May 1, 2009 Portland Edition Vol. 5 No. 1 Events   There are 10 upcoming events listed in our Portland calendar. Click here for calendar. Swine Flu over the Cuckoo's Nest The paranoia du jour sweeping the US, and likely most other countries of the world, swine flu is an unknown strain of the virus. Doctors fear that it might mutate into a version that might not be controllable with existing vaccines. If so, prevention is no longer just better than the cure -- now it is the only cure. So it is that the nostrums of politicians, always good for a laugh, are ironically quite valid this time. After you chuckle hearing a President opening a press conference by telling the nation to wash its hands (though not, unfortunately, out of feelings of guilt), do take his advice. And rejoice. For once, one suspects, we are being told the truth! Biden needs a mask VP Joe Biden told a morning newscast he had asked all his family not to fly or use the subway. The 'let them eat cake' of our times! Queen of the Untouchables, Ruler of India? If a man with a black father becoming president of the USA is a big journey, it is nothing compared with the prospect of a Harijan prime minister. This scenario is a long shot no longer. Here Aakar Patel documents the long road to power upon which Dalit leader Mayawati is set. Already the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, which if it were a country would be bigger than most nation states, Patel says she is corrupt, brilliant, single-minded and unscrupulous, all at the same time. A fascinating portrait. More... The Day of the Shoe-Cide Bomber Montazer al-Zaidi, whose shoe-slinging at George W. Bush's press conference last year made a huge news splash, has gained a world-wide band of imitators, most of them in India, evidently. Most famous of these -- Jarnail Singh, a Delhi journalist. P. Sainath on this new 'jarnailism'. More... Not your father's Congress Somewhere along the line, the Congress has shed many of its principle; the torch has been passed to a more amoral, if 'pragmatic' new leadership. Jawed Naqvi writes from Delhi. More... It's deja vu all over again Analyst and commentator Mike Whitney was predicting the meltdown in these columns a year and a half before things came crashing down in broad daylight that autumn day in 2008. Now he brings another uncomfortable truth to the fore - the housing crisis is far from solved, and is primed to get worse. A detailed and comprehensive view of the coming worse times. Unless the government takes bold action, he says, it is plain trouble ahead. More... Malgudi on the Mississippi? Everyone has heard of RK Narayan, the doyen of Indian authors in English. His most famous novel was The Guide, the source of Dev Anand's hit film of the 1960's. Narayan's most memorable character, though, was Margayya, in whose rise and fall Narayan captured the entire ethos of business and its innate idiocies of greed and overreach. Now The Financial Expert, written in 1952, might prove to be RKN's most prescient novel, in light of its almost uncanny anticipation of today's economic crisis, writes Niranjan Ramakrishnan. More... How to Preserve Heritage and Still Catch 40 Winks The urge to teach youngsters Indian music and dance is laudable, but does it need to be so taxing on the child? A new series of columns by Ram S. Sriram, himself a musician and academic. More... Movies     There are currently no Indian movies playing in Portland. Updates... Joke Sabha From Gidu Sriram: An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly that made the world community smile. A representative from India began: 'Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Rishi Kashyap of Kashmir, after whom Kashmir is named. When he struck a rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath.' He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Pakistani had stolen them...' The Pakistani representative jumped up furiously and shouted, 'What are you talking about? The Pakistanis weren't there then.' The Indian representative smiled and said, 'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech... About us |Submit articles |Advertise | Contact us |Subscribe FREE |Privacy Policy |Archives Copyright© indogram - the global Indian village in your neighborhood™