Gobi

Hello there. If anyone was actually anticipating me writing in my blog about India, I'm sorry for the delay. I know I've been here over 3 weeks and should have done it sooner. Well I have a lot to talk about, and I'll do it in increments over a few posts.

Clearly, these posts are coming from someone who hasn't been in India in a while. Last time I came here I was 10, now I'm 22. Back then India was pretty different (that's another post altogether). So to Indians reading this, the stuff I'll write about it is not gonna be anything new. These posts are coming from a mindset of a kid of Indian immigrants who has grown up being surrounded by an (not 'the') Indian culture, while only seeing India at a very young age. So when I first got here, there was a huge cultural shock, as I knew there was going to be. I remember my drive from the Delhi airport to my cousin's house - I was curious about every single thing I saw. After a week however, that had drastically subsided, and I had gotten much used to how things look in India, and to how people live here (servants, for example. Another post). And a disclaimer: don't worry, I don't think I'm an expert on India just coz I've been here a few weeks.

First off, I've hardly thought about the U.S. election while here. The only things I've read have been in the Times of India or in the Telegraph, and that's it. It feels great to be disconnected from the insane election, because in the U.S. there was definitely information overload about it. My only comment about the election - if Colin Powell was so great he wouldn't have lied and said that Iraq had WMD. Innit?

Being over here it seems like a lot of things don't matter as much anymore, or at all. I've been feeling pretty disconnected from stuff, which is good in a way, but I think its also dangerous because it can lead to apathy. I'm beginning to understand how easy it is to disengage from everything and just focus on yourself and what's in front of you, and to forget about the outside world. I don't know if any of this has to do with me being in India, or with me just not being at home and not having as much access to gaining information.

Why do I so focus so much on how much information I have access to? I suppose its because I'm a media person and I'm also concerned with media monopolization and the effect it has on us, plus our use of technology is pretty overwhelming if you think about it. All of this adds up to me thinking about how much media I access and how much technology I use on a daily basis.

Anyway those are my reflections for the moment. I've got three funny accounts to tell for now, at least what I find funny, but then again I find a lot of things amusing:

Patna - isolated train station: Our train to Calcutta was around 8:40pm. This was a local train station right next to my uncle's house, so all we did was leave the house and walk a few steps to the station right in front of us. The power had gone out again in the area (this is Bihar), and there were only a few lights on, right in the station, swarming with bugs of course. To cross the bridge to get to the other side we had to face flying masses of these bugs. My bhaji (female cousin) and I tackled the bridge, because I could use my hijab-dupatta and she could use her dupatta, to cover our faces. We ran up, over, and down. I didn't think it was that bad but that's because my arms were covered. Meanwhile my brother, nephew, and other cousin crossed the tracks, something I remembered doing from when I visited India before. We got to the other platform before them and I realized I could have just crossed the tracks as well, the only reason I didn't is because I was wearing sandals (which I've done since I got here), and the railroad tracks have loads of rocks.

Anyway by the time we all headed down to where 2 other guys with our luggage were standing, we were practically in complete darkness. The train announcements kept coming, with the annoyingly loud ding - in Hindi only. I wondered if tourists (Western ones) had ever come to this station, and if so, they would be pretty troubled I reckon, because nothing was in English and there was certainly no station worker. The train was on its way and we knew we only had a minute to get on it - the 5 of us, with our luggage, including 2 big suitcases. The train blasted its awfully loud horn and we got ready, bags in our hands, ready to pounce on the train. Of course, that didn't happen.

