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(2, 1, '2005-03-05 02:13:24', '2005-03-04 20:43:24', 'Well, this question has been answered several times by many experts. My intentions are perfectly clear. I would like to use this channel to express my  thoughts and to let people know what''s happing in the e-media field especially the ethnic fields.\r\nSo please stay tuned.', 'Why Blog?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'why-blog', '', '', '2005-03-05 02:14:07', '2005-03-04 20:44:07', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=2', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(5, 1, '2005-05-13 21:30:20', '2005-05-13 16:00:20', 'From Pamina Bagchi\r\n\r\nIn Edison, New Jersey, a Korean American is running for mayor in an\r\nupcoming primary race.  An April 25th article in the New Jersey Star\r\nLedger reported that both the Korean American candidate and his\r\nopponent are hoping to receive votes from the Asian American\r\ncommunity. On April 25th, the "Jersey Guys" show [broadcast on\r\n101.5FM] reacted to the article.  In doing so, the deejays used racial\r\nand ethnic stereotypes to characterize Asians in New Jersey as\r\n"un-American." The broadcast also implied that Asian ethnic groups\r\nhave taken over businesses and neighborhoods in New Jersey and have\r\ncontributed to the region''s economic failings.\r\nFor a copy of the letter that has been sent by organizations, please\r\nemail saalt@saalt.org and visit saalt.org for more info.\r\nPlease call, email, and/or write the manager and parent company of the\r\nstation to protest against this irresponsible broadcast.  In addition,\r\nyou could also send a message to the station''s sponsors.\r\n- First, introduce yourself and your connection to the community [if\r\nyou are a NJ resident, make sure that is clear]\r\n- Express your feelings about the broadcast in a respectful manner\r\n- Ask the station to meet the following demands from the community\r\nWhom do I contact? [Send a copy of your correspondence to saalt@saalt.org]\r\nEric Johnson, Station Manager\r\nNew Jersey 101.5 FM Radio\r\nP.O. Box 5698\r\nTrenton, NJ 08638\r\nEj1015@nj1015.com\r\n(609) 771-8181', 'NJ 101.5 Comments on Asian Americans', 0, 'Xenophobic comments on New Jersey Radio Show Warrant Response from\r\nSouth Asian Community [MAY 2, 2005] - From Pamina Bagchi', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nj-1015-comments-on-asian-americans', '', '\nhttp://www.saalt.org', '2005-05-13 21:30:25', '2005-05-13 16:00:25', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=5', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(14, 1, '2005-05-28 00:28:11', '2005-05-27 18:58:11', 'Dear Friends,\r\n\r\nIn my last week''s newsletter, I had mentioned about "Radio Bangla" the\r\nInternet radio station. Did anyone of you get a chance to listen to\r\nit? I''d like to hear your comments and suggestions.\r\n\r\nToday I''d like to introduce you to "NY/NJ Bengali" Blog site\r\n(http://www.ethnomediallc.com/wpress). I have set up this site where I\r\ncan post our blogs (i.e. blogs from any registered user). Blogs can be\r\nanything, on any subject you''d like to share your thoughts on. Just\r\nregister, log in, and post your writings. However, your blogs/articles\r\nwill  be posted only after I approve them. This is just to prevent\r\nspam and offensive postings if any. Blogs can be posted on few\r\ndifferent categories. Following are few of them. Please don''t forget\r\nto check the appropriate category box when you write and post your\r\narticle.\r\n\r\nCategories:\r\nSocial : Articles pertaining to social/political issues\r\n\r\nArts-Culture : Article on arts and culture\r\n\r\nReviews : Reviews of shows, books, films etc.\r\n\r\nClassified: If you''d like to give away, donate, sell or announce any\r\nservice or product, you may post it in this category. Note that this\r\ncategory postings does not show up on front page. This is FREE.\r\n\r\nNeed Help: If you, or someone you know needs any help from any\r\ncommunity member, you may feel free to post it here. You never know\r\nwho can help you when you need it the most. Posts on this category\r\ndoes not show up on front page.\r\n\r\nGeneric: All other categories\r\n\r\nNote that neither I nor Ethnomedia LLC has any means of verifying the\r\nauthenticity of any posts and hence bears no responsibility for any\r\nconsequences that may result from their usage. This is offered only as\r\na public service.  Please use responsibly and at your own risk.\r\n\r\nNote that you can set up the RSS feed from this site to be fed to your\r\nRSS news reader (like yahoo or others). Next time I''ll discuss about\r\nRSS news feed in more details.\r\n\r\nI wish you a happy and enjoyable long weekend.\r\n\r\nRegards\r\n\r\nSudipta', 'Issue: May 26, 2005', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'issue-may-26-2005', '', '', '2005-05-28 00:28:11', '2005-05-27 18:58:11', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=14', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(21, 1, '2005-06-04 01:20:37', '2005-06-03 19:50:37', 'NY NJ Bengali Newsletter [June 3, 2005]\r\n\r\nDear Friends,\r\n\r\nAs we move towards summer, all eyes (I mean Bengali eyes) are looking towards Manhattan, New York with great expectations. The 25th North America Bengali Conference is gearing up to greet Bengalis from all parts of the world. Are you joining them?\r\n\r\nToday''s events list includes two very specific events to be held at the NABC 2005, the classical music sessions and the literary seminars. Classical music and Literature are two very fond subjects of any Bengali intellectual. This year, however, the NABC committee has opened up the classical music event to non-regsitrants also who may be interested to listen to these wonderful musicians without having to register for the full conference. See you all in Manhattan on July 2nd to July 3rd.\r\n\r\nMany of you have been sending me event listings as long attachments (even pdf files). It is vey difficult for me to extract the text info from those files.So here are your two options:\r\n\r\n1. Send me a text file, similar to my email listing give, who, what, why,  when, where, (and  howmuch) information. I''ll cut and paste it to my email.\r\n\r\nOR\r\n\r\n2. Visit http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress,  register yourself, log in and write in your announcement and mark it as a event category. You can post to other categories too like classified, reviews etc. \r\n\r\nAll my emails will refer to this site and my email will contain a summary of this entry too. \r\nPlease help me out.\r\n\r\nWish you all a very happy weekend.\r\n\r\nRegards\r\n\r\nSudipta Bhawmik\r\n', 'NY/NJ Bengali Newsletter [June 03, 2005]', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nynj-bengali-newsletter-june-03-2005', '', '\nhttp://www.nabc2005.org/', '2005-06-04 01:20:37', '2005-06-03 19:50:37', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/21', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(28, 1, '2005-06-15 01:45:01', '2005-06-14 20:15:01', 'RSS Feed is a great way to receive news and information from a variety of websites directly on your desktop without having to search for them or visit their websites. News and information can be delivered through email or web sites, as plugins to your web browser, as well as stand-alone news readers and feed aggregators. This article will give you a brief overview of how to avail of this great piece of technology.\r\n\r\nYou must have seen those small orange ''XML'' or ''RSS'' buttons beginning to spread across some of your favourite web sites. Perhaps you have clicked on one out of curiosity, only to be faced with a barrage of angle brackets and undecipherable code. But once you click on that button - what do you do then? This article will show you exactly what to do. RSS? It''s actually "Really Simple, Stupid" or "Rich Site Summary" or "Really Simple Syndication." But no matter what it''s called, RSS is a new way to publish information online.\r\n\r\nThe first thing to do of course is click that button. It may be an orange button with ''XML'' or ''RSS'' written across it; or you could see the word ''Atom''; or, less commonly, it could be blue with maybe the initials ''RDF''; or it could be a simple link with something like ''Grab My Feed'' or just ''RSS Feed''.  Gets confusing, doesn''t it? But what the acronyms like XML and RSS actually stand for is less than important - what to do after clicking the button is the important bit.\r\n\r\nAfter clicking the button, you will see all that code - if you have ever viewed the source code to a web page, it looks a little similar.\r\n\r\nRSS is just another language of the web, but you can actually completely ignore the code itself, and only care about the end product. In the case of RSS, that end product is up to date news on the topics you are interested in.\r\n\r\nFor example, if you want to keep up to date with the latest information on financial markets, or growing marigolds, or your favourite "NY NJ Newsletter", and you see a feed on that particular topic, you can ''subscribe'' to it and receive messages via the feed, each time the publisher of the feed updates it.\r\n\r\nSo how do you ''subscribe'' to an RSS feed? The important bit is what is in the browser address (or location) bar after clicking the feed button, i.e. the bit at the top of your browser window that usually starts with ''http://...'' and tells you the web address of the page you are visiting. For this newsletter it is - http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/feed/\r\n\r\nAfter clicking the RSS (or XML, etc.) button, you need to copy that address - it''s that address that you need to ''plug'' into what is generally known as a ''news reader''.\r\n\r\nNews readers allow you to keep updated with the feeds that you are subscribed to. There are several to choose from - some involve downloading some software, some involve visiting a web site, some are free, and some require a small investment.\r\n\r\nOnce you have chosen a particular news reader, you simply take that address that you have copied, and, following the instructions provided with the news reader to subscribe to, or add a new feed, simply paste it in - the reader will take care of the rest, and keep you updated with your new feed. Once you have done it once, you will see just how simple it really is.\r\n\r\nHere are some news readers you can choose from, in approximate order of recommendation under each category:\r\nBrowser-Based:\r\n\r\nMy Yahoo\r\n\r\nBlogLines (http://www.bloglines.com)\r\n\r\nAmphetaDesk (http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/)\r\n\r\nNewsIsFree (http://www.newsisfree.com/)\r\n\r\nSoftware For Windows: NewsGator (http://www.newsgator.com/) - integrates into Microsoft Outlook\r\n\r\nFeedDemon (http://www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/)\r\n\r\nAwasu (http://www.awasu.com/)\r\n\r\nSharpReader (http://www.sharpreader.net/)\r\n\r\nFeedReader (http://www.feedreader.com/)\r\n\r\nNewsWatcher (http://www.newswatcher.com/)\r\n\r\nNewsRanker (http://egofile.com/newsranker/) - claims to learn from your news reading to prioritize the feed items you receive\r\n\r\nNovobot (http://www.proggle.com/novobot/) - extracts headlines from feeds, and also web sites that you are interested in\r\n\r\nRadio Userland (http://radio.userland.com/) - blogging tool with an integrated news aggregator\r\n\r\nFor FireFox browser you may use the active bookmark (click orange button on lower righthand corner) or download SAGE plugin. Thunderbird email client can also receive RSS feeds.\r\n\r\nIt''s useful to spend a few minutes researching some appropriate choices - once you''ve decided on one that you believe to be suitable, you can start picking up new feeds straight away. It''s Really So Simple, you won''t look back.', 'How to Receive RSS Feeds?', 0, 'RSS Feed is a great way to receive news and information from a variety of websites directly on your desktop without having to search for them or visit their websites. News and information can be delivered through email or web sites, as plugins to your web browser, as well as stand-alone news readers and feed aggregators. This article will give you a brief overview of how to avail of this great piece of technology.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how', '', '', '2005-06-15 02:04:57', '2005-06-14 20:34:57', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/28', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(94, 1, '2007-09-18 15:24:13', '2007-09-18 19:24:13', '<!--adsense-->\r\nDear ICC Members,\r\n\r\nIt''s our most favorite time of the year again............\r\nLadies get your " Tussars, Balucharis, Jamdanis, Bomkais" and Gentlemen be ready with your ''''Kurtas, Dhotis, Sherwanis"  for the 2007 Durga Puja.  \r\n\r\nWe are happy to let you know that ICC will be celebrating this year''s Durga Puja on Oct 12 th (7pm-10pm), Oct 13th (11am – 10pm) & Oct 14th (11am -10pm) at\r\n\r\nEISENHOWER MIDDLE SCHOOL\r\n47 Eyland Avenue\r\nSuccasunna , NJ 07876\r\n(973) 584 – 2973\r\n\r\nEC members have put together a very entertaining cultural program for this year''s puja....\r\n\r\nSaturday''s "Prime Time Attraction" includes:\r\n\r\nTanushree Shankar''s Dance Troupe\r\n\r\n&\r\n\r\nAntara Chowdhury (daughter of Salil Chowdhury)\r\n\r\n \r\nPlease invite your friends and family to make this year''s puja a memorable experience.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMore details to follow....\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOn behalf of EC,\r\n\r\nPrithwiraj Maitra\r\n\r\n(908-421-3418)\r\n\r\nFor more information:\r\n\r\nhttp://www.icc-gs.org', 'ICC Durga Puja 2007', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'icc-durga-puja-2007', '', '\nhttp://www.icc-gs.org', '2007-09-18 15:24:31', '2007-09-18 19:24:31', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/94', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(93, 1, '2007-09-19 11:39:25', '2007-09-19 15:39:25', '<!--adsense-->\r\nKallol of NJ will be celebrating Durga Puja at the Ukranian Community Center off Davidson Avenue in Somerset, NJ. A broad range of cultural programs have been arranged. The key programs include:\r\n\r\nFriday 19th Oct 2007\r\nMahashashti and Maha Saptami\r\nPuja : 3.00pm Anjali 6.00pm\r\nDinner: 6.30pm \r\nCultural Program: 8.30pm\r\nOpening Piano - Nayan Basu\r\nSong - Ruma Palit\r\nBangla Band KAYA (from Kolkata)\r\n\r\nSaturday 20th Oct 2007\r\nMahashtami and Sandhi\r\nPuja: 11.00am Anjali 2.00pm\r\nDinner 5.00pm\r\nCultural Program: 6.00pm\r\nDance - Nritya Creations Academy of Dance\r\nJatra - "Shahjahan" Kallol of NJ - directed by Arunansu Dasgupta\r\nDance - Pia Bhattacharya\r\nModern Song - Subhomita Banerjee - the celebrity singer from Kolkata\r\n\r\nSunday 21st Oct 2007\r\nMahanabami and Mahadashami\r\nPuja: 11.00am Anjali: 2.00pm\r\nDinner: 5.00pm \r\n\r\nCultural Program 6.30pm\r\n"Emperors New Groove" - a play by Kallol Children\r\nDnace - Rythms of Dance and Music\r\nRecitation - Satinath Mukhopadhyay (from Kolkata)\r\nTejendra Naryan Majumdar - Sarod with Samir Chatterjee on Table\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nand many others\r\n\r\n', 'Kallol Durga Puja 2007', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kallol-durga-puja-2007', '', '\nhttp://kallol.com\nhttp://kallol.com', '2007-09-29 20:16:25', '2007-09-30 00:16:25', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/93', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(88, 1, '2007-09-03 23:35:18', '2007-09-04 03:35:18', '<!--adsense-->\r\nA magazine devoted to poetry only is not what you can find on regular news stands or magazine stalls. The limited readership scares away the publishers from venturing into such an enterprise. They''d rather get into a safer business of publishing prose with some esoteric ones plugging in few poems in between. But <em>Krittibas</em> is an exception. <!--more-->A 100% poetry magazine, published by poets, for the poetry lovers of Bengal.  Such magazines, typically branded as "Little magazines", have a limited life span. They die as soon as their founders either go broke (trying to fund the magazine) or find something better to do with their time.  However, that was not the case with <em>Krittibas</em>.   The founders of the magazine which included Sunil Ganguly and some of his friends, made it possible to keep the magazine going for more than fifty years now with Sunil still at its helm (although being an extremely busy celebrity writer himself.) Kriitibas had some ups and downs during this long period, but it kept on reviving and surviving. The poetry loving Bengalis  all over the world kept it going for their own cultural survival. \r\nThanks to Gautam Dutta,  Krittibas  is now available in USA allowing us not only to enjoy the finest of Bengali poetry, but also to contribute towards the  continued survival of this prized Bengali cultural icon.  To subscribe to Krittibas ($25/annum for four issues mailed to you), contact Gautam Dutta at bpstinc@aol.com . \r\nIn the following podcast, I read two poems from the latest issue of Krittibas. One by Gautam Dutta and the other by late Tarapada Ray. \r\nRead more about Krittibas from its <a href="http://krittibas.com">website http://krittibas.com</a> .', 'Krittibas: A Poetry Magazine That Created History', 0, 'A magazine devoted to poetry only is not what you can find on regular news stands or magazine stalls. The limited readership scares away the publishers from venturing into such an enterprise. They''d rather get into a safer business of publishing prose with some esoteric ones plugging in few poems in between. But <em>Krittibas</em> is an exception. ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'krittibas-a-poetry-magazine-that-created-history', '', '\nhttp://krittibas.com', '2007-09-07 22:50:00', '2007-09-08 02:50:00', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/88', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(82, 1, '2007-08-28 00:03:21', '2007-08-27 18:33:21', 'On the set of "The Namesake"', 'On the set', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'on-the-set', '', '', '2007-08-28 00:03:21', '2007-08-27 18:33:21', '', 81, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/nsake_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(110, 1, '2007-10-31 10:58:41', '2007-10-31 14:58:41', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dsc_0770.jpg'' title=''Kallol Durga Protima''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dsc_0770.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Kallol Durga Protima'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>Durga Puja 2007 is behind us now. It is time now for wishing "Subho Bijoya", "Kolakuli" and of course "Mishti mukh".  Durga Puja in New York, New Jersey  have now matured to such an extent that people can say things like - "during our times" or "in those days" - just to signify that times have changed. Yes times have changed indeed, even though the Durga idol has not changed that much over the years. I hear people complaining that the Puja''s here have lost the intimate and homely feeling that it used to offer and have now become the real "Baroari Pujas" where people come to have fun, enjoy the entertainment programs and meet friends with an occasional nod at the idol.  