Total Recall

Our Words, Our Sentiments

“It was in such information-de-saturated times that I landed in Dayton, on a balmy summer day.”

Rajee Padmanabhan, The Power of My 929, July 2013

“Leaving aside the ludicrousness of why someone would be traipsing about on a brightly lit sunny day just after they had perpetrated a crime, I got straight to the point and said, ‘You stopped me because you made an assumption of my race.’ Inadvertently confirming my suspicion, the officer responded, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a black. All that matters is that you matched the description I have.”

Benedito R. Ferrao, The Man Who Wouldn’t Be King, August 2013

Given that gift giving is a necessary evil, can we as a society, try to make it less evil?

Sujatha Ramprasad, Greener Gifts Please, March 2013

“Yet, deep down somewhere, I envy those who can believe. I long for that childhood when I pined for idols; when prayers and rituals were symbols of belonging, of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.”

Sarita Sarvate, Of Gods and Faith, October 2013

“The problem with sauteing and dicing the husband is that at the end of all the grilling you must cross his path again and again-in the bedroom, the kitchen and the family room.”
Kalpana Mohan, Offend Me and You’ll Be Chutney, May 2013

And what happens if you’re not a “survivor?” The implication is that if you die of cancer, you just didn’t try hard enough. You failed. So if you’re a “non-survivor,” are you a “failure?” Or are you just dead?

Ranjani Iyer Mohanty, Heroes Among Us, September 2013

“…Korobi looks so like her dead mother that the words die in Sarojini’s throat. Not her face or her fair skin-but that posture, that troublesome yearning toward the world, that radiant smile as she turns toward her grandmother.”

Chitra Divakaruni, The Mystique of the Past, April 2013

“Some people find classical music downright annoying. A friend of mine during my college days used to get irritated every time I listened to an elaborate “todi alapanai.” It didn’t matter that it was played by a leading violinist; it apparently made his ears bleed!”

Kanniks Kannikeswaran, Musical Tastes, April 2013

The life of a Princess just isn’t what it’s made out to be, [Diana] seems to imply. The Prince is off chasing after another skirt (the cad!), the meddling in-laws are restricting her visits with her sons, and the press is murderously nosy.

Geetika Pathania Jain, The Princess and the Heart Surgeon, November 2013

At my school in Kolkata, far far away from the American civil rights movement and the red hills of Georgia, “I Have a Dream” was an elocution favorite. Tutored by Belgian priests, Bengali students from resolutely middle class families belted out their renditions of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous speech. Stripped of its historical context, delivered in the prone-to-breaking voices of teenagers, our tremulous interpretation of an African-American preacher’s cadence often landed somewhere in between Bollywood melodrama and souped-up folk theater.

Sandip Roy, An American Export Mightier than McDonald’s, October, 2013

Before long, Epsi will have so much stuff she’ll require what Virginia Woolf once longed for-a room of her own-and despite our best academic efforts and socialist impulses, she’ll open her lips to pronounce that possessive “mine.”

Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, Epsilon’s Worldly Possessions, April 2013

Celebrity Airwaves

Shahrukh Khan
Having kids changes the meaning of everything…it makes the clouds readable, and the sky touchable and words I could never say, speakable.

Tulsi Gabbard
Marriage issue will divide communities as long as gov’t involved-gov’t shld remove itself, let ppl live their lives

Kal Penn
A gate agent at Dulles Airport is repeatedly announcing the boarding of a flight to “Piss-Burg.”

Kareena Kapoor
Being a bride is like a dream come true for every girl. It was like a fairytale for me. Everything felt magical.

Aasif Mandvi
Watch me teach Anthony #Weiner what to do with a Mango Lassi. Tonight on @TheDailyShow on @ComedyCentral

Amitabh Bachchan
… embarrassing moment for celebrity: raising hand to acknowledge a wave from passer by, and discovering its not for you !!

Mindy Kaling
Sometimes it seems like I’m yelling at someone but I’m really just yelling at the ether.

