Sasapalooza at College of Lake County

College of Lake County celebrated South Asian culture on December 10 with Indian food, traditional henna art, and traditional and contemporary dance and music performances.

The proceeds from the raffle and food sales benefit the Pakistani Flood Relief.

Title VI-A Grant participant Cindu Thomas-George and the South Asian Student Alliance organized and presented this fun and educational experience.

David Swain (U of C) Online Resources

Here are some of the materials from the presentations we attended at the University of Chicago
Online Resources for India:  or  Online Resources for India

Here are some excerpts: 

Indology: Resources for Indological scholarship. This should be a first stop for free access to Indological scholarship.This website also contains the following:

·         [SARIT]: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts.
·         [FAQ]: Frequently Asked Questions about INDOLOGY.
·         [E-texts / Software]: an archive of Indic e-texts and Indological software.
·         [Papers]: an archive of articles, papers, and other writings pertinent to Indological studies.
·         [Books]: an information service detailing Indological books listed by Amazon.
·         [Links]: a list of external websites and resources of value to Indological research.
·         [John Smith's home page]: a variety of texts, fonts and programs likely to be of interest to Indologists.

The CIA World Factbook:
Your taxes dollars at work, providing you with carefully researched information on every country, including those in South Asia. Just select a country from the drop-down list, then click on the topics of interest.

Harappa.com: Resources for the study of the Indus Valley Civilization:
 This website has an excellent introductory essay and a first rate annotated slide show. It also contains links to scholarly papers on the topic. Take your time browsing through this site. It also contains links to many fascinating images (including some film reels) of South Asia before 1947.

 

Photos from the India Fest at JJC

Here are a few pictures from the India Fest on November 22nd at JJC.  The Epicurean Club served some great food for us, we had a wonderful presentation on the religions of India, the International Education Program, we showed parts of the Apu Trilogy and had some great vendors share their wares and skills with us.
Divali Fest and JJC

Cookies

Presentation

Table Decorations

Cauliflower w/Anise and Cashews

material samples

spices

Food prep

Fabulous Indian Art at Art Institute of Chicago

During our recent visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, my husband and I stopped to view the fascinating sculptures from Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Artin Galleries 141-143--the main walway between the museum buildings.

The images will inspire you whatever the focus of your research.

This image of Shiva as Lord of the Dance, is from the Chola period, 10th/11th c.

Communist Party in India

The New York Times has published an article about the struggle of the Communist Party in India to survive: Communists in India Fight to Hold on to Mission.

Election Commission of India List of National and State Parties
List of Political Parties in India from Wikipedia

XIX Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games opened in Delhi this weekend and will run from October 3rd through the 14th.

Supreme Court Ruling on Ayodhya

The New York Times has reported on a decision by the Indian Supreme Court on the long-disputed religious site of Ayodhya. "In a case that spanned centuries of  religious history and languished in the legal system for six   decades, an Indian court issued a historic ruling Thursday on   the ownership of the country's most disputed religious site  by effectively handing down a split decision: granting part  of the land to Hindus and another part to Muslims. . . . The  Indian public absorbed the ruling [which is likely to be appealed] with a calm that leaders framed as evidence of  the nation's maturation and commitment to religious tolerance."

Ayodhya Judgement: Key Excerpts from the BBC News Site

University of Chicago Library Links

Here are some of the materials and links from the cohort seminar at the University of Chicago provided by Professor Laura Ring,Assistant Bibliographer for Southern Asia, University of Chicago Library, (773) 702-8429

• Southern Asia at Chicago (the departmental website): http://southasia.uchicago.edu/ 
• Southern Asia Library website:  http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/southasia/about.html 
• DSAL (Digital South Asia Library): http://dsal.uchicago.edu/ 
• Official Publications of India: http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/southasia/off-pubs.html 
• Access privileges: http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/using/access/researchers.html 
• Interlibrary loan: https://requests.lib.uchicago.edu/ill/LendingPolicies.html 

Citation: Introduction to Oriental civilizations series, which includes Sources of Indian Tradition, Sources of Chinese Tradition, and Sources of Japanese tradition; compiled by Wm. Theodore De Bary and Ainslie Embree, published by Columbia University Press. [Multiple copies of the Sources of Indian Tradition are held in the Regenstein Library, at DS423.D28].

Another text of interest, also edited by Embree and de Bary, is A guide to Oriental classics (part of the Companions to Asian studies series), located in the Regenstein Library at Z7046.C72 1975.

NOTE: There may be difficulties in borrowing materials because neither CLC not JJC appear on their borrowing lists.  We hope to resolve this and clarify the visiting privileges soon.  Thanks,  Susan

JJC India Fest

Here is JJC's  India Fest

Images of India

Creative Commons has a slew of images that you may use.  Here is a sample slideshow of images. You might check out some of the urls for public domain, copyright free, and open source images at the following website as well: Teacher'sTap 

Indiamarks looks to have some great images that may supplement lecture or course sites you may be developing for your section of course.  The Festivals of India in Pictures has some great photos.

Comics Series - Indian Mythology

Comic Book Cover

It was wonderful to meet so many of you yesterday!

Here is the website for Desi Knowledge that features the mythology series and selections (comics)  that were mentioned yesterday at U of C. They are listed under Amar Chitra Katha. 