Managing crowd is a major problem for the organizers and some are thinking about moving to larger venues. <!--more-->\r\n<br />\r\nSo how was your Puja? I could only manage to go to Kallol''s Puja held at the usual venue (Ukranian Community Center), and I could say that I had a pretty good time. The food was above average and the cultural programs met my expectation. On Friday, the main attraction was "Kaya" (Bangla Band) which was a bit disappointing to me. Their show failed to grab my attention. Saturday''s key attraction, the highly advertised Yatra "Shahjahan" fell flat on the audience due to severe audio problem (no surprise there).  It is a pity to watch several months of hard work being ruined by poor technical handling of the sound system. Apparently, the floor microphones were connected to an inadequate mixer (the better one was saved for Subhomita) which failed to deliver when all the microphones were turned on. This problem could have been easily resolved by doing a simple sound check with all the mics turned on.  Instead of continuing the play with the poor sound, the show should have been interrupted by the Kallol organizers (stage managers, technical staff and other committee members) and the sound system fixed before restarting the play. The actors on stage cannot be blamed since they were too much engrossed with their performance (not to mention the stress they were going through.) \r\n<br />\r\nThe following Bengali vocal music program by Subhomita was an excellent presentation. Subhomita is undoubtedly one of the leading singers of Bengali modern songs. Her vocal range and purity of notes was mesmerizing. She also maintains a distinction by mostly singing her own songs rather than the old and popular cover numbers. She had an excellent accompaniment (and not pre-recorded audio tracks) which included her husband on the tabla as well as the popular percussionist of ETV Bangla music shows - Ratan Chakraborty on the octopad. \r\n<br />\r\nThe highlight of Sunday evening''s program was the children''s play "The Emperor''s New Groove" based on the popular Disney animation film, adapted and directed by Aparajita Das. The colorful presentation rocked with jazzy dance numbers where the cute kids of Kallol danced to feet tapping Latino music. This play too started off with some audio problems, but this time the play was interrupted and the problem fixed. The kids too were very careful to ensure that whatever they said was heard loud and clear.  In one instance the lapel microphone came off one of the actor''s costume, but he smartly picked it up and held the mic close to his mouth before delivering his dialog. I guess the "Shahjahan" incident taught them a lesson.\r\n<br />\r\nThe following event, Satinath Mukhopadhyay''s recitation, was able to keep the audience on their seats on a Sunday evening. He proved that he knew the skills of using the microphone and controlling his voice to deliver the right emotions. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar''s sarod recital concluded Kallol''s puja event for 2007 in the traditional way. Tejendra was accompanied on the tabla by the talented young Anubrata Chatterjee, son of the celebrated tabla player Anindyo Chatterjee. \r\n<br />\r\nWhile we wait for the next year''s Puja, please let me know how you celebrated your Puja weekend. Share with us your thoughts on how to make this event even more enjoyable.\r\n\r\n', 'Durga Puja 2007', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-puja-2007', '', '', '2007-10-31 10:58:41', '2007-10-31 14:58:41', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/110', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(99, 1, '2007-10-04 22:58:12', '2007-10-05 02:58:12', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jhorasomoy.jpg'' title=''Jhara Samayer Kavya''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jhorasomoy.thumbnail.jpg''   class=''alignleft'' alt=''Jhara Samayer Kavya'' /></a> <a href="http://ganakrishti.org">Ganakrishti</a>, a leading theater group of Kolkata, has just completed twenty-five years of its journey that began in 1981 by a handful of theater enthusiasts. Over these years the group has grown both in size and stature to one of those very few organizations that can help guide the group theater movement in Kolkata through the troubled socio-economic waters. It was one of those groups who did not feel that producing plays is the only activity they should concentrate on. <!--more-->Ganakrishti wanted to be inclusive, wanted to do theater with everybody. They were not one of those elitist groups that bask on the glory of a limited few "stars". They started to build ground up, bringing together all the like minded people, train the young through workshops and through stage productions where everybody can be a part of, on-stage or off-stage.  \r\n\r\nI have been fortunate enough to see three productions of Ganakrishti. "Sateroi July" (July the 17th), a play written and directed by Bratya Basu, was an intensely gripping drama with a huge cast. "Megh Manabi", a musical developed though the workshop process of Ganakrishti (directed by Jahar Das) is a kind of production that is very difficult to find in any Kolkata stage. The play involved the youngest of the group members who have been groomed through the annual workshop process conducted by the senior performers. "Tashkar Brittanto", one of the recent productions, is a hilarious satirical drama directed by Amitava Dutta and wonderfully acted by the more experienced members of the group. \r\n\r\nGanakrishti''s latest production, "Jhora Somoyer Kabya" (Verse of Whithering Time), is winning great critical acclaim as well as audience appreciation. The play chronicles the life of Mirza Asad-ul-llah khan Ghalib, who was not only a poet and musician, but also a great philosopher.  The play depicts, through the eyes of Ghalib, a changing time of Indian history when the people started to feel the growing power of the British empire gradually spreading its wings of oppression across India. This is a must see play in Kolkata at this moment. So next time you are in Kolkata, do not miss this play. \r\n\r\nGanakrishti''s annual theater festival is another unique event that demonstrates their inclusiveness, their eagerness to do theater with everybody who loves to do theater.  It was an honor for us to be a part of Ganakrishti''s annual theater festival in 2006 with our play "<a href="http://www.ethnomediallc.com">Ron</a>". The festival did not have the pomp and grandeur of  some of the other famous festivals and fairs of Kolkata, but it had that magic that creates a bond of friendship and camaraderie that is the key objective of any festival of this nature.  The festival invites theater groups from all over India and abroad. One of the key features of this festival is a special segment of children''s plays. Besides plays, the festival also features exhibitions, seminars, as well as felicitation of artists, writers and performers.  A festival of this magnitude demands lot of dedication, hard work and funds.  Government grants alone cannot bear the expenses. Private and corporate contributions constitute a significant portion of the budget. I hope that the patrons and donors of this wonderful festival continue to sponsor this event in the coming years too and make it a major monsoon festival of Kolkata.  I''d also like to request my expatriate Bengali friends who visit Kolkata during the summer moths (July/August) to make it a point to attend this festival and be a part of this wonderful cultural experience. ', 'Ganakrishti: A Beacon for the Group Theater Movement in Kolkata', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ganakrishti-a-beacon-for-the-group-theater-movement-in-kolkata', '', '', '2007-10-04 23:00:35', '2007-10-05 03:00:35', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/99', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(100, 1, '2007-10-04 10:51:49', '2007-10-04 14:51:49', '<!--adsense-->\r\nETHNOMEDIA MUSIC STUDIO\r\nPresents\r\nAn Evening of Hindustani Classical and Semi-Classical Music\r\nSATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD AT 6.30 P.M.\r\n\r\n<strong>Indrani Chakrabarty</strong> (Vocal)\r\n<strong>Kedar Naphade</strong> (Harmonium Solo) Accompanied by\r\n<strong>Amod Dandawate</strong> (Tabla)\r\n\r\n<strong>Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik</strong> (Vocal)\r\nAccompanied by\r\n<strong>Samir Chatterjee</strong> (Tabla); <strong>Kedar Naphade</strong> (Harmonium)\r\n\r\n<strong>Special Event</strong>\r\nDebut CD Album Release of <strong>Kedar Naphade</strong>\r\nExhibition in Water Colors by <strong>Poorva Pant</strong>\r\n\r\nVenue\r\nFAH THEATER\r\nUnitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton,\r\n50 Cherry Hill Rd, Princeton, NJ 0854\r\nwww.uuprinceton.org\r\nAdmission: $15.00\r\nContact: (908) 429-1120\r\nVisit http://www.mitali.org, http://ethnomediallc.com/music_studio', 'Hindustani Classical Vocal Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'hindustani-classical-vocal-concert', '', '\nhttp://www.mitali.org,\nhttp://ethnomediallc.com/music_studio', '2007-10-04 10:51:49', '2007-10-04 14:51:49', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/100', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(84, 1, '2007-08-28 16:36:09', '2007-08-28 20:36:09', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/img_6449.JPG'' title=''Satyameva Scene''><img class="alignleft" src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/img_6449.thumbnail.JPG'' alt=''Satyameva Scene'' /></a> Finally, our team (Ethnomedia) concluded their four day run of "Satyameva" at the Sujata Sadan hall in Kolkata. It was an emotional roller coaster ride for me, but for Indranil and Sankar Ghoshal, it was both emotional as well as physical. \r\n<!--more-->The city weather was brutal this time. Rains, floods and sweltering heat sapped off all energy and enthusiasm that they had carried on with themselves. The weather not only was unfavorable to the actors, but also to the audience who wanted to come to the show. Still the show had quite a few of the top theater personalities and media critics on their seats. The celebrities included people like Madhavi Mukherjee, Bibhas Chakraborty, Ashok Mukherjee, Chandan Sen, Ishita Mukherjee and few others. And it seems they liked the play, as did the other audience members. \r\nBibhas-da in his email said, "Ek kothay, Bhalo Legechhe". Ashok Mukherjee commented, "Hats off to you! A wonderful play, executed wonderfully". \r\nAnandalal wrote in a short review in "The Telegraph",\r\n\r\n<blockquote>The Bengali-American group Ethnomedia from New Jersey, which stunned Calcutta last year with Ron, returned for the world premiere of dramatist-director Sudipta Bhawmik’s Satyameva. A senior executive body-shopping software engineers fires his incompetent new recruit, who pleads that he should not be sent back to India. By a remarkable plot of twists and turns (perhaps too many of them) Bhawmik conveys older Bengalis’ nostalgia for their birthplace and younger Bengalis’ desire to emigrate to America. Sankar Ghoshal and Indranil Mukherjee respectively give realistic portrayals of these parts, but the playwright’s craftsmanship tends to get the better of heartfelt emotions, which we had found in Ron. </blockquote>\r\n\r\nAlso you''ll find attached a review from "Sangbad Pratidin".\r\n\r\nOverall, the show was quite successful. Thanks to the wonderful support by Ganakrishti (who presented our show in Kolkata) members. Without them, it was quite impossible for us to stage the show. \r\n\r\nNow we need to plan for a local staging here in New Jersey. Stay tuned.\r\n\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pratidin_stayameva_review_bw.jpg'' title=''Pratidin Review''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pratidin_stayameva_review_bw.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Pratidin Review'' /></a>\r\n', 'Satyameva in Kolkata', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-in-kolkata', '', '\nhttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1070825/asp/opinion/story_8232049.asp', '2007-10-16 14:15:03', '2007-10-16 18:15:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/84', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(85, 1, '2007-08-30 09:47:14', '2007-08-30 13:47:14', '<!--adsense-->\r\nBHARATIYA  KALA  KENDRA\r\nAn institution of authentic Indian Music and Dance\r\npresents\r\n"Tauryatrika"\r\nSeptember 23rd 2007, Sunday,  4:00 - 7:00  PM\r\n \r\n \r\nRap Around Ragas\r\nAn unforgettable blending of musical fragrances. Essence of Indian Classical Music with vibes of Rap music. Bharatiya Kala Kendra Members join hands with Rap singer Anee, accompanied by Dibyarka on Tabla, Krikeya on Drums.\r\nMelody Mando\r\nThe one and only Snehashis Mozumder on Mandolin with his electrifying talent and stunning knowledge. Accompanied by Dibyarka Chatterjee on Table.\r\nAllusion\r\nSukalyan  Bhattacharya on contemporary  dance  with his  inimitable creativity. Parthasarathi Muykhopadhyay with his composition on songs of Kabeer.\r\nInsight\r\nA message of eternity flowing from the holy verses of Shwetashwatah Upnishad - with a humble offering of our own self to the eternity through song of Rabindranath Tagore. A presentation by members of BKK family.\r\nRhythm and Theme\r\nA variety entertainment event with a thoughtful collection of songs and dances presented by\r\nmembers of Bharatiya Kala Kendra family.\r\nEndless\r\nStreaming melody of Indian Classical Music with the divine posture of Indian Dance.\r\nAn endless  musical journey - with members of Bharatiya Kala Kendra.\r\n \r\nGeorge Street Playhouse, 9 Livingstone Ave, New Brunswick\r\n ', 'BHARATIYA  KALA  KENDRA presents "Tauryatrika"', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bharatiya-kala-kendra-presents-tauryatrika', '', '', '2007-08-30 09:47:14', '2007-08-30 13:47:14', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/85', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(86, 1, '2007-08-30 09:53:10', '2007-08-30 13:53:10', '<!--adsense-->\r\nSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 7 PM\r\nDISCOVER ARTISTIC INDIA program AT NJ State Theatre\r\n \r\nFeaturing Legends of Indian Classical Music and Dance\r\n Location: State Theatre, 15 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick, New Jersey\r\nTickets: P $48.00; A $33.00; B $23.00; C $23.00\r\n \r\nPresented by New Jersey State Theatre in association with Indo American Cultural & Religious Foundation (IACRF) and One World Entertainment.\r\nJugalbandi between Carnatic and Hindustani music maestros--\r\n \r\nDr. Bala Murali Krishna and Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty.\r\n \r\nThis is the first time ever that music aficionados of New Jersey will be treated to a concert featuring these two stalwarts performing on the same stage.\r\nAlso: stunning performances in Indian classical dance by a group of visually challenged dancers from India.\r\n \r\n $13 Tickets for Seniors & Students!*\r\nValid ID required (maximum 1 ticket per ID). Discounts valid for the last 2 rows of A1 and all of B & C seating, box office window orders only.\r\nDiscounts are not retroactive and cannot be combined. Subject to availability.\r\n \r\nTicket Fees\r\nThere will be a $2 per ticket facility fee applied to each ticket. Additional fees apply.\r\nTickets on sale Friday, August 3 at 10am to the GENERAL PUBLIC. \r\nTo become a STATE THEATRE MEMBER and get the BEST SEATS, call 732-247-7200, ext. 512. \r\nSTATE THEATRE MEMBER presale is limited to 4 tickets per order.\r\nPhone (732-246-SHOW) and window orders only.', 'DISCOVER ARTISTIC INDIA program at NJ State Theatre', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'discover-artistic-india-program-at-nj-state-theatre', '', '', '2007-08-30 09:55:35', '2007-08-30 13:55:35', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/86', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(25, 1, '2005-06-11 01:24:52', '2005-06-10 19:54:52', 'Learning lines\r\nAll 9 messages in topic - view as tree\r\n	\r\nloobyloo 	  May 24, 9:47 am     show options\r\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.plays\r\nFrom: loobyloo <any .trace.of.rudeness.looby...@loobynet.com> - Find messages by this author\r\nDate: Tue, 24 May 2005 14:47:15 +0100\r\nLocal: Tues,May 24 2005 9:47 am\r\nSubject: Learning lines\r\nReply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse\r\n\r\nHello everybody\r\n\r\nI''m an almost complete newbie to all this and I wanted to ask your advcie\r\nabout learning lines.  This summer I''ll be performing a one man show in\r\nEdinburgh and I need to learn a script that (with pauses and so on) will\r\nlast about 40 minutes.  I know it''s not Hamlet, but it''s quite a lot for\r\nsomeone who hasn''t tackled something like this before.\r\n\r\nI wonder if anyone knows how more experienced actors go about doing this,\r\nand what methods have proven effective for learning big chunks of text?\r\n\r\n-- \r\nCliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com\r\n* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *\r\n----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n\r\n\r\nReply\r\n	 \r\n\r\n	\r\nJim Beaver 	  May 24, 1:06 pm     show options\r\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.plays\r\nFrom: "Jim Beaver" <jumble ...@prodigy.spam> - Find messages by this author\r\nDate: Tue, 24 May 2005 17:06:59 GMT\r\nLocal: Tues,May 24 2005 1:06 pm\r\nSubject: Re: Learning lines\r\nReply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse\r\n\r\n"loobyloo" <any .trace.of.rudeness.looby...@loobynet.com> wrote in message\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI''ve done several one-man shows of this length or longer.  I just learn them\r\nparagraph by paragraph:  learn a line, learn the next one, learn them\r\ntogether, add the next line, till you''ve got the first paragraph down cold.\r\nThen start the next paragraph.  Once you''ve got it down, go back and do both\r\nparagraphs together, when you''ve got those two paragraphs down solid, start\r\nparagraph three.  Then you can either just keep adding paragraphs, or learn\r\neach new one in conjunction with the previous one.  Either method makes sure\r\nthat you learn each new paragraph as a connected part to the previous\r\nparagraph, which helps you maintain the flow of thought.  But at least once\r\nor twice a day, run through the whole thing as far as you''ve learned it and\r\nthen read aloud the remainder.  I''ve never had a very hard time learning a\r\nlong one-man show this way.  Of course, the better the material, the easier\r\nto memorize.\r\n\r\nJim Beaver\r\n\r\nReply\r\n	 \r\n\r\n	\r\nChristopher Jahn 	  May 24, 6:50 pm     show options\r\n\r\nAlso, it''s better to work on your lines while on your feet than sitting\r\ndown.  