Vinod Khosla
Don’t listen to VCs, most don’t know s–t http://bit.ly/17RemH2

Sonia Faleiro
Go out to lunch or get back into bed and spoon sleeping dog?

Anupam Kher
Playing an honest man on screen is as exhausting as being an honest person in real life.:)

Chetan Bhagat
Truly secular people never have to bring up the fact that they are secular.

Deepak ChopraTHE SOUTH ASIAN VOTE COUNTS.

Most Read Articles

Perfectly Done
             Kalpana Mohan, September 2013
Naked Yogis and Toe Socks
             Mimm Patterson, February 2013
March Against Monsanto
            Chris Kanthan, May 2013

Cover Stories that Hit Home

May 2013 Graph Search: On a Quest

July 2013 Tagore:100 Years after Nobel Prize

Nov 2013 Ro Khanna

Most Popular IC Recipes

Satsivi Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Mix)
Ye Misir Wot (Spicy Ethiopian Lentils)
Baghara Baingan
Hyderabadi Biryani
Green Gazpacho
Cucumber Margarita

Eloquently Said…

Just as I began reading your July 2013 issue, I put on the kettle for “tea” like Sarita Sarvate (Tea, India Currents, July 2013), called out to my husband, “I’ll have three sugars with that, please” like Kalpana Mohan (I’ll Have Three Sugars With That, Please, India Currents, July 2013), then went into the den and managed to find a spot to sit on “the accursed couch” like Lakshmi Palecanda (The Accursed Couch, India Currents, July 2013) to read your always interesting magazine. Congratulations on starting up in Washington, D.C.

A. Sharma, West Covina, CA

Pop Quiz-Readers Respond

Favorite Comfort Food?

Mom’s mirchi parantha and moong daal with tadka
Monica Kumar

Chutney with crispy dosa
Srinath Murthy

Self-made quinoa upma with spinach sambar, made with MTR sambar powder
Vasudev Bhandarkar

Rasam and roasted potato
Kalpana Mohan

Saag paneer with naan and some raita
Mary Ann Donnegan

Daal chawal
Ras Siddiqui

Real Housewives of Orange County
Srinath Murthy

Your Guilty Pleasure?

Real Housewives of Orange County
Srinath Murthy

Daytime drinks with friends
Raj Singh

Facebook stops between writing
Kalpana Mohan

Snacking before bed
Tushar Kumar

Conversation Starter?

What are you drinking?
Srinath Murthy

What are you working on?
Prakash Narayan

Aapko pahale bhi kaheen dekha hai …
Vijay R.

A wicked smile
Vasudev Bhandarkar

Of course, the number one conversation starter: the sari.
Kalpana Mohan

Favorite Hindi Movie Dialog?

Utamamm dadh dhadhatt padham … madhyam padham thuchuk thuchuk … khanishtham thudthudiiy padham … sursuria pran ghatkam. (A loud fart is respectable … a medium fart is tolerable … a slight fart is fearful … a silent fart is unbearable)-3 Idiots
Dhan Sak

Robert iss harami ko liquid oxygen may daal do! Liquid issay jeenay nahi day gaa, oxygen issay marnay nahi day gaa!-Ajit
Ramesh P.

Tum mujhse koi vada nahi kar rahi ho, aaj mai tumse ek vada karna chahta hoon-Guide
Vijay R.

Arre O Sambha, Kitne aadmi the-Sholay
Ruchita Jadhav, Srinath Murthy

Suniye, main tumhare bacche ki ma banney wali hoon-Dhool ka Phool
Vasudev Bhandarkar

Picture Abhi Baki Hai Mere Dost
Monica Kumar

My Name is Khan and I am not a terrorist-My Name is Khan
Ras Siddiqui

Something You Cannot Leave Home Without?

Pen in my left pant pocket
Akshat Raj

My Kajal Stick
Monica Kumar

Wallet
Tushar Kumar

My dog
Ramesh P.

A book, a chapstick and a jacket
Shalini Srivastava