tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78093136598240713742024-03-13T16:14:17.793-04:00iN DialogueCelebrating the links that bind and connect us, our individuality and our spirit. Sharing insights gained through universal daily routines. Of Loving, Nurturing and Creating Memories.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-2408029747493251142013-02-12T16:00:00.000-05:002014-02-11T10:48:23.850-05:00Praise and gratitude can improve solutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.centredaily.com/2013/02/02/3487187/nalini-krishnankutty-praise-and.html" target="_blank"><b> </b></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.centredaily.com/2013/02/02/3487187/nalini-krishnankutty-praise-and.html" target="_blank">First published in Centre Daily Times, Feb 2, 2013</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A remark made at President Barack Obama’s inauguration has given me much food for thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sen.
Lamar Alexander, co-chairman of the presidential inauguration
committee, started his introductory remarks with, “Ladies and gentlemen,
the late Alex Haley, the author of ‘Roots,’ lived his life by these six
words: find the good and praise it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexander, a Republican, went on to praise our process of electing leaders peacefully by exercising our right to vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Acknowledging
this essential goodness of our democratic system affords us a better
perspective, even as we reflect on the billions spent on negative
messages and the evasive talking points of last year’s election season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Find
the good and praise it — six revolutionary words that Haley reportedly
first spotted on a bumper sticker, then adopted as his life’s motto.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This concept of praising the good was alien to me during the first three decades of my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My
training as an engineer taught me to look for problems and to offer
solutions. I seldom focused on stating what was already working, as I
identified problems in a quest for improvement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The idea of change
captures all our imaginations. Certainly every ecosystem, every
community, every family and every individual can change themselves and
things around them for the better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yet the idea of first finding
the good and praising it could anchor us firmly to a feeling of
gratitude, which can make us more effective in changing what needs to be
changed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Imagine people of two cultures meeting, with the idea of
finding the good and praising it. Such meetings are commonplace today
as more Americans work abroad and many from abroad work here. A bridge
would be created, across which mutual learning could occur, benefiting
both cultures even as changes that both cultures could make are
registered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Imagine Democrats acknowledging the good in
Republicans and vice versa — and both openly praising it. There
obviously is an inherent good in having at least two political parties,
because robust opposition is essential and vital to democracy. Without
it, there would be no hearings on Capitol Hill and no one to hold the
party in power accountable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Voicing the praise of what is good, of
what we are grateful for, is preferable to taking it for granted. The
British writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “Feeling gratitude and not
expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our
modern education system teaches us to be more critical than
appreciative. At school, we are encouraged to be curious, to challenge,
to change things for the better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whether we are in teaching,
medicine, engineering or law, or doing any kind of blue- or white-collar
work or in our role as parents, we are expected to be problem solvers.
Yet our training often leaves us not knowing how to be content, how to
seek the good in what already is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Consciously listing and
verbalizing the good in any existing situation can actually improve the
solutions that we arrive at. It provides a lens of gratitude, makes sure
we do not fix things that are not broken and helps us retain and learn
from what already works.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are websites devoted to
highlighting good news and achievements. Recently, at www.dailygood.org,
stories describing research on the positive health effects of gratitude
existed side by side with a story describing an innovative prison
program at Rikers Island in New York, where 300 inmates were going
through a Greenhouse Program, transforming the land and themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Studies
in positive psychology emphasize gratitude and its role in increased
contentment, decreased stress and increased service to others. It is
apparently one of the best ways to spread more good, be healthier and
possibly even create lasting change.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So every night before going
to bed, I have begun to reflect on five positive things that happened
that day. I find myself extremely thankful for the six words that have
serendipitously traveled across the ages from a bumper sticker to Alex
Haley and then through Lamar Alexander to a national audience of
millions of people, including me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/02/02/3487187/nalini-krishnankutty-praise-and.html#storylink=cpy</span></div>
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-59535779402101082712012-03-01T09:53:00.003-05:002015-07-09T17:11:20.500-04:00Voters Religious Bias Dogs Politicians<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Published in Centre Daily Times, Feb 29 2012</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">According to the 2011 Census, India, the largest democracy in the world, is 80.5 percent Hindu, 13.4 percent Muslim, 2.3 percent Christian, 1.9 percent Sikh and 0.8 percent Buddhist.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh happens to be a Sikh. He certainly comes under scrutiny for his policies, but not for his religion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In the U.S., our Constitution clearly mandates that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">However, a 2003 poll by the Pew Research Center found that U.S. voters care about the religion of presidential candidates: 38 percent would not vote for a Muslim candidate, and 50 percent would not vote for an atheist. Interestingly, “64 percent of Americans felt that a candidate’s religion, or lack thereof, could lead them to vote against a well-qualified candidate from their own party.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Coming to the current presidential field, a June 2011 Gallup poll found that “though the vast majority of Americans say they would vote for their party’s nominee for president in 2012, if that person happens to be a Mormon, 22 percent say they would not, a figure largely unchanged since 1967.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In this survey, 18 percent of Republicans, 19 percent of independents and 27 percent of Democrats said they would not vote for a qualified candidate if the person happened to be a Mormon.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">For any other job, not hiring a person who is otherwise qualified on the grounds of religion would be considered discrimination. But one fifth of Republicans and one fourth of Democrats surveyed had no qualms about doing this to a candidate for president.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">These Republican responders would not vote for Jon Huntsman or Mitt Romney.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Would they have agreed to Huntsman serving as ambassador to China or Romney serving on the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and leading the 2002 Winter Olympics to success?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Do they have qualms about the service of Republican Sens. Mike Crapo, of Idaho, Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, of Utah, Dean Heller, of Nevada, who happen to be Mormons?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Are these Democratic responders saying they would not vote for Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, or Democratic Sen. Tom Udall, of New Mexico, if they were candidates for president, because they happen to be Mormons?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Do they have evidence of these politicians letting their faith interfere with their duties? If not, letting faith factor in to voting decisions reflects only the prejudice of the voters.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Where would these voters draw the line? In what capacities would they allow Mormons, who make up slightly less than 2 percent of the U.S. public, according to the Pew Forum’s 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, serve the country?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The same survey shows that Jews account for 1.7 percent of the U.S. population and Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus each account for less than 1 percent of the population. In the future, we may have candidates for president who practice any of these religions, or who may even be atheists.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It is their constitutional right to run for president and to have no “religious test” applied to them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I hope that by then we will cultivate the ability to choose people solely on their record and their stands on various issues.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The future of our country, our democracy and the integrity of our Constitution depend on this.</span></span></div>
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-90826291300289949982012-02-04T13:19:00.005-05:002015-07-09T17:22:12.776-04:00Discourage Silent Enablers, Speak up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 130%;">Published in the Centre Daily Times, Dec 17, 2011</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">I spoke up a lot in my childhood. I was lucky to have parents who encouraged discussion, debate and questioning the status quo. They did not consider speaking up as a sign of disrespect, and we discussed everything from politics to traditions and hypocrisy to neighborhood issues. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">But as an adult, I speak out less. I tell myself that this is a sign of maturity, of understanding that life is not black and white and of making choices of which battles to fight. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">But often my silence reflects an unwillingness to expend the tremendous energy required to address conflicts and the other consequences of speaking up. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Proverbs regarding how and when to speak exist in all cultures. “Children speak only when spoken to” and “Empty vessels make the most noise,” send clear messages. Advice columns tell us how to network and advance careers and emphasize being a team player and getting along with others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">But what if the others are engaged in wrongdoing? </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The enabling silence of witnesses to Jerry Sandusky’s alleged sexual abuse of children tells us that not speaking out is the immature option. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">I am intrigued by the fact that two adults, one a janitor and the other a graduate assistant, did not call 911 upon witnessing a child being assaulted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">The graduate assistant told Joe Paterno, who at least reported the hearsay to his athletic director. But the janitor told his supervisor, who only informed him who he should report it to. The janitor never reported it and his supervisor took no further action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Is this silence and inaction of ordinary folk, in the face of such horrendous crimes, surprising? Is it the only reaction we can expect from people who are less powerful than Paterno? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">I have been consumed by these questions in the past month. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">There is lesser outrage about the silence of these ordinary folk like janitors, supervisors and graduate assistants. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Is it because we collectively understand their silence, the limitations of their powers and the consequences of upsetting the hierarchy in our families, workplaces and institutions? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">After all, in the real world, bosses have power over employees, teachers and coaches over students, parents over children, the rich over the poor, and so on. In the ABC show “What Would You Do?” John Quinones sets up ethical dilemmas and films people’s reactions to disturbing situations on camera. Interestingly, not every person speaks up or gets involved. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Do the instincts of self-preservation and fear of the unknown prompt them to mind their own business and stay silent? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">However, silence speaks volumes — silence is acceptance and there are some things that are just not acceptable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Ordinary folk must speak up. How can we encourage more of us to have the moral courage to do this? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Decreasing the negative consequences for speaking up would help us get lots of practice in standing up to wrongs — as children and as adults. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">This is easier said than done, but we could try some small steps. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Have teachers give badges of honor to 5-year-olds who tattle. Tattletales do need courage and serve us better than silent enablers. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Commend those who are not team players because team players are useless when the team is doing wrong. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Encourage new hires and old hands who have contrary ideas to create invaluable change agents and whistleblowers. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Appreciate the person who sends a frank email, which appears rude, but contains kernels of truth. They will then continue to speak up. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Encourage the candid comments of children rather than silencing them with adverse consequences and lessons in politeness. Give them practice in speaking up. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">These steps go against lessons of networking and of being tactful and diplomatic to “win friends and influence people.” </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">But they give us encouragement to speak up forcefully and effectively when the situation calls for it. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: times new roman;">
