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India Interest Group Digest Thu, 10 Mar 94       Volume 2: Issue 487

Today's Topics:

Culture::
      Culture and Language (Response to Mr Sharat)

Economics/Development::
      Earth Quake-Sight seeing
      Earth Quake Sight-Seeing - Is it worth it ?
      What is MFN ?

FYI::
      Demographer Position at Springfield, IL

Immigration::
      Query: visitor visa for my mother

Info. Wanted::
      Different ways to send money to India
      Info. on Cancer treatment in USA
      Info about E-mail/Bulletin boards/computer conferencing
      Small Claims Court Query

Miscellaneous::
      EKDUM interesting, YAAR [Very Interesting, Friend] Part 2/2
      I Smiled Only Once Today

Politics::
      Vandhe mataram and Muslim sentiments

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                                Culture
                                =======

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 13:53:31 +0100
From: yogesh shouche <ysh@venus.gbf-braunschweig.d400.de>
Subject: Culture and Language (Response to Mr Sharat)

Dear Editor,
Having spent seven best years of my life in Bangalore, I am in full
agreement with Mr. Sharat. Except for one or two minor incidences,
I never faced any problem in Bangalore. People were friendly and
quite happy to communicate in English or broken Hindi ( added to my
little Kannada ). It is also true that Tamil/Telugu movies were as
popular as Kannada. For that matter in Maharashtra Hindi movies are
far more popular than Marathi, and Maharashtrians do not at all
have any anti Hindi feelings ( but the excuse here can be that
Hindi and Marathi have similar script ).

I would like to make follwing observations on the issue:

Those who have made important contributions to the culture never
seem to be engaged in such debates. They in fact do not recognise
linguistic boundries. I can give several examples for this.

How many of us know what our culture is ? Does it only means
speaking a particular language at home, wearing a particular dress,
eating specific food and celebrating festivals ? Or it is something
deeper. Does it mean believing in a philosophy, having faith in
some values. Does culture also include our heritage of art,
literature and architecture ? If yes, then there seem to be no
concern about preservation of these.

At the same time we are accepting Western culture with pride. The
process had become faster in the last 5 years and will now become
more rapid increase with the entry of MNCs in India.

------------------------------

                                Economics/Development
                                =====================

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 10:08:58 +0000
From: MSA4401@MSBG.med.ge.com
Subject: Earth Quake-Sight seeing

Dear netters,
I don't think it is a pleasure trip for the Govt officers from Maharastra who
have visited LA as Mr Umesh Biradar has written. India has to learn a lot in
areas like Disaster Management. Every year thousands of people are killed in
India in natural calamities not to speak of other major industrial accidents.
It is imperative for India to learn how to cope up situations like floods and
earth quakes. It makes more sense to get educated from LA people as they are
prone to earthquakes. There is reason to believe that LA should be well-equippe
d to handle such situations in checking the death toll and providing relief
measures to the affected. We sincerely hope that those who visited LA made use
of the trip. Everyone knows that the Indian student community is one of the
major contributor towards the cause. Let us try to have open mind to understand
the usefulness of this trip. While appreciating Mr Umesh's concern about this
issue, I think it is preposterous to term it as a 'pleasure trip'.
LET US HOPE IT IS NOT.
With regards,
Joseph Amirtharaj.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 09:22:03 +0000 (GMT)
From: Rajesh Ransing <R.S.Ransing@swansea.ac.uk>
Subject: Earth Quake Sight-Seeing - Is it worth it ?

>>>  Subject: Delegation from Maharashtra tours LA earthquake area
>>>
>>>     "We were invited by the Los Angeles and California
>>>      people to  have a look at what they are doing because
>>>      we can learn a lot from  them -- and to have a
>>>      general interchange of ideas -- sharing our
>>>      experiences to a better world, as it were."
>>>
>>>  The Maharashtra delegation included earthquake relief
>>>  and rehabilitation head Kuljit Sidhu, Chief Public Works Engineer
>>>  G.K. Deshpande, and Latur District Collector Praveen Pardeshi.
>>>  They traveled to Southern California from Washington, D.C. where
>>>  Mr. Ragunathan says his state's earthquake recovery effort got a
>>>  boost last week from the World Bank.
>>>
>>>  Chief Secretary Ragunathan says the Americans were interested in
>>>  learning about his communication with quake-devastated
>>>  communities and mobilization of relief efforts:

on Mar 09, 1994, Umesh Birdar Wrote:

>        Sorry for being so abrupt. Does anybody have an idea if the
>        money for this trip was paid by the "people of LA and
>        California". It doesnt seem so. All of us know of the exorbitant
>        cost that might have incurred in this sight seeing pleasure
>        trip. My obvious belief is that the
>        money came from the donations, charity  and the Godfather, World Bank.
>
>        When the Indian students at our university worked for 10 tiring
>        days to collect $18,000 from students, faculty and the local
>        community, IS IT WORTH FOR THESE PEOPLE TO MAKE SUCH LUXURY TRIPS !

