Pittsburtgh_Patrika_July_2013

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol. 18, No. 4, July 2013

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Vol. 18 No. 4, July 2013

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The Quarterly Magazine for the Indian Diaspora

Vol. 18 No. 4 www.pittsburghpatrika.com July 2013

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Highlights in this issue... ... ...

China: Unintended Consequences of Progress

By Kollengode S Venkataraman..................................................... 2

An Alternative Critical View on Globalization

By M. D. Nalapat.......................................................................... 10

At the Silk Screen Gala

By Kollengode S. Venkataraman.................................................. 14

The List of Graduating Seniors

By K S Venkataraman................................................................... 18

Shakuntala Devi – A Remembrance

By Samar K. Saha........................................................................ 20

Caring for Values in Our Pursuits

By Sriram Palghat......................................................................... 23

Sri Srinivasan Appointed to the US Court of Appeals

By Kollengode S. Venkataraman.................................................. 24

Guru Jaya Mani’s 100 Arangetrams

By S. V. Krishnaswamy................................................................ 25

“All India” Offers A Wider Choice in Indian Cuisine

...................................................................................................... 27

Who Said Our Ancestors Had It Easy?

By K. S. Venkataraman................................................................. 32

On the cover: The Buddhist Temple in Qingdao, Shandong Province,

China. •

3


The Quarterly Magazine for the Indian Diaspora

Vol. 18 No. 4 www.pittsburghpatrika.com July2013

Phone/Fax: (724) 327 0953 e-mail: ThePatrika@aol.com

China: Unintended Consequences of Progress

By Kollengode S. Venkataraman

This past March I was in China on work spending nearly a month in one

place. It was not Beijing or Shanghai. I was in Huangdau, a third tier city,

in the extended metropolitan region around Qingdao, a beautiful second

tier city along the Yellow Sea. See the map.

The enviable economy of China with 10% growth year after year and

lifestyles of those who benefited

in the growth are well

known. But the growth came

with a price. In cities the skyline

is often covered with smog.

The evening sun looks like the

full moon, and folks walk with

1” = 500 miles

4

masks over their face.

The Chinese government

in the Mao Zedong era,

alarmed at the rapid increase

in population, enforced the

draconian one-child-per-family

policy. This contained the population

growth. But as predicted, this policy led to married couples born in

that era now in their 40s and 50s and both working, having to take care

of four elders – his and her parents. With longevity guaranteed because

of genetics, lifestyle and eating habits, this

poses serious social and economic problems

in China where family ties and obligations are

taken seriously.

With the equivalent of Medicare and Social

Security practically absent, the responsibility

Boom time for Luxury

for elderly care in terms of money, time, and resources are on the single-son

and single-daughter of the seniors. People powerful enough in the party,

or who became rich enough in the economic boom, have the resources to

meet their obligations. But middle-income families are under strain. Gov-


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ernment is re-thinking its one-child-one-couple policy, partly because of

the predicted shortage of work force down the road.

The one-child-one-family policy ensured the reduction and even

reversal in population growth, but this did not address the Chinese

preference for boys over girls. Nature unaided by technology for gender

selection has kept the gender ratio over a narrow range, with around 105

boys for every 100 girls.

But with the marvels of modern technology for

detecting the gender of fetuses—amniocentesis,

ultrasound and digital imaging techniques—many

married couples in China, both educated and notso-educated,

opt for terminating pregnancies if the

child conceived is a girl. This gender selection has

skewed the gender ratio. Now they have 120 boys

for every 100 girls nationally. In pockets the gender

ratio is skewed badly with 150 boys for 100 girls.

The situation is identical in India, where they have

112 boys for 100 girls. However, in pockets of

Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, and Bihar, far more

Shops in an upscale mall

boys are there for 100 girls.

Mara Hvistendahl in recent her book Unnatural

Selection notes that the skewed gender ratio makes societies more prone to

violence. “[T]he dearth of women along the frontier in the American West

probably had a lot to do with its [the West] being wild. In 1870, the sex ratio

west of the Mississippi was 125 men to 100 women. In California it was

166 to 100. In Nevada it was 320. In western Kansas, it was 768.”

The skewed gender ratio in China has led to an unintended consequence

based on supply and demand.

Iwas waiting for my colleagues in the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown

Qingdao. It was chilly, windy and raining. I was standing outside

the lobby and seeing—and hearing—a loud music band attired in bright

red costume playing traditional music with cymbals and Chinese drums. A

black Mercedes with flower decorations

pulled in. The music became louder with

Chinese dragon dancers joining in the

merriment. The bride in Western bridal

costume came out. With her was a man

in his mid-thirties, He was balding with

a receding hairline.