<span style="font-size: 130%;">And this can help create an environment where we, the ordinary people, will readily perform acts of moral courage, like speaking up and dialing 911, even when it is only a stranger who is in trouble. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/12/17/3023089/discourage-silent-enablers-speak.html#storylink=cpy</span></div>
</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-47025698509737479542011-08-11T21:49:00.002-04:002011-08-11T21:51:32.303-04:00Asian-Americans enjoy a long history here<p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">First published in the Centre Daily Times, June 2, 2011</span></p><p>A few days ago, I was flying back from India after visiting family and commemorating the first anniversary of my father’s death. </p><p>As the flight from London neared Philadelphia, the flight attendant handed out arrival-departure records for nonimmigrant visitors and customs forms for everyone, including permanent residents and U.S. citizens. I picked up a customs form. </p><p>Next, she asked my neighbor, a turban-wearing man of Asian-Indian origin, if he would like the arrival-departure record. </p><p>When he replied in the negative, she clarified, “All visitors need a landing card, sir.” </p><p>“I am a U.S. citizen,” he replied, and calmly took a customs card. </p><p>The flight attendant had thought I was a U.S. citizen or resident, but seemed hesitant to accept that about my turban-wearing fellow passenger. </p><p>I am a first-generation immigrant and have lived here for only a little more than two decades. </p><p>My fellow passenger, however, was Sikh by religion and could have been a descendant of the earliest Asian-Indian immigrants, Punjabi Sikhs, who came to California in 1899. </p><p>He could also be related to Californian Dilip Singh Saund, the first Asian-American and first Sikh elected in 1957 to the U.S. Congress. </p><p>Interestingly, Saund emigrated from India via Ellis Island to study at Berkeley. He graduated with a master’s degree in mathematics in 1922 and a doctorate in 1924, and became a farmer because of limited opportunities. </p><p>Saund campaigned to allow “Hindus,” as South Asians were then called, to become naturalized citizens. He became an American citizen in 1949 after passage of the 1946 Luce-Celler Act allowing naturalization to Asian Indians and Filipinos. </p><p>Pondering how Asian-Americans fit into ideas of American identity is a worthwhile exercise considering the recent observance of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month in May. </p><p>President George H.W. Bush started this monthlong celebration in 1990 to honor the history and contributions of Americans with origins in Asia and the Pacific islands. </p><p>Contrary to common perceptions, the first Asian immigrants came to the U.S. centuries ago. </p><p>Filipino immigrants settled in New Orleans in 1763, followed by Chinese immigrants who came to California to mine gold in 1849. Significant Japanese immigration occurred between 1886 and 1911. Asian-Indian immigrants from Punjab arrived in California in 1899, and Korean workers came to Hawaii in 1903. </p><p>These immigrants faced hardships and discrimination while building railroads and working in farms, mines and factories. They were limited in their ability to own property, bring their families or become citizens. </p><p>Eventually, the 1924 U.S. Immigration Act shut down almost all immigration from Asia. </p><p>Four decades later, the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act abolished immigration quotas based on national origin and allowed far more skilled workers and family members to enter the country than ever before. </p><p>Twenty five years later, the Immigration Act of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush, allowed higher quotas from all countries with preference for certain skilled positions. </p><p>These skilled Asian-Pacific immigrants and their descendants have made immense contributions. </p><p>Some notable Asian-Americans include Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!; Sabeer Bhatia, founder of Hotmail; Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems; and Vinod Dham, inventor of the Pentium chip. </p><p>Subra Suresh, of Indian origin, heads the National Science Foundation, and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu, of Chinese origin, who was born in St. Louis, is our Secretary of Energy. </p><p>According to the Census Bureau, 4.4 percent of Centre County residents are Asian-Americans, which is close to the national average of 4.8 percent. </p><p>The next time any of us encounters Asian-or Pacific-Americans, with or without a turban, it would be wise to assume nothing about their history. </p><p>Like others in the United States, they may be a descendant of an immigrant who arrived centuries ago, or they may be a pioneering immigrant who arrived just yesterday. And like all of us, they can be expected to contribute to and benefit from this new country they now call their home. </p>Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-50055463130701966842011-02-09T09:51:00.004-05:002011-02-09T09:57:31.671-05:00Respect Begins With Awareness<p style="font-weight: bold;"> Published in the Centre Daily Times, Feb 4, 2011</p><p>In the United States, we are very sensitive in accommodating different abilities and individual styles of learning and functioning in our schools, workplaces and public spaces. </p> <p>Differentiated teaching, accessible buildings and parking spaces and laws that protect against discrimination are examples of accepting the equality of and the differences among people. </p><p>Yet our current national focus on preventing bullying points to the existence of subtler hurdles that prevent the complete inclusion of everyone. </p><p>“No Name Calling Week,” celebrated annually in January, is an anti-bullying awareness-raising program aimed at schools. </p><p>This year, Barnes and Noble, which is one of the corporate sponsors, put together a compilation of short videos on its website of children’s book authors taking a stand against bullying. </p><p>The authors use their books and lives to share anecdotes and strategies, reminding us that we can all be bullies or be bullied, depending on the situation. </p><p>Name calling and bullying are not limited to children. Adults sometimes resort to name calling instead of offering specific criticism of a particular action. </p><p>It is much easier to ask someone, “Why are you acting so American, Indian, Chinese or like some other nationality or Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew or other religion or so conservative or liberal, or like a girl, boy or any other random group?” than to offer specifics of a disagreement. </p><p>Such statements stereotype people and assume that some groups and ways of thinking are superior to others. </p><p>Bullying is an international phenomenon, and people use many excuses for bullying: They are bigger, older, traditional or modern or know better. They are richer, more or less educated, very skilled or unskilled, closer to God, or pray to the right God or belong to the correct political party. They have the “right” kinds of names, and those they are bullying don’t. </p><p>I grew up in India, and bullying there had its own cultural specificity. Because age and seniority are respected, birth order and superior hierarchy can give people the ability to bully. Because education and money are respected, professionals and </p><p>the rich can appear all knowing, and bully by withholding information and access. </p><p>This by no means implies that everyone who can misuse their power does so. </p><p>However, when awareness of these actions as “bullying” does not exist, such behavior can be deemed normal, and those who stand up against it labeled deviants. Now that I have spent more years abroad than in India, I may take offense at things many Indians take in stride, and they may take offense at things I take in stride. </p><p>Some people hide their bullying behind humor to make it acceptable. And when there is no awareness that this is still bullying, anyone who reacts to this could be portrayed as being too sensitive and can be further bullied. </p><p>At Park Forest Middle School, where my daughter attends school, programs like P.R.I.D.E., or Park Forest Respects Individual Differences Every Day, are helping students get a better handle on the multiple facets of bullying. They are lucky to get an early start at learning lessons on respect that some adults are yet to comprehend.<br /></p><p>These awareness campaigns are laudable steps toward a common language of respect. </p><p>Of course, the more sensitive we are, the more work we have to do to stand up against bullying and to make sure that we, ourselves, do not bully others. </p>Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-53075438207720392122011-01-14T11:38:00.003-05:002011-01-14T12:03:09.326-05:00Birthright Challenge: Can a Woman be President?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> 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priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoBodyText2">Published in Centre Daily Times, State College, PA (May 22, 2004)</p><p 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name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> </p><p class="MsoBodyText2">This past February, my daughter came to me with an urgent question, “Amma, can a girl be President?” I wondered what had precipitated this doubt.<span style=""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText2"><span style=""> </span>It turned out that one of the boys in her kindergarten class had declared that “<i>girls cannot be presidents.</i>” The girls in the class had disagreed and asked the teacher, who told them that a girl could indeed be president. Now my daughter wanted my verdict.<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText2">I told her that a girl could be anything she chose to be, and that included being president. My daughter was happy with my answer, declared she did not want to be president anyway, and moved on to something else.<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText2">But I could not move on. I did not want five year old girls or boys to believe that there were limits to the possibilities of girls’ lives.<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText2">I thought about my kindergarten years in India. I never had to hear such statements because India had a female Prime Minister during that time, Indira Gandhi. She was the democratically elected Prime Minister of India from 1966-1977 and then again from 1980-1984. During my kindergarten years, there was another female leader in the Asian subcontinent:<span style=""> </span>Srimavo Bandaranaike, the elected Prime Minister of India’s neighbor, Sri Lanka, who held the post from 1960-65, 1970-77 and 1994-2000. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> Considering my childhood experiences, I found it ironic that in 2004, in the USA, little children were still not sure about whether “girls could be presidents.”<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since there were no female US presidents that I could summon up, I went to the Internet in my quest for answers. I did a search on Google for female Heads of State and chose to visit <a href="http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/">www.guide2womenleaders.com</a> developed by <span style="" lang="EN-GB">Martin Christensen, a Danish journalist. The categories beckoned to me tantalizingly: women leaders currently in office, </span>heads of government, ministers, chairs of parliament, party and local leaders by country, and by time period.