The train came, slowed down, and we ran. Instructions were for me, my bhaji, and my nephew to get on first, then my brother and cousin with our luggage. What happened is that the men ran way off because the AC carriage was meters away from where we were standing - we had severely miscalculated where the carriage would stop. The 2 guys with our luggage had to run with the suitcases on their heads - it was pretty funny to watch, but I also felt bad for them at the same time. Especially because one of them was the house driver, so this wasn't his line of work in the first place. So all the men ran way off while my bhaji and I ran, and spotted a door, but then no, don't go in that one go in the next one. More frantic running. Bhaago bhaago bhaago! We jump in, and I stick my head out right away, trying to see if the others got on. I see some figures but its so dark I can barely see anything. I figured we had all got on. Bhaji hears my cousin hollering from another door in the same carriage, and we rush over. Turns out my brother and nephew aren't on the train...yet, and the minute has to be over by now. In fact the train starts moving. 'Get on the train! GET ON THE TRAIN!' He stops shouting, indicating they got on the train. We head back down the carriage and we all find each other, with all our luggage. What happened? These 2 (nephew and brother) were trying to get into an AC car, instead of just getting on the train. Oooof. The whole thing was a scary adrenaline rush, with the darkness, and getting all of us on in a minute - but there we all were, happily exhilarated but also thankful it was all over. For me and my brother, it was a fun adventure.

2 stops over was Patna Junction, where we got off the train and found the right AC carriage. It was down about half of the length of the train from where we had actually got on. Severe miscalculation, on the part of the house driver.


Calcutta - Birla Temple: In Calcutta we met up with an uncle from my Dad's side. He took us out with his family to a lake, which was really nice. There was a small masjid right in the middle of the lake where we prayed Maghrib. On the same lake was a clubhouse that was showing a Hindu play, with lots of festive music and lights. As we walked around the lake we got a great view of the masjid and the Hindu festivities going on (I think it was the end of Durga Puja, or right after it). After hearing so much about religious bloodshed in India, I enjoyed seeing these kinds of sights, because of personal reasons. My aunt however, was not a fan. But it wasn't a big deal because we just laughed it off, including her son who just held her hand and told her to enjoy it (my aunt is the only one in my whole family, who wears niqab. I'm the only one that wears hijab). No one is really doctrinal in my family, or if they are, they're not very vocal about it - this aunt however, is pretty vocal, but she has a bubbly personality which takes the edge off.

Later on we were in the car and passed a huge temple. HUGE. So of course it grabbed our attention. My uncle asked if he should stop the car so that me and my brother could take photos. My brother said no, don't worry about it, not wanting to stop the car in the middle of traffic, but I said hey why not? Let's go man! My uncle stopped the car while my aunt kept saying 'Astufr'Allah', and my uncle just said 'Oh let them enjoy themselves'. None of this was taken seriously, they're fairly easy-going people, in case anyone is reading this and thinking 'wow Hena's family sounds fundo'. So me and my bro got out of the car, with another cousin, and we took photos. I just think this whole situation is pretty amusing. I'm not sure if it was ok for us to take photos from outside, but we only took a couple minutes just in case. We were only asked to stand on the side because the place was insanely busy, and off we went. Turns out Birla is the name of a businessman, and there are lots of Birla companies (like Birla Cement), and temples too.


Calcutta - some road in traffic: My bro and I had been to a few markets where shopkeepers would start following us around because they knew we came from abroad, telling us to come to their shops. We just ignored them, or said no and then ignored them. My bro kept saying that it was my fault, that I stood out, not him, and that's why we kept getting targeted. My argument - Fahad your clothes and hair make you stand out too, fool. But I know my hijab style and probably my trousers didn't make me look like a native, but who cares, I didn't.

This time however, we were in the car stuck in traffic again, can't remember who with unfortunately (we have lots of relatives in Calcutta). There was a guy on the street selling gobi, which is cauliflower. By this time we had gotten over our cultural shock of the mudderland, so stuff like this seemed normal now to me and my bro. This was everyday stuff now, nothing unusual. The guy walked amongst the cars going 'Gobi! Gobi! Gobi!' When the guy got to our car, he saw my brother first, and immediately said 'cauliflower', instead of 'gobi'. When he left I started gloating, and my brother was surprised that the guy knew he was from abroad, just by an instant glance. He asked everyone in the car how that was so and they all just said, that's how it is, they can always tell. My bro got proved wrong by the gobi man. Thanks gobi-wallah.

tech.no.lo.gee.

When I was in high school about 4 and a half years ago, we didn't have cellphones or ipods. Okay well a few kids might have had phones but it wasn't that much of a common thing. I was 17. I don't think I had even heard or seen of an ipod at the time.

