By Rohini Mohan

When asked how they first met, my friends, a couple happily married for 15 years now, usually say “At a café”. They did meet at a café, that much is true, however, the meeting was set up by their parents. They just showed up, had a conversation and decided to go it together for the rest of their lives from thereon. Sounds scary on the face of it- how do you say “I do” to someone you met just once? Live with them, embrace their family, have kids with them, put up with their idiosyncrasies? With no understanding of their nature, their habits, their likes and dislikes, their sense of humor, their temper, their values. How do you know that the gamble will pay off? Anachronistically, my grandparents fell in love and got married, but each of their four children had ‘arranged marriages’. Amusing to many, terrifying to some, but a way of life to millions in India (and some other societies), arranged marriages have been around for generations and have stood the test of time.

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By Salil Chaturvedi

“You never take into account my disability,” I was complaining to a friend who had booked movie tickets for us. The cinema hall was not very accessible which was to be expected, but what had got my goat was that our seats were way up towards the back. I was annoyed that my friend had not thought of choosing seats that were easier to access. The anger didn’t last long, as it never does with good friends. He carried me up to the seats and we enjoyed the show.

On the way back, he apologised for not thinking about the seats and said something that’s still fresh in my mind after fifteen years, “You know, one doesn’t think of you as a disabled person even though you are on a wheelchair. I just feel you’re the same as me.” At that time I retorted, “Sure, the fault is all mine!”

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By Praba Iyer

One Friday evening we went out to try a new restaurant with a friend. Our friend was curious about the cuisine. I told her they had some interesting dishes and she exclaimed, “Please don’t say Fusion – it feels like the chef has a hand in all the pots, and does not have a clue where he belongs!” That sparked an interesting conversation.

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By R. Arun Kumar

I became an American last year. I got my citizenship after going through a moving ceremony held at the magnificent rotunda of the Masonic Center in San Francisco. I pledged allegiance to the United States constitution and the country and sang the national anthem with my right hand folded across my chest and covering my heart. In the same ceremony, 1200-odd citizens of 157 nationalities around the world went through the ‘lump in the throat’ moment to voluntarily give up their past identities and embrace the rights, respect and, for some, envy or enmity that comes along with the US passport.

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By Pavani Kaushik

The Aicon Gallery (formerly Arts India) Palo Alto, in collaboration with the Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi – is showcasing yet another of India’s versatile talents – Yusuf Arakkal. The Bangalore based artist, also known for his sculpture and poetry, speaks from his heart with this latest series of paintings. Titled “The Street”, the work powerfully portrays slices of life on the streets experienced by various segments of the human diaspora.

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By Vidya Pradhan

Given its location in the heart of Mumbai, it is rather surprising that these 530 acres took so long to register on the radar of land developers. Salivating at the thought of prime commercial and residential potential, companies like Mitsubishi, Godrej and Reliance have begun applying serious pressure on the Mumbai Slum Rehabilitation Authority to get a move on the Dharavi Development Project(DDP).

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