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The accompanying photographs were inspiring by their very existence. My daughter and I savored the variety of faces, the colors, the biographies, and we enjoyed pronouncing the names of female leaders from all continents. When I was finally ready to move on, my daughter was not. She visited every subheading, as if the next biography or photograph would give her convincing proof that women indeed could be elected presidents and prime ministers. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to her excitement, I learned and shared some interesting facts with her. That there have been female rulers since antiquity.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That Prime Minister Srimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka was the first democratically elected female Head of State in the modern world (1960) and Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland was the modern world’s first democratically elected female President (1980).<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That, in 1997, when Mary McAleese was elected President of Ireland, <span style="" lang="EN-GB">five of the six presidential candidates in that race were female. </span><span style=""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">That, </span>Victoria Chaflin Woodhull, the first female candidate for US president, ran not once, but twice, in 1872 and 1892 and that Belva Ann Bennet McNall Lockwood ran in 1884 and 1881.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That several women have run since then, mostly as outsiders on minor party tickets, and a few as candidates in primary races for the two major party tickets. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A few days after my Internet search for female leaders, I read a letter from a 13-year-old American girl to “Dear Abby.”<span style=""> </span>Her ambitions to be president were laughed at by her male teacher, and one of her male classmates declared that <i>“girls aren’t allowed to be president.”</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i>These situations in our classrooms suggest that the many female presidential candidates since 1874, and the numerous female heads of state from all over the world are not part of our education or our consciousness.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our schools need to teach our kids that competency has nothing to do with gender or race or ethnicity, that girls can be presidents, that many other countries have elected female leaders, that we did have women leaders of Native American tribes, and that we have several female state governors. And perhaps our kids will then ask us why we have not had a female president yet. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These days, my daughter asks to visit the “female leaders website” almost as often as she asks to visit the PBS Kids website. She recently declared that if she or any other girl becomes president, somebody would write their biographies.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This leads me to imagine an election year where women would run for president, their gender being considered nothing more than an accident of birth. I</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> imagine a president’s biography, which states her story, notes her successes and failures, and attributes none of them to the fact that she is female. I picture children reading the story, and I imagine a time, when it would be an ordinary day, not an extraordinary one, when several boys <i>and</i> girls decide that they would someday run for president.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoBodyText2"><br /></p>Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-50719953481205531552011-01-14T11:33:00.002-05:002015-07-09T22:50:21.310-04:00Multicultural “Trip” Offers Opportunities for Dialogue with Child<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Published in Centre Daily Times, State College, PA (March 6, 2004)</div>
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I embarked on an eye-opening journey two Decembers ago, when my daughter’s preschool celebrated cultures from all around the world. It was a wonderful month for the kids as they “traveled” around the world. It was a great opportunity for parents to build positive attitudes towards the diverse cultures in the USA – I loved to imagine that these would one day get us closer to true liberty and justice for all.</div>
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My family dutifully signed up for India, and began our preparations. On the big day, my daughter dressed up in Indian clothes, I packed up my presentation material and hands on activity, my snacks, and was just about ready, when my daughter burst out with questions, <i>“Amma, who is an Indian? Are you an Indian? Am I an Indian? Are people who live in India Indian?”</i> </div>
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It was a watershed event in our family. My husband and I had been conducting an experiment, where we had talked about different countries, but not used any adjectives to describe the people who lived in them.</div>
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We had talked about India, China, Korea and USA (four countries that we have been to with our daughter) and the <i>“people”</i> who live there without using any adjectives. We used <i>“people”</i> to describe all of humanity, and had been waiting to see if our child would classify people, and if so, at what age, and based on what? Would it be based on differences in physical features like skin color/ eye shape/ hair texture or language /customs/ religion/ geography/ something/ nothing else? </div>
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Our daughter’s classification started in response to the external stimulus of the <i>“India day”</i> celebration. We talked that day about who an Indian was and who an American was. The dialogue continued till I dropped her off at school, and continued when I picked her up.</div>
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By the end of that “Holiday Season,” she declared that she had <i>“understood. All the </i>children<i> in my school are Americans and all the </i>parents<i> are from different countries. Is that right, Amma?”</i><br /></div>
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“Well, you are almost right…,” and we talked about exceptions to that rule, about grandparents, great grandparents, cultural origins, Columbus and Native Americans.</div>
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Our dialogue continued. After a trip to an Asian grocery store around the same time, our daughter announced that there were only four Americans in the store, referring to the three of us, and another person of European origin in the store. All the others were of Chinese origin, and I explained to her that they may be Americans too. And the person of European origin may not be an American.</div>
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Then she declared <i>“Some people think that only white people are Americans. They are wrong.” </i>Another step taken in a long journey, and I felt glad that she had the opportunity to understand this truth so young, for I have met so many adults that have not figured this one out yet.</div>
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Over the past two years, her journey has continued, as she ties to understand people and things. Her questions have increased over time and last year, when we celebrated Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, she asked me <i>“if it was an Indian festival.”</i></div>
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“Yes.” <i>“… because Indian people celebrate It?”</i> </div>
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“Yes.” <i>“Is it an American festival?” </i></div>
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“Yes.” <i><br /></i></div>
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<i>“Why?” </i> </div>
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“Because many Americans celebrate it. Did you know that Christmas is an Indian festival too?”</div>
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<i>“Because lots of Indians celebrate it?” </i></div>
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I then told her how I had 10 days of holidays from school in India, for both Diwali and Christmas.</div>
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The dialogue then continued with <i>“Is Hannukah an American Festival?” </i>and<i> “Do Native Americans live in State College?”</i> </div>
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Our family has had many discussions over the last two years, and my daughter has a better understanding of the complexity of our origins and our world.</div>
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Our dialogue on who an American is, was put to test recently.</div>
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A new friend walked up to my daughter in a park and said, <i>“Where are you from?”</i> I wondered what she would say. I heard her reply, <i>“I am from here. I am an American.”</i> </div>
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Then the other girl talked to her about a visit to England. And they both ran off to play.</div>
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So, a big thank you to all our schools that have the “Holiday Month,” or provide opportunities to discuss cultures from around the world. I am sure they have enriched discussions in many of our homes and taken us on some wonderful journeys, while building ethnic and cultural pride in all our children, and humanizing all of us.</div>
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-55060580229891422472010-10-05T10:27:00.002-04:002015-07-09T17:27:00.066-04:00Deride Actions, Not the Group<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Originally published in The Centre Daily Times, Sept 30, 2010</div>
My family and I recently spent a difficult summer in India, dealing with the unexpected passing away of my father. Relatives, friends and strangers offered us incredible support during this long stay. <br />
A few of them were curious about Americans, who they “knew” from Hollywood movies, TV shows and news media. They asked us about the “lack of family values” and “materialistic attitudes” among Americans. <br />
We offered them counterexamples of Americans invested in families, of the sandwich generation creatively caring for children and parents and of those volunteering locally and globally. <br />
Our anecdotes were received appreciatively with comments such as, “There is good and bad in all cultures, isn’t there?” <br />
On coming back here, I found stereotypes thriving amid a turbulent global landscape dotted with fault lines at the intersections of different groups and sensitivities. The ground zero mosque controversy provided a fertile ground for creating anti-Muslim and anti-American sentiments. <br />
I believe varied role models could provide anecdotal antidotes to negative perceptions and rebuild our post Sept. 11, 2001, empathy. <br />
To those who want to destructively target Americans, I offer the counterexample of Greg Mortenson, of “Three Cups of Tea” fame. Mortenson, a U.S. veteran, discovered the lack of schools in remote areas of Pakistan after a 1993 climbing expedition to K2, the world’s second highest mountain peak. <br />
He has since built 131 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. President Bill Clinton said Mortenson “is effective in an area where Americans are not popular, because he relates to people as human beings.” <br />
Mortenson’s work may persuade others to treat Americans as individual human beings too. <br />
To those who hate either Americans or Muslims, I suggest the work of Muslim American Fazlur Rahman Khan, considered the “father of the modern skyscraper.” <br />
Khan was born in British India and educated in India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He immigrated to the U.S. in 1952 and earned a doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. <br />
He was the structural engineer who built the John Hancock Tower and the Sears Tower by innovatively conceiving of the skyscraper as a hollow three-dimensional tube. He made the outer wall of this tube with closely spaced interconnected columns to provide support for the whole structure. <br />
This concept, first executed in 1964, used less material and cost substantially less. It was used in all modern skyscrapers, including the World Trade Center and the tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Consider these realities. <br />
A Muslim American’s idea was used to build the World Trade Center, which later was destroyed by Muslim terrorists. <br />
An American builds schools in Islamic countries, while some Americans attack U.S. mosques. <br />
Obviously, there are Muslims and Americans who are creative, hard working and compassionate, just as there are some who commit acts of violence or intolerance. <br />
Acknowledging diverse role models in peaceful times can prevent blind hatred during a crisis and allow us to reach solutions through dialogue. <br />
We Americans, with our incredible diversity, can take the lead in acknowledging that stereotyping is a losing proposition. We can stand against specific actions without hating a whole group. <br />
Fazlur Khan versus the Sept. 11 terrorists is a great way to counter the negative stereotyping of Muslims. And with Khan and Mortenson as examples, the world may stop stereotyping Americans, too. <br />
