Pittsburgh_Patrika_October_2015

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 21, No. 1, October 2015Pranaam, India!By Jeremy Levye-mail: jlevy@pitt.eduJeremy Levy is the director of Pittsburgh Quantum Institute and a Distinguished Professorin the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. Here hereminisces about his wedding to his Indian bride, twenty-five years ago in Patna, India, andtalks about some changes that have engulfed Indians in India between then and now.Twenty-five years ago, almost to the day, my fiancée Chandralekhaand I, along with my parents, brother and a few friends, steppedoff of a plane in Patna, the capital city of Bihar in northern India. Dayslater, we were married. Our mid-June weddingcoincided precisely with the arrival of the monsoonin Patna. The steady downpour wreaked havoc onthe logistics of the essential marriage functions. Butin India, it is a good omen for weddings. I sat ona canopy-protected stage, sipping Thums Up soda,waiting for my bride to arrive. Meanwhile, foreignbacteria marched unopposed through my intestines,Pacheese sal pehle on theWedding Day.setting up shop. Auto rickshaws ambled along thenarrow, flooded streets of Patna, succumbing everynow and then to tub-deep potholes.Before coming to India, I knew nothing about Hindu weddings or dayto-daycustoms. And yet, I was anything but a tourist. There are two basicways to greet and say farewell to someone. If it is a friend of the familyor a stranger, you hold your hands, hath jhoad ke, clasping gently thetwo palms facing each other, and say namaste. But if it’s a relative yousay pranam. And if the relative is very senior to you, you should (to besafe) do pear chew-ke pranam, an addedmeasure of respect. Basically, you dive attheir feet. It wasn’t long before I masteredthe basic dive sequence. I had no ideawho anyone was, so I dove at everyone:parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles,neighbors, cousins, maidservants.That’s the mechanics of respect. Buthow is that really respectful? The conceptAaj, with their Princeton-bound son.of true respect quickly disintegrates when you try to pick it up and mentallyisolate it. Ultimately, you just know when someone is giving yourespect or not. I realized that respect isn’t really about the diving motionat all. It is a state of mind.20
The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 21, No. 1, October 2015Traditional Community and HomesFeaturing the Parkview and Schneider ParkTownhomes by Summerset at Frick Park. Each moderntownhome offers 3 bedrooms, an attached 2-cargarage, and energy saving features. The spaciousThe Parkview and Schneider Park Townhomesthese townhomes.Some of these townhomes are move-in ready. To see SummersetatFrickPark.com.Call Melissa Reich Today 412-215-8056or email Reich@rubinoffcompany.com21
Page 1 and 2: The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 21, No
Page 15 and 16: She’s The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol
Page 19: The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 21, No

Pittsburgh_Patrika_October_2015

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?