You will be SPEAKING them while you''re moving around, after all.  \r\nIt also keeps your blood pumping and prevents you from sloooowly fading\r\nout.\r\n\r\nA trick I have used for really difficult patches or when I have only a\r\nshort time to learn them; I transcribe the words from the script onto a\r\npad of paper in my own handwriting; this forces my brain to process the\r\nwords on a slightly deeper than simply reading them.  Then copying the\r\ntranscription in your own hand forces you to translate your own\r\nhandwriting and re-process it as you write it out again.  This can be\r\nextremely effective.\r\n\r\nThis is how I learned a 5 page monologue in five hours for a production\r\nin KEELY AND DU, when I was picked to be the understudy after the actor\r\ninjured himself during the matinee.\r\n\r\n-- \r\n}:-)       Christopher Jahn\r\n\r\n{:-(       http://home.comcast.net/~xjahn/Main.html\r\n\r\n\r\nVen Hawkins 	  May 25, 3:17 pm     show options\r\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.plays\r\nFrom: "Ven Hawkins" <actorguy2 ...@yahoo.com> - Find messages by this author\r\nDate: 25 May 2005 12:17:12 -0700\r\nLocal: Wed,May 25 2005 3:17 pm\r\nSubject: Re: Learning lines\r\nReply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse\r\n\r\nI''ve used three methods:\r\n\r\nMethod One:  Record all the lines on tape.  Use a small recorder with a\r\npause button.  When it comes your time to deliver a line hit the pause\r\nbutton, say the line, then listen.  Of course since you''re doing a one\r\nman show, it will always be your turn to talk, so just take a chunk of\r\ndialog at a time.\r\n\r\nMethod Two: Backwards.  Memorize the last line.  Then the previous\r\nline, then the one before that.  One each iteration go all the way to\r\nthe last line.  This way, the lines you''re least familiar with are the\r\nfirst ones you say.  Do it in managable chucks.  I don''t use this\r\nmethod alone, I still use the tape when I''m driving or some other\r\nactivity that won''t allow me to use the script.  I used this method\r\nwhen I had two weeks to memorize lines for a 2 1/2 hour show in which I\r\nplayed the lead character who was on stage the whole show.\r\n\r\nMethod Three:  I don''t try to memorize them at all.  This actually\r\nworks for me in some shows.  We''''ll have a week or two of blocking with\r\nscripts in hand to take notes.  I''ve found that quite often I''ll have\r\nmemorized the script without trying.  It''s still a good idea to use the\r\ntape method to reinforce your lines to avoid paraphrasing.\r\n\r\nGood Luck!\r\nVen Hawkins\r\n\r\nReply\r\n	 \r\n\r\n	\r\nCassiusw90s 	  May 25, 9:19 pm     show options\r\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.plays\r\nFrom: "Cassiusw90s" <cassiusw ...@nyc.rr.com> - Find messages by this author\r\nDate: Thu, 26 May 2005 01:19:57 GMT\r\nLocal: Wed,May 25 2005 9:19 pm\r\nSubject: Re: Learning lines\r\nReply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse\r\n\r\nCliff:\r\nOne suggestion, by which you can kill two birds with one stone, is this:\r\n\r\nGo through your scenes a couple of times and break up the "lines" into units\r\nof intention...that is "What does the character want?", "How is he trying to\r\nget it?", "What obstacles are in his way?".\r\n\r\nAfterwards, take an hour a day..or more if possible.. and work through each\r\nscene with an index card covering all your lines except the one you''re\r\ncurrently on. As a result of the work above, you''ll have memorized stuff\r\nwithout knowing it. And you''ll be memorizing the lines as part of\r\nunderstanding ways in which your character is moving moment to moment\r\nthrough the play..\r\n\r\nIt may sound pretentious, but, honestly, it works brilliantly.\r\n\r\nRegards,\r\n\r\nCassiusW90s\r\n\r\n\r\nJim Beaver 	  May 25, 9:34 pm     show options\r\n\r\nI''ve found this method to work very well myself.  And not just for\r\nmonologues.\r\n\r\nJim Beaver\r\n\r\nReply\r\n	 \r\n\r\n	\r\nMark Cipra 	  May 26, 6:50 am     show options\r\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.plays\r\nFrom: "Mark Cipra" <m ...@apk.net> - Find messages by this author\r\nDate: Thu, 26 May 2005 06:50:26 -0400\r\nLocal: Thurs,May 26 2005 6:50 am\r\nSubject: Re: Learning lines\r\nReply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse\r\n\r\n"Cassiusw90s" <cassiusw ...@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message\r\n\r\nnews:1v9le.14501$IX4.2961@twister.nyc.rr.com...\r\n\r\n> Cliff:\r\n> One suggestion, by which you can kill two birds with one stone, is this:\r\nGo through your scenes a couple of times and break up the "lines" into units  of intention...that is "What does the character want?", "How is he trying to get it?", "What obstacles are in his way?".\r\n\r\nI wouldn''t say this to a veteran, but since you say you''re a newbie ...\r\nThis is very important advice.  You''re not memorizing the multiplication\r\ntables, you''re learning a role.  The words arise out of wants, actions, etc.\r\nIt''s more akin to learning how to rebuild a carburator than memorizing the\r\nphone book.\r\n\r\n- Hide quoted text -\r\n- Show quoted text -\r\n	 \r\n\r\n	\r\nloobyloo 	  May 28, 4:07 pm     show options\r\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.plays\r\nFrom: loobyloo </cassiusw></m></cassiusw></actorguy2></any><any .trace.of.rudeness.looby...@loobynet.com> - Find messages by this author\r\nDate: Sat, 28 May 2005 21:07:54 +0100\r\nLocal: Sat,May 28 2005 4:07 pm\r\n\r\nReply\r\n	 \r\n\r\n	\r\n\r\n\r\n</any></jumble></any>', 'Learning Lines', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'learning-lines', '', '', '2005-10-10 18:59:21', '2005-10-10 13:29:21', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/25', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(89, 1, '2007-09-03 23:18:44', '2007-09-04 03:18:44', 'Two poems from Krittibas', 'Poetry from Krittibas', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'poetry-from-krittibas', '', '', '2007-09-03 23:18:44', '2007-09-04 03:18:44', '', 88, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/krittibas.mp3', 0, 'attachment', 'audio/mpeg', 0),
(91, 1, '2007-09-06 18:11:53', '2007-09-06 22:11:53', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<div class=''floatleft''><object width=''425'' height=''350''><param name=''movie'' value=''http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFMvm04MnycmUM4KjVuENjh4mPuAkV9zy1s=''></param><param name=''wmode'' value=''transparent''><embed src=''http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFMvm04MnycmUM4KjVuENjh4mPuAkV9zy1s='' type=''application/x-shockwave-flash'' wmode=''transparent'' width=''425'' height=''350''></embed></param></object></div>\r\n\r\nWhat do Robert Duvall, John Voight, Sydney Pollack, Tony Randall, Gregory Peck, Jeff Goldblum, James Caan, and Tom Cruise have in common? They all trained under the master acting coach Sanford Meisner. Famous playwrights like Arthur Miller and David Mamet were also his students. His teaching technique, known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meisner_technique">Meisner Technique</a>, is regarded as one of the most effective tool to master the art of acting. The goal of the Meisner technique has often been described as getting actors to “live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” The technique emphasizes carrying out an action truthfully on stage and letting emotion and subtext build based on the truth of the action and on the other characters around them, rather than simply playing an action or emotion. \r\n<!--more-->\r\nIn 1931, a fervent group of young actors, including Meisner, Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and Harold Clurman, among others, joined together in New York to establish the Group Theatre. It was the first permanent theatre company that brought "Method" acting, rooted in the methods of Konstantin Stanislavsky, to practice and prominence in America. \r\n\r\nIn 1933 Meisner became disenchanted with pure "Method" acting. He wrote, "Actors are not guinea pigs to be manipulated, dissected, let alone in a purely negative way. Our approach was not organic, that is to say not healthy." Meisner had ongoing discussions about technique with Adler, who worked with Stanislavsky in Paris, and Clurman, who took a deep interest in the American character. Eventually Meisner realized that if American actors were ever going to achieve the goal of "living truthfully under imaginary circumstances," an American approach was needed. The Neighborhood Playhouse provided him with a venue to develop that approach on his own.\r\n\r\nMeisner has been regarded as one of the most important acting theorists of the 20th Century. Arthur Miller once said of Meisner, "He has been the most principled teacher of acting in this country for decades now, and every time I am reading actors I can pretty well tell which ones have studied with Meisner. It is because they are honest and simple and don''t lay on complications that aren''t necessary." \r\n\r\nThe attached seven part Video (A PBS production now available on YouTube) gives us a glimpse of his genius. Some of his students have also recorded his acting classes that is now available as an eight hour DVD pack ( <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LCF4OY?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000LCF4OY">Sanford Meisner Master Class</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000LCF4OY" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> ) and is regarded as a must have for any aspiring actor. Several books on his acting technique are also available. They include <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394750594?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0394750594">Sanford Meisner on Acting</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0394750594" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1880399776?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1880399776">The Sanford Meisner Approach: An Actors Workbook (A Career Development Book)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1880399776" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> ,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575252120?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1575252120">The Sanford Meisner Approach: Workbook IV Playing the Part (The Sanford Meisner Approach)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1575252120" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> and others.\r\nThe <a href="http://www.themeisnercenter.com/">Sanford Meisner center</a> in Los Angeles is the only acting school founded (1995) by the master himself that specializes in his technique. ', 'Sanford Meisner: The Guru of Acting', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sanford-meisner-the-guru-of-acting', '', '', '2007-10-10 17:41:36', '2007-10-10 21:41:36', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/91', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(29, 1, '2005-06-24 01:45:16', '2005-06-23 20:15:16', '<img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/ashoke_mukhopadhay.jpg'' alt=''Ashoke Mukhopadhyay'' /> Ashok Mukhopadhyay, an eminent theatre personality from Kolkata, is visiting the United States to direct a play at the 25th North America Bengali Conference, to be held in New York during July 1 -4, 2005. I asked few questions to Askok-da (as I fondly call him) on how he approached towards developing this play.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>: NABC 2005 is celebrating 200 years of Bengali theatre through three plays covering the period. You have written the script and directing one of the segments. What part of this vast canvas are you covering in your segment?\r\n\r\n<strong>Ashok</strong>: I have not actually written any script for my part of the production.  I have selected scenes from some of the great plays written during the time-span and I am trying to link them with song-and-dance sequences to produce a theatrical collage.  I am covering the period 1870 to 1944.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>: What was your criteria in selecting the play segments\r\n\r\n<strong>Ashok</strong>: I selected scenes from some of the major plays by some of the major playwrights of the time.  I wanted them to be various in appeal and approach ranging from the high satire of Buro Saliker Ghare Roa (Modhusudan) to the solemnly tragic note of Balidan (Girishchandra), from the comedic romanticism of Chirakumar Sabha (Rabindranath) to the musical rhythm of Alibaba (Khirodeprasad), and thus to the historicity of Chandragupta (Dwijendralal) to the garbed mythology of Karagar (Manmotho Roy) and finally reaching the agony and protest of Nabanna (1944).\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>:  What was your thought process in developing your segment?\r\n<strong>Ashok</strong>: The basic thought grinding the selection of plays concerns the belief that theater provides the finest documentation of time and its flow. Theater intrinsically projects the truth about social transition, placing human beings and their values against the correct perspective.  I hope our production of the play-pieces will provide a commentary on the theater of the time as also on the social milieu producing the theater.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>: Is this your first visit to North America Bengali Conference? If so, what is your expectation?\r\n<strong>Ashok</strong>: This is my first visit to North America Bengali Conference.  I am looking\r\nforward to a great week-end when Bengali culture will shine proudly in America projecting the multi-dimensional character of this dear and glorious tradition of ours.\r\n\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'An Interview with Ashok Mukhopadhyay', 0, 'Ashok Mukhopadhyay, an eminent theatre personality from Kolkata, is visiting the United States to direct a play at the 25th North America Bengali Conference, to be held in New York during July 1 -4, 2005. I asked few questions to Askok-da (as I fondly call him) on how he approached towards developing this play.\r\n', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '29', '', '', '2005-10-21 02:19:59', '2005-10-20 20:49:59', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/29', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(30, 1, '2005-06-24 02:33:41', '2005-06-23 21:03:41', '<img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/bratya.jpg" alt="Bratya Basu"  style="padding:10px; \r\nbackground: black; border: 2px"  class="right" width=100 />Bratya Basu is currently one of the brightest young playwright and director of the Bengali stage in Kolkata. He is in USA now, rehearsing and preparing his latest directorial venture covering the post independence era of modern Bengali theatre. The play will be staged at the 25th North America Bengali Conference on July 3rd, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. I asked him few questions on how he conceived of this project and the challenges he faced in directing this show.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>:  NABC 2005 is celebrating 200 years of Bengali theatre through three plays covering the period. You have written the script and directing one of the segments. What part of this vast canvas are you covering in your segment?\r\n\r\n<strong>Bratya</strong>: I have tried to cover the post independence era of modern Bengali theatre, from 1950 to 2000. The play presents snippets from several plays covering this period including a play from Bangladesh. The plays are, "Raktakarabi", "Raja Oedipous", "Tiner Talowar", "Sarater Megh", "Chak Bhanga Modhu", "Ebong Indrajit", "Winkle Twinkle" and "Eersha".\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>: What was your criteria in selecting the play segments?\r\n\r\n<strong>Bratya</strong>: I primarily used three criteria to select my play segments; (a) Plays that were important as contemporary theatre during its time, (b) it has a significant literary value, (c) and is still relevant to our society in its fundamental message.\r\n\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>:  What was your thought process in developing your segment?\r\n\r\n<strong>Bratya</strong>: It was particularly challenging for me to figure out a method to develop the entire play such that it comes out as a whole entity, even when the segments themselves stand out as an individual theatrical unit.  Of all the three plays, I am the only director who is working with actors from India as well as USA. I had to take special care to ensure that there exists proper synergy and balance between the segments acted by the different groups of actors and also to develop a relationship as a team. To work as a team they need to get familiarized with the acting style and patterns of each other, build the mutual trust that is absolutely essential in producting a theatre. Since many of the actors whom I am working with in this play are new to me, I was not sure whether I''ll be able to get what I want from them and stage a show where the proper balance is maintained. I am glad to say that I was able to achieve that.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>:  What can the audience expect to see in this segment?\r\n\r\n<strong>Bratya</strong>: Primarily, I expect the audience to experience the development and evolution of modern Bengali theatre. They will also exprience a modern theatrical approach and acting style that is rooted in Bengal but international in every sense.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sudipta</strong>: Is this your first visit to North America Bengali Conference? If so, what is your expectation?\r\n\r\n<strong>Bratya</strong>: Yes, this is my first NABC. My expectation is that I''d like to see that true cultural relationship and cultural exchange happen through this conference. I''d like to see that this conference bring to life the true international spirit of Bengali culture in all its glory.\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'An Interview with Bratya Basu', 0, 'Bratya Basu is one of the brightest young playwright and director on the Bengali stage in Kolkata now. He is in USA now, rehearsing and preparing his latest directorial venture covering the post independence era of modern Bengali theatre. The play will be staged at the 25th North America Bengali Conference on July 3rd, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. I asked him few questions on how he conceived of this project and the challenges he faced in directing this show.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'an-interview-with-bratya-basu', '', '', '2005-10-21 02:19:34', '2005-10-20 20:49:34', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/30', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(34, 1, '2005-07-12 08:48:19', '2005-07-12 03:18:19', 'Many things have gone right and many things have gone wrong during our last NABC2005.  