OUR COVER STORY
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December 2011 -
Is India rising or stalling? Racing or crawling? If you want to know where the hype ends and where the story begins, skip the media sound bites and turn to authors like Patrick French and Siddhartha Deb. The devil is in the details—and when it comes to understanding India, the real news is the nuance their books bring to an exploration of a country that’s, in many ways, changing fast. Both French and
Deb spoke to Khabar in separate interviews.
Also included are a dozen selected quotes from Patrick French’s book, India: A Portrait (Knopf, 2011).
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November 2011 -
When many of us moved to the “material” West from the “spiritual” East, we were not focusing on spiritual aspirations. Today many in the following generations are giving up lucrative careers in search of inner fulfillment through spiritual pursuits.
Khabar interviews a number of young individuals and couples who have turned to a spiritual life, as well as a family whose son is on his way to becoming a swami in the BAPS Swaminarayan organization--where he will live a Spartan life, giving up even the smallest of luxuries, breaking all ties with past lives and completely dedicating himself to the faith and the organization.
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October 2011 -
Magical images and perceptive insights come about when a group
of Americans are transported to Himachal Pradesh and Orissa in a
photography expedition where they, along with local school children,
chronicle the region and its culture and people. Previous workshops by the IPP involved local children only (“Worth a Thousand Words,” Khabar, September 2010). This year, Bhaskar included Americans for crosscultural education.
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September 2011 -
Many of the inmates in one of Alabama’s toughest prisons are in for heinous crimes such as murder. Thanks to a revolutionary rehabilitation program, highlighted by a rigorous 10-day meditation retreat based on the teachings of the Buddha, these distressed souls are finding a way out — while never leaving the walls that imprison them.
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August 2011 -
Ramachandran’s work on agnosia, phantom limbs, synesthesia, mirror neurons, autism, language evolution, aphasia, etc. makes him a star in his field, and he has a large following among lay enthusiasts. Having co-authored the best-seller PHANTOMS IN THE BRAIN and authored A BRIEF TOUR OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS, he came out earlier this year with THE TELL-TALE BRAIN: A NEUROSCIENTIST’S QUEST FOR WHAT MAKES US HUMAN.
An episode of the TV show, House, illustrated how Ramachandran’s famed mirror visual feedback (MVF) method helps real-life amputees in pain.
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July 2011 -
One of the ironies of life is that there are millions of children without homes or families and there are millions of adults who wish to be parents but cannot. Adoption is the process that can unite them, and yet for many Indian families it is still a loaded word—not to mention an often challenging process.
For years there was a stigma attached to adoption, especially in Indian society. Adopting a child was a reluctant option for couples who could not conceive a child of their own. It was often a discreet undertaking accompanied by dubious stories of why an adoption was necessary.
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June 2011 -
Much has been made, mostly in the Indian press and the diaspora, about what The Economist referred to as "the contest of the century." But is it really a contest between equals? Khabar takes a look at the relative strengths and weaknesses of both countries, and why India can benefit by learning from its formidable neighbor.
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May 2011 -
Perhaps one reason Indians are not among the leaders in charitable giving is that, traditionally, organizational giving hasn’t been a big part of our culture. As a society that emphasizes the community over the individual, taking care of each other is ingrained among us—but in an innate and informal way. The close-knit extended family meant caring for and helping other family members, be it emotionally or financially.
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April 2011 -
In his nonfiction debut, INDIA CALLING, journalist Anand Giridharadas takes us on a revealing journey through a fast-changing nation that's no longer the old India--which his parents left decades ago when they moved to the United States. But Giridharadas's reverse journey is also a personal transformation that leaves him, as he said in an interview with KHABAR, "very committed to India, interested in India."
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March 2011 -
It’s a magical journey through two high Himalayan passes and the verdant Lahaul valley. Starting from Kaza, the district town of Spiti and the tourist town of Manali in Kullu valley, the journey comprises 185 km of almost uninhabited yet mesmerizing Himalayan terrain. But then, if you are fond of driving, have your own wheels—two, four or even hired ones—and love the mountains, then this high-altitude terrain is a gift for the senses and the spirit.