Chinese believe if it rains on the day

of wedding, the wife will dominate over

her husband. My colleagues arrived to

7


take me for lunch. Seeing the rain, they mockingly felt sorry for the groom.

The wedding milieu was a good topic during lunch. I asked innocently, “Is

the man in dark suit with the bride

her uncle or elder brother bringing

her to the wedding place?”

Surprised at my question, pat

came the reply from one of my colleagues,

“No. He is the groom!”

“Hmm. He looked old,” I said,

“He is getting bald and he has receding

hair. Don’t Chinese men get married in their mid twenties?”

This led to a lengthy discussion on the marriage scene among the professionals

in today’s China.

As in other parts of the world, tradition runs deep in China. The

Chinese Communist Party, trying for decades after the revolution,

has ceased to erase traditions on life transitions such as marriage.

In China, it is traditional that the groom pays “bride money” to the

bride in person with crisp currency notes. Checks and demand drafts are

not accepted—they are against the tradition. Even fifteen years ago, the

bride money was manageable—a few thousand renminbis (RMBs), the

Chinese currency. $1= 6.3 RMB. The bride has to be satisfied that the man

can support her.

Decades ago, the man took his new wife her into the home of his parents

to live after wedding. Now things have become expensive, with classy expectations.

China’s explosive prosperity is one reason. Another factor is the

skewed man-made gender

ratio. With a smaller pool

of women available for a

larger pool of men seeking

partners, women are

picky.

typical monthly

Construction cranes are everywhere.

8

The starting salary for

a professional (accountant,

lawyer, engineer,

physician) in Huangdao is around 60,000 RMBs/year. Now, the bride money

for professionals has increased several fold—100,000 RMBs or even more.

This is almost twice the starting gross salary.

In addition, the brides, who are in short supply, also expect the grooms

to have an apartment to move into after the wedding. And apartments are

VERY expensive. A 100-sq.meter (1000 sq. ft), 3-BR apartment in Qingdao

in a “desirable” neighborhood costs 800,000 to 1 million RMBs. The down


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payment is 20%, or 200,000 RMBs.

So, young Chinese professional men need 300,000 RMBs, just to get married,

with their starting salary around 60,000 RMBs/year. And the expenses

on the wedding day are also on the groom’s family. With normal cars (cost:

80,000 RMBs) — Jaguars are over 600,000 RMBs — becoming a necessity,

young men are stressed out.

So, Chinese couples, after having their much-desired boy, not only start

to save for his schooling/college, but also for helping their only adult son

25 years down the road with the bride money and apartment.

That explained why the groom at the Crown Plaza Hotel was in his

mid-thirties with a receding hairline and was bald. He has been saving

money for years for sure. And he was also spending time wooing picky

Chinese women to consider him good enough to be their mate.

But this situation is not a panacea for Chinese young women. Even

though they demand an apartment before marriage, the apartments are often

registered only in the groom’s name. After all, his parents have financed it.

But her assets are jointly owned.

But Chinese women today in general, and professional educated women

in particular—much like young educated women everywhere—have become

picky, sometime too picky for their own good. This is the same as what we

see here in the US. Even after the success of the Feminist Movement and

the economic security that comes with education, Ivy League women prefer

to marry other Ivy Leaguers, and professional women choose other professional

men as mates.

My colleagues also told me Chinese men are wary about professional

women who come across too aggressive and ambitious. And for single professional

women over 32 or 33, the pool of eligible, compatible, unmarried

professional men is small and there are not too many to go around. It is a

balancing act in the wooing game for the Chinese young men and women.

It is quite stressful. The really rich men deploy paid agencies to screen potential

candidates. Others depend on parents, relatives and friends to meet

women.

If this is the situation for professionals in China, we can only imagine

the challenges of the millions of the working poor in China.

The economic impact of this trend is huge. By one estimate, nearly 25%

of their 8% annualized GDP growth, or 2%, is because of the demand for new

housing and cars among working professionals. This demand sustains basic

industries such as steel, cement, home appliances, tiles, bathroom fixtures,

construction jobs, home decorations…

With far more men than women in the productive and reproductive age

group in China, in the years to come, the married life of Chinese will be

dominated by their wives, even if it does not rain on their wedding day. •

11


An Alternative Critical View on Globalization

By M. D. Nalapat

Editor’s note: The author is vice-chair of Manipal Advanced Research Group and

UNESCO peace chair, and professor of geopolitics at Manipal University, India. The article

appeared first in China Daily in March, 2013. The Pittsburgh Patrika acknowledges China

Daily’s permission to reprint the article.