The following letter from Chitra Divakaruni exemplifies one of the things that went really wrong. We understand that managing such an event of this scale is not trivial and especially for the volunteers (I repeat, volunteers) it was indeed an arduous task to do their job and also keep their cool.  However, I only hope that this letter from Chitra helps us in improving our festival, rather than turn out into a finger pointing exercise.\r\n\r\nThank you.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nDear NABC 2005 organizers:\r\n \r\nThank you very much for inviting me to be a speaker/performer at NABC 2005. It was a huge event! I cannot even imagine how you managed to organize such a large scale convention so successfully. Congratulations! I enjoyed all the events I could go to, and of course I particularly enjoyed the literary events. I could see there was a lot of interest, esp. in the main stage events we did, and I want to thank Goutam Dutta for working very hard to make all of these happen. The literary seminar discussions with the audience was very high quality as well.\r\nMy thanks also for your care and hospitality in terms of my airport car rides, hotel, timely honorarium, etc. I know how hard this is to arrange, when so much is going on.\r\n \r\nI do want to share with you one negative experience I had--and I write this only because my hope is that if it is pointed out to the organizers, perhaps it will not happen again to someone else.\r\n \r\nAs part of my welcome packet, I was given a letter from the hospitality committee saying that I was to take my meals on the 7th floor of the Manhattan Center. After my Saturday morning event at Hammerstein, Goutam Dutta told us (the speakers) to go there for lunch. However, when I went there, I was treated very rudely by the 2 women in charge, and told I should not be coming there for meals. They also referred very rudely to Goutam when I mentioned that he had sent me there. This event was very embarrassing for all of the speakers.  I was made to feel as though I had sneaked in there to get a free meal to which I was not entitled. I would have left right away to buy myself a meal outside the hotel, but the other speakers and Mohua, one of the literary organizers, requested me not to go as our next program was about to start in 15 minutes. She managed to get some food for me, putting up with many insults herself to do that. I ate it, But as you may imagine, I felt very bad, kind of like a bhikhiri in a biyebari. In my 15 plus years of doing events in this country and abroad, I have never been treated like this. It will be, unfortunately, something I will remember for a long time.\r\n \r\nI know many NABC volunteers and organizers worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make things happen just right for the hundreds of performers and speakers that came to your event. Unfortunately, most of them did not interact directly with us, so we could not experience their warmth and sincerity. The volunteers/organizers who have the most impact on us guests are the ones who deal with us directly, one on one, such as the women in the meal room. Perhaps you could remind them of the importance of what they do--and the effect it can have on a guest''s overall memories of an otherwise wonderful NABC.\r\n \r\nthank you\r\nChitra Divakaruni', 'An Open Letter from Chitra Divakaruni', 0, 'Many things have gone well and many things have gone wrong during our last NABC2005.  The following letter from Chitra Divakaruni exemplifies one of the things that went really wrong. We understand that managing such an event of this scale is not trivial and especially for the volunteers (I repeat, volunteers) it was indeed an arduous task to do their job and also keep their cool.  However, I only hope that this letter from Chitra helps us in improving our festival, rather than turn out into a finger pointing exercise.\r\n\r\nThank you.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '34', '', '', '2005-10-21 02:17:16', '2005-10-20 20:47:16', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/34', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(36, 8, '2005-07-15 22:53:36', '2005-07-15 17:23:36', 'What makes a Banga Sammelan successful?  Advancing the cause of Bengali culture , literature and business ; sheer fun of meeting friends and late night Adda; showing off of collection of Sarees and (for a few) basking in the reflected glory of Calcutta luminaries?  The answer is all of the above except anything to do with the advancement of  Bengali culture, literature and business. To claim that it is will be pretentious. By that yardstick the Banga Sammelan in New york has definitely been a success.  Yarning for the lime light apart, one has to recognize and admire the effort and hard labor of the organizers.  It is no mean achievement that Banga Sammelan has come to being an institution serving the community in general.  The name that comes in mind, who is the undisputed leader is Prabir Roy.  He not only deserves recognition and praise but our gratitude as well.\r\nIn a way this meet was innovative in certain areas, like involving the local talents, recognizing the second generation young talents and in choosing the topics in the commemorative journal published on this occasion\r\nThese are long due steps needed for establishing an identity for the Sammelan. It is also time to reflect on the charecter and nature of Banga Sammelan.  Start with compilation of data as to:\r\n1. What is the demography of the people coming to the Banga Sammelan, their homes, age, income brackets etc.\r\n2. At what point of the year they decided to come.\r\n3. What kind of arena do they prefer as the venue.\r\n4. How much they spend in all for the entire weekend.\r\n5. What are the sources of fund for  sponsors, registration,     advertizement.\r\n6. How much do the organizers spend under individual headings; rent, advertizement, Calcutta artists. Calcutta writers; their air fare, hotel expenses, their fees.\r\n7. How many people attend literary seminars, business seminars.\r\n8. Why do people come; Cultural performances of Calcutta artists, talk to famous writers;  connecting to Calcutta for business.\r\n9. How many people will like to see Bombay stars and at what cost.\r\nThe questions above are not necessarily in order of importance\r\nThese are sample questions, I am sure there are many more relevant and revealing questions.\r\nRecords of say, last five Sammelans can be compiled and released. Now on every local organizer may be required to submit a report at the conclusion of the event.\r\nOf course there were lapses and glitches.  I noticed some and I am sure others can point out to more.\r\nAt the entrance of the arena a big banner with a wrong spelling was an eyesore. The word is OIKOTAN and not OIKYATAN.\r\nAnd then the national anthems, both of them by a Bengalee poet, of India and Bangladesh were disasters.  Out of tune and pitch and even wrong words.  Bangladeshi anthem was not even performed as an anthem.\r\nOne of the most ballyhooed items, the anthology of Bengalee dramas was  poorly play written, poorly directed, poorly presented and poorly acted. It all could be due to the fact that the idea was ill conceived and from the start was designed to go no where.\r\nBottom line: we enjoyed the meet, like we do every year no more no less.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'Banga Sammelan', 0, '', 'private', 'open', 'open', '707183e', 'banga-sammelan', '', '', '2005-07-17 02:48:44', '2005-07-16 21:18:44', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/36', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(97, 1, '2007-09-26 11:28:19', '2007-09-26 15:28:19', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAfter a long time, the Indian Cricket team has done something wonderful. They brought home the ICC 20/20 World Cup. Kudos to Dhoni and his team. Many people (including former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif) have attributed this success to the recent film, "<a href="http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/cdi/cdi.html">Chak De India</a>". I have not seen the film yet, but the media has made me aware of the story line. Shah-Rukh Khan plays the coach of the Indian womens hockey team and leads them to World Cup victory. It is a story of courage, perseverance and overall team spirit. <!--more-->\r\nWe see several sports films coming out of the Hollywood film factory, but this genre is quite rare in Bollywood. "Chak De"  is a welcome change. And, if one film can motivate our cricket "Team India" to win the 20/20 World Cup, I hope films like this can influence and improve the overall sports scenario in our country. \r\n"Chak De" reminds me of a long lost film that came out of Tollywood - "Koni". Based on a wonderful novel by Mati Nandi (who also wrote some exceptional sports novels like Striker and Stopper) and directed by Saroj De, "Koni" is a heart warming film about the struggles of a swimming coach "Khidda" (played by Soumitra Chatterjee) and his trainee Koni (played by Sriparna Banerjee).  Khidda (for Khitish -da) picked up Koni from the slums of Calcutta and groomed her to be a team member of the Bengal swim team at the national swimming championship. Extreme poverty, social stigma, petty sports politics - nothing could beat the indomitable spirit of "Khidda" and her protege, Koni. Kihidda''s encouraging words, "Fight, Koni Fight!" still ring in my ears. May be it is time for the big budget film makers of Bollywood to think about remaking "Koni" with the technical finesse that todays films are built with. With advanced sports photography techniques (like underwater shots), smart editing and a stellar cast, Koni is a sure winner. I am sure that under the right hands, "Koni" will become another great motivational movie that can snap out our sports authorities from their deep slumber and lead our athletes to some medals at the Olympics and other international events. \r\nI was lucky to find the entire Koni film on Youtube (in 13 parts) and I have enclosed the playlist with this post. Watch this film and say out loud, "Chak de Koni".\r\n<object width=''425'' height=''366''><param name=''movie'' value=''http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFMvm04MnycmUEkgedytZwgIKmhn16qR9y0=''></param><param name=''wmode'' value=''transparent''><embed src=''http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFMvm04MnycmUEkgedytZwgIKmhn16qR9y0='' type=''application/x-shockwave-flash'' wmode=''transparent'' width=''425'' height=''366''></embed></param></object>', '"Chak De" and Koni', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chak-de-and-koni', '', '', '2007-09-26 11:28:19', '2007-09-26 15:28:19', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/97', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(95, 1, '2007-09-19 11:47:23', '2007-09-19 15:47:23', 'Due to the unreliability and restrictions imposed by my web hosting service, I am using a new email newsletter service provider (<a href="http://feedblitz.com">FeedBlitz</a>). You will now receive an email (every week) with the list of recent postings on the blog site. \r\nIf you were in my earlier email list, you do not need to do anything. If you would like to contribute your articles, comments and thoughts, you need to register (click the register link on the right column). \r\nAs always, spread the word and let us all share our thoughts and experiences through this new medium.\r\n', 'New Email Service', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'new-email-service', '', '', '2007-09-26 10:07:27', '2007-09-26 14:07:27', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/95', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(96, 1, '2007-09-21 09:28:21', '2007-09-21 13:28:21', '<!--adsense-->\r\nANANDA MANDIR will present its annual marquee program\r\n“LIVE” <strong>MAHALAYA</strong> on October 14th at 5 AM at Ananda Mandir.\r\n \r\nThis event is so close to every one’s heart who celebrates Durga Puja or Dashera.\r\nWell known local artists, such as Mitali Bhawmik, Parthasarathi Mukhopadhya,\r\nZafar Billa, and many more will participate in this event.\r\n \r\nSpace is limited. Please come early. For more info, call Arun Bhowmik @ 908-672-1452.', 'MAHALAYA - LIVE', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'mahalaya-live', '', '', '2007-09-21 09:28:21', '2007-09-21 13:28:21', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/96', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(39, 9, '2005-07-18 02:47:52', '2005-07-17 21:17:52', '<a href="http://www.cerebration.org">Cerebration</a>, a quarterly electronic journal is calling for submissions for its forthcoming issues. Cerebration is a trans-cultural magazine operating from NJ and Delhi and attempts at bridging academic and non-academic circles; Cerebration strives to provide a space for critical discussions and creative expression across cultures and is sponsored by Drew University, NJ. The editorial advisory board consists of eminent academics, critics, journalists and filmmakers  from US and India including Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak , Bapsi Sidhwa, Barkha Dutt, Subrata Sen amongst other well-renowned academics from US (www.cerebration.org/board.html ).  Cerebration is currently accepting submissions in the categories of essays, fiction, columns, poetry, photography and art work. Please visit Cerebration at www.cerebration.org \r\n\r\n', 'Call for Submissions', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'call-for-submissions', '', '\nwww.cerebration.org', '2005-07-18 02:48:58', '2005-07-17 21:18:58', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/39', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(46, 8, '2005-10-14 20:05:25', '2005-10-14 14:35:25', '<strong>Amitava Sen</strong>\r\n\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\n<p>\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?pp_album=1&pp_image=aastegaan_web.jpg" title="Pujor Gaaner Ashor" target="_top"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/photos/thumb_aastegaan_web.jpg" width="130" height="108" alt="Pujor Gaaner Ashor" class="alignleft" /></a>No one can say that Raghav Chatterjee does not sing well.  He does.  He is an extremely talented and skilled singer and performer.  But he came up short in delivering for the major and I stress, major part of  his audience at Kallol Puja.   He was too loud and sometimes painfully screaming.  His repertoire was too post modern and convoluted for our liking.   He possibly was targetting relatively young Calcutta born crowd present,  but he definitely did not cater to the people who paid most for hiring him.  The fault does not lie with him.  The so called younger group of Kallol is ostensibly in control of the stage and what goes on there.   Programs are chosen and directed by them with a trace of arrogance and a little bias.  We heard Raghav at Banga Sammelan in New York and really liked his not so hip performance on the sober side.   But his program at Kallol was disappointing to many and I dare say most of us.  50 people who danced with his singing at Durga Puja are not the final arbiters, I am afraid.<!--more-->\r\nThis is neither new nor an isolated instance.  Larger question is: are we being culturally manipulated by a few?   Have we always been?  By we I mean people who have been here for two or three decades or longer.  In the beginning  we had amongst us a self proclaimed intellectual coterie,  the "better than thou" crowd.  They fed us with all sorts of revolutionary cliche''d  theatrical performances and obscure plays.  We the intellectually challenged masses sat through them approvingly lest we were branded un-intellectual.  Then there were literary seminars and classical musical soirees.  We also suffered through them silently.  While we prided ourselves of being in elite intellectual company, they really needed an audience and mostly our money.\r\nNow, there are friends and close acquaitances,  who consider themselves artistically gifted, eager to present their wares in public, at a price of course.   Saying no to their entreaties to buy a ticket or two will not take you far.  What is a friend in need if the most expensive tickets are not bought?  They also badly need a crowd.  So attenedence is a must if you do not want to flush your relationship down the drain.\r\nI say, where the culture is doled out wholesale as in Durga Puja we have to excercise our collective power in letting the organizers know what we want.   In retail performance area we have to excercise our individual buying power in choosing what we like.   Sitting through poorly presented and histrionically deficient plays,  listening to Rabindra Sangeet in Hindi or Sukumar Roy in English translation is ultimate undermining of our cultural sensitivity.   We are not doing any favor either to our friends by encouraging them to hold on to their delusional views  of their thespian and musical talents.\r\n\r\nAmitava Sen\r\n<!--adsense-->\r\n</p>', 'Entertainment Scene<!--adsense#small-->', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'entertainment-scene', '', '', '2005-10-29 07:55:33', '2005-10-29 02:25:33', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/46', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(45, 1, '2005-10-09 00:38:04', '2005-10-08 19:08:04', '<strong>Sudipta Bhawmik</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?pp_album=1&pp_image=niramishasi_web.jpg" target="_top" title="Niramishasi"><img class="alignleft" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/photos/thumb_niramishasi_web.jpg" width="200" height="132" alt="niramishasi web" /></a>Finally 2005 Pujo is here. In this Garden State of ours, Kallol has started their celebration yesterday (Friday) evening and GSCA will start theirs from today.  Are you all ready to hit the doors of Ukrainian Community Center or Plainfield High School? As you attempt to enter the doors, you''ll encounter few somber looking gentlemen sitting behind a linen covered desk with few preprinted stationary and scattered ball point pens. Yes, you now need to pull out your check book and be ready to shell out few dollars from your savings. The question is how much?  <!--more-->The gentleman behind the desk will point you to a preprinted piece of paper with a heading which reads something like, â€œSuggested Donation". For few moments you will struggle with the word, "suggested". It may occur to you that the shocking amounts below those lines are mere suggestions only. No one is forcing you to pay that amount.  