The Dilemma Of The South Asian Indian

If you meet a South Asian Indian anywhere in the US, other than the stereotype of a white collared upper middle class professional, chances are you will meet someone who answers to this description: Text book educated but less generally read, aware of current events more as talking points but not something that he or she would relate to in a profound socio-political context, and whose artistic sensibilities are most often limited to the cup holder designs in the new Acura or the sleek elegance of a Lexus. The South Asian Indian American community is a productive group complacent in its professional success, peaceful with its unremarkable lifestyle and networked well for its spiritual-religious needs. It exists within this comfort zone and is less inclined to make its voice heard publicly about contemporary issues let alone jumping onto the ongoing polemics about society, race and the state.

The killing of Srinivas Kuchibotla in Kansas has been a subdued awakening to the diaspora of Indian Americans. In parties, social gatherings and general conversations, there are whispers of concern and anxieties exchanged about the killing. The fact that he was a white collared professional just like any of us lends an extra relevance to the event. The usual fearless opinion mongering on events like the Syrian refugee crisis has been replaced by a more subdued but a more practical way of looking at the current state of affairs especially regarding the security of educated Indian Immigrants in an increasingly xenophobic America -- our adopted home which we love as much as anyone else.

Srinivas’ heinous murder not only brings out the devil in the bottle but even more fundamentally it tells us that there was a devil in the first place. One can expect such a thing in other lands but not here, not in this greatest of countries. Before the Kuchibotla murder, this belief was a cliché’. Post Kuchibotla, it is naïveté. The new America if it proceeds down this path threatens not just the immigrant population but the American promise itself. As a South Asian immigrant, I can foresee, going forward, the emergence of a more cautious, proactive and self-aware Asian-Indian demographic. It is a good thing for multiple reasons. One, it compels the community to come out of its cocoon, and respond to the contemporary events as they evolve. Two, it underscores the importance of a highly-educated community such as ours contributing socially and politically to restore the American dream not just for us but for the whole country. Hate crimes have no place anywhere let alone in a multi-racial democracy like the United States. The crime has been committed. Now it’s up to the whole country, to invest this murder of an innocent man with a purpose. The purpose should be that of resilience, optimism and a renewed sense of trust in the American way of life. A life that we aspired for and was provided to us by this remarkable country.

Old boys club

Take a group of kids who came of age in the eighties and went to school together in Bangalore with each one of them having developed his own profile and interests.What binds them together are shared interests in cricket and reminiscences from "those days". Not to mention a high cerebral quotient and very strong opinions. Take them to be in a state of voluminous communication via emails. Some of these emails tend to be brief, some long enough to put a PhD thesis to shame. Some are clear, sharp clinical analyses. Some long flights of verbose fantasy. The topics of these discussions tend to be as wide a range as one could possibly fathom. Or probably not. Sample these:
Cricket; Rajan Bala; Gundappa Vishvanath; Phantom; Mandrake; derivatives; stocks; bonds; Iraq war; Rahul Dravid; Kannada literature; Steven Covey; U R Ananthamurthy; S L Byrappa; B.R Ambedkar; Dalits; Manmohan singh; Thomas Friedman; some of the chicks from college (too many to mention here); IPL; Tintin; Asterix; Hedge funds; 529s; Jargon from our college days; katte (a meeting; talking; idling place we had there); Young Engineers -- Dos and Don'ts; Infosys; Microfinance; N R Narayanamurthy; Satyajit Ray; Tennis ball cricket; Kannada Poetry recital; Kannada litterateurs Kuvempu, Shivaram Karanth, KS Narasimha Swamy, G. Adiga, Nissar Ahmed, C. Kambar, PuTiNa, Siddalingaiah, GS Sivarudrappa, N S Lakshminarayana Bhatta, BR Lakshman Rao , HS Venkatesha Murthy;

start ups; venture capital; Chicago Business School; Karnataka Cricket; Vijayakrishna; Keki Tarapore; economic recession; China, Vijaya high school (Bangalore)

. This is but a sampling of the sweep of discussions. This group represents a group from my college -- BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore. I bring this up because ever since I have been engaged with this team I have never ceased to wonder what life can do to a group of kids who started their journey together with a set of shared values. As a school kid I used to read a column in Deccan Herald that had eminent seniors comment on what life taught them. I did not quite appreciate it then. I do now, as a forty +. If child is the father of man then life certainly bastardizes him as he goes along. It is quite fascinating to reflect on what one was, what one is and what one would be! It is said that a good work of literature always starts out as something and metamorphoses into something else as it goes along surprising both the creator and the reader. Going by that each one of us is a great literary work!
Oh, By The Way, our self given name to our email distribution list is techincal_11 (Spelling error on purpose).

On Indian Cinema: Is ShahRukh Khan right?

Recently I remember watching a Shah Rukh Khan interview where he points out to the fact that India is probably the only country where Hollywood films don't take a good opening. Now let's examine this: Is this a badge of pride or is this a pointer to a fault line to the way we make cinema, view cinema and our general sensibility to the twentieth century's greatest entertainment medium?
Cinema in India is primarily packaged to sell. So in that sense the 'sale' proposition initiates the making of a film. Not unlike the manufacture of a car (for example). Naturally the next step would be to start infusing elements into this product -- an item song (touch screen dashboard), a few romantic songs shot in exotic locales (voice enabled built in GPS), a saleable star (aerodynamic design)...so on. You get the drift of what I am trying to say here. The product once completed is released to the market and based on how it is consumed, it is labelled as sucessful or not so successful. What's wrong with this, one might ask? Well there is nothing wrong if you are "making" a product. Films are supposed to be "created" not "made". It is an art form that is meant to entertain, engage and enhance people who experience it. Ask anybody from KJo to Vishal Bharadwaj, they all want to create works that will endure over time. Art and Artists always crave for works that last. That can only happen if a creative work starts with a creative idea, insight or a concept. In films that happens only when you have a well written script. The Indian film industry (I mainly mean the Hindi film industry, I don't like the word Bollywood) might be changing a bit these days but it is still not enough. There is still the formula based product manufacturing concept that has our audiences weaned, just like children on candies, so that any healthy films don't get received well in India. Not that all Hollywood films are good, but their approach to film making is still the bench mark. We are yet to produce an Orson Welles or a Steven Spielberg.

Milana Deepavali 2010 - I had a great time, did you?

I almost reacted with ennui the request to host the Milwaukee Milana Kannada Koota's Deepavali Celebrations. But then I accepted. I had a great time hosting the event with Anu and we had a fabulous audience! We had fun every moment of the event. On hind sight I am glad I accepted. Well what do I know...hindsight is 20 / 20. Thanks to Sarita for making the offer and Anu for agreeing to anchor with me. Some Videos for my Milana friends to enjoy. Not that others can't, but then they may not care. This has the Committee introduction and our opener.