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Read more: <a href="http://www.centredaily.com/2010/09/30/2241359/deride-actions-not-the-group.html#ixzz11UjIDRr2" style="color: #003399;">http://www.centredaily.com/2010/09/30/2241359/deride-actions-not-the-group.html#ixzz11UjIDRr2</a></div>
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-33068038082395697932010-10-05T10:24:00.002-04:002015-07-09T17:59:35.250-04:00Legacy Honors All Contributions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Originally Published on March 30, 2010, in The Centre Daily Times.</div>
The intriguing and ambitious theme for this year's Women's History Month is "Writing Women Back into History." Commemorating this theme could mean different things to different people. <br />
To some, it will mean highlighting women who have succeeded in the public arena by honoring pioneers in politics, sports, science, medicine, arts, literature, public service, government and other domains in the world outside the home. Most people would not contest the place of these eminent women in the recorded annals of history. <br />
To others, celebrating this theme will mean recording the contributions of women in both the public and private spheres. They will write women back into history by accepting the notion that our history is more than the history of conquests or the governing of countries and includes human experience in the public and private realms. <br />
In addition to honoring women in nontraditional roles, they will honor women’s contributions in traditional historic roles as midwives and healers, mothers, farmers, inventors, philosophers, weavers, storytellers, environmentalists, religious leaders, elders, warriors, nurturers, caretakers, wives and daughters. They will recognize women’s pivotal role in nurturing humankind and sustaining traditions that have ensured the survival of our species to this day. <br />
Of course, who gets written back into history depends on the point of view of specific historians and what they consider significant enough to be recorded as history. <br />
Consider the recent example of a video “A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything” that went viral on You Tube a few months ago, with 2.2 million views. Created by Jamie Bell, from the U.K., it illustrates the history of our planet from creation to modern times and chronicles the rise and fall of species and civilizations. <br />
His well-made, entertaining video is a testimony to his hard work and creativity, and earned him an A grade. Yet this17-year-old did not include a single woman in his brief history of pretty much everything. Even more troubling is that this omission of more than half the world’s population is lost on many of the video’s admirers. <br />
The absence of women in Bell’s video is not surprising because including women is still an afterthought in many scenarios around the globe. <br />
For me, writing women back into history requires the same mind-set of respect and sensitivity that made it possible for women to finally, in February, serve on U.S. submarines or to pass the 1990 law requiring women to be included in all federally funded medical research and clinical trials or to start blind auditions for musicians in the 1970s. <br />
Writing women back into history will also mean honoring the contributions of women in our personal histories. For me, it means valuing the role of my homemaker grandmothers as much as the role of my grandfathers, who are identified and valued for the jobs they did outside the home. <br />
It means acknowledging the work my grandmothers did in raising large families and their skills as counselors, financial planners, businesswomen, healers and keepers of history. <br />
We all need to be active witnesses to the myriad ways in which women contribute in today’s world both inside and outside the home, even as we continue the work needed to allow every woman the right to self determination, to live a life free from violence, be head of a household, vote, drive or ride a bicycle. <br />
Writing women back into history allows us the expanding opportunity of recognizing women’s history as part of our collective history and of accepting women’s issues as human issues. <br />
It could also foster recognition of the importance of what is traditionally considered “women’s work” and expand it to be “men’s work” too in today’s world. <br />
If men and women view women’s work and history as our collective legacy, it would be a phenomenal return on the minimal investment of one month focused on almost 50 percent of the population. <br />
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-88754703830709504072010-10-05T10:19:00.003-04:002015-07-09T18:01:56.718-04:00On the road to becoming simply Americans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Originally published on January 31, 2010, in Centre Daily Times.</div>
“I forgot Obama was black tonight for an hour,” commented MSNBC’s Chris Matthews last week after the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. <br />
Apparently for Matthews, this was an indication of how far the country had traveled on race and how post-racial we have become. And he gave credit to Obama’s election and leadership for making him forget such a monumental thing as the president’s race for an hour. <br />
This statement had me contemplating how much further we have to go on race, and how we unnecessarily distort our impressions of people with meaningless adjectives. <br />
Matthews’ statement reflects the newness and uniqueness of having a “biracial” president, and the common practice of tagging adjectives onto others, when they are not the “norm,” such as a “black” senator, a “Hispanic” judge, a “female” CEO, an “American Indian” congressman, and so on. <br />
But we do not use adjectives for the “norm,” which in the U.S. public arena is the white male. <br />
And this “norm” is assumed to have leadership qualities. But if someone from a group other than the norm appears on the public arena, their otherness stands out as a qualifying adjective. <br />
We might describe that someone as a “female astronaut,” “African American doctor,” or “Indian senator,” instead of simply using astronaut, doctor or senator. <br />
Of course, descriptors of otherness are used globally. The labels could vary from words like “foreign” to religious ones like “Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Jew” to ethnic-, tribal-, language-and politics-based ones. <br />
Labeling others is a common human activity, but we can control what we do after we label someone. <br />
And my fellow Americans and I, with origins from all around the world, have a unique opportunity to engage in an exercise of remembering and forgetting such things, not just for an hour, but forever. <br />
We need to acknowledge the accomplishments of those from “minority” groups, by remembering, registering and then forgetting. <br />
When we remember and register, we expand our idea of the possibilities for different groups of people. But then we need to forget, and forget not momentarily, but forever. <br />
When someone enters a room, I wish we could both remember and forget their ethnic origins. <br />
When we meet someone, I wish we could both remember and forget our religions. <br />
When we succeed or fail, I wish we could both remember and forget our gender. <br />
And so on, till we register just the unique individual before us. <br />
I wish we would acknowledge that our physical realities and backgrounds may or may not have any bearing on our thoughts, acts and performance, depending on the context. <br />
In such a world, where we both remember and forget, we would view Obama’s successes and failures as simply the journey of an American politician, who happens to be biracial, and has strengths and failings like the rest of us. <br />
In such a world, Matthews would have remembered and then forgotten Obama’s biracial heritage forever, not just for an hour, and restricted himself to comments on the quality of the president’s State of the Union address. <br />
Just like we remember and forget Matthews’ race. <br />
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-38457717375170583032010-01-15T10:21:00.001-05:002015-07-09T18:03:38.744-04:00American Nobel Laureates have Roots in other countries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Published originally in Centre Daily Times, Opinion Page Column, Oct 19, 2009<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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This year’s Nobel Prizes have been big news in the United States. Americans, including our president, dominated the awards in medicine, physics, chemistry, peace and economics. Only the Nobel Prize in literature eluded us.<br />
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The Nobel Prize in medicine, “for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase,” went to Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak. Blackburn was born in Australia and Szostak was born in the United Kingdom. <br />
The 2009 Nobel Prize in physics went to Americans Charles K. Kao “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication” and Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit — the CCD sensor.” Again, two are foreign born: Kao was born in China and Boyle in Canada. <br />
Finally, Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz shared the 2009 Noble Prize in chemistry with Israeli scientist Ada E. Yonath “for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.” Ramakrishnan was born in India. <br />
The Nobel Prize in economics went to Americans Elinor Ostrom “for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons” and Oliver E. Williamson “for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm.” <br />
The presence of five first-generation immigrants among the nine American scientists awarded the 2009 Nobel Prizes led me to research winners over the past 30 years.<br />
I found many American Nobel laureates who were first-generation immigrants from countries as diverse as Austria, China, Italy, Canada, Venezuela, South Africa, Japan, United Kingdom, Egypt, New Zealand, Mexico, Hungary, Korea, Taiwan, Poland, Germany, India, Russia, Israel and the Netherlands. <br />
This is not surprising because we are a country of immigrants, and 12 percent of even our current population is foreign born. <br />
In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, which ended Thursday, I searched for Hispanic-American immigrants among our Nobel laureates. <br />
There’s American Severo Ocha, born in Spain and the 1959 Nobel laureate in medicine and physiology for his discovery of RNA, or ribonucleic acid. Another example is American Baruj Benacerraf, born in Venezuela, and the 1980 Nobel laureate in medicine for “discoveries concerning genetically determined structures on the cell surface that regulate immunological reactions.” There’s also American Mario J. Molina, born in Mexico, and the 1995 Nobel laureate in chemistry for “work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone.” <br />
The accomplishments of all first-generation immigrant Americans are the result of a wonderful relationship between scientific aptitude and the opportunity to do fundamental scientific research in the United States, eventually benefiting all of humankind. <br />
Next time we meet an immigrant, perhaps we will think up positive descriptors such as researcher, educator, scientist, role model and pioneer and realize that this is another face of immigration in our country. <br />
I feel the need for headlines such as “Five immigrants among U.S. Nobel Prize winners” or “First-generation immigrants make the United States proud” during this Nobel season. <br />
Such headlines will be instrumental in creating a new set of perceptions about immigrants. And they will be a small acknowledgement of the vital role immigrants have played throughout history and in modern times in creating and sustaining the United States of America.<br />
Original Story: <a href="http://www.centredaily.com/331/story/1570202.html#ixzz0ch9HuEht">http://www.centredaily.com/331/story/1570202.html#ixzz0ch9HuEht</a><br />
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Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-55234855669176155732009-09-14T09:17:00.003-04:002015-07-09T18:05:54.245-04:00FAMILY TIES Borrowing ideas from Gandhi — for renewal and reconciliation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Originally Published in the Centre Daily Times, January 31, 2009<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span> <br />
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Mahatma Gandhi is honored all over the world as a champion of truth and nonviolence, teachings that still have value today, when both fresh violence and economic crisis have gripped the world. <br />
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As the world this week marks the 61st anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination, the United States finds itself at the end of a momentous journey — from the birth of the nation in 1776 to the end of slavery, the civil rights movement and the inauguration of President Barack Obama. <br />
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Arun Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who gave the keynote talk at Penn State’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 21, said he considers this historic inauguration a testament to the power of nonviolence to create change in the relatively short span of 60 years. <br />
