Yes that was Aishwarya — it was a photo from “Taal”…..DesiDancer refuses to show us what she looks like because she thinks it would be too much for a poor sheltered desi boy like me to handle without passing out or having a stroke

She may well be right…..

wow! really? i see you’ve changed the pic. that wasnt a flattering shot – looked rather vaxy even. so i take it you’ve started your own gig… awesome and good luck!!

dhavaak, dude, that’s Aishwarya Rai.

Incidentally, Elizabeth of Verbal Privilege has also given her impressions of the panel here.

She objects to one thing Amitav Ghosh said:

(One bizarre moment, though: in an otherwise thoughtful digression on the tenacity of South Asian diasporas, he said something like ‘take an Indian and put them anywhere, and they’ll be fine; if you took an American and dropped them into India they wouldn’t last ten minutes.’ Perhaps that was just snark, but still, WTF? I lasted plenty longer than that, thankyouverymuch. Downright flourished, as a matter of fact. Though it’s hard not to, in Kerala, where everything seems to blossom: even jetlagged wide-eyed white girls). Overall, though, a rewarding evening–and a sadly underattended one (no idea why).

That’s true, now that I think about it. Not only are there many culturally flexible/open-minded Americans, there are plenty of Indians who reach the U.S. and completely fail to flourish.

no, not you? that lady looked a little older than i thought you’d be… now youre just teasing me about my cooking… but my bharta/ratatouille doesnt come out half-bad.. come on over to toronto for bumbai dreams and i’ll make you some.

He felt in India you know stupidity when you see it, here in the US there was a plain lack of common sense. He felt a country thatÂ’s known defeat, like India is able to be more realistic of its abilities and is wiser than the US. He felt the dialogue in India was much more informed, eloquent, articulate and aware of ground realities than here.

interestingly the year i read that exchange was the year that three of the four award finalists were born outside canada… a casual coincidence or maybe not… i came across the following poem on a plaque in a walk through high park. it was authored by a Japanese Canadian and presented to Emperor Hirohito in 67. i hope you enjoy it as much as i did today. A long way from home
They have been brought
And yet these goldfish
Already seem to enjoy
Swimming in Canadian waters. funny… I normally dont read poetry, but sometimes when i get it, it’s a complete experience

dhavaak, I wish! If you behave mail me some eggplant, perhaps soon there will be a picture. In the meantime, a bright yellow cotton button-down shirt and some high-waisted ripped jeans would be fabulous. I’ll meet you in Winnepeg and we can run around trees!