Pittsburgh_Patrika_October_2015

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The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 21, No. 1, October 2015Pranam India... ... Continued from Page 22program, a Bollywood music video montage, or religious serial. Whenguests come, the TV stays on at full volume throughout the visit. Theyhave become so inured to lights and sounds that people no more regardthem as distractions. And of course it looks disrespectful to even get closeto their remote and try to fumble with the buttons.sit on the couch that faces the big screen. The bright colorful displayIThis is girl power.There’s a place where every girl is empowered to thrive and excel –to lead and soar. Is this the place for your daughter? To learn more aboutthe excellence of an all-girls education at Ellis, call 412-661-4880,or email admissions@theellisschool.org.ATTEND OUR OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 9:30 AM28blinks and bleats while I mentally prepare to speak with our hosts.My non-native Hindi has sputtered its way across a quarter century ofstroboscopic practice. I am exposed to India like light to celluloid in a filmprojector. The spindle advances the frame, click. The shutter opens, allowinglight topass for alltoo-briefa periodo f t i m e ,then closesagain.T i m estarts upagain untilthe nextframe.I sit onthe couchthat facest h e b i gscreen TV.T w e n t yslow-motionframesof SalmanK h a n , aconvictedhomicidalcriminal,documenthis skulk from car to court house. I am forced to watch.Mausaji, the patriarch of the family we were visiting, sits cross-leggedat right angles to both me and the TV. My eyes dart toward him, to theother silently seated guests, and then come to rest on the TV. It’s a commercialfor Lux, a detergent.
The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 21, No. 1, October 2015PITTSBURGH MONROEVILLECONVENTION CENTER101 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, PA 15146412-373-7300 www.DoubleTreeMonroeville.comAt the DoubleTree by Hilton Pittsburgh - Monroeville Convention Center,personalization offers you an authentic celebratory weekend with friends and family.Let us wow you and your guests from start to finish.For additional information or to discuss how we may assist you in planning,please contact Kimmie Fitzhugh-Kelly, Director of Catering,at 412-843-4416 or via e-mail at kfitzhughkelly@doubletreemonroeville.com.Here at the DoubleTree by Hilton, the little things mean everything.“Raju, take a look at this photograph.” The voice is Mausaji’s. Heis not addressing me, but rather my brother-in-law, who also came fromthe US for the wedding. My wife’s older brother happily gets up.I also head toward the photograph that is mounted behind me in awooden cabinet with glass windows. The large, black-and-white photographfeatures a tall teenage boy towering over a pre-teen girl.“That’s our wedding photograph, taken fifty years ago”, says Mausaji.He was eighteen, his bride was eleven. Right below this photograph isa second, equally large color picture. She is nearly as tall as him. He iscontent. She is smiling. They are both fifty years older.I am completely, completely, transfixed by these two photographs.They sear into my memory. My eyes dart up, down, up, down, creating themost basic of all movie loops -- black-and-white, color, black-and-white,color… Soft, sharp, soft, sharp… Fast-forward, rewind, fast-forward,rewind… Time compresses a billion-fold.At some point, I snap out of my trance. What do I say to Mausaji?I carefully utter the single Hindi sentence that is looping in my mind:“Twenty five is half of fifty.” It is more alliterative in Hindi: “Pacheespachaas ka adha hai.”Mausaji immediately catches what I was relating to. He beams, “Iremember your wedding well. Ah! The pouring rain!” •29
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