When President Barack Obama announced plans to attend the U.N. Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, I was excited. This was definitely a change in the right direction from the Bush administration. Then the e-mail scandal from the University of East … Continue reading
SARITA SARVATE, Mar 07, 2009 Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, paints a bleak picture of a post-apocalyptic earth in the grips of a freeze akin to nuclear winter, much talked about in the ’70s. The sun’s rays cannot penetrate the … Continue reading
SARITA SARVATE, Sep 04, 2008 Every four years, I look forward to the Olympics. I love to watch individuals struggling to achieve excellence; I like to see a javelin throw, an equestrian jump. I love to hear the rubber of … Continue reading
Published by New America Media Editor’s Note: After going from California to India to take care of her ailing mother, commentator Sarita Sarvate is confronted by the stark reality of the energy divide between the world’s haves and have-nots. It … Continue reading
In the last 30 years, whenever I went back to India, one of two moods invariably overcame me: a feeling of total relaxation or that of total despair. For the first decade and a half after I arrived on these … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: An Indian American remembers how the mystical mountain valleys of Kashmir were, through Bollywood films, forever embedded in her imagination. Recent moves toward peace in the disputed region give the writer hope that Hindus and Muslims can embrace … Continue reading
Ayodhya is big enough for both a mosque and a temple The latest bomb blasts in Mumbai have prompted Indian politicians to hurl a new set of accusations at Pakistani leaders. But to many observers, this recent spate of violence … Continue reading
For my children, the Iraqi war has blurred the boundaries between fantasy and reality. My kids are hypnotized by newspaper pictures of Pentagon war simulators, just as they are fascinated by video games like Mortal Kombat on their computers. They … Continue reading
President George Bush claims to be on a mission to eliminate terrorism and promote democracy around the world. If this were really the case, Indians at home and abroad would be overjoyed, on both counts. For, India happens to be … Continue reading
When I was growing up in India, the word “satta” was synonymous with the word “jugar.” The former referred to stocks, while the latter meant gambling. Owning stocks and gambling money were considered vices that only the lowliest creatures indulged … Continue reading