In the 19th century, the British Empire was a source of pride in the

United Kingdom, being a small island that took control of more than

half the planet and converted its resources to its advantage. India's view

on the same empire is different, for it saw its share in the global economy

fall from 24 percent to less than 1 percent from 1820, when the British

began to establish themselves in India, to 1947, the year they left. [Editor’s

note: The US experience here is no different. That is why we had a War of

Independence in 1776.]

Similarly, the Opium Wars were a source of immense profit for UK

merchants, helping huge conglomerates dominate business in Asia and elsewhere.

However, for the Chinese people, the Opium Wars were a source of

immense pain and the cause of social disintegration that was only reversed

in 1949, when the Communist Party of China founded New China.

The reality is that the European experience of colonialism has almost

always been a zero-sum game, in which the other side lost heavily in order to

ensure gains for the colonizing power. Which is why it is not reasonable for

the West to demand that the rest of the world accept its version of history and

economic and political doctrines. The circumstances in each non-Western

country are very different from those in the West, which is why imposing

a Western model would result in a less than optimal outcome. [Note: See

what is happening now Afghanistan, Iraq, and Egypt.]

If China has made such great progress, especially since the 1980s, it

is because China rejected copying Western commercial institutions,

creating instead a model that had a natural fit with Chinese experience and

needs. Strangely, while admitting that the Chinese economic model has

worked in China, where a purely Western version may have failed, some

Western powers constantly criticize China for not adopting a fully Western

model of democracy.

Western powers ensured their dominance in the two previous centuries

by control of territory. These days, they seek the same outcome by seeking

to make other societies believe that following the advice given by them is

the best course.

12


In South America in the 1970s, much misery was caused precisely

because governments there strictly followed the orders of the World

Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both of which were, and still

are, dominated by the West, with only a United States or an European Union

national heading these so-called international organizations.

Indeed, to the West, international means the West. The so-called international

relations programs taught in the West, which are unfortunately

so popular with affluent students in China and India, teach subjects solely

through the prism of Western interests. Those graduating out of such programs

subconsciously begin to act and think in ways that promote Western

interests, rather than that of their own countries. This is hardly surprising.

When the West refers to the international community, it refers only to

itself. The views of people in China, India and other large non-Western

countries are regarded as not having any worth. In the same way, "international

media" refers only to the Western media and to their West-centric

viewpoint, ignoring the views of the rest of the world.

Even globalization is taken to mean easier access to Western products,

services and people in other markets rather than a genuinely international

free flow across borders. The European Union in particular has made entry

into its own markets as difficult as possible for companies based in Asia,

while constantly putting pressure on this continent to open up markets to

the EU. Rather than a Western zero-sum approach, what the world needs

is an Asian win-win approach, which is why the rest of the world needs to

avoid falling into the trap of judging their own interests solely in the terms

set for them by the West. Each country has the right to its own perspective

and the right to craft its own path to progress.

India provides an example of a country whose leadership uncritically

accepted Western systems when more local solutions were required.

Although a democracy, the legal and administrative system in India is largely

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what it was during British rule. The Indian Penal Code and the Indian Police

Act, for example, have not changed for more than a century. Democracy is

good for making decisions taking different groups' interests into consideration,

but India has developed at a slow pace. In 1949, the Indian economy

was twice as big as China's. Today, it is less than a third the size.

It costs millions of dollars to fight a parliamentary election in India and

in the US, thereby ensuring that only those with access to money will be

elected, the poor are effectively excluded.

[Another Indian example: In the last thirty years, India has transplanted

the US healthcare system based on pay-per-service with disastrous consequences

for the working class Indians. While this pay-per-service system

is being questioned in the US itself, it is going full-steam ahead in India

with nobody to supervise the performance, pricing, and corrupt marketing

practices of doctors, diagnostic labs, and pharmaceutical companies.]

While Western-style democracy may suit Western countries, other

countries need to ensure that systems are created that meet local

needs. A one-size-fits-all approach makes no sense, except for the West,

because if other countries slavishly follow the Western model they will be

On Globalization... ... continued on page 24

14


Congratulations, Class of 2013!

Ninety-two percent of our seniors were admitted to one

of their top-choice colleges, and these graduates have

been offered over $4.1 million in merit scholarships!

Check out where our graduates are heading

off to college this fall at

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At the Silk Screen Gala

The 2013 Silk Screen Film Festival’s opening gala was on Friday, May

10 at the Rivers Club at the Oxford Center in downtown. Here are some of

the snap shots of that pleasant evening from by Kathy Dax’s camera.

