped their hands and laughed in jubilation.  "What lovely weather!" they proclaimed, in sheer delight.

The blistering 120 degree weather is not the only menace that plagues Delhites in the summer.  Heat winds called loo that emanate from the Rajasthan desert create a risk of heat strokes, heat exhaustion and a real danger of dehydration.  So to prepare ourselves for the ruthless Delhi heat, I conducted an unscientific and somewhat goofy poll of how people keep their cool:

1. Drink plenty of water and other fluids.  The Indian version of lemonade or nimbu pani and coconut water are popular thirst-quenchers;
2. Throw yourself in the pool;
3. Eat a lot of salads and fresh fruits like watermelon;
4. Live on homemade mango ice-cream and chilled Rabri-falooda. (an ice-cream-like desert)  Ymm!
5. Use an umbrella, for shade, if walking.
6. Keep a hand-held fan when outdoors so that you don't get hot under the collar;
7. Wear light-colored cotton clothing;
8. Avoid moisturizer, specially if you have oily skin;
9. One good thing about the heat - it's the best way to shed those extra pounds!  In the blazing heat, no one has the appetite for oily or fried foods.  Fruits and light food items are a salve to the stomach;
10. If all else fails, head off to India's famed hill stations and enjoy their breathtaking beauty!

Celebrating Holi & other Indian festivals in the United States

This last month we celebrated Holi in the East Bay.  Yep, I know, Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season and typically falls in the latter part of Feb. or March (this year it was on Mar. 8th), but in the San Francisco/Bay Area we have to wait till the weather warms up enough to give us a chance to enjoy this outdoor Spring festival.
Holi is one of the major festivals of India & is celebrated with extreme gusto and joy.  Holi got its name as the 'Festival of Colors' from Lord Krishna, a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, who liked to play pranks on the village girls, drenching them in waters and colors. (Guide to the Holi Festival 2012 by Sharell Cook, Aboutcom.guide)  Smearing colored powder or gulal on friends and dear ones is the basic idea of Holi; no one is spared.  Both the young and the old enjoy throwing water balloons, dry colors and washable dyes on everyone in sight on the day of Holi.  In India, people wander the streets, with tin drums, armed with tons of colors and big syringes filled with colored water and at the end of the day, no one remotely resembles themselves.
Holi is also synonymous with bhang (a paste made from cannabis plants) which is consumed by many either in the form of a drink or in the form of ladoos (sweetmeats).

IF YOU'RE TRAVELING TO INDIA DURING HOLI SEASON, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT: It's a very carefree festival that's great fun to participate in, if you don't mind getting wet and dirty.  You'll end up saturated in water, with color all over your skin and clothes.  Some of it doesn't wash out easily, so be sure to wear old clothes.  Single women should avoid going out alone in public places during Holi, as inebriated young men pose a safety threat.  There have been incidents of men misbehaving by inappropriately touching women and making a nuisance of themselves.

If you take the right precautions, Holi can be a great experience!

 

TOP 5 THINGS NRI'S (NON-RESIDENT INDIANS) HATE ABOUT INDIA

My husband regularly engages in India bashing, as do a lot of my friends' spouses.  I too, on occasion have been known to slip into the mode of "I love visiting India b-ut....after 2 weeks, I hate 'so and so'."  So, in another goofy & thoroughly unscientific poll, here are the TOP 5 THINGS NRI'S (NON-RESIDENT INDIANS) HATE ABOUT INDIA:

1. CORRUPTION: Any NRI who has waited in line at a government office or bank will unequivocally tell you that the thing they hate about India is the high level of bureaucracy.  No 'Indian babu' will respond to an e-mail, letter or personal apperance, whether it be for the release of a pension check or a deed for a piece of land that belongs to you, unless their palms are greased.  Arrey bhai, 'sab chalta hai'! (in other words, everything goes)

2. THE POVERTY: Beggars touching you in marketplaces, begging for alms.  Little children swarming like flies when your Mercedes glides to a stop at a traffic signal, begging for a few coins to appease their hunger.  NRI's, no longer used to scenes of abject poverty in their adopted homelands, have forgotten the art of ignoring a beggar's dramatic entreaties.  'To give or not to give' becomes the question.

