To be American -- Reinvent Being Asian!

temporal #14

`` The circle should be formed by ten children holding hands: two from each country in traditional garbs and one from each gender.``

You are stirring a hornet`s nest friend. Way we desi behave, we will again be each other throats deciding what should be taken as ``traditional garb`` ..)

Sincerely

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan veteren sarod maestro had something to say to all Indians.

http://www.rediff.com/chat/amjchat.htm

We are celebrating a new millennium and the whole world is sharing this with each other in terms of celebrations. But I personally feel that we are going through a very alarming stage. Over the years, we all have encouraged a Coca Cola culture, a synthetic culture and it is a cultural threat to every country. I think it`s high time we looked for our identity, our roots. We should not forget our own identity. It is nice to admire good points of every culture and to adopt them, but I am saying this especially for us Indians -- we should not look down upon our own tradition and culture. One should be able to appreciate and admire all kinds of music, whether pop, bhajan, qawwali, western classical... But we should always encourage our traditional and classical music because classical music cannot be called profession. It is a way of life. As a classical musician, I don`t feel that I am an entertainer. From my childhood, I gave my life to God, to art and dedicated myself to the purity and sanctity of Indian classical music. To appreciate any music, one doesn`t need to know the technicalities. If anybody says that he understands Beethoven, can he explain what he understands? In other words, music has to be experienced. There are two kinds of music -- one is pure sound and the other is based on words -- i e text, lyrics. As a sarod player, I have dealt all my life with pure sound because, if my sarod is heard with concentration, one can experience the presence of God.

Nowadays, with the help of recorded music in every religion, people are offering prayers through CDs and cassettes. I personally feel that we must offer God something with our own voice or words or through our instrument. For peace of mind and tranquillity, one should listen to instrumental music with concentration, especially the sarod. If you want to appreciate the poetry in a song, that also is very satisfying. It satisfies a different faculty of the mind and the body. But the impact of sound is tremendous because every human being is born with sound and rhythm -- the heart beat is the indication of rhythm and what we talk is part of music because conversation, recitation, chanting, singing -- they are all part of music. My every concert is a special offering to my listeners because I cannot repeat that concert again. The sound of sarod is very refreshing. It`s rejuvenating for the human mind and body. Our music is based on spirituality, religion and faith. The ulimate success is in the hand of God and that is why I feel as if I am a poojari, fakir, sanyasi, because I am constantly doing sadhana to achieve all the colours and messages and shades of sa re ga ma pa dha ni -- the seven notes that God has created.

SameerJB #13:

Liked your idea of a commemorative stamp for the Desis.


You say, ....``Here is my choice. A simple circle surrounded by the flags of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.``

Can I suggest a modification?

The circle should be formed by ten children holding hands: two from each country in traditional garbs and one from each gender.

regards,

temporal

Asian Americans` achievements forthemselves and USA are truly remarkable. It really now depends on the second generation Asian Americans to contribute and make it a powerhouse in professionalism, business and politics. So far I am thrilled about the tremendous strides, we have made.

This is a proposal for Desi Americans. I believe we should push for issuing a 32cents postage stamp by the US Postal Service to honor the contributions of Desis. It would be interested to see what picture would truly represent all the Desi Americans. Any comments? Any suggestions? How about Indian Buddha, Gandhi, Taj Mahal, Mohenjodaro or K-2? None of these will be satisfactory to all Desis. Here is my choice. A simple circle surrounded by the flags of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. A circle represents Hindu concept of reincarnation and cycle of lives; it is present in the flags of India and Bangladesh and most importantly it is the best gift of Indian Civilization to rest of the world in the form of zero.

Swarm the US postal service with e-mails, asking for it. The caption should mention Buddha, Gandhi and zero.

My reply #6 was not meant for this article. It was meant for the article titled ``A crane called Benazir``. Sorry.

Important Article!
Just got through reading
``The Karma of Brown Folk`` by Vijay Prashad.
Highly recommened for all South Asians.