However, after some deep contemplation and few tacit exchanges, finally you will succumb to both internal and external pressures and write that check for the full amount that was asked for. For the next few minutes, this episode will keep on pinching you. Soon enough youâ€™ll forget the unpleasant feeling and get involved in the festivities, until next year when this issue will again surface at the parties and get-togethers. The debate undoubtedly will be that why these Pujo organizers can charge such astronomical amounts? After all what do they offer? \r\n\r\nLetâ€™s think about this issue for a moment. Is it justified for the organizers to demand the contribution they are asking for? \r\n\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?pp_album=1&pp_image=goatmeat_web.jpg" target="_top" title="goatmeat web"><img class="alignleft" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/photos/thumb_goatmeat_web.jpg" width="200" height="120" alt="goatmeat web" /></a>For the past few years, these two major Pujos of NJ are celebrating their festivals on the same weekend, breaking a long tradition of having them on separate weekends, primarily to manage the logistics. First of all, reservation of these venues on specific targeted weekends is a difficult task. Secondly, this simultaneous celebration, divides the crowd which has grown over the years to such an extent that the fire marshals of the respective towns would be forced to shut down the event if the crowd skews to any particular direction.  However, this division of crowd has caused some financial strains on the organizers. The cost of organizing these festivals is also shooting through the roof. The venues are demanding higher rent every year. To accommodate the increase in crowd, we need to set up tents outdoors.  Only few years ago, we remained quite satisfied with the entertainment programs presented by our local artists and performers. Now we demand the top performers from Kolkata, maybe even Mumbai.  This translates to increased expense. Then comes the question of food. Goat curry seems to be consistent debate. Just check out the price of a pound of goat meat in your local halal meat store. Now you do the math.  Think about it, just to attend a show of these performers that we get to watch during the Pujo, will cost much more than what we pay as chandaa. Then factor in the food and fun, I think youâ€™ll find that you are coming out much ahead.\r\n\r\nPlease join in the debate. Send me your comments and your thoughts on this issue. \r\nWish you a great Pujo. \r\n\r\n\r\nSudipta Bhawmik\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Pujor Chandaa', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'pujor-chandaa', '', '', '2005-11-01 00:01:39', '2005-10-31 18:31:39', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/45', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(582, 1, '2011-08-30 23:24:21', '2011-08-31 03:24:21', '<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 18pt;">ICC Durga Pujo 2011</span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Please mark your calendar </span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span>ICC of <span><span><span><span>Garden  State</span></span></span></span> is pleased to announce the dates for  Durga Pujo 2011: </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><strong><span style="color: blue;">Saturday,  September 24 and Sunday, September 25</span></strong><strong><span>.</span></strong><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Main attractions:</span></span></strong><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span> </span></span></strong><span>(subject  to change) </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><strong><span style="color: blue;">Nachiketa</span></strong><span>, renowned singer from <span><span><span><span>Kolkata</span></span></span></span> for <span style="color: blue;">Saturday</span>, September 24. </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><strong><span style="color: blue;">Natok group</span></strong><span> from <span><span><span><span>Toronto,  Canada</span></span></span></span> for <span style="color: blue;">Saturday</span>,  September 24. </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><strong><span style="color: blue;">Soumyen Adhikari</span></strong><span>, singer also from  Kolkata with a voice of   Hemanta Mukherjee will perform on <span style="color: blue;">Sunday</span>, September 25 </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Food and Prasad:</span></span></strong><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span>Both the days  Prasad and Dinner will be served. </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span>Saturday dinner  highlights are <span style="color: blue;">Goat Curry, Rice</span>. </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span>Sunday dinner  highlights are <span style="color: blue;">Khichoori and Labra</span>. </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Venue:</span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span>In <span><span><span>Morris  County</span></span></span>, NJ</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span> </span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span><span><span style="color: blue;"><span>Mt Olive</span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> High School</span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span><span><span style="color: blue;"><span>18 Corey Rd, FLanders, NJ 07836</span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;">.</span></p>\r\n<span>\r\n</span>', 'ICC Durga Pujo 2011', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'icc-durga-pujo-2011', '', '', '2011-08-30 23:24:21', '2011-08-31 03:24:21', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=582', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(290, 1, '2009-02-27 00:32:08', '2009-02-27 04:32:08', '', 'slumdogs', 0, 'Hey, shouldn''t we get our fair share?', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'slumdogs', '', '', '2009-02-27 00:32:08', '2009-02-27 04:32:08', '', 289, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/slumdogs.gif', 0, 'attachment', 'image/gif', 0),
(291, 1, '2009-03-04 19:03:31', '2009-03-04 23:03:31', '<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AeawYZD8Qg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500" height="311" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>\r\nWhile the current economic crisis still bogging us down to our knees, I chanced upon an insightful lecture by Dr. Alan Blinder, a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. A world renowned economist, Prof. Blinder speaks very eloquently about the multiple causes and culprits of the current economic crisis and also spells out the possible remedies. It was an extremely educational experience for me, and I think will be the same for many people like me who keep on hearing multiple different stories from different sources. <!--more-->\r\n<h3>Academic Earth: The Online Ivy League College</h3>\r\nLectures like this and many others are made available though a wonderful website of <a href="http://academicearth.org">Academic Earth</a> who made it their mission to make world class education available to everybody. Many top universities these days are making some of their course materials available online for free. You can visit the websites of universities like MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Yale and others and go through hours of lectures on varied topics. Academic Earth makes them available through a single source. Although still in beta, this site has an impressive collection of courses on almost all major topics like Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Philosophy and many others. Besides full courses, it also includes lectures like the one above by Prof. Blinder. One I enjoyed was by <a href="http://www.academicearth.org/lectures/the-world-is-flat">Tom Friedman talking about his book "The World is Flat 3.0"</a> to an MIT audience. \r\nThe philosophy course on <a href="http://www.academicearth.org/courses/death">"Death" by Yale Prof. Shelly Kagan</a> is another course that I plan to attend some time soon. \r\nIf you always wanted to learn more about the wonders of the world and beyond from these wonderful instructors from the best universities of the world, your wait seems to be over.', '"Origins of the Financial Crisis" and Other Lessons', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'origins-of-the-financial-crisis-and-other-lessons', '', '', '2009-03-06 23:03:04', '2009-03-07 03:03:04', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=291', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(441, 1, '2009-10-28 23:42:09', '2009-10-29 03:42:09', 'The October issue of the bilingual (Bengali/English) webzine <a href="http://urhalpool.com">Urhalpool</a> is now online. The latest issue includes stories by Mandakranta Sen, Samaresh Majumdar, Nabanita Deb Sen, Alolika Mukherjee, Abul Bashar and others.  Serials by Sunil Ganguly and Taslima Nasreen are still ongoing. Special attraction would be the interview of Baichung Bhutia and  a memoir by Srikanta Acharya. I am sure you''ll enjoy this issue like the previous ones.', 'Urhalpool October Issue is Online', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'urhalpool-october-issue-is-online', '', '', '2009-10-28 23:42:09', '2009-10-29 03:42:09', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=441', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(293, 1, '2009-03-11 18:10:32', '2009-03-11 22:10:32', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bhoomi-band.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bhoomi-band-300x210.jpg" alt="bhoomi bangla band - surojit, soumitra, sanjoy, abhijit, hemanto" title="bhoomi-band" width="300" height="210" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-294" /></a>Bengali music found its new voice through band music that has recently proliferated across the land and one of the pioneers of this music is "Bhoomi" the legendary band from Kolkata. The key to Bhoomi''s success is their use of Bengali folk tunes and enrich them using modern musical arrangements. The six member team, with occasional guest artists, have been entrancing their audiences since 1999 with their captivating music. Folk musicals styles like baul, bhatiyali , moishaal, jhumur,saari gaan and qawaali constitutes the primary source of  inspiration for Bhoomi''s music. <!--more--> Bhoomi uses a wide range of acoustic instruments that include the  thumbas, bongos, dotara, djembe, drums, violin, flute, khanjira, mandolin, banjo, khamak, matka, handi, guitar, castanets, tambourine, kanshar ghanta, conch, resso, blues harp, pan flute, spring drum, steel drum, melodica, blues harp, harmonium, piano, moorcing, ektara, recorders, tabla, balalaika, dugdugi, dubki, edakkaii ,cowbells, chimes, dholak, khol, madol etc.  The band members are all multi-talented musicians who not only can sing, compose, write lyrics for the songs but also can play a wide variety of instruments. Soumitra (Ray) and Surojit (Chatterjee) are the lead singers of the band but they also play a variety of instruments with Soumitra on the rhythm (drums) and Surojit typically on the Mandolin, flute or the guitar. The other team members - Sanjoy Mukherjee (sound effects), Abhijit Bose (base guitar), Robin Lai (violin and keyboard) and Hemanto Goswami (lead guitar) complement the singers in a variety of arrangements.\r\n\r\n<h3>Baranday Roddur</h3>\r\nBesides their nine albums and numerous live performances, Bhoomi also hosts a show on ETV Bangla channel titled "Baranday Roddur". This is a music and dance show blended with some lively chat with some Bengali celebrity. The show invites young dancers (4 to 10 year olds) from different parts of the state and what a wonderful show do they put up. And of course their is Bhoomi''s performance, sometimes with the celebrity guest singing along.\r\n\r\n<h3>Bhoomi around the world</h3>\r\nI first encountered Bhoomi live at a concert in New Jersey couple of years ago. It was an extremely enjoyable evening. Bhoomi really knows how to connect to their audience, be that in a rural town in West Bengal or at the United Nations in New York. They were the first Bangla band to perform at the United Nations and also the first to perform at the Montreal Jazz Festival.  They perform regularly at the North America Bengali Conferences (NABC) and at the midwest Bangamela. \r\n\r\n<h3>Evolution of Bengali Music?</h3>\r\nBhoomi is now a household name in any Bengali home. They are redefining the presentation of Bengali folk music in many ways and many bands are now following their path. The only complaint I have is that often when I hear Bhoomi mix rural folk accent with sophisticated urban Bengali accent in their music, I feel uncomfortable. It just does not sound right to me. It is not in the league of the traditional folk music that I am accustomed to. But as someone pointed out to me, maybe the way Bengali is spoken these days in rural Bengal is changing and I am not aware of this evolution at all. \r\n', 'Bhoomi : The Modern Voice of Bengal', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bhoomi-the-modern-voice-of-bengal', '', '', '2009-03-11 18:10:32', '2009-03-11 22:10:32', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=293', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(294, 1, '2009-03-11 18:05:58', '2009-03-11 22:05:58', 'Bangla band Bhoomi', 'bhoomi-band', 0, 'bhoomi bangla band - surojit, soumitra, sanjoy, abhijit, hemanto', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bhoomi-band', '', '', '2009-03-11 18:05:58', '2009-03-11 22:05:58', '', 293, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bhoomi-band.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(295, 1, '2009-03-12 16:19:44', '2009-03-12 20:19:44', 'Saturday, May 9th from 7 p.m. until Sunday, May 10th 6 a.m.\r\nat the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West, 64th Street (corner of 64th Street and Central Park West), New York, NY  10023\r\n\r\nNew venue, new time - we are starting and ending earlier than before.\r\n\r\nIt will be one of the most exciting all-nights we ever had with :\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Duet by George Ruckert (Sarod) and Allyn Miner (Sitar) - Shri Nitin Mitta on Tabla.\r\n</strong></li>\r\n	<li>Bidushi Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik (vocal) - Shri Sailendra Mishra on Tabla, Shri Kedar Naphade on Harmonium\r\n</li>\r\n	<li>Tablaphilia, composed by Samir Chatterjee and performed by the 25-member Chhandayan Tabla Symphony\r\n</li>\r\n	<li>Pt. Vidyadhar Vyas (Vocal) - Shri Dibyarka Chatterjee on Tabla, Shri Kedar Naphade on Harmonium\r\n</li>\r\n	<li>Pt. Soumitra Lahiri (Sitar) - Samir Chatterjee on Tabla\r\n</li>\r\n	<li>Smt. Padma Talwalkar (Vocal) - Shri Utpal Dutta on Tabla, Shri Suyog Kumdalkar on Harmonium\r\n</li>\r\n	<li>Pt. Viswamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena) - Samir Chatterjee on Tabla.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\nFor further information and online ticket purchase please visit http://www.tabla.org/allnight.html  or call us at 973 460 5282.', 'Chhandayan''s 10th Annual All-Night Concert of Indian Music', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chhandayans-10th-annual-all-night-concert-of-indian-music', '', '', '2009-03-12 16:19:44', '2009-03-12 20:19:44', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=295', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(296, 1, '2009-03-12 21:30:18', '2009-03-13 01:30:18', 'Google has announced a new service, Google Voice. In 2007 Google acquired GrandCentral, a phone management service, for $50+ million. Since then GrandCentral was almost forgotten. Now Google unveils the GrandCentral service as voice call service that can give Skype a run for their money. With Google Voice, a subscriber can have a single phone number and any call made to that number will be forwarded to all your phones - home, cell, office or your hotel room. Calls using Google Voice is free within USA. International calls will cost around 2 cents a minute. The other features include sending, receiving and storing text messages, listen-in feature to listen to calls before taking it, voice mail and voice mail transcript service that allows storing and archiving of voice mail messages as text and many other features. \r\nCurrently Google Voice service is available only to existing GrandCentral customers. But as soon as it does open its doors, it will surely cause a major dent to Skype and other similar services. Let''s just wait and see how it rolls out. \r\n', 'Skype Beware! Google Voice is Coming!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'skype-beware-google-voice-is-coming', '', '', '2009-03-12 21:30:18', '2009-03-13 01:30:18', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=296', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(52, 1, '2005-10-28 09:05:46', '2005-10-28 03:35:46', '<strong>Sudipta Bhawmik</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?pp_album=1&pp_image=baloon_travel_web.jpg" title="The Great Bargain" target="_top"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/photos/thumb_baloon_travel_web.jpg" width="150"  alt="The Great Bargain" class="alignleft" /></a>We Bengalis are fond of bargains. We feel insulted to shop at any store which do not allow bargaining. We are paranoid that the store owners and businesses are always on the lookout for ways to rip us off. And we would like to be on top of them. "Start your negotiation at one third the asking price", advised our elders who claim to be the greatest negotiators of all time, "and be prepared to walk away, but slowly. The shopkeeper is going to call you back with a better offer!" \r\nYou need to be thick skinned too. Some of the savvy sales people will attack your pride and self confidence without any mercy. They will make you feel like a lowlife for having the audacity to make such an outrageous offer.  Some, will keep on playing with you your own game and finally both of you will agree on a deal which will appear like a big win for you and a big loss for the sales  person. He will whine and cry and ask you for the last two bits that you can spare, like "Dada, aar duto taka diye din; bounir somoy!", and you will gracefully oblige. After all you are the big winner!  You will walk away with your winning smile, and the sales person will start dealing with his next customer, hiding his own laughter.  Many of us, the hard bargainers, snobbishly avoid those stores who conspicuously display the "Fixed Price" sign. What is the fun in shopping if we can''t get to play the bargaining game?\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?pp_album=1&pp_image=joraburger_web.jpg" target="_top" title="joraburger web"><img class="alignleft" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/photos/thumb_joraburger_web.jpg" width="150"  alt="joraburger web" /></a>The online shopping scene has thrown a wrench to the traditional bargaining game. You no longer have to deal with a real person.  You visit your favorite online store, search through the catalog, pick your product and pay for it. No more haggling. No more walking away with the hope that someone is going to call you back. But, we all knew that no shopping can ever exist without bargaining and that too in America, the bargain hunterâ€™s paradise. So soon we saw the arrival of eBay, Priceline, Hotwire and many others. Ebay is now a phenomenon;  it started out at as an online auction site, but soon it has evolved into a major bargaining  site, where you can name your price. Priceline and Hotwire concentrate primarily on the travel business, but I won''t be surprised if they diversify into other markets soon.  \r\n\r\nBut Ebay, Priceline all have their caveats. You have to make some sort of a commitment; and if the seller accepts your offer, you cannot walk away. But if you make too small a bid, you may not have a deal at all.  This, kind of, turns me off.  Rather I use the other form of bargain hunting, coupons and rebates.  If you can find the right combination of coupons and rebates, you can manage to get great deals (or at least you can have a feeling of a great deal). There are several websites that can help you find such bargains. They will tell you which manufacturer or seller is offering what kind of discounts in the form of rebates, coupons, special promotions etc. Companies like Dell, Staples, OfficeMax often offer great deals through rebates and coupons. Check out websites like hot-deals.org, techbargains.com or deals2buy.com. I particularly like hot-deals.org, for its simple interface and no nonsense deals. It will only list those deals that are â€œhotâ€, and not the regular discounts. I confess, that it is one site that I visit once daily. Techbargains.com is a good site if you are looking for technical gadgets and stuff.  These days I find it foolish to buy a product without any discounts of any kind. Even when I find a seemingly good deal, I often feel cheated since soon enough someone will inform me that they found a better deal. Itâ€™s a lousy feeling, even though the difference may be only a few dollars. Itâ€™s not the money, but our pride that gets hurt the most. Letâ€™s admit, we the bargain hunters, have special tools and techniques that we guard as our greatest secrets. These are the skills that we have mastered over the years that make the difference between a winner and a loser. \r\n\r\nBut again, there are those amongst us, who are more generous. They feel good to share a good tip with their friends. They feel happy when their friends are happy. I am sure you are one of those great souls. So, please, share a tip with us. Tell us how you made that great deal? I am sure the readers of this site will bless you and wish you well.\r\n\r\nBest regards.\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Bargains! Bargains!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bargains-bargains', '', '', '2005-10-29 20:25:41', '2005-10-29 14:55:41', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/52', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(55, 8, '2005-11-11 20:41:38', '2005-11-11 15:11:38', '<strong>Amitava Sen</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\nIf you are not reading or writing in Blogs you are completely out of touch, you are totally un-cool , you are ouside the  intellectual landscape;  plainly speaking you have forfeited your claim to the membership of  "Antel-dom".  Today blogs wield  enormous power and influence over politics, society and even literature and publishing, rivalling network news and newspapers.  The  Blog derives its name from the word Web logs.  The word Blog was coined in 1997, where you can post daily scribbings, mostly critiquing anything and expressing any well formulated or stray thoughts. The idea caught on with lightning speed so much so that according to Technorati, the blog tracking site,  70,000 blogs are being launched every day worldwide.  Technorati tracks over 20 million active blogs in real time.  Most blogs turn out to be servicing specific subjects, specific interests and specific groups, specific may always not be in their contents but in their souls. So what is baring Bengali souls in North America?<!--more-->\r\nBut are Bengalees ready for entry into the Blogosphere?\r\n(Or for that matter any group of immigrants from a third world country?)\r\nMost people of current generation came here for making a better living, period.  Making money in this country is not difficult,  still easier is to look in to the mirror and see your larger than life image  At that point most among us get somewhat delusional and forget reality self-check.  We hanker for recognition by the peers,  some in art area as actors, singers;  some in social domain as club presidents and secretaries.  But let''s face it;   those skills can not be bought.  So we end up performing out of tune songs as singers or delivering forgettable speeches as presidents.  \r\nMost, almost all of us  left our country for acquiring worldly things;   we are the material types.  We have not transcended hunter gatherer mode, not yet.  We are not ready for the stage.  We are not ready for letters either.   I remember a disastrous effort in Banga Sammelan of the year 2000 publishing an English magazine .    So let''s get back to what we do well, make more money.  And occasionally get on to the stage for doing what we do not  so well.\r\nDo not feel bad, this is the way the country has been.  Remember none of the founding fathers was a first generation immigrant.\r\nBlogs are modern day vehicle for thoughtful expressions.  We specially the first generation immigrants have not had much time to think and still don''t.  Then there is a problem with language, that  also is natural and expected.  We are naturally shy  putting our thoughts, if we have any, down on paper in an alien language. So expressing through writing in blog is not what Bengalees feel comfortable with.   That may explain why you are having such a poor support in your admirable endeavor, Sudipta.\r\n\r\n<!--adsense-->\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'Are Bengalees ready for a Blog Site of their own?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'are-the-bengalees-ready-for-a-blog-site-of-their-own', '', '', '2006-01-19 04:24:24', '2006-01-18 22:54:24', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/55', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(57, 1, '2005-11-13 03:27:34', '2005-11-12 21:57:34', '<strong>Sudipta Bhawmik</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\nThe phenomenon of job outsourcing has been the topic of discussion in all circles these days. The high tech and IT sectors are specially affected by the outflow of high paying jobs to India and China.  Initially it was only the relatively low paying jobs like call centers, medical transcription services were moving to India. But now highly skilled jobs like IT, semiconductor chip design, accounting and financial analysis jobs are also moving to India. But we all know that this is a natural phenomenon. High cost jobs will move to low cost areas. The laws of physics are equally applicable to economics and finance, at least in this case. It is fruitless to try to resist this flow. My question is how we, the so-called non-resident Indians are or NRIs are reacting this phenomenon? <!--more--> Are we happy that after all these years the Indian economy and high technology sector is booming? After all, many of us have stayed back in this country with the excuse that India did not have the opportunities and challenges to justify our education and training. Many of us believed that our intellectual and professional capabilities were too superior to be wasted in India. But those excuses do not hold water any more. So shouldnâ€™t we be happy that after all these years we can now think about going back to our homeland? \r\nOr are we feeling a bit threatened?  Maybe we are feeling that the comfortable and luxurious life that we have built for ourselves in this land of opportunity is suddenly under an ominous threat. Any day our employers may decide to outsource our jobs to India to be done efficiently at one fifth the cost. We may have to give up our high paying jobs for some low paying alternative. Besides, the improving economy in India is also depriving us of our financial edge. The Indian professionals now earn enough to make them at par on purchasing power with any US employed professional.  Moreover they enjoy many other amenities like house keeper, cook, chauffer etc.   Do we sometimes feel a tinge of jealousy?  But neither can we go back so easily. Our roots have started to grow in this country. Our children are used to the American life. We have built our social lives here. Can we uproot ourselves once again? I guess we are in a strange dilemma. \r\nHow do you feel about this issue? Send in your comments.\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Outsourcing and Us', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'outsourcing-and-us', '', '', '2005-11-13 03:29:00', '2005-11-12 21:59:00', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/57', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(63, 8, '2005-12-03 21:36:35', '2005-12-03 16:06:35', '<strong>Amitava Sen</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\nWhat does the word Biswa-kobi mean?  Poet laureate of the world, World-class poet, Universal poet? Bengalees use this honorific or title in referring to Rabindranath Thakur.  I have always wondered about it as I have as to why the championship of baseball is called World Series. How does a tournament of game played by less than 5 % of the world population even after keeping other baseball playing nations such as Japan or Cuba out, claim to be a world event? Likewise, the â€œWorldâ€ cup for the game of cricket played mostly by a few third world countries raises the same question.  <!--more-->\r\nAmericans are prone to use hyperbole in describing whatever comes their way and they get away with it because coming from the most overpowering nation, the rest of the world accepts it with awe.  Neither can their claim to the world title be dismissed as the arrogance of the novaeu rich;  for record the winner of the game played between just two teams as back as in 1884 was crowned as the â€œChampion of the worldâ€. (And it continues to the day). For Americans the world stops at their shore and what the humanity beyond their world think does not count and realistically speaking, does not matter. \r\nOn the other hand, a game of cricket can claim the distinction of most man-hours spent by the viewing public in daysâ€™ long game.  (Man-hours in this instance mean, number of people multiplied by the number of hours spent watching a game). And I can understand that this number is unsurpassed by any other game in the world.  The most countries playing cricket have an inexhaustible supply of unemployed and bored flocks attending the games lasting ten to forty hours.  But should not the cricket championship be more appropriately called Third-World Cup?  \r\nBut for me Biswa-Kobi still continues to be a riddle.  Rabindranath have written profoundly of upper and middle class Bengalee society, with deep Hindu spirituality and mysticism, but universal he is not by any measure.  His sonorous lyrics and songs are hugely popular in Bengal, both east and west.  But universally he has failed the test of time.  He is largely forgotten in the west and the rest of the world. During Tagoreâ€™s life time Graham Greene famously wrote â€œAs for Rabindranath Tagore, I can not believe that anyone but Mr. Yeats can still take his poems very seriously.â€  I wonder how many amongst the erudite lot in Bengalee Diaspora know Rabindranath beyond his songs and dances.\r\nHowever, evaluating Rabindranath and his works is not the point of this piece, easily carried-away and irrationally exuberant Bengali emotion is. In order to call someone our own great, we tend to canonize the person, we turn them into icons, more to be garlanded and worshipped than understood.  English speaking world did not call Shakespeare the â€œWorld-playwright.\r\nSomeone at some point of time must have bestowed on Rabindranath the title of â€œBiswa-Kobiâ€ or anointed him to the position of Poet Laureate of the world. Recognizing Rabindranathâ€™s proclivity for self-aggrandizement it is not inconceivable that he himself may have done so.  He was not shy about heralding his birth as a momentous event for the human kind (Hey Nutan Dekhadik Arbar Janmero Prothomo Subhakhan) or proclaiming his super-human stature (Oi Mahamanaba Ashe) and then staking his claim for a place among the greats (Ami Jodi Janma Nitem Kalidasher Kale, Hotem Tobe Dasham Ratna Naba Ratna Male). \r\nIt would be interesting to find out where and when did Rabindranath referred to himself as Biswa-kobi.  If he did not, who did?\r\n\r\nAmitava Sen \r\n\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'What is Biswa-Kobi?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'what-is-a-biswa-kobi', '', '', '2005-12-05 07:01:29', '2005-12-05 01:31:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/63', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(64, 1, '2006-01-07 20:58:19', '2006-01-07 15:28:19', '<strong>Sudipta Bhawmik</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#linkunit-->\r\nThis week one of our very close friends, Siddharta Dutta, passed away.  \r\nSiddharta-da, popularly known as Ashi-da, was one of the most culturally and socially active Bengalees of this region. Many of us have seen him perform on stage, sometimes as an actor, sometimes as a singer and sometimes both. His performances in plays like Chhutir-Phande, Byapika Biday, Antony Phiringi, Tulkalam, Kenaram Becharam will be remembered by many theater lovers. He was a multi-talented person who, besides acting and singing, was also an excellent writer of short stories, essays and plays. His wide knowledge base and refined taste in the arts was always reflected in his work.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nMy acquaintance with Ashi-da was primarily through theater. We did several plays together, plays like Ferari Fouz, Tul-Kalam, Kenaram Becharam and few others. He was one of the most sincere actors that I have worked with in this country. He always arrived on time at the rehearsals, and he was always the first to memorize his lines, when we all were struggling. A great team player, Ashi-da never grudged to work under the direction of his juniors and gave his best for the success of the project. And his wit and sense of humour was something to be experienced. It was people like Ashi-da, from whom I derived the inspiration to survive culturally in this country. He demonstrated that creative people can find their stage  anywhere in the world, all you need is few like minded friends.\r\n\r\nWe all will be missing Ashi-da. On behalf of all of us, I''d  like to extend our deepest condolences to Banani-di and the rest of Ashi-da''s family. I pray that his soul rests in peace. \r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Goodbye Ashi-da', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'goodbye-ashi-da', '', '', '2006-01-07 20:59:58', '2006-01-07 15:29:58', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/64', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(65, 1, '2006-01-18 23:34:44', '2006-01-18 18:04:44', '<strong>Sudipta Bhawmik</strong>\r\n<!--adsense-->\r\n<em>(Originally published in AnandaSangbad January 2006 issue.)</em>\r\nWe are getting old! We maybe in denial, but the fact remain true.  Those of us who belong to the so called baby boomer generation (that is born between 1946 and 1964) are quickly approaching the age about which we need to think and plan about. Yes, financial planning, like IRAs and 401(k)s are important, but I am talking about social and cultural planning. What are we going to do in our â€œgolden yearsâ€? Did we ever think about it?<!--more--> Moving to Florida is out of the question, admit it, we wonâ€™t be able to move to an adult community in Florida and spent the rest of our lives with complete strangers. Some of us do dream about returning back to our homeland, to India. Several times we have contemplated the thought that with our retirement benefits and social security paycheck we will live like kings in India, more specifically, in Kolkata. But is it true? First of all, when we return to India, most likely many of our relatives like parents, uncles, aunts, may no longer be there. Our relationships with our cousins and other friends will likely become too loose to re-establish. The India we left behind during our youth does not exist any more. We will be once again moving to a foreign land. The cost of living in India is growing too, and it is doubtful how long we will be able to leverage our dollar advantage. Finally, with our children and grandchildren in this country, will we be able to live happily in India?  So, if we rule out the above two, we are left with the only alternative of living where we are. Maybe we will downsize our homes and move to smaller condos, townhouses or maybe even to adult housing, but what are we going to do?  We can however opt to blend in more with the mainstream and spend time at local senior centers playing Bingo and Pool. There is no harm in that, but those of us who have been actively engaged in Bengali social and cultural activities, it will be difficult to adjust to Bingo and Atlantic City tours. \r\nSo, I think it is high time we think about our future. We need to do something that will not only keep us happily engaged, but will also be intellectually stimulating and satisfying. My uncle in India, after he retired from his Government job, started to edit and publish a unique magazine. Titled â€œPhire Dekhaâ€ (Looking Back), it is a magazine for the retired people and by the retired people. Currently in its twelfth year, the magazine has grown a loyal following of hundreds of retired people from all around India. They write their own stories from their experiences, some professionals (like doctors, lawyers, accountants) share their expertise, some engage in social debates. The magazine has grown into a movement of sorts. The subscriber-members meet often just to discuss, chat and have a good time. This is the type of activity that Iâ€™d like to be involved when I retire. But can we do it here, in this adopted homeland of ours?\r\nAnandamandir can effectively support such a movement and serve as the vehicle which can help us sustain in our old age. We need to get engaged more with the Anandamandir committee and help them develop a cultural center that can not only serve us now but can be our social and cultural retreat during our golden years. Letâ€™s give it a serious thought.\r\n\r\nP.S. Please send your comments to bhawmik@gmail.com\r\n\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Our Golden Years', 0, 'We are getting old! We maybe in denial, but the fact remain true.  Those of us who belong to the so called baby boomer generation (that is born between 1946 and 1964) are quickly approaching the age about which we need to think and plan about. Yes, financial planning, like IRAs and 401(k)s are important, but I am talking about social and cultural planning. What are we going to do in our â€œgolden yearsâ€?', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'our-golden-years', '', '', '2006-02-15 22:02:51', '2006-02-15 16:32:51', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/65', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(77, 1, '2007-08-22 20:02:19', '2007-08-22 14:32:19', '<p>Please fill this form to subscribe to this blog. You will receive emails about recent posts and events on a weekly basis.<br />\r\n Thanks.</p>\r\n\r\n<form action="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?AddNewUserDirect" method="POST"> Enter your Email<br />\r\n <input maxlength="255" name="EMAIL" size="30" type="text" />\r\n\r\n<input name="FEEDID" type="hidden" value="260124" /> <input type="submit" value="Subscribe me!" /> <br />\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.feedblitz.com/f?previewfeed=260124&amp;referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit-pages.php'');" href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?previewfeed=260124">Preview</a> | Powered by <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.feedblitz.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit-pages.php'');" href="http://www.feedblitz.com">FeedBlitz</a></form>\r\n\r\n<p>If you''d like to receive an email notification whenever an article is posted (one email per day) then fill up the following form to<br />\r\n <strong>Subscribe through Feedburner</strong>:</p>\r\n\r\n<form style="border:1px solid #ccc;padding:3px;text-align:center;" action="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify" method="post" target="popupwindow" onsubmit="window.open(''http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=NyNjBengali'', ''popupwindow'', ''scrollbars=yes,width=550,height=520'');return true"><p>Enter your email address:</p><p><input type="text" style="width:140px" name="email"/></p><input type="hidden" value="NyNjBengali" name="uri"/><input type="hidden" name="loc" value="en_US"/><input type="submit" value="Subscribe" /><p>Delivered by <a href="http://feedburner.google.com" target="_blank">FeedBurner</a></p></form>\r\n', 'Subscribe', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'subscribe', '', '', '2009-03-20 10:10:19', '2009-03-20 14:10:19', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/subscribe', 1, 'page', '', 0),