3. THE TRAFFIC: Even Indians in India agree the traffic is truly horrendous!  Rickshaws piled with children going to school jostle for space with stray dogs and cattle, on roadways buzzing with cars and beeping horns.  As a non-Indian friend of mine observed, "It's difficult to comprehend how there are not more casualties on the road."

4. THE FILTH: NRI's can talk till they're hoarse about the filth in India.  Walk around on any street and you see people spitting; urinating on the streets; eating and throwing away their garbage right on the pavement.  As a conscientious NRI, on my first visit back home, I carefully held on to my garbage until I reached a friend's house.  When I asked her where I could dispose off my trash, she took it from me and in one swift movement, threw it in the open trench beside her own house.  I give up!

5. POWER CUTS: If you've stayed with family or relatives in India, you've likely experienced the joy of power cuts.  Without any notice, the electricity Board will cut off the power supply.  The reasons can range from a storm that lasts 15-20 minutes or 'load shedding'  - when power generation capacity falls below electricity demand.  As a precautionary measure, officials will kindly disconnect vast areas from the network, with no intimation of when the connection will resume.

Sigh.  There's still no place quite like India, though!

TOP 5 REASONS WHY FOREIGNERS LOVE INDIA

I met with my fabulous editor, Laura Wine Paster the other day. She had just returned from a ten day trip to India. She was exhausted, but exhilarated. "I had an amazing time," she said, "and I'm going back!" Just like Oprah, I mused. She laughed and said, "That's what everyone's been saying to me!" From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Oprah Winfrey, What is that foreigners love about India and it keeps them coming back?  After conducting a ridiculously unscientific poll, here are the
TOP 5 REASONS WHY FOREIGNERS LOVE INDIA:

1. THE SPIRITUALITY: As the global community becomes increasingly capitalistic, the quest for spirituality has grown in urgency. India, its people, its infrastructure and indeed its very soil encourage and breed spiritualism. Sharell Cook says that one of the things that impressed Oprah so much about India is that people don't just talk religion in India - they live it. From poor people in chawls, to movie stars such as the Bachchans, everyone has a space devoted to prayer in their homes. There is a dedicated practice of going inwards and reflecting on something bigger than the self. Oprah admitted she hasn't felt like this anywhere else. (http://www.whiteIndianhousewife.com/2012/oprah-at-the-2012-jaipur-literature-festival)

2. THE CLOTHES: "Indian fabrics are soooo beautiful," said Laura to me, and I have to agree. From the rich-looking brocade to the ethereal muslin to the classic Indian silk, Indian fabrics are much admired and display every shade of the rainbow.  One tip: When visiting, wear black or dark-colored clothes, because no matter now posh your accommodation you will get covered in dust. 

3. THE WARMTH OF THE PEOPLE: In developed countries there is an ongoing trend towards non-interaction. Whenever possible, modern technological facilities ensure you can perform most of your daily tasks without actually having to talk to anyone. Not so in India. Everyone in India from the street cleaner to the average mom-and- pop-store owner has a phone. And what do they use it for? Speech! Not speech-in-quotes or a text transmitted over phone lines, but actual "talking"!

4. THE FOOD: Everyone loves to (over)feed a guest in India. My mom calls it "hostile hospitality". From masala chai and street food to puris and chole bahtura - India offers an immense cultural smorgasbord - which no true-blood foodie can forget.

5. THE LURE OF THE TAJ MAHAL: "I was going to actually give the Taj a pass and skip it," said Laura. "After all, how many times has one seen the Taj in movies, images, brochures etc. But I went along because the rest of my group wanted to view it. And I'm glad I did. It's a remarkable experience." I would concur. The Taj is timeless. And, part of the magic of seeing the Taj in person is the way the light of the sun and moon play off the marble.