I agree with Umesh's view on this issue. I praise the ability of our Government
bureaucrates/politicians to pick up an excuse for such expensive foreign trips.
The money laying in the Governments custody is taxpayers money or does belong
to these so called caretakers, is open for debate in India. I think the media
should rescue the taxpayers of India from such deceitful acts.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 20:56:25 -0500 (EST)
From: Surender Gupta <gupta@hgovc.enet.dec.com>
Subject: What is MFN ?

Can someone explain what is this Most Favoured Nation (MFN) concept and how any
country can claim and get this status ? Only a brief and conceptual discussion,
if possible. Sorry if I have missed this discussion before.

China seems to claim it as a matter of right. And now Vietnam demands it. Is
India worse of than even Vietnam - politically speaking ? What are the strings
attached with MFN status ?

I will appreciate any brief, conceptual understanding of this.

Thanks and regards,
Surender Gupta

------------------------------

                                FYI
                                ===

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 15:19:33 -0500 (EST)
From: "Prof K. V. Rao" <kvrao@dad.bgsu.edu>
Subject: Demographer Position at Springfield, IL

The Illinois dept of Public Health is currently looking for a
"Demographer" in the salary range $33,432 - to $44,376.

Requirements -
Graduate degree in demography or social science with emphasis on
demography and statistics. Preference will be given to candidates who
have working knowledge of COBOL, FORTRAN, and SAS, large data sets in a
mainframe environment, spreadsheet & database software for the PC; and
experience in using censis bureau products. The job is open till

MARCH 16, 1994 (the absolute last date to rec applications)

Persons interested in this position should send a CV and an Illinois form
CMS-100 to:
Merwyn Nelson, Ph.D., Chief
Illinois Center for Health Statistics
Illinois dept of Public Health
525 West Jefferson Street
Springfield, IL 62761

------------------------------

                                Immigration
                                ===========

Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 18:50:42 -0800 (PST)
From: sudhir@amarit.nsc.com (* Sudhir Gondhalekar *)
Subject: Query: visitor visa for my mother

Fellow Netters:
I am the only child of my widowed mother who is 57yrs and is working as a
Professor in India.  I am a permanant resident and employed.
My mother has never been to the US before.

I wish to have my mother visit me this summer during her vacation. She was
denied a visitors visa at Bombay recently just based on the fact that I
was her only son and she had no family back home. Has anyone else been
in a similar situation? What are our options? How can she convince the
authorities that she doesnt intend to immigrate? (atleast not now :-) )

Any tips, pointers, help is appreciated.
--Sudhir

------------------------------

                                Info. Wanted
                                ============

Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 22:05:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Ashutosh Gupta <asgupta@us.oracle.com>
Subject: Different ways to send money to India

Hi netters,
Sometime ago there was an article about different ways to send money
to India.  I somehow lost it.  If any of you saved that article, could
you please send it to me ?
Thanks,
Ashutosh

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 10:28:13 +0900 (JST)
From: prab@will.ntt.jp (P. Kuniyil)
Subject: Info. on Cancer treatment in USA

Dear Netters,
I am sending this message to obtain information on cancer treatment in US.
My friend is undergoing chemotherapy treatment after a surgery for carcinoma
ovary stage IIIB. The surgery was done at regional cancer centre in Trivandrum.
Since the response to Cisplatin and cyclophesphamids was not good, Adria Mycin
was added to the 5th course, with a little response.
Now we would like to know if any better treatment exists in the US. She is
very young (29yrs) and mother of two children. We would be grateful if you
could provide any kind of help to give her a better life.
Thank you
prabhakaran

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 02:48:18 -0400 (AST)
From: MEHRA GAURAV <GMEHRA@squid.stmarys.ca>
Subject: Info about E-mail/Bulletin boards/computer conferencing

Dear folks,
    After five days I have a computer presentation in which I have to
talk about E-mail/Bulletin boards/computer conferencing.  I also have
to give a one page hand-out (maximum) covering these topics.  I know
a bit about E-mail but I have absolutely no idea about Bulletin
boards and computer conferencing.  I would be grateful to anyone who
could kindly send me the relevent technical details in about a page
so that I could incorporate them in my paper.
    Looking forward to your help.
                            Thanx in advance,
                            Gaurav.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 10:40:22 -0800 (PST)
From: jai@lsil.com (Jai Rawat)
Subject: Small Claims Court Query

Hi netters!

