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ACHA is an non-profit, non-political organization, which is dedicated to promote peace and harmony among South Asians regardless of where they live. Current Board Members are Pritam Rohila (President), Jagdish Grewal (Secretary), Dr. Abdul Qayum (Treasurer), Dr. Kanak R. Ravel, Gulzar Ahmed, Ishvar Patel and Susheela Hoefer. Dharam Yadav is the Honorary Financial Advisor. For more information about ACHA and comments about ACHA Bulletin, please contact us at by telephone at 503-362- 4635, or 503-658-4715, or by email at pritamr@open.org, or visit our Web Page at http://ecumene.org/ACHA/ACHA.htm . The Web Page is maintained by Dr. Ingrid H. Shafer, Professor of Philosophy, Religion & Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Science and Arts, Chickasha, OK. ( The Web Page used to be maintained by Dr. Sunil Khanna of OSU at http://osu.orst.edu/groups/acha/.)
This Bulletin is being relayed as a part of ACHA's South Asian community service program. Currently, it is being sent out every other Wednesday to about 300 individuals in Africa, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, U.K., and USA. Please let us know (pritamr@open.org), if you want to have your name removed from our email distribution list. Also, please let us know if someone should be added to the list. Comments, letters to editor, and short articles are also welcome and can be sent to the same address. CONTENTS GREETINGSBEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR! - From the Board and Members of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) ACHA is non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to promoting peace and communal harmony among South Asians. Its membership is open to adults of any nationality, religion, or ethnic background, who (1) Dedicate themselves to its objectives, and its mission; and (2) Agree to follow the ACHA Declaration of Commitment in their day to day conduct. Current annual dues are as follows: Individual $10, Couple $20, Family $25, DONOR $100, Patron $500, Benefactor $1,000. To become a member, please provide the following information and mail it with a check made out to ACHA, to ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNAL HARMONY, 17465 SE Sunnyside, Boring, OR 97009. 1. NAME: Mr/Miss/Mrs/Dr. _____ 2. MAILING ADDRESS ___ 3. TELEPHONE NOs. ____ 4. FAX No. 5. E-MAIL ADDRESS For more information please visit our Web Page at http://osu.orst.edu/groups/acha/ or contact us by email at pritamr@open.org. * Cow Holy for Both Hindus and Muslims in Kutch, Gujarat, India (From Rediff on the NeT 12/21/98) Muslims in Kutch district of Gujarat revere the cow like Hindus and refrain from eating beef or even sacrifice the animal for religious purposes. The communal amity prevailing in the district can be seen from the number of pilgrims, both Hindus and Muslims, visiting the 'Kala Dungar' (black hillock) shrine. While the Hindus consider it to be the abode of Lord Dattatreya, the Muslims worship Peer Pachhmai. There is a sound economic reason behind the love of both communities for the cow. The animal holds the key to the survival of the nomadic cattle breeders. ''The cow is our mother too, as it is for Hindus," says a prominent Muslim leader, Haalepatra Abdul Karim Junas, who himself is a 'Maldhari' (cattle breeder). The feelings of Muslims towards the cow are so intense that they take great care about selecting the right stock for breeding, protecting the from hostile elements like the scorching sun, rain and the inhospitable terrain of the Rann of Kutch, Junas said. The concern for the bovine extends to ensuring that the animals are ''fed and put to bed'' before even the children in the family partake dinner andgo to sleep, Junas said. The birth of a calf is celebrated with great fanfare and the death of a cow entails a period of mourning. ''We try to protect our cows from mosquitoes and are prepared to take any risk to ensure that they get enough water even before our children did,'' Ghafoor, another 'Maldhari' said. Kutch boasts of some of the best species of cattle in the country. The milk production is so plentiful that at times it is cheaper than water in this arid district. Dried milk, or mava, is available in Kutch at one-sixth of the price prevailing in Ahmedabad during Diwali. The cattle breeders are so concerned about protecting the purity of the breed and to ensure that the best stock is always available in the district, that they refrain from selling the best cows and buffaloes even for high prices in markets like Bombay, Junas said. Since grass is the least available and most expensive commodity in this district, the nomadic 'Maldharis' keep on shifting their ''village'' from place to place in search of water and fodder. Instead of driving their cattle with the help of sticks or whips, they prefer to let the cow lead them on to greener pastures. * December 10, New Delhi, India: The Ramakrishna Jaidayal Harmony Awards were given to 8 individuals including the film maker Anant Patwardhan, journalist Teesta Setalvad and Gandhian H.S. Doreswamy for their distinguished contribution in promoting