Ras

Ylh

Senseless devotion makes you lose your credibility. In fact I fear you`ve lost all yours. No matter who or what the issue, nothing is black or white. Every contentious issue can be argued both way and will alway find sympathiser. The question is are you going to the a sheep...inaxcessable to all opposing opnions...joining the fold blind, frantic biogot who in there fevor equate every incident as proof for necessity of their policies.

You are in the US...watch Jack Van Impe show and you`ll know what I mean.

We were discussin an article by an Indian about Asian Heritage month ...

I wonder what India`s most important heritage is ... Neo Nazism in form of BJP or Genocide in Kashmir ..

Pakistan Zindabad

Quaid e Azam Zindabad

Jiye Bhutto

Imran Khan for PM

-Yasser Hamdani

PS yes I do write these every where

tahmed saheb,

``Funny article. Some of the responses (e.g. from ``Friend``) makes it clear that for some people any humor is like (to translate directly from Urdu) playing the flute before a buffalo. ``

aap kho gaye hain!! You are putting this article in the category of funny articles? I appreciate your sense of humor. But bhaijaan, mujhe to aisa humor samaj nahin aata.

Regards

Dear professor,

You wrote ``....but we also suffer higher rates of poverty (14% ) than the national average( 13%).``

May I ask how is it so? Does this percentage also include the illegal immigrants?

I will really appreciate your reply.

Best regards.

Funny article. Some of the responses (e.g. from ``Friend``) makes it clear that for some people any humor is like (to translate directly from Urdu) playing the flute before a buffalo.

Janaab Yaseer ##2,

Chithra madam wrote an essay on Asian Heritage Month and you are bent upon again making it an Indo-Pak match.

BTW, do you chant your ``jindabad this, jindabad that`` before boarding and after getting off from the NewYork trains? DO you also write them in your school reports and personal letters? Just curious! (BTW to BTW, in India we used to have people who could be hired to say ``Jindabad this, Jindabad that`` for Rs 50 a day. Some of the louder one became ministers also. Is that your occupation too? If yes, you have good chances of becoming PM of Pakistan.)

Apka dost

ylh

{{I always saw being in the United States as a great opportunity to expose to the world whats going on in Kashmir ... the ruthless genocide by the Indian Forces which needs to be condemned by all (Asians and) human beings not just Pakistanis and Muslims.sO CHITRA what do you say about this ... Asian Awareness ... Awareness of Genocide}}

Undoubtedly, you are a young man of boundless enthusiasm. May I humbly suggest that you first concentrate your energy in convincing your ``friendly`` neighborhood Islamic countries of the Indian genocide? If they are aware of the genocide, they are giving you lip service (at best) or jerking you off (at worst). One oil embargo will solve the Kashmir problem in 2 minutes. Now, if you can pull that off, you will definitely become the next Pakistani PM--way ahead of your time & ambitions.

The US--forgetaboutit--they stopped short of calling Pak a terrorist nation.

Small steps, my man, you`ll get there.

Cry, the beloved `other` country

http://www.smh.com.au/news/0005/27/text/pageone08.html

For Usha Sundar Harris, the coup is the latest in a long line of betrayals.

I always saw being in the United States as a great opportunity to expose to the world whats going on in Kashmir ... the ruthless genocide by the Indian Forces which needs to be condemned by all (Asians and) human beings not just Pakistanis and Muslims.sO CHITRA what do you say about this ... Asian Awareness ... Awareness of Genocide ...

Yes we need to integration and closer cooperation amongst minorites .... so that the Minorities in the US dont have the same fate as minorities in India ....

I am proud to be an Asian... and I am proud to be a Pakistani ... and I am proud to be a Muslim....

My Asia is awakening ... are you ready USA????

ASIA ZINDABAD

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

QUAID E AZAM ZINDABAD

JIYE BHUTTO

IMRAN KHAN FOR PM

-Yasser Hamdani

The remarkable success of the Asian Americans in the US is as much a tribute to the individuals concerned and the values they brought with them as it is to the cultural and political environment of their adopted home, the USA.