Recently I have read many articles suggesting the use of small claims
court to settle small disputes. My questions are:

1. What is the maximum $$ amount for which one can go to the small claims
   court.
2. What is the procedure? How does one go about doing it?

Thanks in advance for all the responses.
Jai

------------------------------

                                Miscellaneous
                                =============

Date: Sun, 06 Mar 1994 22:14:43 -0500 (EST)
From: "Amir Tuteja" <mini@access.digex.net>
Subject: EKDUM interesting, YAAR [Very Interesting, Friend] Part 2/2

     Breezy, pungent and evocative as HINDLISH is, its words have
also invaded political and advertising arena. Such words are
TAMASHAS (political events staged by politicians to divert
attention from economic problems) and HANGAMAS (noisy political
meetings), are examples of scores of words freely used by the
public when they talk about politics.
     And in advertising, mostly done in English to promote
consunerism among 200 million middle class, words like ASLI (pure)
and NAKLI (impure) are frequently used. HINDLISH expressions like
TELEPHONE HOLD KARO (hang on), "what is this LAFDA (hassle)," and
"look at her NAKHRAS (pretended modesty), are common-place to a
cross-section of public, and words such as CHAMCHA (flatterer) are
almost considered part of standard English in India.
     Linguists find nothing abnormal in the mixing of Hindi and
English, arguing that both belong to the Indo-European language
family. In fact, as long lost cousins, they have remained in touch
for centuries via their Arabic and Greek connections. That explins
why words like CAMPHAR and OPAL became part of the English
language. But the greatest interchange of words between the two
languages began during the British colonial rule when words like
SHIKARI, GHEE, KHAKI, CHIT, PUNDIT, NAWAB and MAHARAJA became part
of standard English. And now HINDLISH is continuing the tradiation,
albeit in the reverse, by Indianising English.
     The biggest gainers are Bombay's theaters which have been
staging English language plays for decades. But with dwindling
audiences the theater owners decided to switch over to English-
made-easy plays scripted with a liberal sprinkling of polyglot city
patois. Now fans are again flocking to the theater for an "EKDUM
entertaining comedy nite," or "swinging TAMASHAS." Says drama
critic Rahul Goswami: "Today, it's the pop-commercial production,
but it is the one making the ROKDA." Adds Bharat Dabholkar, a
script writer in Bombay: "in the final analysis, it's
communication. Indians speak English with a vernacular lilt...So,
I use the same technique with the script."
     As the contribution of HINDLISH to the timber and tone of
Indo-English writings grows, so is acceptance of its words and
expressions into the ever-growing English lexicon. "Only then,"
says film critic S.D. Sharma, tongue in cheek, we'll have some
MAZA (fun).  (Gemini News)."

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 08:24:47 +0100
From: Popowicz Alison <popowicz@sappey.grenoble.hp.com>
Subject: I Smiled Only Once Today

I Smiled Only Once Today
========================

I smiled only once today and
all day long I could see nothing else but a sea of sand.

Yesterday, where I saw only unending ocean,
today I could only see the enticing shapes of sensual women.

Everywhere I looked, girls were waving and smiling.
And wherever I went, they followed me like ravenous skewers.

Even when I shut myself up in my house,
they climbed in through the windows and came down the chimney.

I found them hiding in the closet and under the table.
And even when I closed my eyes, they leapt out at me like phantoms.

Then in my desperation, I came to you.
But when I opened your door, they swept me away like an avalanche.

And it was at that moment of hopelessness and helplessness
that I surrendered and admitted defeat.

Defeated men have nothing to fight against -
they have surrendered and for them the war is over.
Then I smiled for the first time today.

by Mirek
(For information about Mirek's book - alison_popowicz@grenoble.hp.com)

------------------------------

                                Politics
                                ========

Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 21:29:06 -0500 (EST)
From: NMAJUMDA@ucs.indiana.EDU
Subject: Vandhe mataram and Muslim sentiments

This is in response to the recent posting about Vande Mataram.  The Muslim
objection to this song should not be taken out of context.  Whether or not
the song was used in a nationalist context in preindependence India does
not change the fact that its original context is in a novel by Bankimchandra
called "Ananda Math", which, as a Bengali, I am ashamed to say is one
of the most blatantly racist and anti-Muslim books ever written.  Let's
just say that if I were a self-respecting Muslim and I knew of this context
for the song, I too would refuse to sing it and this would not in any way
reflect my lack of loyalty to Indian independence.   Certainly, no one was
objecting to singing "Jana Gana Mana" precisely because it did not have such
an exclusionist and racist context to begin with.
                                                    Neepa

------------------------------

End of India Interest Group Digest
**********************************