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Many who were involved in this journey, figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, were directly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. <br />
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Gandhi’s writings showed King that the power of love could be effective not just in individual relationships but also for creating political change. With his Christian ideals as background, and the Mahatma’s techniques, King became a powerful proponent of nonviolence. <br />
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Gandhi espoused a life of simplicity and integrity and valued the use of honest means to achieve any result. <br />
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Can Gandhi’s ideals of love, sacrifice, truth and nonviolence work for the United States and the rest of the world today? Gandhi’s grandson thinks so. <br />
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Arun, who was born and raised in South Africa, hated his childhood under apartheid, where he was beaten up by blacks and whites for being the wrong color. When he began to consider fighting back as an option, his parents sent 12-year-old Arun to live with his grandfather in India to learn about nonviolence. <br />
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The lessons below, which Arun learned from his grandfather, may provide some fresh guidance as Americans deal with the economic crisis and wars abroad and reflect on President Obama’s first proclamation: Declaring Jan. 20 a “National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation” and calling upon all to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this nation. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Understanding nonviolence <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span><br />
Nonviolence is an active philosophy, based on positive feelings such as respect, understanding, compassion and acceptance, Arun said. Violence is based on negative feelings such as hate, greed, jealousy and anger. <br />
Nonviolence requires courage to stand up against injustice and accept the consequences. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Anger-Violence Connection<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span><br />
Arun recalls his grandfather asking him to create a genealogy tree, with violence at the head, and two branches — Active violence (killing, beating, pushing) and Passive violence (hating, name calling, stereotyping, wasting resources). <br />
Recording his acts of violence daily on this tree made Arun realize how much passive violence he committed each day. His grandfather explained that the objects of his passive violence could resort to active violence and perpetuate a vicious cycle. He showed Arun how he could break the cycle of violence by being aware of and stopping his own acts of passive violence. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Nonviolent parenting <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
Arun offered an example from his youth. At 16, he had to drive his father 18 miles to Durbin for a conference and had to pick him up at 5 p.m. for the drive back home. <br />
Arun was late because he went to see a movie. And then he got caught lying to his father about it. <br />
His father did not shout at him. Instead, he told Arun, “There must be something wrong with the way I raised you that you did not have the confidence to tell me the truth.” <br />
His father decided to do penance by walking the 18 miles home to figure out where he went wrong. Arun was miserable and chose to follow his father in his car as night fell. He also resolved to never lie again. <br />
“What if I had been punished?” he asks. “I would perhaps have lied again but made sure that I did not get caught.” He believes that his father taught him a more powerful lesson with love than if punishment had been used. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Arun Gandhi’s tips for daily life <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
•“Keep a diary — understand your own acts of violence, including hating, putting down, stereotyping others and wasting resources.” <br />
•“Be your own role model — imagine you are climbing a ladder, each day do a little better than yesterday.” <br />
•“Put aside some money daily, even as little as a quarter. After a year, figure out a way to impact someone else’s life with it.” <br />
•“Teach children at all schools to identify their anger, understand their capacity to commit active and passive violence and to break the cycle of violence.” <br />
•“Shed labels — based on gender, religion and even on country — as patriotism too is a narrow idea and can sometimes be a cause of violence.” <br />
•“We can think of the world as a global village, but we need to consider social and cultural globalization in all our global interactions in the global economy.” <br />
Current work <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Be the change you wish to see in this world<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span><br />
Arun and his late wife, Sunanda Gandhi, founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence to promote the principles of nonviolence. In January 2008, he resigned from the institute after a negative reaction to a piece he penned for the Washington Post. Today, Gandhi is invited to talk about nonviolence around the world and works to help children out of poverty via education through his institution, The Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute. ( www.gandhiforchildren.org) Arun has authored several books, including his grandmother’s biography, “The Forgotten Woman: The Untold Story of Kastur Gandhi, Wife of Mahatma Gandhi.”</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-31544970803102856842009-09-14T09:11:00.002-04:002015-07-09T22:14:11.933-04:00Gifts that only leave a Memory behind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Originally Published in Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 19, 2007</span><br />
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I have always been ambivalent about shopping. <br />
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And the season of “Holiday shopping” usually brings this ambivalence to the forefront.<br />
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I grew up in a middle class family in India, with parents who shopped only for things that were needed. And so, as a child, I perceived shopping as nothing more than a necessary adult chore to assist daily living.<br />
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My parents, who lived in Mumbai (Bombay), shopped for most of their non perishable groceries once a month. <br />
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“2 kilos of rice, 3 bars of soap…,” they would tell the store owner in person, or by phone, and someone would deliver the packages home, wrapped in newspaper. <br />
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On other sporadic shopping trips for incidentals, a person behind the counter would get the items my parents wanted and put them into their tote bag. My parents would pay cash, and move on to their next errand.<br />
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They did not have much opportunity for browsing or for impulse buying of unnecessary items. <br />
Milk was delivered daily, and vegetables were bought once in two days at the nearby vegetable market.<br />
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Shopping for clothes was also based on need. My sister and I got new school uniforms every year, new clothes on birthdays and on some religious holidays, and before our long summer visit to our grandparents’ homes. <br />
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My parents bought clothes for themselves occasionally - sometimes on special holidays, but mostly to replace old, worn out clothes. <br />
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As we got older, my sister and I were sent on shopping errands – something that we initially enjoyed, reveling in our “semi-adult” status, but then got weary of, and tried to escape from.<br />
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Armed with this general apathy towards shopping, I arrived in the United States, twenty years ago, as a graduate student. Since I was here by myself, I could not delegate the chore of shopping to anyone else, and learnt to shop even for necessities in a completely different way.<br />
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Initially, shopping was an intriguing new cultural experience. <br />
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Even a trip to the grocery store required new skills of negotiating multiple brands for the simplest of items like toothpaste, checking unit prices, understanding the rhythm of sales, and searching for customer assistance.<br />
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And since I could now browse amongst the aisles, I sometimes bought things that I did not really need.<br />
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Thankfully, my busy graduate student schedule, my small income and my aptitude for a simple life, kept me from buying too many clothes or accessories. My downfall came when I found books at bargain prices, which I often bought, with the hope of finding time to read in some distant future.<br />
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While in graduate school, I met and married my husband, who also shared my love of leading a simple life, my love of books and my indifference to shopping. <br />
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Over the years, we put down roots in the US, and formed new friendships and relationships. <br />
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As our ties with people here became stronger, we began to give and receive gifts during the Holiday Season. And when our daughter was born nine years ago, we also began to experience the giving and receiving of gifts at birthday celebrations.<br />
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Gradually, the two suitcases that my husband and I had each arrived with, multiplied many times over. And about five years ago, the clutter of possessions in our home began to bother us, as we realized how much we had strayed from our ideal of the “simple” life.<br />
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During my Christmas shopping expedition that year, I had an intense reaction at the mall, as I watched people going around shopping for gifts, laden with bags, and buying even more things. <br />
I could not shop anymore, and walked out without buying anything on my gift list. I simply could not bring myself to add clutter to other people’s homes.<br />
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My husband and I talked a lot that night about the practice of giving “things,” to symbolize love. We agreed that receiving gifts felt good, but only because they expressed that “we mattered” to someone. And giving gifts felt good, when the gift was something that the other person needed, or enjoyed.<br />
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But, what could we give people, who could buy everything they needed and wanted? What could we give, instead of objects - to show them that they mattered to us? <br />
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We reached back into our childhood for other ways of showing love, and remembered our mothers making snacks, to give to friends and family during the holidays. <br />
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We remembered our six month stay in Tokyo, where gifting food was common, and the stores were filled with elegantly packaged food items.<br />
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We adapted these two memories to create a new tradition in our family. <br />
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We decided against burdening our friends with snacks and packaged foods, which are sometimes unhealthy.<br />
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We opted instead to gift a healthy, homemade food that our friends liked, but did not make themselves. Since my husband and I are both vegetarians of Indian origin, we settled on two favorites - Vegetarian Chili and Channa Masala (a spicy chickpeas and tomato stew) – to give as gifts.<br />
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We spent a weekend, making both dishes and delivering them to a few neighbors and friends. They loved the food, and we got several requests for recipes. <br />
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We have continued this tradition ever since, adding more dishes to our gift list. We still buy gift cards or books for adults whose culinary preferences we are yet to learn. But we hope that as we get to know them better, we could make more gifts of food, as a labor of love to lessen their burden of cooking on a busy night.<br />
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Our nine year old daughter, in particular, has come to love this tradition of making and delivering food, and it has become part of her expectation of the Holiday season. This year, she has suggested that we add her new favorite food, Saag Paneer (a spicy, spinach and cheese dish), to the list of gifts. <br />
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We hope that our friends continue to enjoy our annual offering of thanks - of smells, colors, tastes and cultural experiences from faraway lands - from our home to theirs in Central Pennsylvania. <br />