It looks as though they have a fairly large collection of materials and that they are easy to order.  Too bad I hadn't found this before I started buying them individually.

Contemporary Art from India

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/the-new-india.htm


This exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London provided a strong overview of emerging artists from India. I included works by Sakshi Gupta in the Intro to Visual Arts classes that I taught this summer, and student reactions were generally positive.

The Saatchi Gallery presented an exhibition of Middle Eastern art last year that may be of interest, too.

Microfinance, India and I.P.O.s

Mallick Ghat: Flower Market - ARTstor

The New York Times reports on the initial public offering of SKS Microfinance and the controversy attending this move : Rich I.P.O. Bring Controversy to SKS Microfinance.

More on the microfinance model, Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.

BBC: Small Loans Making a Big Difference in South Asia

Water Dispute between India and Pakistan

The New York Times reported on a water dispute between India and Pakistan.

"Water has become a growing source of tension in many parts of the world between nations striving for growth.Several African countries are arguing over water rights to the Nile. Israel and Jordan have competing claims to the Jordan River. Across the Himalayas, China’s own dam projects have piqued India, a rival for regional, and even global, power."

Water Dispute Increases India-Pakistan Tensions  from the New York Times
Henry L. Stimson Center Indus Water Treaty Summary, 
Oregon State University's Program in Water Conflict Management Case Study :
Security Research Review of the Indus Water Treaty
Indus Water Treaty - Text

Balaji Temple Visit

JJC Cohort Visit to Sri Venkateswara Temple of Greater Chicago in Aurora, IL.The temple is also known as the Balaji Temple.

From left to right: Roxanne Munch, Rama Raghuraman, Kueiming (Max) Lee, Ram Raghuraman, Eileen McKee, Julie Delfinado, Nataliya Marchenko, Berta Arias, Jim Ethridge, Gisele Atterberry.  Not in picture but part of this grant cohort: Tamara Brattoli, Meaghan Callan, Roya Falahi, Fred Miller,  Susan Prokopeak and Bill Yarrow.The picture is courtesy of Dr. Arias.

Indian Slang and Google Maps

I have a Slang O' the Day gadget on my iGoogle site and I thought you might enjoy the Indian Slang portion of it.
Mapping Arunachal Pradesh  became an issue for Google Maps when it was (temporarily) labelled as Chinese.  The Agnostic Cartographer (from The Washington Monthly website) talks about this and other political missteps.

Bringing Indian Popular Music to the States

It appears that the success of Slumdog Millionaire and its soundtrack has become a tipping point of sorts. The New York Times reported that Universal will be partnering with DesiHits! to create a new label dedicated to East Asian artists.

"Indian-Pop entered American movies with the movie, Moulin Rouge!. Its main number, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (Hindi)", featured Alka Yagnik's song "Chamma Chamma" from the Indian movie, China Gate (1998)," according to Wikipedia's Indian Pop article.  I have to say "Diamonds" was the first time I remember immediately recognizing the Indian backbeats and musical underpinning.  (The original version of “Jai Ho” was in Hindi, and a remix version was released in English and performed by the Pussycat Dolls.) The “Slumdog” soundtrack sold nearly 400,000 copies, and “Jai Ho” won a Grammy in addition to an Oscar.

Lest we forget where is all came from, NPR offers Indian Classical Music with Ravi Shankar and  Asha Bhosle is featured in NPR's 50 Great Voices series as the "Voice of Bollywood".

Resources:
A New Label's Mission: Indian Music from the New York Times
 Indian Music: The Indipop from Culturopedia
Indian Pop from Wikipedia
Although a bit outdated the 2008 Consumer Profile from the RIIA (Recording Industry Association of America) is still an interesting look at where music listeners spend their money. Pages 10-11 of the IFPI Digital Music Report 2010 offers a summary of the digital content sales worldwide.

Indian Movies on the Big Screen

Hello all,

I recently discovered a small multiplex devoted to Indian films (both "Bollywood" and from other regions) in Niles, just outside of Chicago. The theater itself is quite nice -- very recently refurbished, with both popcorn and samosas available at the snack bar.

There's also an Indian restaurant connected to the theater that I haven't tried yet...

One warning -- I learned the hard way that not all their films have English subtitles (typically, only the Hindi-language ones do)...

http://us.bigcinemas.com/cinemas.asp?cid=1013

Follow the link to check it out!

News of India

Here are a few links to media outlets Times of India, The Hindu, ZeeNews, The Telegraph (India), DNAIndia, BBC News - South Asia, HindustanTimes, Reuters - India

 IBN, NDTV, and a bit more on popular culture IndiaFM (Bollywood)

Information for Tourist Visas to India

US Citizens Tourist Visa to India:

Duration of Visa Consular Fee Service Fee Total Fee

6 Months Multiple Entry $60.00 $13.00 $73.00

5 Years Multiple Entry $150.00 $13.00 $163.00

10 Years Multiple Entry $150.00 $13.00 $163.00

6 months multiple entry $73

5 years Multiple entry $163

10 years Multiple entry $163

A few resources...

Here is a start on conference resources:

South Asian Resources

Welcome

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the blog for the Title VIA Grant -  Strengthening International Studies & Foreign Languages at Illinois Community Colleges Through Partnerships: A Consortium Between Joliet Junior College and the College of Lake County.