the cause of communal harmony. The awards, instituted by the Organization of Understanding and Fraternity, consisted of a silver plaque and Rs. 10,000. The award for a volunteer organization was given to Garib Nawaz Mahila Evam Bal Kalyan Samiti, an Ajmer-based non-governmental association dedicated to elimination of child labor. Speaking on the occasion, Frontline editor, N. Ram described secularism as oxygen without which India cannot survive as a country. * December 12, Milpitas, CA, USA: Scholars of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism participated in an interfaith conference organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at their Baitul Baseer Mosque. They deliberated on topics such as the perils of materialism and the power of love. * December 18, Belfast, Northern Ireland: Protestant and catholic politicians agreed today at 4:00 p.m., after an all-night discussion, on the shape of a future coalition government, the central plank of April's peace accord. Six hours later, the guns surrendered by the outlawed Loyalist Volunteer Force were cut to pieces and destroyed in a shower of sparks and burning metal. * December 19, Dhaka, Bangladesh: In a meeting of junior ministers from the five countries (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) around the rim of the Bay of Bengal, a consensus was reached on a number of proposals for economic cooperation, according to Abul Hasan Chowdhury, Bangladesh state minister for foreign affairs. Earlier, on December 9, India had agreed to withdraw all non-tariff barriers to Bangladeshi exports. *December 20, London, U.K.: The first Christmas service held at The Indian High Commission here included carols and reading from the Bible in seven Indian languages - Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Tamil and Urdu. Bishop of London John Chartres ended his blessings with "Shanti, Shanti, Amen." * December 22, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan: A workshop sponsored by the Colombo-based Regional Center for Strategic Studies and a Pakistani publishing house was held here over the weekend. The participants, some of them leading academics in Pakistani and North American institutions, said it was a ''myth'' that nuclear weapons are not meant to be used. Parvez Hoodbhoy, a physics professor at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, termed as ''stupid'' Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz's statement that an accidental nuclear war was impossible because Pakistan has a ''perfect command and control system.'' ''My fear of an accidental war increases each time I talk to policy makers,'' he told. Prof Hoodbhoy also questioned the need for Pakistan to have countered the Indian nuclear tests in May. He also spoke of the need to ''understand a whole range of issues, from the implications of the nuclear tests for Pakistan's economy, to the future of the sub-continent, to why the tests were initially received with jubilation.'' A H Nayyar, a Pakistani scientist at the university's physics department also criticized the Pakistani government for the nuclear tests and said these had disproved Islamabad's claim that its policies were no longer ''reactive'' to New Delhi's. ''Pakistan's policies have always been reactive to India's. It now claims to have de-linked its policies from India's, but this is not apparent,'' he said. With both nations competing with each other to make ''smaller, smarter,'' nuclear weapons, there is a greater risk of an unintended nuclear war, Dr Nayyar pointed out. Speakers also expressed concern that the South Asian nuclear arms race was diverting national funds and energies from efforts to raise living standards of the majority poor in the two countries. Moreover, it was promoting ''jingoism which is affecting the psyche of the peoples of both countries,''Dr Nayyar said. He advised India and Pakistan to follow the examples of South Africa, Brazil and Argentina which have abandoned their nuclear programs. In addition, there are some 30 nations which have advanced nuclear technology and could weaponize but ''choose not to'', he said. Sunil Shah, a US-based doctor, termed nuclear weapons as the ''ultimate anti-democratic weapon,'' for they ''target people who had not volunteered to be a part of war.'' Listing the myths associated with nuclear weapons, Hoodbhoy said having a nuclear weapon is no great achievement. While this may have been true 50 years ago, ''now all the technology and knowledge is commonly available.'' Secondly, there is no such thing as a 'minimal deterrent', he said. Russia had accumulated 30,000 nuclear weapons, and the United States, 40,000, by the time the Cold War ended, he pointed out. Another misconception is that nuclear weapons will never be used. He recalled a discussion he had ten years ago with senior Pakistani military officers who were preparing a nuclear strategy paper. One of them told Hoodbhoy that Pakistan would use a nuclear weapon if it felt that its army was about to lose a conventional war, or if the nation's major urban centers were about to be run over by the Indian army. * Change the World by Ashwin