Film Review: PINK

After the Brock Turner scandal, in which a rapist served only three months of his six months sentence, it was fitting and somewhat comforting to see the film PINK.

Given India's usually conservative stance in the social realm, I wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly rape is considered a crime, but I wasn't sure how the victims would be seen. Would we hear common excuses - "Her clothes were skimpy" or "She was too flirty"? Yes, this was touched upon. But gratefully there was also the resounding "No means no".

Film Review: A Flying Jatt

At the end of August I ventured out with my husband and mother in law to see the almost family-oriented movie A Flying Jatt. Although I normally enjoy watching a Hindi film without subtitles, as I consider it extra language practice, I had reservations about this film based on the earlier release of Baaghi.

Into India: Spiritual Stereotypes And Mysticism

In the West, it seems that mysticism gave its dying breath eons ago. But is that really true?

Faux Feminism? An Ad In India

Feminism and women’s empowerment – two concepts that seem to be taking the West by storm. You can find these terms in various debates in the US – from the right birth control to the right to wear/or not wear clothing. But how does it fair in India? What do people associate with feminism? What are the variants?

Well, that question is far too complicated to answer now. But that doesn't mean there aren't brief slivers of information. A more recent one I've noticed is a frequent ad for OLX – the Craigslist of India.

Into India: Happy Holidays

Nestled at the foot of the Western Gnats, the controversy over at my alma mater, the University of Tennessee appeared pitiful at best. I don’t mean that the students and faculty are wasting their time fighting for a more inclusive environment. But rather that our representatives are making a mockery of the citizenry once again – by claiming that respecting all folks regardless of belief is discriminating against Christen values. I say this, not to be political, but because, quite frankly, from the other side of the globe, the idea that saying “holiday” rather than “Christmas” devalues the latter is absurd. And often “holiday” is the perfect blanket term.

Experiments with Hindi

After a few weeks of adjusting to the mid-tropical Pune environment, I revved up my energies to begin learning Hindi. This time, however, I experimented with two theories from well-known polyglots – I joined Tim Ferriss’ article How to Learn But Not Master Any Language In 1 Hour and Benny Lewis’ Fluent in 3 Months. However, I did have one handicap: I intended to continue working on my German. That meant I couldn't spend as much time on Hindi as other languages learners might on this sort of challenge.

Why You Should Read The Mahabharata

Arjuna requests instruction from Krishna,
from Wellcome Images via Wikimedia Commons

"Poets have told it before, poets are telling it now, other poets shall tell this history on earth in the future."- Volume 1 Book 1 from the J.A.B. van Buitenen translation.

Readers of religious texts may remember reading or hearing about The Bhagavad Gita . What most people don’t realize, is that the Gita is one book of 18 – on section of one of the longest epics.

Offbeat Bollywood: 5 Indian Films Americans Should See

Beyond extravagant sets, elaborate costumes, and upbeat dance sequences, there’s another Bollywood almost unknown in the US (movie buffs may be excluded). These five films diverge from the plot lines Americans expect, and reveal a whole new side of India.

Language Goal: C2 German in India

Learning another language in another country may seem counter-productive, but this isn't too far of a stretch. Benny the Polyglot did it with Arabic in Brazil, and now I’ll be pushing myself the extra mile while living in India.

Into India: From Delta to Dust

India reminds me of nowhere I've been, and everywhere at once.

In high school I sat bent over a desktop screen watching Jab We Met, my initial contact with Bollywood. What caught me was an iconic scene – that of a train speeding away, and the protagonist (Kareena Kapoor) rushing to jump on. Years later, when I arrived in India, I hit the tarmac racing through customs, baggage claim, to the next gate. My runaway train was my connecting flight to Pune.