ll srishti ll
Newsletter of EKTA,
The Indian Students’ Association at UMBC
Issue No. II, April 2002
President: Babu Raman
Secretary: Meghna Kukreja
Eddy’s Korner…
Hi! Once again, it’s time to
take our minds off the treadmill
and take a look at what our
confreres have to say. It’s good
to see so many people take interest in things outside
the academic chamber and participate in various
events organized in school. Let me take this
opportunity to thank all those who have taken some
time off their pressing schedules and had a hand in
keeping EKTA going. That goes for everyone who
has contributed for this issue of SRISHTI, the
enthusiastic participants who will represent the
Indian Student’s Association for the International
Nite, and the unnoticed volunteers running around all
day, without whom any event would be unachievable.
Thanks, guys!
On another note, let me give you a quick update
on what’s been happening at EKTA. So far, in Spring
2002 – which happens to be the first semester for
EKTA - we screened five movies in our series of six,
had an informal session to help students file their
taxes, and started two regular features of the
organization; a monthly newsletter, SRISHTI and a
weekly radio show, NAMASKAR INDIA (Fridays at
5:00 pm), which have been going great. And to end
the semester in style, we look forward to a
spellbinding classical tabla concert by the Hossain
brothers, and a fun cricket tournament to unwind
the scholastic tension.
Finally, I would remind you that EKTA is open to
all UMBC students of any nationality, graduate or
undergraduate. Please keep up that enthusiasm; it
does wonders to the organization, not to mention to
your persona. (Now isn’t that enough incentive? ;)
Do visit us at http://sta.umbc.edu/orgs/ekta/. Good
luck for your projects and exams, and
congratulations to those of you graduating in Spring
2002.
Yours in EKTA,
Gauri.
Editor: Gauri Shringarpure
Indian Memories
- Hema Ganapathy
Here, in the US, it is not
memories of my workplace or
home in Baroda that come
visiting. During homesick moments, I muse about old
Induben who lived on the first floor of our
apartment and swore her hair was naturally jet black
at the considerable age of 75 till I spied a bottle of
Dabur Kaali Mehendi in her shopping thaila. I think
about the Marwari shopkeeper at Kamal Provision
Store who benignly ripped us off on the prices of
commodities but always asked “Kaisi ho, bitiya?” in
genuinely affectionate tones, and whose eyes
flooded with tears when I told him stonily of the
breakup of my marriage. I reminisce about the time
when my teenage neighbor Abha, several years
younger than I came diffidently into my house to ask
me what happens when girls have periods and
confided to me about all her 13 year old anxieties.
Memories of young Chirayu who was but seven years
old to my 18 calling me “Hema didi”, my chancing on
him one evening at a mall when he was 16, whistling
at a passing pretty girl like a seasoned roadside
Romeo, his guilty eyes silently imploring me to not
tell his mother what he had been doing…that memory
always makes me smile. Now Chirayu Patel is a
husband and father. I remember walking down to the
shops and being greeted by different people who
variously wanted to know how my parents were, how
my daughter Saagarika was and how my sister in
Amberika was doing. We had lived in the same house
for 18 years. Everyone knew everybody. I remember
the forever open doors of all the houses in our
apartment. Neighbors walked in and out. As the
smell of hamburgers floats into my uneasy nose,
memories wing in of the smell of hing in Amma’s
tadka. When I unthinkingly type up documents and
print them out, I think invariably of the boy at
Media Point in Fatehganj, Baroda who faithfully
typed up all my documents for me at the rate of “75
paisey per seet, Hemaben. Yej hamara roji hai. Kaisa
chalta hai nahi? Humku Englis bhi nahi aata hai!” And
he would laugh. He was very bright could not go to
college. I could not laugh then, I still cannot. When I
spy completely lighted buildings in the dead of the
night here (for security reasons I am told), I
remember with a pang, pitch-dark office buildings in
cash-strapped India. When I see the furniture,
clothes and household items casually decorating
trash dumps here, a picture comes into my mind of
children begging for a morsel of food on the railway
platform in India. So many memories stream through
my mind. I once heard in a song or a poem, ironically
I do not remember which – The biggest memories
come from the smallest things.
Zaika
Lamb Delight
- Gargi Banerjee
Ingredients:
1.
Lamb chops (2 lb)
2. Onions (2 medium-size): Grind 1 onion and dice
the other.
3. Ginger (2 tsp)
4. Garlic (3-4 cloves)
5. Green Chillies (2-4)
6. Tomato (1 large)
7. Coriander leaves (1 small bunch - diced)
8. Yogurt (Half cup)
9. Turmeric powder (1-2 tsp)
10. Salt/Sugar – as per taste
11. Spice Mix: Cumin seeds (2 tsp), Bay leaf (2), 4
cloves + 4 cardamom + ½ inch cinnamon stick
Procedure:
1.