Mahesh (From Rediff on the NeT12/11/98) Growing up with television has made many of us masters of the flip-scan. Grab hold of the remote, switch channels continuously, pausing for only a fraction of a second to decide if something is worth watching, and then we're gone, our attention spans seeking something better. And once again last week I found myself engaged in this sport, searching without success for the elixir of entertainment. Harrison Ford reruns, some political games in Iraq, kids' cartoons, guns, one by one the familiar images that cement our boredom flashed by. And then a little girl came on, talking about her upcoming scout camp. For whatever reason, I stopped flipping channels, perhaps because she was obviously elated about the camp she's going to. The DJ asked all the predictable questions. What do you look forward to, Laura? Do you think you'll like camp? What do you think you'll learn? And the answers were no less unusual - Laura wanted to learn to interact politely with others, be confident of herself, learn new skills, blah, blah, blah, it's all so predictable. Clearly Mommy has rehearsed the lines well. And then, unexpectedly, the DJ asked her a question she hasn't heard before. "Why do you want to learn these things, Laura?" For a while, there was an awkward silence as the child groped for an answer, trying to think of one. And then, with little more than the conviction of a child's heart, Laura knocked me over with her reply. In the plainest voice you can ever imagine, she said clearly, simply and beautifully. "Maybe if I learn these things I can change the world". Change the world. It must be the original childhood dream, the fascinating aspiration of adolescence coupled with the unyielding faith in our own abilities. Eventually, things seem to change, and the practised explanation is this world is not as grandiose as we had imagined it to be, and we resign ourselves to the reality of our own mundane existences. While children cling on to their fairy tales of utopia, we grow up. And yet we often lament the very things we have grown up to be. Corruption, apathy, selfishness, social decay, a gnawing tolerance of poverty and malnourishment, discrimination. All the things that were banished from the castles of our childhood dreams now seem to reign in our adult lives. Far from changing the world, it is we who are relegated to slavery, caged in our little micro-societies, watching the world we hoped to change slip away from us. Such tenuous holds on our dreams are sad enough in our individual lives, but it is in our society as a whole that they have reached the heights of their horrors. There was once a time, at Independence perhaps, when the dreams were not merely of our individual making, but of the whole nation's. That tryst with destiny, whatever we intended it to be, is now just a phrase, it is not real on the streets where our homeless live in absolute squalor, not to be found on in the hearts of ordinary people. If we once cared and swore that we shall build the best nation we ever could, even the memory of that promise is only a thorn today. Now what? "The country needs about 545 able administrators who are also willing to represent the government. That's not a lot. I personally feel I have the determination to make a change. But it is irritating that I lack the authority to do so. I am sure there are easily 544 more people thinking along the same lines." I took that comment from Ramsundar Lakshminarayanan's letter to Rediff a few weeks ago. It is not unusual, I have seem similar refrains on the readers' pages several times; it is routinely found in other congregations of desi-dom as well. At least some of us still try to see in ourselves the power to change things for the better. As the dream fades, we search for ways to cling to it. And we wonder how we might use our skills and abilities without the authority needed to express them fully. If the question has persisted through the years, then it must be that however clearly we recognised what was needed, not much of it has actually been done. Lack of time, apathy, frustration, whatever be our reasons, our imaginations of a prosperous and vibrant society have remained in the corners of our minds. And through the years, we have continued to pose the question repeatedly without ever arriving at the answers, sometimes lacking even the certainty that the answers can be found at all. But such pessimism is ultimately self-defeating to any hopes and aspirations we might have, and we must discard it. At the same time, setting this notion aside can hardly pass for an answer, without an alternative. So, here's my take. If you're an armchair nation-builder or a moralising do-gooder in the trenches makes no difference to this assessment, and I offer it not so much as a chapter on finger-wagging lessons on good citizenship, but as a dream. A pipe-dream, some of you are wont to say. Nevertheless ... At the heart of my solution is a simple premise -- that the war against socioeconomic decay is not about minimising evil, it is instead about promoting what is good in each of us. The anecdotal evidence in support of this is