Now today, I talked to my cousin who is in eighth grade, so I think she's 13, or 12. She told me that if a teacher sees your phone you get suspended for 2 days. And I thought - WOT?? Just for seeing their phone? I was even more shocked that apparently all the kids in her middle school have mobile phones and ipods. They're not allowed to use ipods on the bus, even though many do.

This whole conversation started because I picked her up from school and I asked that when she takes the bus, if she's one of the good kids or the bad kids. I was usually one of the good kids, but who wanted to be a bad kid sometimes. She told me on her bus, all the eighth graders sit in the back, and yes, sometimes she's one of the bad kids. She was told off once for chewing gum. I remarked 'well that's not really being bad', and then the whole ipod thing came up.

Oh yeah, my cousin also has her own laptop. I got my laptop when I was 18, four years ago. And 4 years later, here she is, 12/13, with her own laptop. Umm what's gonna happen in 10 years? Will babies have receptors attached to their heads so that their parents know where they're waddling to?

I just can't believe that just over 4 years ago, most seniors in high school didn't have mobile phones, let alone ipods as well. At least not in my school which at the time was pretty middle-class/lower-middle-class. And now? 11, 12, and 13 year olds have phones and ipods! They don't need either! I still don't have an ipod and I'm a music junkie, and could have certainly used one for my studying in college, when I did actually study, instead of always carrying around a pack of CDs. Middle-schoolers don't need such gadgets. Kids don't need their own phone, until say, they're 16, once they start driving. But even then its not really necessary.

Thank God I didn't grow up in a time like today. Even though now, I'm starting to realize just how much technology is a big part of my life, even though I don't have things like an iphone. But look, here I am on this blog, that I've had for over 3 years. I would be a lot more unorganized if I didn't have things like Google apps, and google docs, and gmail. (And now google has released its own phone. Oh google, why don't you just ask us to become your slaves. Oh wait, that's happened already). Look at what digital video has done to the filmmaking world - actually a lot of positive stuff because its easier now for low-budget filmmakers to make films. Same with digital photography.

But still, over the last few weeks there were times when I shut off from the digital world, as much as I could. When before I would check my email frequently during a day, I had to force myself to check it every night. When a couple weeks ago I was watching CNN every night, I really don't know why, I stopped myself because it was just misinformation-overload. I had to detox. Technology is great, but is there really a need to be connected all the time? Do we really have to be available, within contact, 24/7? Do we really need all this constant stream of information (I'm talking about the dumb election)? I know this might sound fairly typical, but I'm interested to see how I will function in Bihar for 3-4 weeks, where I doubt I can check my email everyday. Or even in Delhi for that matter, who knows how connected I can be while I'm there. I think this will be good for me.

What's going on in Europe?

Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia on the rise in Europe, decline in US
Jim Lobe, The Electronic Intifada, 21 September 2008

WASHINGTON (IPS) - Both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have risen in Europe over the last four years, according to a survey conducted earlier this year and released here Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

While attitudes towards Muslims are substantially more negative than those against Jews across Europe, anti-Jewish sentiment as grown steadily in five of the six countries surveyed on the question, according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project survey that was conducted last spring.

The increase in anti-Jewish feeling was particularly pronounced in Spain. In 2005, 21 percent of respondents there said they had unfavorable opinions of Jews. That percentage rose to 46 percent in 2008, just below the 52 percent of Spaniards who said they held negative views of Muslims.

"Ethnocentric attitudes are on the rise in Europe," according to an analysis that accompanied the survey." Growing numbers of people in several major European countries say they have an unfavorable opinion of Jews, and opinions of Muslims, which were already substantially more negative, have also grown increasingly so compared with several years ago."

The survey found that both anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish opinion in Western Europe were most prevalent among older people, those with less education, and those who identified their political views with the right.

The poll, whose findings have been released in a series of reports over the last three months, queried respondents in six European nations -- Britain, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Spain -- as well as the United States on attitudes towards Jews and Muslims.

The poll found that, of all seven countries, the US and Britain were the least prejudiced against the two groups.