Harish Saluja and Katie Scott, the

prime movers at Silk Screen

Dolly Luthra (second from right) with

her friends.

From the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Jagdeep & Surinder Bajwa.

Juginder Luthra & Ashok Trivedi.

Kim Ravenda of Huntington

Bank with Harish Saluja.

Young women in colorful dresses.

16

A couple at the gala.


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Ashok and Christine Bahl.


18

Chinmaya The Pittsburgh Patrika, Sanjeevani Vol. 18, No. 4, July 2013 cordially invites you with

your family and friends for our

5 th year anniversary program

Srimad Bhagavata Saptaah Mahotsav

Sunday, August 11 th -Sunday, August 18 th , 2013

Saptaah Highlights

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View Saptaah Schedule of events at

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E-mail: hariom@chinmayamissionpittsburgh.org

19


Congratulations, Class of 2013! All the Best

Through Dharma, wealth, enjoyment, and Moksha it guides you;

Fame and recognition in the world outside it bestows on you;

It’s a great help till the end in distress and grief.

Nothing else is a better companion than education in life.

— Jain monks in Naaladiyaar, the Tamil literary work (2nd - 4th century C.E.)

First Name Last Name High School University going to in Fall

Sonia Besagarahalli North Allegheny H.S. U. of Pittsburgh, Hons. Coll

Shivum Bharill The Shady Side Academy U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Nikita Bokil South Fayette H.S. Carnegie Mellon U..

Sharran Chakravorty Sewickley Academy U. of Pittsburgh

Vikram Cherupally Gateway H.S. Carnegie Mellon U.

Bhanu R. Duggirala North Allegheny H.S. Frexel U.

Sneha Iyer Pine Richland H.S. U. of Pittsburgh

Mihir Jadhav Peters Twp. H.S. Rochester Inst. of Technology

Udaya Malik Sewickley Academy U. of California, Berkeley

Karthik Narayanan Fox Chapel Area H.S. U. Miami, Hons. Program

Sahithi Narra Chartier Valley H.S. Drexel U.

Mayank Parashar Seneca Valley H.S. New York U.

Anjali Premkumar North Allegheny H.S. California Inst. of Technology

Deeksha Sarma Fox Chapel Area H.S. Drexel U.

Ramita Ravi The Ellis School U. of Virginia

Priya V. Tumaluru Case Western Reserve U.

Smriti Aveeka Vats The Ellis School New York U. •

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Shakuntala Devi – A Remembrance

By Samar K. Saha e-mail: sksaha@uss.com

I first met Shakuntala Devi ‘Banerji’ in 1988 at her Manhattan apartment.

She remained an enigma to me all these years. In normal conversations,

appearance, and discussions, she was full of life -- an extrovert, witty, very

social, simple, down-to-earth, comfortable

in any setting, and a loving person.

She treated me like her younger brother

in distress during later meets. I could

feel that whiff of affection each time I

saw her. She passionately talked about

her love for Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers

movies, cooking, and reading. Nothing

showed any trace of a supernatural

mind. She simply described her ability

as a ‘God’s Gift’ when asked -- just as

another great Indian mathematician

Ramanujan had once remarked about himself.

The Beginning and the Fame: Shakuntala Devi was born in Bangalore,

India, to an orthodox Kannada Brahmin family on November 4, 1929. Her

father chose to be a circus acrobat. Devi’s mathematical gift first demonstrated

itself while she was doing card tricks with her father when she was

three. Those present noticed that she “beat” them by memorizing the cards

rather than by sleight of hand. Devi was quoted as saying. “At the age of

6, I gave my first major show at the University of Mysore (India).” The

word spread quickly of her supernatural capability.

Shakuntala Devi went on tours around the world starting in the ‘50s and

performed in a number of institutions, theaters and on television up to the

early 80’s. During one such trip in the early 50’s, she met Albert Einstein.

A reporter recounted the meet from Einstein’s note to Devi. Albert Einstein

says in the note, “I asked this woman a question which I take three hours to

solve because I have to follow a whole method …. I know that nobody can

do it in less time than I can… And the whole procedure has to be followed.

The figures were so big that it took the whole board for her to write the

answer. And before I had even finished the question, she started writing the

answer.” Einstein was absolutely puzzled. He asked, “How do you do it?”

Devi said, “I don’t know … -- it simply happens. You ask me and figures

start appearing before my eyes, somewhere inside. I can see 1, 2, 3, and I

just go on writing…..”