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An annual offering that hopefully brings them some joy, while leaving no trace behind, other than that of a cherished memory.</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-34883948316301954802009-05-28T10:24:00.003-04:002015-07-09T22:16:22.629-04:00Pongal, another chance for renewal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, January 15, 2009<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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This New Year is already beginning to feel a little old, as the days go by very quickly. Our family was lucky to have another opportunity for renewal yesterday, another chance to start afresh, as we celebrated the festival of Pongal, or Makara Sankranthi, which falls every year on January 14th. <br />
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This day marks the Sun’s transition from one sign in the zodiac (Sagittarius) to another (Capricorn), and is celebrated widely, all over India. It is also referred to as Uttarayana, or the northern movement of the Sun, and is a joyous occasion, reflecting the gradual movement in the northern hemisphere towards longer days, and eventually summer.<br />
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Houses are cleaned, the old is discarded, and schools are closed in preparation for and celebration of the festival. The central role of the sun in all our lives is celebrated, as also the role of animals and birds, and nature. And people consider this a good day to start new ventures in their personal and professional lives. <br />
All of these celebrations are of course accompanied by a whole lot of delicious and special food. <br />
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At our home in State College, we celebrated Pongal without the holiday that accompanies the festival in India, and tried to pull it off on a weekday, as best as we could. My husband and I shared stories of our childhood experiences with our daughter, managing to transfer a little bit of family traditions, some history, some memories, and some experiences to look forward to again next year, in the context of our life here.<br />
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After all, isn’t that what life is all about? The creation of some special memories, which we hope to recreate year after year – of using the day to get in touch with family, to make a special meal, to offer prayers, to capture the sense of continuity and renewal, all in one single day. <br />
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Now, if we could only manage to keep all the wonderful energy of today intact, and find the sense of renewal and continuity, day after day.</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-40327685187722094122009-05-28T10:20:00.002-04:002009-05-28T10:23:58.541-04:00A violent beginning to 2009<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally posted on the Common Threads Blog,<br />Centre Daily Times, January 8, 2009 <span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />I do not find myself very enthusiastic about 2009 – mainly because of all the violence in the world during December2008 and now in January 2009. <br /><br />If we are still solving our problems in the 21st century, with wars - which are akin to fist fights - is there much hope left for the human race?<br /><br />When the terrorists attacked Mumbai, there were fears of a war between India and Pakistan. If that war had taken place, and it still might, would it be justified? Even if it were justified, would it be worth it? If there are other options, other than war, can countries pursue them, and be considered winners in the eyes of the world?<br /><br />Brute force is easy to use, if we possess the ability to amass weapons. Right now, we are getting rationales for the war in the Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Many innocent people have lost their lives in this war, pitched as a battle between the state of Israel and Hamas. Is this loss of life justified? Perhaps to some.. Was this loss of life avoidable? I think the answer for me is a resounding Yes. <br /><br />Today’s Washington Post carried an editorial by former President Jimmy Carter. It was entitled <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/07/AR2009010702645_pf.html">“An Unecessary War.”</a><br /><br />I loved the title of the piece, a ray of hope for me in 2009. Even before we decide which side is in the right or the wrong, if we are able to use the adjective “unnecessary,” with the noun “war,” then we will be forced, and find ourselves able, to find creative solutions to our problems, without resorting to war.<br /><br />Consider this example. When it was considered ok for parents to hit their children, then disciplining consisted of spanking. When that option was taken off the table, parents found new ways of disciplining, which did not involve corporal punishment. <br />And the world continued to move forward..<br /><br />Similarly, there must be new ways of engagement between nations. Even when our sovereign territories are infringed upon, are there new ways of interacting with others that preclude violence? <br /><br />To me, wars are not acceptable in the 21st century – humanity has come a long way, our destinies intertwined, and our abilities to negotiate enhanced.Right now, much of the international community is calling for the war to stop. I hope we will have a cease fire immediately, and am hopeful that we can sort out any problems with dialogue.<br /><br />This month, many of us will be engaged in honoring Martin Luther King, the US champion of Non Violent Resistance, an idea he got from India’s Mahatma Gandhi, whom he admired very much. As we take part in our local events, I hope we can muse on this question - can we honor his legacy, if we do not protest violence around the world, whether they are caused by terrorists, or by the wars conducted by countries?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Comments: <span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><span style="font-weight:bold;">Interesting perspective<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br />Submitted by checkmate on Thu, 2009-01-08 16:26.<br /><br />It's too bad we can't all live the Golden Rule but for some unexplained reason humanity is not capable of this feat.<br />When the recent peace accord expired, one side lobbed rockets while the other side did nothing. After several days, one side issued a warning--stop the rockets or else. Pretty simple humanitarian request I think. The rocket launching side answered the request by lobbing more rockets. What outcome did the rocket-launching side expect? Peace? Roundtable discussions while their woman and children headed for cover when the incoming ordinance soared over head?<br />If the rocket launchers would have simply honored the Golden Rule they wouldn't be running from tanks and grenade launchers today. I realize that is a simple approach but it is the truth.<br />And yesterday, peaceful, loving allies of the rocket-launching side standing on American soil suggested that the peace keepers be ushered into ovens SCHNELL! SCHNELL! SCHNELL!<br />What is mankind to do in a situation like that? By the way, I try to live the Golden Rule every day and I hope you do too.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-2874478290869124492009-05-28T10:17:00.001-04:002015-07-09T22:14:56.020-04:00What did Harish Iyer do, when the Terrorists attacked Mumbai?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog,<br />Centre Daily Times, Dec 9, 2009<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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Harish Iyer, 29, is an ordinary citizen of Mumbai.<br />
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When the terrorists attacked Mumbai on November 26 , Harish felt particularly helpless. He is quoted in a piece in Khaleej Times as saying, "I was near the Taj Mahal hotel when the blasts went off. I couldn't do a thing as the whole place had been cordoned off. My friends, from all over the world, were calling me, asking me to find out if their relatives were safe. I had to something - so I came back home and set up http://mumbaiterrorhelpline.blogspot.com/.”<br />
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He posted his mobile number on this blog, http://mumbaiterrorhelpline.blogspot.com/, and offered his services to anyone all over the world, looking for a friend or relative, but who were unable to get to Mumbai.<br />
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And the calls came in – he helped however he could - by finding any information he could by calls to hotels, hospitals, cell phones, and even physically going to the hospitals to get more information. He then called back with the information he had found or posted it on his blog.<br />
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Harish who has since been profiled on CNN and in many newspaper articles stands out for innovatively using the web to connect us at a time of divisiveness.<br />
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Reading Harish’s blog, especially the early entries, had me reeling as I identified with that well known feeling of worrying for the safety of a loved one; I could sense the anxiety of those who were calling in or writing to him, frantic for some way of getting news of their loved ones.<br />
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Harish responded to this primal need and offered himself, and his physical proximity to the scene of the terror, to help. He found out information, visited hospitals, and then called all these strangers back with any news that he was able to find.<br />
And sometimes, strangers called him back, to tell him not to check anymore - they had already found out that their friend had died, or that their father had survived.<br />
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Harish had become part of their family, and they a part of his.<br />
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He reached out to help, and thus become a beacon of hope, amongst all that senseless terror.<br />
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Even in the bleakest of times, this one human being had changed the little world around him. He had recognized our common humanity, and had identified with those who were frantic in their sorrow.<br />
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And that does offer us some hope for the future. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Comments: Harish Iyer(Aham) here<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
Submitted by aham on Wed, 2008-12-10 02:41.<br />
Thanks for the appreciation. Cannot deny that any kind of positive energy, helps me go on. <br />
When you rub onto so much of people's sorrows, some rubs onto you as well. Thats when an appreciation brings a smile on your face and helps you in your endeavour. <br />
Thanks<br />
Harish Iyer</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-57089206240469440572009-05-28T10:06:00.002-04:002015-07-09T18:09:35.716-04:00Listening - the StoryCorps Gift Idea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog,<br />Centre Daily Times, November 18, 2008<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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I was intrigued when I heard the concept of the National Day of Listening, on NPR. <br />
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Thanks to Google, I soon found out about StoryCorps, a nonprofit organization, that has declared November 28, 2008 the first annual National Day of Listening. <br />
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StoryCorps was founded to help Americans record their stories, thereby preserving Ourstories - not just the histories of our leaders, but the history of common people. StoryCorps booths have been set up in different geographical locations. <br />
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They are also being used to capture the specific history of groups dispersed across the country – some examples of these are of people affected by 9/11, African Americans and even those who are losing their memory to diseases like Alzheimer’s.<br />
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As I read about StoryCorps, I thought of their slogan of “Listening is the greatest gift.” Of course, each of us has a story. And that story can be discovered only when someone else takes the time to both ask questions and to listen. <br />
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To the grandparent that lived through a recession, or a war, and the one that did not do either. To the parent that had a fairy tale childhood and the one that did not. To the aunt that broke barriers and the one that did not. To the uncle that was scarred by the death of a sibling, and the one that did not live up to his potential.<br />
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Each one of us has a story, a story of being defined by the details of the particular cards that are dealt to us. And our lives are but a collection of the memories that make up our story, as we respond to these specific cards. <br />
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Our memories can also create and affect the history of the others that wander into our lives, and into whose lives we wander. They can empower them or affect them negatively – but they certainly can teach them about the lessons of possibilities, about forks in the road, about choices made, and journeys undertaken.<br />