In the US, for example, only seven percent of respondents said they had negative views of Jews, down from eight percent four years ago. In Britain, anti-Semitic feeling was unchanged -- nine percent of Britons said they had unfavorable views of Jews.

Anti-Muslim sentiment in the US has actually declined markedly over the same period -- 31 percent of US respondents said they had negative views of Muslims in 2004; that fell to 23 percent this year. In Britain, on the other hand, Islamophobia increased over the same period from 18 percent to 23 percent.

In all of the other five countries surveyed, anti-Semitism rose over the four years. In France, anti-Jewish sentiment rose from 11 percent to 20 percent; in Germany, from 20 percent to 25 percent; in Russia, from 25 percent to 34 percent; and in Poland, from 27 percent to 36 percent, according to the survey, which also found the sharpest rise in Spain between 2005 and 2006 (from 21 percent to 40 percent).

Negative views of Muslims in the five countries were significantly more prevalent than those of Jews.

At around 50 percent, anti-Muslim feeling was most prevalent in Spain, Germany, and Poland. While Spain topped the list -- 52 percent of respondents said they had negative views of Muslims -- that was actually a decline from 61 percent in 2006.

In Germany, anti-Islamic feeling also fell slightly since 2006 -- from 57 percent to 50 percent, while in Poland, the increase in anti-Muslim sentiment has grown steadily -- from 30 percent in 2005 to 46 percent last spring. French opinion has followed a similar path. In 2004, 29 percent of respondents there said they had negative views of Muslims. By last spring, the percentage had grown to 38 percent.

In Russia, anti-Muslim sentiment actually declined over the four years -- from 37 percent to 32 percent.

Among respondents in France, Germany and Spain, the survey found somewhat less prejudice among respondents younger than 50 than those who are older. Thus, 41 percent of respondents in the three countries who were under 50 years old said they had unfavorable views of Muslims, compared to 41 percent of respondents under 50 who shared those views. With respect to anti-Semitic feeling, the comparable numbers were 25 percent and 30 percent, respectively.

Education levels were even more important in the incidence of prejudice. Among those who had no university education, anti-Muslim views were held by 50 percent. By contrast, 37 percent with some university education were Islamophobic. The respective figures among university-educated respondents with anti-Semitic views were 31 percent and 20 percent.

Prejudices were stronger on the right than on the left or center. Fifty-six percent of respondents who described themselves as on the right said they had negative views of Muslims, and 34 percent said they had negative views of Jews. Forty-two percent of self-described leftists admitted to anti-Islamic views; 28 percent to anti-Semitic views.

Slumdog Millionaire

 A film set in India in Hinglish directed by great British filmmaker Danny Boyle, based on an Indian novel, financed by British production houses, (I think) distributed by American distribution companies, and starring a British-Asian actor in the lead role with Bollywood stars in supporting roles...I'm very intrigued to watch this. This film just won best film in Toronto.

From Screendaily.com:
Dir. Danny Boyle. UK . 2008. 120 mins

Danny Boyle's bravura command of the film medium elevates the melodramatic Slumdog Millionaire into a dazzling crowd-pleaser teeming with the sights, sounds and sensations of modern India. The intricate tale of a slum orphan turned potential millionaire has all the sweep and emotion of a great novel and should readily connect with both critics and audiences to provide a substantial specialist hit.

The well-worn cliche states that a visit to India is like an assault on the senses. Boyle seems determined to replicate the experience for cinemagoers with a film that displays incredible energy and verve. Deploying quicksilver editing and gorgeous images, Boyle creates a breathless plunge into an alien world where you really can feel the heat and dust, saffron hues, unrelenting pace of life and sheer, unremitting poverty of the country. His characteristically focused approach takes the material by the scruff of the neck and ensures that any reservations about the story or plotting are easily overlooked.

We first encounter 18 year-old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) when he is one question away from scooping the 20 million rupee jackpot on the Indian version of television phenomenon 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' hosted by smarmy, patronising Prem (Amil Kapoor). Nobody can quite believe that a humble tea boy from a call centre can have reached this position without cheating. He is arrested by the police, tortured and interrogated by a sympathetic inspector (Irrfan Khan) but his testimony proves how he legitimately knew the answers. It may appear a slightly contrived story structure but each question and answer then becomes a means of revisiting his earlier life.