overwhelming, even a brief look at Mother Teresa or Baba Amte's lives will suggest that the very things we cherish in them are the small drops of succour they have added to the ocean of misery. The ocean itself does not appear to have shrunk noticeably or meaningfully from their efforts, but their lives stand out nevertheless. They merely tried to do their parts, the rest is history. We must find ways to make this position real in our lives. I do not know how each one of us might identify how we can promote the good things we are able to influence. But I do know this -- we have been callously content to merely realise that the system has eroded so far that it is beyond our individual abilities to change it anymore. There may well be significant truth to that, but as a counter to the apathy it has bred, let us remind ourselves that there is another way to look at ourselves. Even as we avoid the battles we cannot win, let us not forget that we cannot win the battles we do not fight. Let's forget the bad stuff for a while, and work on the good instead. Maybe then, one day, we shall change a little part of our nation for the better. And if nothing comes of our trying, we will have the satisfaction of knowing we tried. It must be enough to know that we act in good faith and with honest intentions, the forms our actions lend themselves to are of much less essence, as are the paths they lead to. Compassion for others, concern for the material and natural environment of our lives, and other markers of nation-building, are ultimately little more than the convictions of our hearts. That must mean that it is enough to want to change the world without knowing how. Go get 'em, Laura. * November 16, Islamabad, Pakistan : Pakistan's wheat import in the first four months of 1998-99 has reduced by Rs 9.25 billion in comparison with the similar period in 1997-98, according to provisional data of Federal Bureau of Statistics. Officials in the ministry maintained that all the imported wheat this year would remain surplus because of 19 million tonnes production of wheat in the country that would be enough to meet annual consumption. He said Pakistan would achieve self-reliance in wheat production in 1998-99 by producing 19 million tonnes, equal to last financial year's production. * December 14, Panaji, Goa, India: Goa Chief Minister L. Faleiro formally launched the 18th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica. The 60-member expedition led by veteran Antarctician Dr. Ajay Dhar of Indian Institute of Geomagnetism includes scientists dawn from various Indian national institutes and universities as well as one scientist from Iran and one from Peru. India maintan a permanent research station at Gangotri, Antarctica. * December 17, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Mjority community Sinhalese women have been abused by government soldiers on the move in villages bordering Sri Lanka's ethnic war zone, according to Nimalka Fernando of the independent Colombo-based Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality. "Women go from camp to camp searching for the men who fathered their children only to be told by senior officers that they either are not there or have moved on", she said. The 15-year conflict has resulted also in displacement of tens of thousands individuals and break up of families. * December 21, Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India: Speaking a function organized here to honor him, the Nobel Laureate Prof. Amartya Sen emphasized that countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh must not fail to recognize the importance of human resource development (literacy, healthcare, land reforms, social security, and gender equality) and basic education which were pre-requisites to economic development. Citing examples, he said in the east Asian countries led by Japan, human resource development and education ushered in a high economic growth as the majority of people could take part in the development process. * December 21, New Delhi, India: Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament, adopted by a voice vote the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 1997, which removes epilepsy as ground for divorce or annulment of marriage. * December 21, Washington, D.C., USA: According to a White House announcement, U.S. will pay Pakistan $326.9 million in cash and up to $140 million in other compensation to settle an 8-year dispute over F-16 aircraft that Pakistan paid for but never received. The release of the air-craft was denied to Pakistan under the Pressler Amendment, which prohibited sale of military sales to countries with nuclear programs. * December 22, New Delhi, India: Home minister Advani introduced bills in the parliament to create new states of Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh. * December 23, Khatmandu, Nepal: Girija Prasad Koirala, the Napali Congress leader, who had resigned on December 21, has returned as Prime Minister for the third time, as Prime Minister, but this time as a leader of a coalition. * December 26, Islamabad, Pakistan: Punjab government has provided Capital Development