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More importantly, though, listening to each other’s stories creates bonds, and we are no longer strangers. Both participants gain value to their lives by the act of speaking and listening with empathy. And bit by bit, like “The Little Prince,” we may begin to care, and may even understand - both the meaning of their lives and that of ours. <br />
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This National Day of Listening is a good thing. I do not plan to rent the StoryCorps kit, but I certainly like the idea of practicing more listening in my life. More active listening to my daughter and the rest of my family, my friends and my acquaintances – that would be the first step. We all seem to run around in our own little worlds, and I know that even if I have the inclination, making the time for it would be a very hard challenge. <br />
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But I plan to try, and once I do more of this, perhaps actively “listening” to strangers would also come more naturally to me – and the precarious world we live in today could certainly use more of the empathy that would come with such interactions.</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-62278906266364649032009-05-28T10:02:00.002-04:002009-05-28T10:05:38.566-04:00Calling on Mr. or Ms. Smith to go to Washington<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, Sept 30, 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />I do not fully understand the financial mess our country seems to find itself in. <br /><br />As a layperson, who is slowly gathering information, I am beginning to understand that both Democrats and Republicans share some blame for getting us here. <br /><br />And that both the Executive branch including President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson, and the Legislative branch including the House and the Senate bear some responsibility for getting us into this mess. <br /><br />Some of those who appear to have had a hand in getting us into a corner, are now calling for drastic action, in the form of a $700 Billion Bailout. And are surprised at not getting our enthusiastic support. <br /><br />My own feelings about this situation are complex – there is surely anger and frustration at this mismanagement of our economy, but I am also saddened because I do not know which politician, from either party, to trust on this matter.<br /><br />I feel cynical, and don't expect any of them to tell us exactly what is going on, or to own up to any mistakes, let alone to investigate several options of benefit to the taxpayers. <br /><br />I keep wishing for a “Mr. or Ms. Smith” amongst our Washington politicians - a real leader, modeled after the Mr. Smith played by Jimmy Stewart, in "Mr. Smith goes to Washington." Preferably, a very Independent Smith, who would not worry about the identity politics of being a Democrat or a Republican. <br /><br />An Independent Smith, who would simply be American first, would not care about party loyalty or election year party politics, and actually put the interests of American citizens ahead of the interests of other special interests. <br /><br />But can there be an Independent Smith in Washington, without Independent voters all across the country? <br /><br />Let us get rid of our partisanship first - not think of ourselves as being either Democrats or Republicans, and find our common thread of being only American. And with that strength, we can surely hold our politicians accountable to all of us Americans.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-53019807021965896202009-05-27T23:00:00.002-04:002009-05-27T23:02:53.569-04:00Summer Connections<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, Sept 4, 2008 <span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />I have been away from State College for a little more than five weeks now. <br /><br />My family and I travelled long distances physically and emotionally as we made our way to India, where we spent a few weeks. My husband and I met family, and also got some work done – our ten year old daughter however, was determined to exclusively make it a family oriented vacation. <br /><br />She played with first and second cousins, and any other children she befriended in India. And I watched fascinated, as the kids made their connections with each other.<br /><br />My daughter spoke Malayalam or English, and sometimes a little Tamil, with most of the children she met – they could be seen running around, reading, working on art projects, watching movies, playing computer games or engaged in pretend play. <br /><br />And even when she met children with whom she did not share a common language, they resorted to universal games like catch or hide and seek, and had a delightful time.<br /> <br />Often, I heard them trading stories about their school experiences. They exchanged email addresses to keep in touch, and I am soon expecting emails to be flying across the oceans.<br /><br />Then came our stay in the United Kingdom. At the international conference my husband was attending, attendees came from forty different countries, and my daughter met a few children of other attendees. Some spoke no English, or were shy to use it. And yet, during our days at the conference, the kids found ways to interact with each other. <br /><br />My daughter made friends with a 12 year old from Korea, who initiated contact by asking for my daughter’s signature in an autograph book she was creating. <br /><br />My daughter learnt how to ask her yes/no questions, and forged a working relationship with her. Then there was the 8 year old from Portugal, who used his camera to capture everything around him, and who promised to keep in touch by email. <br /><br />And a ten year old from Japan who made origami creations for my daughter, who reciprocated by drawing pictures for her. <br /><br />All these children were able to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers to find a way to connect. They used the common language of childhood, sometimes playing, building, and even simply smiling – managing to form bonds, in spite of being raised on different continents. <br /><br />I wonder how their relationships will evolve, and whether they will manage to stay in touch. <br /><br />All of us adults, who got to watch these children connect, shared a common language too - as we watched the children indulgently, and laughed at how easily they got along, and how similar they were in what they wanted to do with their time together. Children will be children, our laughter and smiles seemed to indicate… they are the same everywhere.<br /><br />I wonder if the adults grasped how similar we were to each other, and how we too could easily find myriad ways to connect. As long as we are willing to acknowledge and understand the language of our common humanity.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-59129651457227548392009-05-27T22:56:00.002-04:002009-05-27T22:59:18.796-04:00A wonderful movie for all ages<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, July 7, 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />I took my daughter and her friend to see the new movie, "Kit Kittredge: an American Girl," on opening day – which was Wednesday of last week.<br /><br />As I was entering the theatre, two adults and a child exited from the previous show, and the woman took the time to whisper to me that it was a FABULOUS movie. <br /><br />The three of us settled down in the theatre for the movie, the sole audience for that showing. <br /><br />And loved every minute of it.<br /><br />All of us were familiar with the “Kit books,” and the story of Kit Kittredge, a spunky girl who wants to be a reporter, and whose family’s life unravels during the hardships of the depression. The Kittredges find the inner strength to creatively meet their challenges through ingenuity, sacrifice, hard work and love. <br /><br />Kit’s life changes, as her father moves in search of work, and as she is forced to devote most of her spare time to chores and helping out her family to survive from day to day. The movie also explores class bias – the negative attitudes against hobos and against kids at school, who are going through hard times are particularly revealing. <br /><br />This well made movie (Rated G) by Canadian director Patricia Rozema is a gentle sensory experience of what was, several years ago. <br /><br />And a reminder of the timeless values of honor, hard work, compassion, familial and community love. It showcases the dignity of living within one’s means, and of fulfilling our responsibilities, and of not giving up on our dreams. <br /><br />As I left the theatre, my only wish was for more people - boys, girls and adults - to see this movie, which is so relevant in today’s world - as we read about and experience rising prices, an uncertain economic future, foreclosures and layoffs.<br /><br />So if you are looking for a movie to watch, with or without your kids, in the next couple of weeks - Kit Kittredge, portrayed by the talented Abigail Breslin, may be a worthwhile choice – you may find it a couple of hours well spent.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-86584138510233239912009-05-27T22:38:00.003-04:002009-05-27T22:41:04.604-04:00Enjoying the Summer Break from School?<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, July 7, 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />It has been more than two weeks since local schools were let off for summer vacations. <br /><br />The joy evident on most faces, as the kids rushed out on their last day, at my daughter’s elementary school, had a primal quality to it. A joy of rushing into a world of imagined possibilities, a world without the predictable rhythm of school. <br /><br />I did see a few tears, and also heard a fifth grader tell another that vacations were nothing to cheer about, because there were still seven more years of this thing to go through! <br /><br />But mostly I saw a unifying atmosphere of happiness, of being let out into something more wonderful than what they were going through. <br /><br />Fast forward to more than two weeks later, and the pictures vary from family to family.<br /><br />Some kids are in structured programs, others are not. Some are looking for things to do, while others occupy themselves in different ways. Some are out of town, and others have family and friends visiting.<br /><br />Some are already bored with their summer break, and others want it to stretch forever…<br /><br />At my home, the highlights of my ten year old daughter’s summer break so far have been a two day camp she went to, summer band and orchestra, and the house guests we have had – friends and family who have come to stay in the last several days. <br /><br />She is also looking forward to some future trips, play dates, going to the pool and so on.<br /><br />She is still cherishing every day of summer break, but I know that there will be the inevitable occasional letdowns of boredom, and the disappointments when real life does not match up with the expectations that summer vacations held when school let out. <br /><br />Perhaps that is a hidden value of summer vacations – they teach and remind both kids and parents that even much anticipated change is not all good or bad. That everything, even something as “wonderful” as a break from school has its pluses and minuses. And that very often, the changes we seek could end up bringing us a mixed bag of results.<br /><br />And it is possible that by September, we may get to hear a primal cheer, though perhaps slightly muted, for another new beginning – of all the imagined possibilities of a new school year.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-77202254760193586742009-05-27T22:34:00.002-04:002009-05-27T22:37:17.218-04:00Calls to quit are not part of American or Global values<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, May 20, 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Last week, I was at my fourth grade daughter’s first intramural track meet. <br /><br />As the children competed in running, relay, long jump, and wheelbarrow races, the audience of moms, dads, sisters, brothers, grandparents and teachers wildly cheered them on.<br /><br />We cheered the winners, those in between, and those who came in last. <br /><br />Our cheers hopefully taught them to stay in their races and do their best, and to never quit on themselves, no matter what race they were in, and no matter how good or bad they were at it. <br /><br />We hope that they will remember this lesson, in other projects they are involved with, in future years, and well into their adult lives.<br /><br />If any of them run for political office, in the future, I hope the lessons from their track meet would tell them to stay in the race and never give up on themselves. <br /><br />And if any of us are watching those political races, I hope that we would emulate the cheering hordes at these elementary intramurals and encourage those now grown up kids to do their very best.<br /><br />And cheer them on for staying in and fighting the good fight, and for not giving up. <br /><br />I think we can be assured of this future scenario, because most Americans feel this way even today. <br /><br />A Gallup Poll released on May 6, 2008 indicates that 60% of Democrats think that both candidates for their party’s nomination should stay in the race, and that neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama should quit the race midway. <br /><br />And a Pew Research Poll found that 73% of Americans do not want the media to be declaring Barack Obama the winner of the race for the Democratic nomination, at this stage in the race. <br /><br />Looks like we Americans like to have our contestants compete all the way through, and to declare the winner only at the end of the race. <br /><br />We Americans are also not in favor of anyone calling on someone to give up. <br /><br />Perhaps, we as a nation - voters, politicians, pundits and journalists are all at our best, when we emulate the cheering parents in the elementary intramural track stands.<br /><br />Parents who cheer on everyone’s best efforts, and remind their kids that enjoying their day in the sun, learning to run with the wind in their face, and doing their very best is far more important than winning. <br /><br />That staying in their respective races and giving it their best is the honorable way all over the world, compared to quitting or giving up. <br /><br />And the cheering parents also teach us that no spectator should ever do the dishonorable thing of asking anyone to quit a race.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Comments : Finishing the race<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br />Submitted by Eye on Eisenhow... on Tue, 2008-05-20 10:59.<br />What an apt and intelligent perspective.<br />Thanks for sharing.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-19623296312045724442009-05-27T22:26:00.003-04:002015-07-09T22:18:02.318-04:00A Perfect Mother's Day Gift?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, May 9, 2008<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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President Woodrow Wilson officially designated the second Sunday in May as a national observance of Mother's Day, in 1914.<br />