Almost like a modern day Oliver Twist or Pip from Great Expectations, Jamal begins life in dire poverty as an orphan on the streets of Mumbai alongside his brother Salim (Azharudin Mohammed Ismail). The young Jamal is played by Ayush Mahesh Khedeker who has the kind of wide-eyed charm and determination that will make audiences instantly take the character to their hearts. We subsequently discover how the boys fall in with the Fagin-like figure Maman who organises gangs of street beggars. They also become opportunistic tour guides at the Taj Mahal before life starts pulling them in different directions; Jamal towards decency and Salim towards crime. Jamal's attraction to the young Latika (Rubina Ali) becomes one of the most important events as she becomes the lost love of his life and the motivation for all the actions that lead him to the Millionaire hot seat and a deeply romantic, rousing finale.

Unfolding with a perfectly judged pace that balances forward momentum with the ability to elaborate and enhance our understanding of the main characters and what motivates them. There is a strong undercurrent of social commentary and insight that only adds some grit to the more fairytale qualities of the story. Slumdog Millionaire builds into a moving tale of hope and the inspirational power of love to transform even the most humble life. It is a message and movie that audiences should find irresistible.

First Ann Arbor Palestine Film Fest challenges stereotypes

page 11 of the Michigan Independent! woo


One of the best works I have ever read about Palestine is not a book, but a graphic novel. Joe Sacco’s Palestine has an immense amount of details about the lives of Palestinians in the early 1990s at the end of the first intifada (Palestinian uprising). Words alone cannot adequately express the countless details about the harrowing experiences of torture, imprisonment, life in the refugee camps, and violence that took place at the hands of the Israeli occupation. Sacco’s somber yet gentle black and white illustrations provide many exclamations and subtleties that help the reader see the situation of the Palestinians through Sacco’s always observant and critical eyes.

Sacco’s work is a resounding example of how visual images can be used to effectively tell the complex stories and history of the Palestinians. It is precisely for this reason that the first Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival—set to debut in March 2009—has come into existence. Visual images, in either documentary or fictional films, that relay the stories of Palestinians in Palestine/Israel, or of those in the diaspora, are the most effective way for an audience to gain an understanding.

The conventional media networks and companies in the United States do not truthfully portray Palestine or Palestinians. Often, the mainstream news media does not report on stories that focus on Palestinians, while the entertainment media has hardly ever depicted Palestinians in a fair and non-stereotypical manner (look no further than films like Executive Decision, True Lies, Black Sunday, Death Before Dishonor, The Ambassador). For us to accurately understand not only the Zionist-Palestinian conflict, but also Palestinians themselves, including their history, culture, and social issues, we must look elsewhere. As such, what could be a better way to gain a more knowledgeable understanding about Palestinians than from films that provide an alternate media to Big Media? Yet, much of the public is not aware of films that address issues and show stories focused on Palestinians.

The festival aims to dispel myths about Palestinians that have been perpetuated by numerous Hollywood movies and biased and inaccurate news reports (Fox News or CNN’s Glenn Beck, anyone?). Attendees of the Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival will gain new understanding into the lives of Palestinians by seeing works made by both Palestinians and non-Palestinians that address the culture, history, and social and political issues of Palestinians. Attendees will also see Palestinians shown in a different and more humane light, for Palestinians will be depicted as being living, breathing, and surviving communities as opposed to the many unfair stereotypes that surround them.

We hope that all sorts of audiences attend the film festival, and gain from it new and more well-rounded understandings of Palestinians. After the film festival concludes, planning for the next festival will commence soon after, for we envision this to be an annual event that will bring different communities together, such as the University community, local artists and activists, along with local Arab-American communities, to engage in discussions about Palestine through the use of art. We are already well on our way to having a successful film festival in March. We hope that the communities in and around Ann Arbor will enjoy and benefit from our film festival for years to come; and that the voices of Palestinians will finally be heard.