(78, 1, '2007-08-23 01:05:35', '2007-08-22 19:35:35', 'Indranil and Sankar Ghoshal', 'Satyameva Scene', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-scene', '', '', '2007-08-23 01:05:35', '2007-08-22 19:35:35', '', 75, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/img_6449.JPG', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(70, 1, '2006-03-14 09:33:28', '2006-03-14 04:03:28', '<!--adsense-->\r\nOn 26th of March Kallol of NJ, one of the major Bengali social and cultural clubs of this area, will be holding their annual general body meeting. On this day the current executive committee will hand over the reigns of the club to the new committee who will be looking after the club activities for the next two years. In the larger scheme of things, this may not seem to be a matter of any significance. But if we think a bit deeply, few issues may surface and tickle your thoughts. If you come to the Kallol AGM on the 26th, most likely you''ll see the following.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n1. Poor attendance despite the promise of good food by the committee. Only few veteran members will be asking any questions and making any suggestions.\r\n2. The new committee will consist of mostly members from the old committee with no election taking place.\r\n\r\nThis clearly shows that not many of us are interested in participating in the club activities.  A handful of  members have to carry on the brunt of the responsibilities and activities all along. I am not singling out Kallol, most of the Bengali clubs and organizations face the same situation. \r\n\r\nIf we try to analyze this situation, the first question we need to answer is, do we need these clubs? Do they add any value to our lives in this country?   Most of these clubs were founded   to serve some very basic needs of ours - to get together and do some activities together for our social, cultural and spiritual nourishment, be it staging a play or be it holding a Puja.  The problem however is that any such activity requires few people to work on the activity and few people to participate and enjoy.  This creates two parties, one who works and delivers and one who receives and enjoys.  The people on the receiving end do contribute their dues in the form of subscriptions etc., but they do not fail to criticize the slightest inconvenience in any form. The workers, on the other hand,  serve solely for the love of the activity and entirely on a volunteering basis. They too, after a while,  get tired. But hardly do we see new people from the receiving end come up to join the serving end. We take it for granted that  we will always be served and served to the best of our expectations. But we do not think that if the service providers  give up, we will no longer have the pleasure of enjoying such great events.   \r\n\r\nOne complaint I sometimes  hear is that people are not given any opportunity to serve in these clubs, that the committee members are not inclusive enough and they tend to keep out anybody who has the slightest interest in serving along with them.  The allegation sometimes turn out to be true since in many cases, these small club positions seem to become some kind of thrones of power that many fear to lose. The decision makers tend to fantasize that it is their sole right to decide on what, who, when and how! \r\n\r\nBut I think that this allegation is overrated. If one genuinely believes in a cause and is willing to work for it, most of our organizations will give it a  fair hearing. Please try to understand that they too have limitations, both in terms of resources and free time. \r\n\r\nSo if we think that these organizations do add value to our lives, then we need to participate. We need to make ourselves heard at formal forums like AGMs and other meetings. Let the organizers know what we like and what we don''t. I am positive that we will be pleasantly surprised.\r\n', 'Do we need these social clubs?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '70', '', '', '2006-03-14 09:33:33', '2006-03-14 04:03:33', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/70', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(71, 8, '2006-04-20 19:05:28', '2006-04-20 13:35:28', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?pp_album=1&pp_image=pujor_saari_web.jpg" target="_top" title="pujor saari web"><img class="alignleft" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/photos/pujor_saari_web.jpg" width="200"  alt="pujor saari web" /></a><strong>Trip to Calcutta: A Chiaroscuro\r\nAmitava Sen</strong>\r\n<!--adsense#yahoopn-->\r\n\r\nI could hardly see her, behind the pile of sarees stacked on the shop counter; nevertheless, I recognized her and was pleasantly surprised to see Gouri of New Jersey at the Gariahat ladies tailoring shop.  I confess that although not a customer, I am a frequent visitor to this place during my not so long stays in Calcutta.  My wife always carries a big order of blouses from her friends during our annual trip to Calcutta and then she has her own stuff.  That calls for more than a few visits.  From logistical considerations we found that we save time and gasoline if we could drop-in at the tailor shop on our way to other destinations. <!--more--> \r\nI inquired about Gouriâ€™s stay and travel plans.  She is in India for a total of three weeks, she discloses; she has already been one week in Calcutta and three days each in Bombay and Bangalore. She does not have many relatives, her both parents are deceased, and she has a sister in Bangalore and a first cousin in Bombay.  She informed that she was at the tailoring shop for hemming, attaching fall and netting of the 25 sarees she purchased, not to mention stitching 25 blouses matching each of them.  I could see where the pile of sarees on the counter came from.\r\nOn our way back from the shop I was wondering aloud how could she manage to buy 25 sarees during her one weekâ€™s stay in Calcutta? My wife explained that these sarees had been purchased from three cities all resplendent with saree shops.  I conjectured how could she not buy 8 and one third sarees per city, especially when each of the sarees was unique, one of a kind and at dirt cheap price of not more than100-150 dollars each?  My wife was clearly indignant at my insensitivity.  Sure, I immediately relented; I should have understood the obvious reason behind the purchase of 25 sarees.  Pleased with my remorse, my wife confided, Gouri bought five more, which were not at the tailoring shop.  Gouri did not like them after she brought them home. But never mind, she will take them back to America and sell them to her friends at cost, which will most likely include a reasonably hefty profit for herself, call it service charge. And she can rightly recover her marketing and selling expenses which will include a dinner at her place.  I made a mental note to excuse us from any dinner invitation from Gouri when we return.\r\nWhat brought Gouri to India?  Why do we keep on coming back? Ostensively to see relatives or buy sarees more than Gouri can conceivably wear in a year or two.  That could not be the major reason for many of us.  It was not true for Gouri either and only partly true for the rest of us.  I know of many amongst us who take the grueling 20 hours trip to Calcutta and stay in a hotel or a guest house or are sequestered in Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture at Golpark. They do not even have a place to stay with friends or relatives.  A stay in Calcutta is arguably unpleasant. The place is polluted, pot-holed, noisy and not a pristine tourist attraction by any stretch of imagination.  \r\nBut donâ€™t we feel good?   Feel good about what?  Feel good about ourselves, our inflated selves; our larger than life selves.  It seems like a power trip to establish and proclaim our new found power and self esteem for our old country to see.  We grew up in a place where money, muscle and connection mattered.  Unless you were rich or Daoud Ibrahimâ€™s brother or Jyoti Babuâ€™s son you had no chance and you had no power. We have now found a way to the power; we have adequate money, adequacy measured by Indian yardstick. We expect that people, at least, back in our old country will be awestruck and will respect us for that.\r\nSo why not flaunt our money or our power here in the United States, where we live in our Diaspora? But it is difficult to get noticed here by our compatriots who look at the mirror and only like what they see. It is easier in India where there is an aura of â€˜American mystiqueâ€™ around you. From being a no body when we have left our country we are somebody now and we want our old country to take note.  Why otherwise do we call press conferences in Calcutta to announce upcoming events staged solely for the audience in the United States? It could as well be held in Baghdad or Timbuktu; cultural aficionados or the drama reviewers in Calcutta could not care less. It hardly will attract an audience or sell a ticket or even engender a mention in Calcutta press.   \r\nI suspect lurking in our mindsâ€™ shadows is the urge to claim fifteen minutes of glory back in our homeland from which we are voluntarily severed; yet we want to impose our glorified and often unreal images, desperately seeking to be noticed.\r\nOn another thought, do we revisit our old country in search of happiness?  Are we unhappy here?  We ought to be by â€œMahabharatianâ€ definition. When Dharma asked Judhistir as to who were considered happy in life, Judhistir answered that a happy person was the one who did not live away from home and who was not indebted. (Think about our huge mortgage and credit card debts).  By that yardstick we are probably unhappy.\r\nIn the end, some would relate to me when I say that I always feel happy as soon as the aircraft touches down at DumDum and I walk in to the dirty, dusty and chaotic immigration hallway.  I look around and discover that I am amongst my own people, they look like me and act like me. It is not even a feeling which reflects looking forward to meeting many relatives or friends. Neither do I have plans to buy a saree or a punjabi. Why do I feel so much at home?  Is it all about getting touchy-feely? I ask myself.  Do I feel slight or less of a person in the midst of white folks, back â€œHomeâ€? Am I happy to leave it all behind?  Suddenly, I am very comfortable fitting-in; I am completely home.\r\n\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Trip To Calcutta: A Chiaroscuro', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'trip-to-calcutta-a-chiaroscuro', '', '', '2007-08-18 09:54:00', '2007-08-18 04:24:00', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/71', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(72, 1, '2008-06-19 00:39:10', '2008-06-19 04:39:10', '<!--adsense-->\r\nOne of the key advantages of living in the United States was cheap gasoline and the joy of driving.  But it seems that it will soon become a luxury of the past. Gas prices are going through the roof, and we are all suffering. The trouble is, the fundamental requirement to live in the suburbs is to be able to drive a car. We do not have a rickshaw stand nearby where we can walk to and hop into a human driven (absolutely green) vehicle and merrily coast to the local grocery store. It will be a major human rights issue if someone even dreams of such an entrepreneurial venture. Hence we have no other option other than trying to save on gasoline costs. <!--more-->This sort of motivated me to do some research on the web and I have come up with some interesting gas saving tips that are not always obvious. I hope you find them useful. They are not necessary in any specific order or category. If you have any such tips, please share them with us all.\r\n\r\n1.	Drive fewer cars: In this country, our freedom has taken us to the extremes. We all need to drive our own gas guzzlers. However, with a little compromise, we may be able to share rides. I participate in a carpool myself and that saves me quite a bit (for 82 miles of round trip commute every day). Sometimes, within a family, husband and wife use separate cars to the same destination since they cannot compromise on a schedule.  "Can''t we all get along" and save some gas (think money)?\r\n2.	If you are an aggressive driver and have the sudden urges to beat everybody on the road to dust, chances are that your gas bills are quite astronomical. Avoid flooring the gas pedal that often. Take the long view of the road and brake slow and easy. Tests conducted by Edmunds have shown an average of 31% savings by following this tip alone.  If you slowed your 0-to-60-mph acceleration time down from your current 10 seconds to a more normal  pace of 15 seconds, you''ll feel the savings immediately.\r\n3.	Edmunds website also suggests that slowing down your speed (from 75-90mph to 60-65mph) on highways can save you 12% on the average. 55mph is still the most economical speed limit.\r\n4.	It has been a common belief that turning off the air conditioner saves gas. It turns out that is not the case, as per Edmunds'' tests. Apparently the modern day climate control systems of cars are highly efficient and do not consume any alarming amount of extra gas. So, stay cool in your slightly longer rides.\r\n5.	Use cruise control whenever possible. Tests suggest that you may save up to 14 percent with an average savings of 7%.\r\n6.	Do not idle excessively; it can save up to 19%. The recommendation is that if your stop is over a minute, turn off the engine.\r\n7.	Avoid long warm-up periods; 30 seconds should be enough even on cold mornings.\r\n8.	Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement". \r\n9.	Carefully choose your brand,  better quality gas gives better mileage. It is not necessary to use higher octane gas unless your car manual specifically asks for it. After filling up, be sure the gas cap clicks 3 times. Improperly seated gas caps allow 147 million gallons of fuel to vaporize every year in the U.S.\r\n6.	Finally, buy gasoline from the station offering the lowest price. Several websites now offers gas prices of gas stations in your local area. One such website is http://www.automotive.com/gas-prices. ', 'Saving Gas', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '72', '', '', '2008-06-19 11:27:19', '2008-06-19 15:27:19', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/72', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(174, 1, '2008-06-19 12:15:22', '2008-06-19 16:15:22', '<!--adsense-->\r\nCouple of years ago, I wrote an article on how to save gasoline by changing some of our driving habits. I have republished the <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/72">article</a> again with the faint hope that it may help us again. I say "faint hope" because whatever we could have saved has been wiped out by this record price increase. These days I am taking a more philosophical approach towards this disaster, and this resulted in a new play "Baad Protibaad".  Well,  don''t be scared, since "Baad Protibaad" is not a philosophical play at all (unless you really try hard to dig out the trace amounts from deep within the characters). It is just a humorous take on the effects of the gas price increase on us, the Bengalees. \r\nThe word "Gas" has some special connotation to us the Bengalees. But now, it almost means our life blood. And when this important part of our existence in this country is threatened, how do we react? \r\n"Baad Protibaad" is a short play, produced in an audio play format. The play will be broadcast on EBC Radio, 1170 AM  on Sunday, June 22nd, in the Bengali program air slot - "Probaha" hosted by Abhijit Sanyal at 10am in the morning. The play is produced by ECTA Inc. Following are the detailed credits:\r\n\r\n<blockquote><strong>"Baad Protibad"</strong>\r\nA Hilarious Play in Bengali by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\n\r\nProduced by ECTA Inc. \r\nDirected by Indranil Mukherjee\r\nCast:\r\nSubhodev Das as Ashok\r\nAparajita Das  as Kakoli\r\nIndranil Mukherjee as Soumen\r\nAnisha Das as Jhimli\r\n\r\nRecorded and mixed at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, NJ, Studio by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee\r\nEdited by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee and Indranil Mukherjee\r\nMusic and effects by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee.</blockquote>\r\n\r\n<strong>And please remember to come to ECTA''s mini theater festival on June 28th and 29th at the Edison Valley Playhouse, in Edison, NJ. If you like the above play, I am sure you''ll love the plays at the festival.\r\n</strong>\r\n', 'Gas and Us', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'gas-and-us', '', '\nhttp://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/72', '2008-06-19 12:19:36', '2008-06-19 16:19:36', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=174', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(73, 1, '2007-05-09 23:53:06', '2007-05-09 18:23:06', '<object width="257" height="200"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yproM_MCAzA"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yproM_MCAzA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="257" height="200"></embed></object>\r\nKolkata has been always acknowledged as the theatre capital of India. The rich tradition of modern Bengali theatre that started more than two hundred years ago is still revered by the cultural elite of the country. Hence, an invitation from Ganakrishti (one of the top tier theatre groups of Kolkata) to perform at their seventh annual theatre festival came to me as a major challenge. <!