Live Demonstrations – Some Exceptional Examples: Guinness

22


Book of Records contains many other recorded feats of Devi. Here

are some:

• In January 1977, Devi received a standing ovation from an audience

of erudite mathematicians at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas,

Texas, when she extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number, at the fiftysecond

mark, with the correct answer being ’546372891′. She was faster

than the fastest computer, UNIVAC’s time of 62 seconds.

• In June, 1980, Devi demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit

numbers: (7,686,369,774,870) X (2,465,099,745,779), picked randomly

by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. This event is

mentioned in the 1995 Guinness Book of Records. Her correct answer of

18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 came in just 28 seconds.

• In 1988 Devi visited Stanford University at the invitation of Professor

Arthur Jensen. Jensen, an educational psychologist, tried to understand the

source of Devi’s abilities. According to Jensen, ‘’Devi solved most of the

problems faster than I was able to copy them in my notebook.’’ Jensen could

only suggest that Devi perceived large numbers differently from others. ‘’For

a calculating prodigy like Devi, the manipulation of numbers is apparently

like a native language, whereas for most of us, arithmetic calculation is at

best like the foreign language we learnt at school,’’ he wrote.

Family Life: Shakuntala Devi married Paritosh Banerji, a senior IAS

officer from Kolkata in the mid-1960s. They had a daughter, Anupama

Banerji, from this marriage. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979. In the

1980’s Shakuntala Devi returned to Bangalore with her daughter, where she

continued with book writing. During this period she entered the mystic world

of astrology, offering astrological advices to people, including celebrities

and politicians. She also set up an ‘Educational Foundation Public Trust’

to promote mathematical, astrological and philosophical studies.

With severe respiratory problems, she was admitted to a hospital in

Bangalore on April 3, 2013. Her health began to deteriorate rapidly after

her kidneys failed and she breathed her last on April 21, 2013.

I often wonder who was she?

Major Writings: Critically appraised Puzzles to Puzzle You is one of

Shakuntala Devi’s best works for aspiring and budding mathematicians.

Perfect Murder is the tale of a successful lawyer-turned-killer and is

regarded as a fine work of fiction.

The World of Homosexuals, published in 1977, considered a courageous

work on a controversial issue and was included in the ‘Top 100 Books by

Indian Authors’ in 2005.

The Wonderland of Numbers published by Orient paperbacks in 2006 is

23


Cynically Sublime — On Being Poor

No poor man’s evidence is heard

Though logic link it word to word;

While wealthy babble passes muster

Though crammed with vice and bluster.

The wealthy are, however old,

Rejuvenated by their gold;

If money has departed, then

The youngest lads are aged men.

Since brother, son, wife and friend

Desert when cash is at an end,

Returning when cash rolls in,

It is cash that is our next of kin

— Arthur Ryder in The Panchatantra •

On Globalization... ... continued from page 14

handicapped from competing with the West.

During the 1997 financial crisis in Asia, which was caused by Western

currency speculators, India and China both escaped as both refused to

adopt the measures that Western governments were urging them to do. In

contrast, countries such as Thailand, which faithfully implemented Western

prescriptions, suffered badly. Western prescriptions are good —but only

for the West.

Non-Western countries should take care to ensure that their national policies

do not get framed in a way that helps outside powers at the expense of

their national interests. Democracy implies diversity, not the total adherence

to the concepts and models that Western countries promote as universal,

but which are really to their advantage. Each country has not only the right

but the duty to ensure that diversity is protected and that models suited to

their own people and their own history get adopted.

Confidence in one's own people is essential to make the sort of immense

progress that China has achieved over the past three decades. Such

confidence cannot be transplanted from the outside. It has to develop from

within a country and its unique people. •

24


Caring for Values in Our Pursuits

By Sriram Palghat, Upper St. Clair, PA

e-mail: palghat@gmail.com

Recent incidents such as the shooting in the Connecticut school and the

brutal gang-rape of a woman in New Delhi made me wonder what is driving

men to commit such unimaginably violent acts?

Our busy, materialistic society is stretching us thin, not giving us any

time to think of anything other than chasing our worldly pursuits. Along

the way some people discard their moral and ethical groundings.

Religion is important in upholding the moral and ethical values of a

society. However, men and women today are hardly finding time to even

think of religion and values. An example of this is the closing down of

churches in the US due to lack of interest and faith among younger generations.

Technology is not helping the situation either. Smart phones and

pagers make people think of work even in sleep.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama says, “Because... individuals [in

society] derail from their values and behave negatively, there is

more and more madness today. If their numbers increase, all of society will

suffer. If we utilize and understand religious traditions properly, individuals

benefit, and so can society as a whole.”

