Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - June 2009 - Index

Hello ji!
Sam Mukherjee e-mailed me stunning photographs
of India. Evocative, poetic in their use of shadow
and light. Some stark, others iridescent with their
glow-in-the-dark colours.
But looking at them again and again as I did, I began to feel
uncomfortable. Almost
voyeuristic.
Dust eddies around
a group of women
huddled under a
bare-branched tree,
their bright lehengas
billowing flame-like
around them. In the
foreground roll
empty pots. How
poetic did the women
find the situation,
I wondered, as
they waited for the
dust storm to subside
so they could
haul home a few
pots of water.
In another, a woman and a child press against the window
of a car, begging. A sight so common on the streets
of India that most don’t even interrupt their train of
thought as they either hand out a few rupees or roll up
the window and move on. The photograph captures all
the dreams, hunger and yes, perhaps even anger, in the
eyes of the two. Was that day any different for them? Did
anyone rushing past them hold out a modicum of hope?
If not, then what’s the point of these photographs?
The question begets another question – why is it the
photographer’s responsibility to save the world? Is not
his or her job the recording of images? Just as it is a
journalist’s to write or a director’s to film? How far does
their responsibility extend? Why does everyone expect
Danny Boyle to adopt the kids who acted in Slumdog?
Complex questions that one can debate forever.
Srivatsa Marthi, a young man who went from Ottawa
to work in the slums of Kolkata (cover story, page 10)
has a different take on this. “A movie can only cover so
much. It wasn’t a documentary, after all!”
But he does not encourage slum tourism. “The people
and their lives are not a spectacle.”
Editor
touchBASE
Parents know best!
Shanta Sharma’s description
of the spending habits of
her grandchildren (Old school
ways to fiscal fitness, May) made
me smile. That is exactly how
I would have described my
grandchildren. The best way to
teach children (and grandchildren)
is by example, but sometimes,
they don’t learn quickly
enough! My friends and I
were discussing this article
and one lamented that she truly
appreciated what her parents
taught her only when she became a parent herself. – ROSY PINTO, VIA E-MAIL
Yes, but...
I agreed with everything Ravi
Bahl and Shanta Sharma had to say
(Old School ways to fiscal fitness, May)
except when Bahl says billionaires
should donate 10 per cent of their
wealth. Why? No one gifted them
their wealth, they earned it. It’s neither
fair nor realistic to expect handouts
as our right.
– VIKRAM K HULLAR, VIA E-MAIL
A mother’s love
The story on Thomas Edison in
May’s Helloji! was very touching. As
was Partha Mukherjee’s tribute to
his mother. The list of words he used
to describe his mother was so sweet.
Mothers support us even when it
seems the whole world is against us.
My mother helped me through the
worst period of my life. She’s not
with us any longer, and I grew up
in a time and place when Mother’s
Day was not celebrated. But I pray
each day for her guidance and hope
that wherever she is now, she knows
how much I love her.
– BHAVNA SINHA, VIA E-MAIL
Go figure!
An easy read
Desi News. It has become the
prime magazine for South Asians
in Canada and the US. I especially
enjoy your e-magazine, which is
really easy to flip through.
– NANIK LAKHANI, VIA E-MAIL
An idea for SRK
After reading about Shah Rukh
Khan’s superstitions (Pssst!, May),
I have an idea for the man who
made K-K-K-K-Kiran infamous:
Change the name of his cricket
team to Khan’s Kolkata Knight
Kricketers, K-K-K-K for short!
– GEETA PHADKE, VIA E-MAIL
Family values
What an achiever Manjusha
Pawagi (And justice for all, May) is.
For some reason, one thinks of
judges as stuffy old people, but she
appears to have a sense of humour
and her views on children reveal a
rare sensitivity. Very valuable qualities
in a family court judge, I would
think.
– HUMAIRA ABID, VIA E-MAIL
Publisher G. A. Easwar
Editor Shagorika Easwar
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Writers’
riters’ Pool S. Gopikrishna,
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Swami, V. Ananth (India)
Photographer Nari Mavalwalla
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June 2009 Desi News 9