Blog #9

For my blog about bollywood I read Bollywood Confidential by Suketu Mehta. In this article, Mehta tries to describe what it is about bollywood movies that Indians find such a connection with and why this is not the case for Americans and hollywood movies. Although he never specifically states his reasoning for why this is, I think that they love Bollywood films so much is because it is such a crucial aspect of their culture and promotes very good values for viewers. It is something that many people- regardless of race, gender, religion, whatever it is- can bond over and relate on. Much of his article is about personal stories of how Bollywood films impact peoples lives. Such as how when they moved to America his son Gautuma would sing Hindi film music and traditional english songs. He says that when he missed Bombay when he was in New York he would sing Hindi music from his favorite Bollywood film. Suketu comments on this, "An Indian boy in America, singing a Hindi song from an Indian movie imitation of an American comic book: the Ping-Pong game of kitsch.". I think this was an event that stuck out to him because in the midst of a new country that is so different, he can look back and watch over and over again these films and bring a small piece of Indian culture with him wherever he goes. I think that is the reason that these movies are so special, is because they represent their culture and reflects values and morals that are important to them.


Suketu, Mehta. "Bollywood Confidential". New York Times Sunday Magazine. 12 Nov 2005. 27 Feb 2009.

Blog #7

For my blog, i typed in story about change into google and found a 'motivational speech' about how you can change any aspect of your life by making different choices. The author, Jim Rohn, believes that any day you wish you can wake up and change something that you aren't happy with or are unsatisfied with simply by making different choices. "Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.". He makes it sound so simple that it seems as if anyone could do it. When I relate this philosophy to the situation Rukmani was in in Nectar in a Sieve I cannot seem to find an answer. From rohns perspective, Rukmani should just be able to snap her fingers and change her attitude about her living situation and go find a job and make money and all will be well. Clearly this is not a practical answer. The final thoughts he leaves you with at the end of his article are, "If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life - and it all begins with your very own power of choice." I can see where this could be true with certain parts of ones life, but not with everything as he makes it sound. What choices did Rukmani have that could so dramatically change her life for the better?

Rohn, Jim. "Change begins with choice". Motivational Quotes. 24 June 2003. 22 Feb 2009

Blog #6

For this blog about hope I read a story about a woman who got diagnosed with Parkinson disease when she was in her early 20's. This is very rare because this is usually a disease that is common in 60-70 year old people. Parkinson’s affects movement, speech, and makes it difficult to do very simple everyday things such as make a pizza or talk on the phone, as described in Sandy's story. To cope with her disease and help others who are in difficult life situations like hers, she founded a support group at her church to let other people know that they are not alone in their situation. She also wrote three books about living with Parkinson. Sandy says, “I started praying to God, give me purpose in my life, no matter what I have to deal with. And I felt like that’s what happened when I started writing books.” Sandi's persistence helped her succeed and helped other people as well. I can't imagine living with a disease like this that affects every aspect of your life so it is inspiring to see a woman overcome obstacles like this and make the best out of a bad situation.

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2805587&content_id={CA09F679-3B34-4BE2-B769-CC7FDF42B6BC}¬oc=1

Blog #5

For this blog, I read an article from the New York Times called "How India Reconciles Hindu Values and Biotech" about how religious values interfere with political and economical decisions in Japan, India, and the United States. The topic at hand is stem cell research-- a research which would make it possible to clone organs and body parts, and even humans and animals. Personally, I think that this could potentially have a lot of benefits and open numerable doors in the medical world. My religious beliefs do not contradict this process, but even if they did I think that the benefits would outweigh it and I would still support it. It could save many lives and could be very beneficial to people who need it, so that justifies it in my mind. In the article it discusses how religion interferes with this research. In 2001 president Bush restriced research on it which is partly due to the large portion of republican evangelical christians who are strongly opposed to it. Along with some forms of Hinduism, they believe that an embryo is a person and so you are killing someone by cloning an embryo. I think that religion should be disregarded from political decisions such as these because not all people share the same beliefs.

Mishra, Pankaj. "How India Reconciles Hindu Values and Biotech". New York Times. 21 Aug 2005. 15 Feb 2009.

