When I first came to America, people would ask me why my native country couldn’t get along with its neighbor. After all, memories of India’s three wars with Pakistan were still fresh in American minds then. I would try to … Continue reading
For the first years of the Bush presidency, I, like many intellectuals, viewed our commander-in-chief as a bumbling idiot who had stumbled into office with the backing of oil lobbyists who had installed him as a puppet ruler. But in … Continue reading
I am once again facing the dilemma I encountered when Bill Clinton was running for president. Back then, I couldn’t figure out what to make of Hillary. Now, I can’t figure out what to make of Teresa. Ironically, I was … Continue reading
Recent reports from the International AIDS Confer-ence in Bangkok painted a grim picture of women’s health in India. It appears that we now have an AIDS epidemic of unsurpassed proportions in India, where it is estimated that the highest numbers of HIV-infected … Continue reading
Just as I was beginning to think that P.G. Wodehouse was dated and that most people in the English speak-ing world could no longer remember who he was or what he had written, I came upon an essay in a … Continue reading
I was at a weekend retreat recently at one of those gatherings where “saying your truth,” “asking for a hundred percent of what you want,” and “letting go of social taboo” is encouraged. I was shocked therefore to encounter on … Continue reading
In his famous epic novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez talks about a mythical town abutting the marshland of Colombia, where people had never seen ice and where the only source of knowledge of the outside world … Continue reading
I was dining with some friends last week when somehow the conversation turned to the subject of goddesses. “We have goddesses in India,” I casually quipped. “So what have your goddesses done for the women of your country in the … Continue reading
If I were to write a memoir, it would be choreo-graphed with the sounds of radio providing the background theme. When I was a baby, I would tug at my parents’ sleeves whenever we passed by a shop playing a … Continue reading
When I was a little girl, I was fascinated by velvet. The fabric seemed to me to symbolize opulence. This was before the advent of nylon clothes in India; before polyester shirts and colorful synthetic saris became fashion statements. At … Continue reading