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we promoting the materialoriented

dynamics without caring too much about the need for nurturing

value-oriented lifestyle?” It is important for people to pause from time to

time and think of the values we pursue. Every individual owes this time of

reflection to oneself and to society at large. Many religious organizations

are organizing religious events and retreats, providing us triggers to reflect

on our pursuits.

Pittsburgh, the Chinmaya Mission is organizing a Bhagavata Saptaah

In from Sunday, August 11 to Sunday, August 18 at the Chinmaya Sanjeevani

in Monroeville. In this 8-day event, you will listen to stories from

the Bhagavatam discussing ethical issues and conflicts that are as relevant

today.

Opportunities like this help us to recognize how we can incorporate

positive values into our lifestyle to find peace within ourselves so that we

can find peace around ourselves. This is a great opportunity for us to unplug

from our stressful daily aggravations and get immersed in listening to the

stories from our epics and get rejuvenated.

Amidst the busy lifestyle of the current society, as Seekers of Truth, we

need to make an effort to set aside some time for such events. We all need

triggers to bring about desirable changes in our lives. •

25


India-Born Sri Srinivasan Appointed to

the US District Court of Appeals

In May, Sri Srinivasan, 46, the India-born (Chandigarh, Punjab), Principal

Deputy Solicitor General for the US Government, was approved

for the US Court of Appeals for the District of

Columbia (popularly shortened to the DC Circuit)

by the US Senate by an overwhelming bipartisan

support of 97 to 3. He was nominated for the court

by President Obama in June 2012. The DC Circuit

Court’s full bench has eleven judges, but currently,

even with the appointment of Srinivasan, three are

still vacant.

He is the first Indian-American to be appointed

to the US Courts of Appeals. Of all the federal

courts of appeals -- there are thirteen of them nationwide – the DC Circuit

Court is an important one even though it covers the smallest geographic

area. This is because of its strategic location in Washington D.C., the seat of

federal government. Other federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction over

much larger area covering several states. The US Court of Appeals District

9, for example, covers California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington

State, Idaho, and Montana.

The DC Circuit Court has the responsibility of directly reviewing the

decisions of many federal independent agencies of the United States government

based in the national capital. Given the broad areas over which

federal agencies have power, the judges of the D.C. Circuit play a pivotal

and central role in affecting national U.S. policies and laws. The very fact

that four of the current nine US Supreme Court justices -- Justices Roberts,

Scalia, Ginsburg, and Thomas -- are from the DC Circuit Court is enough

to stress its importance.

Srinivasan grew up in Kansas, where his father was a mathematics professor

at the University of Kansas. He is a Stanford University alumnus. His

bachelor’s degree, MBA and law degrees are all from Stanford. He clerked

for US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Srinivasan has argued

twenty cases before the US Supreme Court. Now he will be spending the

next several years hearing cases at the DC Circuit Court. As Jeffrey Toobin,

who follows the US Supreme Court appointments closely, speculated in The

New Yorker before Srinivasan’s senate approval, “If Srinivasan passes this

test and wins confirmation [which, he did], he’ll be on the Supreme Court

before President Obama’s term ends.”

— By K. S. Venkataraman •

26


Guru Jaya Mani’s 100 Arangetrams

By S. V. Krishnaswamy, Baltimore, MD

e-mail: krish15146@yahoo.com

S. V. Krishnsawamy lived in Monroeville for very many years before moving

to Maryland. He interviewed Jaya Mani for the Patrika in 2003. He talked to Jaya

recently on her 100th Arangetram on various subjects seemingly disjointed, but all

related to, arangetrams.

one hundred students through their arangetrams is an achieve-

Seeing ment for any dance teacher anywhere. More so in the Pitts-burgh

metro area with

barely 15,000

Indians. In June,

J a y a ’s 1 0 0 t h

student had her

a r a n g e t r a m .

Thirty-five years

ago, in 1971 with

help from Rajashri

Rajgopal

Jaya’s with senior students at S.V.Temple now.

(who lives in

Northern Virginia

now), Jaya started teaching Bharatanatyam with six students. Now, with

over six dance teachers here, Jaya continues with over 100 students, taking

three to four students to arangetram every year. It has been a long and

exhilarating journey for Jaya.

Seamlessly Integrating Technologies: These days Jaya encourages her

students getting ready for arangetram to do their own web searches to get

With her students at S.V.Temple (1970s.). Nagabhushanam Nunna’s album.

27


the details of the ragam, talam, composer and other information about the

songs. Then she explains the meaning of the lyrics, their background and

context. This allows them to be better prepared than before the advent of

the web resources.

