Rachel Saltz writes reviews of Bollywood films for the New York Times. Her reviews caught our eye because she seems to really get the essence, the spirit or the “Ras” of the films. Most reviewers, whether in America or in India, have a tendency to be overly cynical and overbearing. We find Rachel’s style refreshing….
A few years ago, I was in a hurry to get to JFK Airport to catch my flight. I offered the young cab driver an extra $50 if he could get me there in time. I made my flight but the drive was a terrifying experience. I was highly impressed by the young cabbie’s skills…
The movie “Disclosure” made history by showcasing a unique twist to a more common tale – Sexually aggressive, predatory behavior by a woman towards an unwilling man. When the woman is the stunning Demi Moore and the man is Michael Douglas, the film is bound to draw substantial interest. I liked Disclosure. Demi Moore looks…
I would hazard a guess that every notable scholarly pursuit in American history began at Harvard. This may be my naiveté or the pain of having paid four years of full Harvard tuition. The formal study of Sanskrut began in America at Harvard in 1872, when, as the Harvard website says, “James Bradstreet Greenough, a…
During his recent visit to China, Pranab Mukherjee, the External Affairs Minister of India, handed over the prestigious Padma Bhushan certificate and medallion to eminent Sanskrit scholar and Indologist, Ji Xianlin, who translated the great Indian epic, Ramayan in the 1960s. The award for the 97-year old Ji had been announced on January 26, 2008, the…
CNBC aired its documentary “India Rising – The New Empire” by Erin Burnett on Sunday, June 22 at 10pm. This Erin Burnett documentary is as Good as the PBS documentary is Bad & Ugly.As an aside, watching the PBS documentary made us realize that CNBC is indeed a special network. It covers financial markets which…
On Sunday, June 22, the PBS show “Now” aired its documentary about India called “India Rising.” Rarely can a show be called both Bad and Ugly. The PBS “India Rising” show justifies both adjectives. It has been a tradition in certain circles of America to call Television the “Idiot Box” and to look down on people…
While many countries have benefited from the influences and traditions of one or two of History’s globally dominant languages (see previous article), India is the only country that has seamlessly integrated all three dominant languages in to its ethos.Sanskrut language and culture rose to greatness in India. As Jawaharlal Nehru has said “If I was…
The title “World’s dominant language” is truly an impressive title. Today, there is a number of equally important languages which is probably why Japanese translations remain in demand for a variety of purposes. Great empires have come and gone but military power has proved to be fleeting and temporary. Soft power, exemplified and propagated by…
Last week, we wrote about the increasing level of tensions between China and India all along the line of control. We mentioned Ladakh – Aksai-Chin area on the western end, Arunachal Pradesh on the eastern end and, Tawang at the center-west. Now let us talk about Sikkim in the center-east segment of the 4,000 km…