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And since then, we have found myriad ways to commemorate it - with flowers, gifts, calls, visits, cards, and special gestures, including taking Mom out to dinner. The National Restaurant Association says that Mother’s Day is the second most popular day to dine out, with about 38% of adults heading to a restaurant (the most popular reason is for a birthday celebration)<br />
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My daughter looks forward to eating out when we travel, or when we are busy, or when we go out for some other reason. Unlike me, she would probably like to go out for dinner on Mother’s Day. <br />
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But I grew up in India, where my family typically did not eat out, unless they had to. And as an adult, I find that I enjoy eating out sometimes, but usually prefer home cooked meals.<br />
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For me, there is something special about food cooked by those who know you, made specifically with you in mind. As when made by people (parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, friends) who know your individual tastes and preferences. As a friend of mine said, “It is made with love for you, and that is hard to find elsewhere.”<br />
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Perhaps that is why, when I go back to India to visit my parents and other family, I find myself wanting to only eat at home. I enjoy our family time together, both while creating, and partaking of the food.<br />
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Taking my mother out to dinner for any celebration would not work, because she considers food prepared at home supreme to all others.<br />
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When I call her to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day, she thanks me graciously, but I know that she believes that a mother is to be valued every single day – that every day should be Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day and Grandparents’ Day and Children’s Day and so on). <br />
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And she does not care much for things, so gifts of things are ruled out.<br />
What she does care for are relationships, embodied in connections and time spent together. <br />
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So a phone call would be a good gift. And perhaps there can be a gift in the content of the conversation.<br />
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Perhaps I could share with her that I do finally “get” some of what she said and did when I was growing up. <br />
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I can tell her that I am grateful for her persistence at the daily routines of mothering, for always showing up and being there for me. <br />
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That I now realize the extent of the hard work she put into sustaining the daily rhythms of our lives. <br />
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That I value the nuggets of wisdom she imparted daily, in the midst of ordinary routines, wisdom gleaned from scriptures, stories, common sense and her own experiences. <br />
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I can tell her that these nuggets are the founding steps of my evolving philosophy of life. <br />
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I can also tell her that she was right, when she told me that I would eventually understand her words and actions, when I have a child of my own. Because I have begun to understand.<br />
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As I think of the possible content of my phone call on Mother's Day, I remember the words of a friend’s adult daughter. <br />
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She shared with me that she truly valued her parents now. “But don’t tell them, yet,” she whispered with a mischievous smile. <br />
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I hope, though, that she has already told them, on some very special day, or better yet, on an ordinary one. <br />
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I know her parents would cherish this knowledge of their value to her. <br />
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The knowledge that the phase of “rolling her eyes” has changed into an appreciation of them, and of all the rhythms they created, day in and day out, as they wove the matrix of her life and her memories.<br />
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Now that I am a mother, I know that if this was the conversation at any mother’s day dinner, it would certainly constitute the perfect gift.</div>
Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-43090642964763088872009-05-27T22:22:00.003-04:002009-05-27T22:25:15.991-04:00Women's History or Our History?<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally Posted in the Common Threads Blog<br />Centre Daily Times, March 25, 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /> <br />It is March again, and time for another Women’s History Month.<br /><br />This whole month, schools, colleges, and organizations plan special events to celebrate our focus on women’s realities.<br /><br />My daughter, who is in fourth grade, has been designing postage stamps along with her classmates, that celebrate women’s achievements. She finally settled on a “Women Save the Earth” theme, focusing on Rachel Carson’s pioneering Silent Spring,that first elaborated how the chemicals we put out into the world seep into our environment. Her classmates focused on many other achievements by women in space, and other frontiers.<br /><br />Celebrating these pioneers of the past is important for fostering our leaders of the future. It is also important to celebrate ordinary women, who are creating small improvements in the present time, by following their dreams and performing their duties, changing our collective landscape, one step at a time.<br /><br />On the first day of spring break, my daughter and her friend got to meet one such present day ordinary woman - as they climbed aboard an FA-18 Navy Fighter plane at University Park Airport. They got to ask a lot of questions of the female pilot, one of the two people in the two seater plane, and learn about her job - of both piloting the plane, and dropping the missiles.<br /><br />The peace-loving part of me was happy that my daughter did not like the “missile dropping part,” but loved the “piloting part” of the job. And I could sense the enormous impact that interacting with this woman had on the two nine year old girls - it expanded the possibilities of women’s roles in their eyes. And I know she would have had the same enormous impact on nine year old boys too.<br /><br />I thought of that pilot yesterday, as I heard that the US death toll in Iraq has reached 4000. Of these, 95 were women, 2% of the total death toll, which is small compared to the 50:50 male female ratio in the real world, but is the largest death toll of women in any war since WWII. <br /><br />These deaths of female soldiers are a part of Women’s history, and Men’s history, as much as the deaths of male soldiers are a part of both histories. For each of these soldiers has a family of men and women, whose lives and realities are unalterably changed by the deaths of their loved ones. <br /><br />Ultimately, celebrating the history of women in March is a useful exercise, if we remember this history is just a vital subset of our collective history – and that if we focus on it throughout the year, we will not need to set aside a special month to celebrate and reflect on it.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7809313659824071374.post-63061996795258828632009-05-27T22:18:00.002-04:002009-05-27T22:21:53.977-04:00How Unbiased are our Judgements?<span style="font-weight:bold;">Originally Posted on the Common Threads Blog, <br />Centre Daily Times, Feb 27, 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> <br /> <br />The first two months of 2008 have brought us reports about the divisive riots in Kenya, the sectarian rivalries in Iraq, the tensions in Serbia and Kosovo, and the divisiveness of our own election primaries.<br /><br />As a writer who focuses on the common threads that link us all, it has been depressing to try and figure out why the links between people break down, and why nations fracture along religious, ethnic and tribal lines, and even along gender, age, race, and class lines.<br /><br />How do we lose the common bonds we share as human beings? When do certain aspects of our identity, be it religion, gender, ethnicity, political ideology become more important than our common humanity? When do our differences begin to matter more than our commonalities? <br /><br />I don’t know the answers, but know that we lose a lot when we begin to divide up into groups. <br /><br />I have often seen little kids, separating out into groups of “boys” and “girls” at elementary school. And now, a friend who lives in a major metropolitan area tells me that in the very diverse elementary school her child attends, there are many kids from different racial and ethnic groups, and kids in elementary school play at recess in groups formed along racial and ethnic lines. <br /><br />Are these groups inevitable, I wonder? <br /><br />I turn to Blink, the wonderful book by Malcolm Gladwell, in an attempt to understand how we are arriving at these groups - how do we judge who to hang out with? Is it similar to how we judge on who to vote for? Who to hire for a job? <br /><br />Gladwell uses scientific research to demonstrate how we make “judgments” in the first two seconds of any interaction, via an “unconscious” mechanism. Many a time, these snap judgments, which we may call our instinctive reactions, may be right on the dot. <br /><br />But they are not always infallible. Many of our prejudices and dislikes towards others can stem from these snap judgments. So that we can pronounce that someone looks a leader, or that someone looks like a terrorist, just on the basis of a snap judgment. <br /><br />In the last chapter of his book, Gladwell writes about how the number of women in orchestras in the US went up by five times, once the rules for auditions were changed three decades ago, to have musicians auditioning from behind a screen. Once the screen hid the gender of the musician from the selection committee, more women were hired, thus proving the previous existence of bias on the basis of gender. <br /><br />Perhaps a similar process to select our presidential candidates will help – analyze their records, without giving them any face time with us – in order to make sure we simply vote for the most competent person. Would such “screens” have given us presidential candidates who are more diverse – including more women and more people from all races? And filtered out irrelevant parameters like gender, race, age, religion and so forth?<br /><br />The data from the classical music world showed us that women were being excluded when no screens were used. And it is not a stretch to say that this has happened, and is happening in other areas too. <br /><br />After all, women were the last group to get the right to vote, are playing catch up in getting to positions of power, including the presidency, and are judged differently by our society, which includes the media. <br /><br />I wish there was a way to use such “screens” in the world of politics, like in the world of classical music auditions - "screens" which would help us judge, based only on the records of the candidates, and not based on any other irrelevant factors which can cloud our perceptions.Nalini Krishnankuttyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625910990882375482noreply@blogger.com0