Grooming Future Teachers: When asked if she is grooming any of her

Jaya’s students at Slippery Rock University.

students to become a teacher, Jaya says, “Some students after arangetrams

continue with advanced lessons from me. If they have the commitment and

the rigor to teach, I encourage them. One of my students, Shobita Ravi, is

teaching in Wexford.”

Before coming to the US, Jaya taught her niece Bharatanatyam in Chennai.

After arangetram, her niece studied nattuvangam (the Tamil technical

term for choreography) in the Iyal Isai Nataka Manram in Chennai. She is

teaching Bharatanatyam in Melbourne, Australia, where her first student’s

arangetram is coming soon. Jaya will be presiding over her first grandstudent’s

arangetram there. Another milestone for Jaya.

Preserving the Dance Repertoire: Jaya tries to preserve the arangetram

music and actual performance by converting old audio & video cassettes

into DVDs, MP3, I-tunes etc. She was disappointed that several old tapes

were spoiled in storage. Asked if she is planning to make her collection of

music available for young teachers, Jaya says she is willing to make them

available for her students if they are is serious about using them in any

performance.

Jaya became emotional recalling that her father, who supported her

throughout her dancing career, saw several of her students’ arangetrams in

person in Pittsburgh.

Challenges in Using Live Music: “I have accomplished most of what

I set out for myself when I started teaching three decades ago,” She says,

“My only disappointment is that I am not able to routinely incorporate live

orchestra in arangetrams.” This is because of the logistical constraints and

the winter weather. She lives in Slippery Rock, more than an hour’s drive

from Pittsburgh. However, she is happy that she supports musicians in

28


Jyothirmayi and Madhavi Nunna, Jaya’s

first Arangetram students, in 1975. From

Nagabhushanam Nunna’s album.

Chennai using their recorded music in

arangetrams.

With so many arangetrams completed,

her students have a number of dance

dresses and jewelry. When asked what

they do with these when they no longer

need them, Jaya admits, “It is the parents’

decision. Some want to keep them as

souvenirs, and some lend them for other

children.” Some parents and Jaya herself,

have lent the dresses to students going

through arangetrams.

On the General Baharatanatyam

Scene Today: Isai velalar nattuvanars

(choreographers in Tamil), have composed

superb varnams, padams and

tillanas for dance. Nattuvanars were all

men—the term is masculine in Tamil.

Till the mid-20th century, nattuvanars

held a pre-eminent place in arangetrams. However, with the mostly Englisheducated

upper class women taking over choreography, we witness the

decline of nattuvanars. They are replaced by those who do only the Sollukattu,

and yet are said to do nattuvangam! Now he/she is one in the music

ensemble instead of being at the center of the dance program.

However, veterans like Adyar Lakshmanan, C V Chandrasekhar, the

Dhananjayans, Narasimhacharis, and K J Sarasa carry on the old-time nattuvangam.

Similarly, even though dancers like Balasaraswathy, Rukmini

Devi, and Padma Subramaniam have composed Varnams and Padams, they

are rare. Today’s mostly English-educated choreographers do not have the

skills — Indian languages, grasp of history and mythologies, epics, philosophy,

and literary skills and poetical talent — required to compose lyrics.

So, I asked Jaya, “What is the contribution of today’s choreographers for

the dance repertoire?”

While recognizing the lack of compositions by dance teachers/choreographers

themselves, Jaya is confident the young composers will fill the gap.

She gave an example of her interaction years ago with a young violinist who

composed music for her using the works from Tamil Bhakti literature and

from contemporary poets. He is B V Raghavendra Rao, a leading violinist

now. Jaya feels modern-day choreographers need to identify such talents

and work with them.

“Why is that today’s dance teachers are reluctant to use the excellent

29


classically tuned film songs by poets like Udumalai Narayana Kavi, Pattukkottai,

Kannadasan, and others in recitals?”

Jaya: “If the music and lyrics suit the dance theme, then surely one can

use their songs.” She gave examples of lyrics of film songs she helped her

students to use for fundraising events.

Taking Bharatanatyam to Universities Here: Jaya is now teaching

Bharatanatyam at the Slippery Rock University one semester a year. In her

class typically over thirty American students register.

“What can anyone can learn in one semester?” I asked.

Jaya unhesitatingly says, “These are dedicated dance majors. They

quickly grasp the basic adavus, jatis and learn alarippu, kolattam and few

basic dance pieces in one semester.” Continuing, she said, “These students

go to Chennai during the summer to get immersed in the Indian dance scene

there under the guidance of Revathy Ramachandran.”