Authority Rs 220 million for Khanpur Dam, which is expected to be completed in August 1999. * December 26, Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan: Chief Minister Sardar Mehtab Abbasi has said that keeping in view the deteriorating performance of the nation building institutions, army is likely to be given more responsibilities in the near future to put the things in order. * December 26, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan: Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif has approved setting up three more drug courts in the province.The step has been taken for speedy dispose of cases pertaining to sub standard and bogus medicines. At present, more than four thousand cases are pending in the province which could now be disposed off immediately. * December 28, New Delhi, India:The Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, arrived here yesterday to discuss ways to boost regional economic integration in South Asia. A free trade agreement between the two countries, which envisages the lifting of trade barriers in phases, is expected to be signed during her visit. * Alitalia, the Italian airlines, has introduced a flight to Milan departing from Bombay at 2:55 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Also, Air Canada has restarted its vis London service out of New Delhi at 1:20 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. * Electoral rolls of constituencies across India will now be available in CD ROM, according to the Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill. * Microsoft will develop software in 5 Indian languages, according to Jim Ewel, its Redmond, Washington based marketing director. * India's personal computer penetration stood at 1.8 million at the end of 1997-98 and is expected to cross 2.8 million by the end of Mach 1999, according to a recent survey conducted by the manufacturers Association of Information Technology. * Of the 81,280 foreign students at American universities, those from India were the fourth largest (32,000), according to "Open Doors - 1997-98," a report by the New York-based Institute of International Education. Those from Japan, China and South Korea occupied the first three ranks. *India has 40 million out of school children, according to the United Nations "State of the World's Children" report for 1999. According to 1995 literacy figures, in India, 66% men but only 38% women are literate. The average literacy rate of 52% is less than that of sub_Saharan Africa. * India has the worlds' largest number of child workers, who cut stones, polish gems, weave carpets or roll cigarettes. According to 1991 census, 11.28 million children aged 5 to 14 worked. The number does not include children who stayed home to tend to goats or spin cotton or silk thread. * Pakistan is among the bottom ten countries in the world for female attendance in primary school. This is despite a gradual increase in enrollment in recent years. In rural Sindh today, around 66 per cent of boys go to school compared with only 47 per cent girls, according to a recent survey by CIET.. The gender gap is even more alarming in rural areas of Balochistan and North West Frontier Province. A countrywide low of barely 40 percent of girls as opposed to around 70 per cent of boys can be found in primary schools in both provinces. There are still pockets in rural areas with zero per cent literacy. (Urban enrolment is significantly higher for both girls and boys, 68 and 73 per cent respectively). The gender gap in primary education, that will leave many future mothers badly equipped to guide generations to come. Neglect of children jeopardizes healthy growth and intellectual development of coming generations, according to CIET Executive Director Dr. Neil Andersson. * Today, more than ever before, larger number of the elderly in India live in joint households, according to the sociologist, Prof. A. M. Shah, who recently delivered, in New Delhi, a lecture, organized by Helpage India. Also, he said, changing life styles have made living with married daughters more acceptable to the elderly. Experts remarked that old age homes in India are the answer to a need in society, but not a solution to tensions experienced by the elderly in joint households. * Kalam-Raju stent, an intra-coronary stent, that resulted from the fusion of the missile technology expertise of Dr. Abul Kalam and cardiology expertise of Dr. Soma Raju has reduced the cost of cardiology care by Rs. 45,000, making it more affordable. The stent that used to be imported before at the cost of Rs. 55,000 now produced indigenously costs only Rs 10.000, according To Arun Tiwari, who actually developed the stent. He is the Director of Cardiovascular Technology Institute of the Care Foundation. HOLIDAYS: January 1 New Years Day, 14 Makar Sankranti, 18 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 18/19 Eid-Ul Fitr, 22 Basanat Panchami, 26 Republic Day of India, 30 Mahatma Gandhi Martyrdom Day. * January 3, Milpitas, CA, USA: SHAAM-E-GHAZAL, a musical program featuring Dewan Singh , Kassam Kapadia and party from Mumbai, organized by the Punjabi Sahit Sabha of the Bay Area