Marinate meat for 30 min. with yogurt,
turmeric, chillies, salt
2. Heat oil in kadhai and add spice mix.
3. Add diced onion, chillies, ginger, garlic and fry
till onions are dark golden
4. Add ground onion and fry for 5 minutes
5. Add tomatoes and diced coriander. Fry till a
thick paste is formed
6. Add meat and fry for 5 mins without adding
water
7. Add 1 and half cup of warm water and boil for
20 mins or until meat is soft.
8. Garnish with coriander and serve with
rice/pulao
Summer Sunset
Amitkumar Mahadevan
Down she comes, a huge red ball
of fire
Natures splendidest symbol of grandeur
The sky aglow with hues and shades beyond admire
Crimson and purple, orange and pink, and a touch of
sapphire
As wings flap and glide to roosts of straw and fibre
And parched throats converge to the waterhole by
the quagmire
As weary legs of the wanderer yearn for rest they
much require
And boughs dance to a balmy zephyr, a surreal
mystique they acquire
As phantoms of darkness descend on lands beyond
and yonder
On streets and in homes are lit lamps, they declare
night's here!
Hearths waft of supper and taverns of free flowing
beer
And on couches sit millions, they follow shows of
satire.
In the havens of lovers are kindled flames of passion
and desire
In the abode of thinkers are conceived ideas that
simply inspire
On restful beds lay young minds, with dreams of
deeds they aspire
All commonly united, by visions of a tomorrow with
myriad joys to offer
Oh sunset, I love thy charming attire!
Laugh a little…
Log on to http://wmbc.umbc.edu/ Fridays at
5:00 pm for NAMASKAR INDIA
http://www.hudsonsworld.com
Desi Chronicles (cont…)
- Karthik Gurumurthy
Here are some of the changes I
happen to notice during my
recent trip to India.
Address Changes
Chennai Corporation has undertaken a venture to
renumber all the houses/business buildings. They are
being renumbered in the US (?) style with odd
numbers on one side and even numbers on the other.
So all houses now have old number and new number
concept. If you are mailing something home keep this
in mind.
Bus Names
Gone are all the Pallavan, Jayalalitha transport etc.
All the buses that run within the city are now called
"Managara Perundhu". Buses that run between cities
(TPTC) are now called something to that effect,
can’t remember. But, none of the buses are now
named after any leaders. That is a refreshing
change.
Qwicky's Coffee
A chain of coffee stores (a la Starbucks) has sprung
up all over the city. Same fare as in Starbucks latte,
Mochas, Cappuccinos etc. Go ask for a regular
coffee and they look at you like, What? Pretty
decent products and priced sky high but has no
dearth for customers.
Food World
A chain of grocery stores. Not as large as your
neighborhood Giants or Mars but bigger than a 7-11.
Has groceries displayed just like in the US. You push
a cart, pick what you want and pay at the checkout
counter. Targeted at upper middle class (?) For
example, they don’t have Kissan but do have
Tropicana. Most grocery stores have these flyers
that you get thru mail where they advertise the
product & prices for the week. Just like back there
right down to having a cross across the old price and
a lower price written in bold next to it.
Dominos/Pizza Hut
There is one in every street corner. Same dress
code as back here. The delivery guys whiz around in
a scooter with a special delivery box instead of the
backseat. Pizza is free if not delivered within 40
minutes. A medium with three toppings costs about
Rs. 110. Have not tried one yet so cant comment on
the taste.
A Foray into Video Games
-Sushama Prasad
Many
students
who
have
recently come to the US for
advanced studies are not familiar
with the huge world of video games, something that
is a household matter for families here. One out of
every six US households currently owns a
PlayStation. Last year, $6.3 billion was made in the
video game industry alone, which didn't account for
PC games. That's only $.6 billion less than the
earnings the film industry saw. The industry's
growth has been tremendous, and it continues to
grow at a very high rate.
I was only recently introduced to the gaming
industry, when I secured an internship at a wellknown games studio in Maryland. Over the last few
weeks, I have gained a lot of interest in video games.
There are a number of issues involved in making a
video game, very few of which I knew about before I
started work. This article is intended to be the first
in a series of many, which will share interesting
information I come across. I will start from the very
basics, and hopefully, if there is enough interest in
these articles, we will get to more details about the
exciting and fun world of video games.
For this article, let's start with the Nintendo
64, which launched in Japan and the United States
in the summer and fall of 1996, respectively. Only a
handful of companies have become synonymous with
video games. There's Atari, creator of Pong and the
Atari 2600; Sega, the company behind the Genesis,
the Dreamcast, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Virtua
Fighter; Sony, whose PlayStation has become one of
the most successful consoles of all time; and finally,
Nintendo, the force behind the NES, the SNES, and
the Nintendo 64 and creator of Donkey Kong, Mario,
The Legend of Zelda, and the coming Dolphin
system.