On Saturday, June 15, Jaya’s students celebrated her contributions

to our community in a function held at the S.V. Temple. We congratulate

Jaya for implanting the nuances of Indian performing arts in the

minds of our youngsters born and raised here — not an easy task by any

means. We also thank her for nurturing in our youngsters the culture, and

the very core of our faith that is woven into the dance repertoire. We wish

her well for many more arangetrams. •

CMU Confers Honorary Doctorate on Ratan Tata

In this years commencement ceremonies in May, Carnegie Mellon

Univerisity conferred an honorary doctorate degree in business on Ratan

Tata, who retired last year as the head of the Tata group of companies

for over twenty years. Shown in the picture are Ratan Tata (far left) with

incoming president Subra Suresh (far right).

The commencement speaker this year was Brian Gourdan, who, along

with his classmate Umang Patel and two others, founded a successful startup

company PayTango. The central idea of their invention is a payment

system that identifies users on the basis of fingerprints simplifying the payment

method. — By Shailesh

Kapadia, Wexford, PA

Editor: This gizmo is convenient

for undergrads. After

all, most of them do not have to

worry about where their money

comes from since their parents

replenish their bank accounts.

Maybe someone needs to come up with an app that will dissuade students

from spending on whimsical items. •

30


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32


The New All India in Oakland Offers

A Wider Choice in Indian Cuisine

The recently opened All India on North Craig Street close to the intersection

of N. Craig and Centre offers a wider choice of Indian cuisine. In

addition to the well-known Punjabi items in Indian restaurants, All India

offers several popular Gujarati and South Indian items such as dosas, vada,

idly, undhiya, in addition to South Indian and Gujarati Thalis.

The restaurant also has a cordoned-off area for private functions and

meetings that can seat up to sixty people.

The decor of the restaurant is very Indian, including the serving vessels

for the items ordered. And the seating is spacious for you to carry on

conversation without others seated close-by hearing or listening.

The owners, Didar Singh and his wife Manjit Kaur are well-known in

Pittsburgh in the Indian food business. Mr.Singh owned the India Garden

on Bates Street till two years ago. — KSV •

Important Notes to Readers

• The Pittsburgh Patrika publishes articles from readers (after a review, of course) on

a wide range of topics. Please get in touch with us before you start working on your story

to save you time. Call 724 327 0953, or e-mail to ThePatrika@aol.com

• We also publish announcements (including photographs where appropriate) such as

for arangetrams, weddings, deaths, awards, and other transitions.

• If you move, give us your new address. If you do not want to receive the magazine,

please let us know. We will stop mailing the magazine to you.

• We provide a link between advertisers and our readers. Without subscription, advertisements

are the only reason we exist. These advertisements do not imply that we endorse

these goods and services. You, the consumer, are the decision maker. — Editor •

33


Who Said Our Ancestors Had It Easy?

Living has its stresses. Without them, we can as well be dead. But with

total self-absorption, we attribute our difficulty to “modern” times, fast-paced

life, technology, and careers. In saying this, we subliminally imply that the

lives of our agrarian ancestors was placid. But their agrarian lives had their

own overwhelming demands making their life miserable.

How do I know? Well, I was reading an Tamil anthology os small literary

works. The authors of these works are not known. From the vocabulary and

imagery used and the construction of the verses, scholars deduce this work

cannot be earlier than two or three centuries from our times. Here a verse

by an unknown farmer-cum-poet describing his helplessness:

(Source: Viveka Chintamani, commentary by Padmadevan, Karpagam Puttagaalayam,

Tyagaraya Nagar, Chennai, 2006, 200 pp).

If you can read Tamil, you may enjoy the wry, cynical humor. If you do

not know Tamil, here is an attempt to render it in English:

Cattle in my barn groan in labor pain,

My roof is leaking badly in the pouring rain.

As I hurry to my wet fields with seeds for sowing,

My darling wife is indisposed, my good farm-hand lies dying,

Creditors for unpaid bills, far away I view;

And the king’s men are with me to collect the taxes due.

The pandit comes for his teaching fee making matters worse*,

While folk singers are praising me to get their usual purse.

The pile of problems on my head is making me to gasp,

It’s something impossible for outsiders to grasp.

So, do not for a moment think our ancestors had it easy, and do not

wallow in self-pity that only you and your generation are having a

stressful life. Agrarian life was not easy either. If rich landlords had it easy

then, people today living off their parents’ wealth also have it easy.

*Seeing a Brahmin when you leave on a mission is considered a bad omen.

— Kollengode S Venkataraman •

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