By Rohini Mohan

For those living in the San Francisco Bay Area this is an interesting movie to watch. The book described the area, particularly Fremont, in detail and the movie provides a good visual backup. I watched the movie in its first week of release and it was a full house. We actually had to camp out on the floor to get a decent view.

Khaled Hosseini’s first book, the film is directed by Golden Globe nominated director, Mark Foster. It is a story of friendship and betrayal set against an Afghani backdrop. Indian audiences will enjoy it, as it has all the fine trappings of a Bollywood blockbuster, lots of emotion, much scope for melodrama, many co-incidences. Most of the movie is in Farsi with English subtitles, which makes it pretty authentic. The lead actors are all professional, but apparently most of the US bit roles are played by Bay Area talent. Most of the child actors are local to Afghanistan with little or no acting experience, but all do a fine job.

The noteworthy actors are young Hassan, and Baba, the father of Amir, the central character. Both come across as very natural. Amir by virtue of his character, is weak and selfish and does not extract much empathy from the audience until he redeems himself in the end. The movie did do justice to the book and for those who do not have much patience with reading, it provides a wonderful representation of life in Afganistan ( shot in China) the immigrant experience and Afghani culture and how it is maintained abroad.

As seems to be the norm with many movies these days, Khaled Hosseini does a little cameo appearance in the very last scene. All in all, an afternoon well spent whether at the movies or on DVD.

WNI WISHES ALL ITS READERS A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR! 

Compiled by Rohini Mohan 

Benazir Bhutto died a violent and tragic death earlier this week. Educated at Harvard and Oxford, Bhutto was a liberal leader and strong voice for democracy. Her grandfather was from Haryana and she was a keen proponent of bettering relations between India and Pakistan. Which makes this tragedy even more significant at a time when these ties truly need strengthening. Here are some snippets relevant to Benazir and India from news broadcasts around the world. Continue reading →

By Rohini Mohan 

My favorite thing to do in my pre-teen and teen years was to curl up on a sofa, with a nice, juicy, comfort oozing book. The actual reading of the book was the climax of the whole experience, generally preceded by a long drawn out ceremony, starting with a trip to either the second hand book store if my parents were feeling particularly generous or nine cases out of ten, to the library where I spent most of my meager allowance. Next would follow the deliciously painstaking process of locating just the book I wanted to read which itself could take an hour or more. There would be much conferring with the store keeper/ librarian, I would change my mind at least 15 times, and when I finally picked the chosen book, no-one was happier or more anxious to get started than me. Continue reading →

By Asha Chandra

Like so many young Indians at the time, my parents immigrated to the US in the 1960s to further their education and pursue the American dream. For the past 40+ years, they have worked and raised their family here. Now, as much as I try to deny it, they are reaching their senior years. Even though my parents have essentially “grown up” in the US, and today they are completely independent, and have created a savings net, live a very comfortable life, and in general, understand the American “systems and culture”, it will be inevitable that one day, there will be so many questions that they (and we), as adult children, will need to ask ourselves. Will they be able to live in their current homes? Will they need additional care? Will they have health insurance? For how long will they be able to continue to drive? And who can help us find out about the resources and services that exist in our local community to help make their lives comfortable as they become older? Continue reading →

By Salil Chaturvedi

I’ve had this itching allergy for about seven years now. My eyes swell up and get all puffy and raw-like and the skin around the eyes itches in a strange way from the inside. A skin specialist told me to think about how I spend my day, what I eat, what I use, what I wear, etc. So, my plan was simple, list the things that I use on a daily basis and try and isolate the problem ingredient. How do I spend my day? I begin by brushing my teeth with the extra whitener toothpaste. I picked up my favourite toothpaste and listed the ingredients.

Colgate Advanced Whitener: Silica Sorbitol, Glycerine, Sodium fluoride.

I decided to go after sodium fluoride and googled it on the laptop. I found that kidneys can eliminate only about 50% of the daily fluoride intake. The rest gets absorbed in calcified tissues, like bones and teeth. For the average individual, a retention of 2mg/day would result in crippling skeletal fluorosis after 40 years. Small children, even if pea-size amount is used, will still absorb the same, more if the child is younger and has less swallowing control skills. Half a tube of toothpaste can kill a child. So my toothpaste was safe. Sodium Fluoride didn’t cause any allergies. And now I knew how to pop off irritating children. Not bad, for ten-minute’s worth of research. I scratched my eyes a bit and moved on. Continue reading →

By Rohini Mohan 

Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pie. Warm toasty fires, mom’s big dinner table, delicious aromas, family fun, great conversation and good times. That’s what this yearly American holiday is all about. Everyone knows that this tradition started with the Pilgrim Fathers, who gave thanks for the harvest they reaped after a harsh winter. Their original feast was not elaborate, but the thanks were loaded with gratitude, because a bountiful fall harvest meant food on the table for the next few months. Continue reading →