of California at 5:30 p.m., at Senior Center, 160 N Main Street. More info from 510-799-9577. * January 3, Mumbai, India: KALA GHODA FAIR. Organized by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, the mela showcase Indian culture and crafts from different parts of India. It is held opposite the Jehangirc Art Gallery on K Dubash Marg from 10:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. * January 3,Mumbai, India: TREASURES OF INDIAN ART, a collection of about 90 Indian items of art, some as old as 2,000 years, usually housed in the Museum of Indian Art in Berlin are on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art, MG road, Fort. The evening entertainment a Manipuru Dance on & recitation of poetry from Kanupriya by Amrish Puri on 12/17, Vrinda Mundkur on 12/18, Odissi dance by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra on 12/22. Admission is free. More info from 022-2852457. * January 9, & 10, Portland, OR, USA: WAJOOD, an Indian film starring Madhuri Dixit and Nana Patekar at 2:30 p.m. at Roseway Theater, 7229 Sandy Bvd. More info from sapnaentertainment@hotmail.com. * January 15-17, California, USA: KANYADAN, a Gujarati comedy drama in San Diego, on January 15 at 7:30 p.m., at Challenger High School Auditorium, 10610 Parkdale Avenue, Mira Mesa; in La Mirada, on January 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the Performing Arts Theater, 14900 La Mirada Bvd; and in Palo Altoon January at 4 p.m., at Spangenberg Theater, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Street. More info from 1-888-529-6498 in Southern California, and from 408-997-6452 in Palo Alto. * January 2-4, Baroda, Gujarat, India: VISHWA GUJARATI MILAN SAMMELAN. More infor from vakhlex@adl.vsnl.net.in * February 19-20, 1999, Vancouver, BC, Canada: THE RAMAYANA CULTURE: TEXT,PERFORMANCE, GENDER AND ICONOGRAPHY, an intercultural conference organized by the Programme in Intercultural Studies in Asia (PICSA), the Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia. More info from Dr. Mandakranta Bose, mbose@interchange.ubc.ca. * Spring 1999, Stony Brook, NY, USA: CENTER FOR INDIA STUDIES will offer 8 courses on India/South Asia including those on Bhagvad Gita, Upanishads, Indian Classical Music, Hindi, Femininism, Islam, and Meditation. More info from www.sunysb/~indstudy * The Other Side of Silence: Voices From The Partition Of India by Urvashi Butalia published by Viking (List Price Rs 295). The Partition of India in 1947 caused one of the great human convulsions of history. Twelve million people were displaced; a million died; 75,000 women were said to have been abducted and raped; families were divided; properties lost; homes destroyed. Historical accounts of Partition, however, have seldom spoken of the millions of lives that were disrupted and dislocated as a result of this political event. In public memory, the violent, disturbing realities that accompanied Partition have remained blanketed in silence. Urvashi Butalia's remarkable book, the outcome of a decade of interviews and research, looks at what Partition was intended to achieve, and how it affected the lives of people. Pieced together from oral narratives and testimonies, in many cases from women, children and Dalits -- marginal voices never heard before -- and supplemented by reports, memories and parliamentary records, this is a chronicle of Partition that places people, instead of grand politics, at the center. The Other Side Of Silence tells the untold stories of Partition, stories that India has not dared to confront event after 50 years of independence. (From Rediff on the NeT 12/27/98) * The HarperCollins Book Of Oriya Short Stories, translated and edited by K K Mohapatra, Leelawati Mohapatra and Sudhansu Mohanty and published by HarperCollins (List Price Rs 195) In commemoration of the centenary year of the Oriya short story -- the first one, entitled Rebati by Fakir Mohan Senapati, was published in 1898 and marked the emergence of a new literary from -- HarperCollins has brought out a brilliant anthology that puts together 31 representative stories which offer the reader an insight into the evolution of Oriya literature. Featuring the works of Senapati, Laxmikant Mahapatra, Pratibha Ray and others, this is a fitting tribute to the literary giants of Orissa (From Rediff on the NeT 12/24/98). * Kerala: Jewel on the Coast by Mini Chandran published by Kurian (List Price Rs. 325) Paradoxes and contradictions co-exist here - strong Leftist leanings have not come in the way of Malayee's religious fervor, nor his adventurous, innovative spirit. Steeped in legend, myth and tradition, Kerala is still India's most literate state today. The old and the new merge in a timeless rhythm, that resounds in the Kathakali dancer's spectacular passage through the theater of imagination, and in the shringara rasa of Mohiniyattam or the dance of the enchantress. An eclectic blend of religious and cultures has resulted in a singular ethos that has churches, mosques, synagogues and temples entwined in a unique harmonious weave. (From Rediff on the NeT 12/19/98)
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