Blog #4

For this blog, we were assigned to read something about gender or gender roles. I read an article for AP world history about how gender roles changed for women during the industrial revolution. Women before this revolution were mainly expected to bear children and do domestic chores, which changed dramatically at the turn of the nineteenth century. Although they earned lower wages, they were permitted to work in factory jobs that men were working in as well, or otherwise fill in the household jobs that men could not do anymore due to their working in the city. We can assume that since women could now bring in a portion of their family income, they gained more power in the household and their placement in society as well. Reading about the struggles for womens freedom in history makes me appreciate the liberties I can enjoy every day in society as a woman. Otherwise, these things can be easily taken for granted. In the book we're reading, Rukmani has a considerably powerful voice in decisions made in her household but it isn't hard to see the gender differences. Besides Rukmani's occasional gardening vegetables and Ira's prostitution, these women leave the promise of an income in the hands of the men. We also see industrialization happening in their town, but since there is no shortage of men willing to work at the tannery this opportunity has not yet become available to women.

Blog #3

For this blog, where we were assigned to read about a culture different than our own, I read an article about women in Indian culture from washingtonpost.com. I had no idea that the typical womans role in a marriage, as portrayed in the book we're reading in class, was still very common in Indian culture today. The author writes, "Because of the traditional custom of paying high dowries to a groom's parents, he said, girls were seen in the past as a heavy burden". This directly relates to our book because we see how this is a burden on families a few times: when Rukmani was married to Nathan and uses much of what was left of her families savings for her dowry, when Ira was born and Rukmani saved parts of what little income she made for Rukmanis dowry, and when Ira is given back to her family from her husband because she cannot bear children. My article, in contrast, was about how this stereotype is finally starting to fade as women gain more power in society. This, in turn, is leading to more violence in men. A statistic that shocked me was that there are 19,000 reported rapes a year and that violence against women is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Knowing the history of Indian culture, it isn't hard to see that the probable reasoning for this is the recent change in womens social status and mens trouble adapting to it, or relunctancy to accept it.

MLA:
Wax, Emily. "In India, New Opportunities for Women Draw Anger and Abuse From Men." Washington Post Foreign Service. 25 Aug 2008. 8 Feb 2009.

Blog #2

For blog #2 I read an article from CNN.com called "Farmers prepare for coldest day of winter in South Florida". The struggle/difficulty this article addresses is a cold snap in Florida that could potentially kill many crops farmers are growing. As many are in there peak harvesting season, this could be a big problem. This connects to the book we are reading in class, Nectar In A Sieve, because Nathan and Rukmani are going through a very similar struggle. The difference is that Rukmanis family truly cannot risk their crops dying because it is a life or death situation... they need them to survive. These farmers in South Miami also have a lot to lose, but not nearly as much in my opinion. "That's how we make out living, to produce a product," Algers said. "If we don't have a product, then guess what? Then it will dramatically affect the prices in the food stores". This passage from the article shows that their biggest worry about losing the crops is that the prices in food stores will raise very high. In Rukmani and Nathans case, they're biggest worry is becoming homeless and starving. We are lucky to live in a society where this problem gets so much attention and that it does not present a life-death situation to us. In Rukmani's society this would have never even gotten news coverage.

MLA:
WSVN. "Farmers prepare for coldest day of winter in South Florida." Miami News. 4 Feb 2009.

Blog #1

For this blog I read a story about Hurricane Katrina from CNN.com written by Kathleen Koch. It is from the point of view of a journalist of the hurricane who grew up in Bay St. Louis-- a town that got hit by the storm. It was a very personal article and the way it was written made it possible to understand what it might be like to be in this situation. I can't imagine getting such short notice of a deadly storm approaching and evacuating knowing that you might never be able to see your house again. The author talks about driving away and trying to remember every last detail of her house before it was too late. She came back to find everything in sight completely destroyed- and people starving and dying because of the bad shelter conditions. I remember hearing about Hurricane Katrina and was too young to understand how tragic the situation really was. Losing all of your possessions, seeing the people you love get hurt, not having a place to call home. It makes me very grateful that i live in an area where this kind of weather does not exist. I also makes me appreciate the things I have even more, because like the victims of Hurricane Katrina, it could all be taken away without much of a warning.

MLA:
Koch, Kathleen. "Covering a disaster in your hometown". CNN 30 Aug 2006.