After releasing some of its most memorable
arcade games while people were still buying millions
of cartridges a year for the Atari 2600, Nintendo
took over the crushed home market in 1985, firmly
establishing itself as an industry giant. Throughout
the late '80s and early '90s, Nintendo focused its
attention on broadening the sales appeal of the NES
to mass-market status. Using established and wellknown American companies as advertising partners,
Nintendo developed cross promotions with Pepsi and
McDonalds, in the process making sure everyone in
America knew just what a "Nintendo" was. In roughly
the same period, Nintendo games spawned several
children's cartoon shows, including Super Mario
Bros. and Captain N: The Game Master, which rose
to top positions in the ratings for several years.
After nearly five years of unparalleled success,
Nintendo faced serious competition from rival Sega
in the 16-bit market. Forced to play catch-up,
Nintendo reemerged as a newly aggressive and
slightly humbled company, admitting that Sega had
been successful. SNES sales rebounded, and
Nintendo planned for the launch of two new
consoles. By 1995, with the failed launch of the
Virtual Boy and development delays looming for the
Nintendo 64, the company was on the verge of
watching its Japanese empire fall apart as key
supporters defected or divided their support
amongst Nintendo, Sega, and new competitor Sony.
Today, Nintendo still strives to regain the place
it once held as king of both the American and
Japanese game marketplaces, forced to compete
against Sega, one of the most successful arcade
game developers, and Sony, the world's foremost
consumer electronics company. In August 2000,
Nintendo finally unveiled its long-rumored new
system, officially titled the GameCube. Created in
conjunction with companies like IBM and ArtX, the
Nintendo GameCube is more powerful than its
existing competitors.
Next week: GameCube
(Notes: Text taken from: www.gamespot.com and
www.videogames.com. Feedback on this series will be
most appreciated. I will try to focus on issues that
are of particular interest.)
Silent Lessons
- Gauri Shringarpure
"How's that?" I asked.
"Because they have so much to
give", answered my mother,
"and they do not say a word". I swallowed the ball of
rice and dal she fed me, without even having
bothered to chew it properly. I was five - and
recalcitrant. I hated sitting at the dining table with
everybody else, being a passive part of the
discussions that I suspect made no sense even to
the intellectuals, laughing heartily at things that
were nowhere close to being funny. My mum had to
feed me with her hands, that too, on those steps
right at the entrance to our house. Every meal came
with a story - about ships, or airplanes. Sometimes it
would be the earth, and the universe. At times, God.
Today it was going to be trees. "Trees are wonderful
teachers", she would say. "If only one was willing
enough to learn from them".
Whether it was because of that impressionable
age, or because of the way my mother imparted it to
me, I still don’t know. But I do take two minutes of
my time every day to stop and marvel at this
creation we so easily fail to give the thought it
deserves.
I was walking home from school one day in the
fourth grade, as a little boy came along and trampled
a sapling as a part of his game. The fight that
followed, my crying - he turned out to be the
stronger one - and playing doctor to that little shrub
are still green in my memory. Today that little
sapling has grown into a four-meter tall peepal tree.
I have grown by just about a few centimeters, and
still just as adamant.
Come spring, and everyone is in high spirits.
Kids play gleefully on the road. No school. No biting
cold. And the trees, they're so full of cheerful
blossom. The colorful flowers will perhaps bloom into
fruits. Fruits to which our friend will play mother,
its boughs swaying to the soft rhythm of the wind.
They bend as low as possible – bend, but do not
stoop. "Reach out to me, don't be afraid", they seem
to say, "I'm still approachable". No ego. Self
respect, yes. I wondered if we humans could take
something from them. Perhaps we could never be like
them. A voice inside me screamed, massive ego,
flexible self-respect.
And then there's summer. Hot and sweaty. All
of us can only demand - fans, air-conditioners, cola…
And right round the corner stands someone quiet,
wanting to give so much. Shade. Serenity. Green
solace. I thought of my mother - so giving, without a
complaint, being taken for granted; tolerating so
much - above all, us.
Autumn. Time for leaves to fall. Despair? But
how can it experience the ecstasy of sprouting new
leaves if it's afraid of the fall? New leaves, like a
new child, a new life. Even in winter, it'll hold on, in
the stark, cold snow. Tonsured and freezing, but
never heart-broken. Waiting patiently for the
spring, for it knows spring will come soon; because it
has trust - trust in itself. In the spring. In all of us.
I watched my mother as she stood watering the
plants when I visited her last summer. She looked a
little older than the time I last saw her. Strands of
gray on her head, a smile on her face. Her words
echoed in my mind as I sat there reflecting, a book
in my absent-minded hands: "…because they have
much to give…and they do not say a word".
I smiled.
Indian Classical Music Concert
Jugalbandi performance by
Shri Jakir Hossain & Shri Monir Hossain on
Tabla,
accompanied on Violin by Arun Bagal
Date/Time: April 21, 2002 at 7 pm
Venue:
Recital Hall, Fine Arts Bldg
Tickets:
$8 with valid UMBC student ID
$12 for all others
Tickets available at the new commons info desk,
Andy (arangn1@umbc.edu x53762), Meghna
(meg3@umbc.edu x52862), and at the door