--more-->\r\nIt was during the 2005 Bangasammelan in New York, when Bratya Basu, the then champion of Ganakrishti made me the offer. And I accepted, without thinking too much about the consequences. It has been a dream for me as well as all serious Bengali theatre workers in this country, to be able to showcase our work in front of the Kolkata audience. But we all know that when the rubber actually meets the road, not too many rises up to the occasion, especially when it meant taking leave from work and then travel to India spending your own money. Ganakrishti admitted that they will not be able to pay our air fares, but they will take care of us and cover all our production related expenses the moment we arrive in Kolkata. I had some faith in my core group members and I knew that they will not pass this opportunity under any circumstances.\r\nI did not even have any play in mind that we can take to Kolkata. Although our repertory had couple of good short plays ready at hand, Ganakrishti preffered a full length play. I had a full length play script ready and waiting to be produced, but I thought I''d like to take something to Kolkata that is contemporary and truely reflects some of the fundamental conflicts that we encounter as immigrants to this country.\r\n\r\nThe basic idea of "Ron" was in my mind for sometime, and I thought, why not develop this idea into a full length play? I started working on it (which involved quite a bit of research about the US Armed forces, the Iraq war etc) and by the end of 2005 I had the first draft ready. We had the first reading and Indranil is (one of our key group members) living room with most of our team members eagerly listening. The key decision we had to make that evening was to decide if we''d like to produce "Ron" (it wasn"t even named then) or to produce "Baanaprastha" (the script that I had written earlier). The team chose "Ron" primarily because of its relevance in todays world. I asked the group to find a good title for the play, and several suggestions started pouring in. It was only after few weeks, when I read the play to Tarun Chatterjee (the accomplished actor and director) and he suggested finding a short name, the name "Ron" struck upon me. Not only is my central character named "Ron" (or Ronobir/Ranveer), but also because "Ron" means war and that is what the play is about.\r\nThe next challenge was casting for the characters. We had one primary requirement for any actor accepting our offer was that he or she has to travel to India during peak summer season spending his/her own money. Although most of the key group members had no problem with this (many have been planning to go to India during that period anyway), casting some of the characters became an issue, namely those of "Nando" and "Bidisha".\r\nWe started looking for Nando and few interested fellows showed up. One, Biswajit Das, came all the way from Poughkeepsie New York to try for the role. Being from Bangladesh, he was a perfect fit for the role. He was willing to come to the rehearsals all the way from Poughkeepsie, although I was a bit sceptical. But soon he informed that he has a conflict in July and won''t be able to do the play. The search continued, and after few disappointing auditions, I reluctantly planned to take up the role myself. It was not the best option at all, since directing and acting in the same play is a very difficult task.\r\nThen I met Kaushik Datta at Lili Majumdar''s house. Kaushik had some early acting experience and was planning to go to Kolkata during July for a family vacation anyway. After a quick and surrepticious audition, I selected Kaushik for the role of "Nando". The next task was to find Bidisha.\r\n\r\nTo be continued.......\r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Staging Ron in Kolkata : Part 1', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'staging-ron-in-kolkata', '', '', '2007-08-29 15:53:12', '2007-08-29 19:53:12', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/73', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(74, 1, '2007-04-30 21:48:26', '2007-04-30 16:18:26', 'Recently I had the opportunity to watch Deepa Mehtaâ€™s film, â€œWaterâ€on DVD . Most of you may have already seen this movie as well as its predecessors, â€œFireâ€ and â€œEarthâ€. â€œWaterâ€ is the third segment of Deepaâ€™s elemental trilogy. I am not a film critic by any measure. However, the reason for me to write about this film is because it deals with an issue which has always been a controversial and sensitive one in our culture and religion.<!--more--> For the benefit of those of you who have not seen the film, â€œWaterâ€ deals about the plight of the Hindu widows (during 1930s) who were banished from the society to live a secluded life in the â€œBidhava Ashramsâ€ or Widow Homes of Varanasi. These widows, ranging from eight years to eighty years of age, live a life deprived of all pleasures and wait earnestly to die in the sacred ghats of Kashi, an extremely fortunate fate that guarantees a spot in the heaven. Although some of them, like Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) earn not for the heavens but rather to be born again as a man. Some, like Kalyani (Lisa Ray) do not even wait; rather they sacrifice themselves to the holy waters of to escape from their exile.  \r\n\r\nMany will argue that this story is not relevant anymore. Hindu widows, these days, do not have to lead such a deprived life. They no longer have to wear whites, shave their heads, and eat vegetarian and fast on every eleventh lunar day. But is it true? Granted that, in the urban middle class and upper middle class families, widows have a relatively better life now. But the huge majority still has to succumb to the societal pressures and pick up the white garb. Widow homes (or Bidhava Ashrams) still exist in , and the lives of their residents are not that different from those shown in the film.  Even the widows of the urban elites have to tolerate the â€œdifferentâ€ attitude thrown towards them by the more fortunate members of their â€œHinduâ€ society.  The film asks some pertinent questions that are relevant even today. These days a young widow may not have to live her life as an ascetic in an Ashram, but she is no longer welcome in a manâ€™s life either, as his lawful wedded wife. She still has to tolerate the greedy eyes of men who consider them as easily available. And if any one tries to raise her voice in protest, she has to face the wrath of the Hindu fundamentalists as did Deepa Mehta herself.\r\n\r\nThe story of the film happens in the background of the holy city of Benaras, a city that has appeared several times in films of stalwarts like Satyajit Ray, Raghu Rai and others. Unfortunately, Deepa Mehta did not have the luxury of capturing this picturesque city on her film. Rather, she had to be content with a poor imitation constructed in Sri Lanka. Deepa Mehta was not allowed to shoot her film in the holy city. The right wing Hindu extremists destroyed her sets and threatened her and her crew. She was forced to stop filming and return to her home in Canada. But I guess, this incident only strengthened her resolve. After two years she went back to the sub-continent, to Sri Lanka, to make her film with an entirely new cast.\r\n\r\nItâ€™s not that the film is perfect and free of all short comings. The script lacked the depth that a film dealing with such an issue deserves.  Lisa Ray was miscast in the role of Kalyani. Despite her best efforts she could not free herself of her western accent and sophistication.  But most of the other cast members did proper justice to their roles. Special mention needs to be made for Sarala, who performed the role of the child widow Chhuiya, and of course Seema Biswas who carried the film to a great extent. John Abrahamâ€™s character (Narayan) felt a little under developed â€“ so were most of the male characters in a primarily female dominated movie. Raghuvir Yadav (as the eunuch Gulabi) did an excellent job as usual.\r\n\r\nThe most exquisite feature of this film is its cinematography (Giles Nuttgens). The framing, color schemes and compositions were breath taking at times. I wonder what impact the film would have made if it could have been shot at its original locale,\r\n\r\nThe film has surfaced once again a shame of our society and religion, a shame that had tormented people like Raja Rammohan Roy and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, but it still manages to sink and hide itself in the depths of our conscience. Deepa Mehta has made another attempt to bring it up and challenged us to deal with it. I deeply thank her for her heroic efforts. \r\n<!--adsense-->', 'Water: A Film That Surfaces our Shame', 0, 'Recently I had the opportunity to watch Deepa Mehtaâ€™s film, â€œWaterâ€on DVD . Most of you may have already seen this movie as well as its predecessors, â€œFireâ€ and â€œEarthâ€. â€œWaterâ€ is the third segment of Deepaâ€™s elemental trilogy.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'water-a-film-that-surfaces-our-shame', '', '\nhttp://bengali.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/12/water-a-film-that-surfaces-our-shame.htm', '2007-08-15 21:10:18', '2007-08-15 15:40:18', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/74', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(75, 1, '2007-08-13 20:08:41', '2007-08-13 14:38:41', '"Satyameva Jayate" - a phrase from the Mundaka Upanishad is the national motto of India and all Indians. Literally it means, "truth alone prevails" - implying that truth is all that we should strive for, since truth only can lead us to success and happiness. But this hypothesis has been proven wrong time and again. Through bitter life experiences we all discover that "truth" hardly leads us anywhere - it is the "untruth", the "false" and  "deceit"  that we need to master in order to attain our goals and objectives. Or is it that our goals and objectives need to be re-examined? Are we chasing the right goals? Goals for which we do not have to rely on the "false" - goals that can truly be achieved by truth alone?\r\n\r\n"Satyameva", a play written by Sudipta Bhawmik, tries to explore this age old question in a setting in North America where the immigrant Indian population tries to deal with this issue in their everyday lives.\r\n\r\nSanjoy, a young software professional, has arrived in the "land of opportunity" for just over six months and works for a software body shopping company "InterSoft" owned and operated by Bill (a Bengali American living in the States for over thirty years.) On the day of the play Bill fires Sanjoy and asks him to go back to India. Sanjoy, however, is not happy with this decision and refuses to oblige. He informs Bill that he is not going to return to India under any circumstances. He states that returning to India is synonymous to signing a death warrant. He cannot subject himself to such a grave risk. And to justify himself, and to win his ultimate motive,  he has to make a choice between truth or deceit.\r\n\r\nCast:\r\nBill      : Sankar Ghoshal\r\nSanjoy : Indranil Mukherjee\r\n\r\nWritten and Directed by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nProduced by Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts (ECTA)\r\nPresented by Ganakrishti, Kolkata\r\n\r\n6.00pm August 20, 21, 22, 23  2007\r\nSujata Sadan, 7, Hazra Road, Kolkata - 700 026.\r\n\r\nPhone- 2476-6131\r\n\r\n<strong>Please inform your friends and family in India to come and watch this play that tells our story.</strong>\r\n<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/indymukh/Satyameba">\r\n\r\n<!--adsense#yahoopn--></a><a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/img_6449.JPG'' title=''Satyameva Scene''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/img_6449.thumbnail.JPG'' alt=''Satyameva Scene'' /></a>', 'Satyameva: A New Play to Premiere in Kolkata', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-a-new-play-to-premiere-in-kolkata', '', '\nhttp://www.ethnomediallc.com', '2007-08-24 02:34:42', '2007-08-23 21:04:42', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/75', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(81, 1, '2007-08-24 19:03:11', '2007-08-24 13:33:11', '<strong>Sudipta Bhawmik</strong>\r\n[Previously published in Anandasangbad]\r\n<!--adsense-->\r\n\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/nsake_web.jpg'' title=''On the set''><img class="alignleft" src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/nsake_web.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''On the set'' /></a>On 7th of March 2007, I had the opportunity of watching Mira Nair’s latest film, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1557047413?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1557047413">The Namesake”</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1557047413" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />. The film had officially premiered the earlier evening which unfortunately, I was not able to attend. However, the producers of the film were kind enough to arrange couple of seats for me for the special screening for the Museum of Moving Images which included a Q&A session with the director Mira Nair (and surprise guests Tabu and Irfan Khan). \r\nBeing a participant in the filming process (in a very limited way in the role of Subroto Mesho), I was especially curious to see the final result – the big picture as you may call it. At the end of the screening when Mira asked me how I liked the film, I was sort of speechless. I did answer something like “great” or “wonderful”, but that was only a gut reaction – I was still trying to figure out my feelings towards the film. I was not able to give Mira the right answer.  I figured, maybe, if I try to jot down my thoughts, I’ll be able to come up with a better answer.   <!--more-->\r\n\r\nSo how did I feel watching the film? \r\nHave you ever, in a lonely rainy afternoon, sat down and leafed through the pages of your family photo album? An album that spans three generations, your parents, yourselves and your children, captured in those 4x6 frames? With each turn of page, you see the glimpses of your life that went past; you see how your image changed over the years. Fleeting memories hit you like a hail storm and you feel lost – for few moments. That’s exactly how I had felt watching <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1557047413?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1557047413">"The Namesake"</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1557047413" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />. The film is a family album, a photo album of the Ganguli’s, but you feel as if it is your own. The only difference is that the subjects in those photos are not still, they become alive, they talk, they move, they laugh, they cry – and you join them. And when you are done watching it, you just want to sit silently, hugging the album close to your heart with your eyes closed. You try to remember those pictures that were not captured by any camera on any film. Just as Ashoke tells his son Gogol (when he realizes that he has forgotten his camera to shoot the end of his journey) “We will just have to remember this…… all our life” - Mira’s film inspires us to remember our journey and “follow our bliss”.\r\n\r\nMira herself admitted that the style of this film was inspired by still photographs (by masters like Raghu Rai, Raghubir Singh, Mich Epstein, Dayanita Singh) and it showed. I guess, to capture a period spanning three generations, this was the best form available to her. We jump from period to period, from city to city with extreme ease, just like turning a page of our album. We see the characters change, but not always how they change. But we have no trouble in filling the gaps, because it is our story.  There are no surprises, no suspense, no thrill, no profound philosophy – only the solitude and quietness of a deeply felt sorrow and ….bliss. \r\n\r\nThe film starts as Ashoke’s story, then switches to become Ashima’s story and then again transforms to become Gogol’s story with no jitters, as if it is the natural progression.  Not too many Hollywood filmmakers would dare to undertake such an unconventional screenplay structure. But Mira herself is unconventional. She pays homage to Satyajit Ray and Ritwick Ghatak through this film. She imbibed in this film the lyricism of Ray and the visual exuberance of Ghatak that is rare in this part of the world. Some of the scenes strongly remind you of Ray’s works like “Apur Sansar” or  Ritwick’s “Meghe Dhaka Tara”. She even cast Supriya Choudhuri, the unforgettable Nita of “Meghe Dhaka Tara”,  in  a special role and made her utter the unforgettable line, “Embrace the new, but do not forget your past”.  She shoots the two great cities of the world (Kolkata and New York) with the same sensitivity and care as did Ray in “Mahanagar” or “Jana Aranya” (kudos to Fred Elmes.)\r\n\r\nThe film is not free from imperfections, but let that not distract you in anyway. Sometimes you may feel that the time limit of two hours was too much of an imposition on a film of this kind. Some issues could have been explored a bit more, some characters developed some more.  But I guess, some compromises need to be made anyway.\r\n\r\n I am not sure what the verdict of the film Pundits of the world would be, or even what criticisms would the “argumentative Indians” (and Bengalees) bring to their tea (“adda”) table, but to me, “The Namesake” will be one of my dearest films to date.   \r\n', '“The Namesake”: A Personal Experience', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '%e2%80%9cthe-namesake%e2%80%9d-a-personal-experience', '', '', '2007-10-04 23:04:08', '2007-10-05 03:04:08', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/81', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(101, 1, '2007-10-04 16:21:55', '2007-10-04 20:21:55', 'A scene from Jhara Samayer Kavya', 'Jhara Samayer Kavya', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'jhara-samayer-kavya', '', '', '2007-10-04 16:21:55', '2007-10-04 20:21:55', '', 99, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jhorasomoy.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(102, 1, '2007-10-10 17:40:03', '2007-10-10 21:40:03', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<div class=''floatleft''>\r\n<object width=''425'' height=''366''><param name=''movie'' value=''http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFMvm04MnycmUMVftPsvuiNWzlgPyL6gcFU=''></param><param name=''wmode'' value=''transparent''><embed src=''http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFMvm04MnycmUMVftPsvuiNWzlgPyL6gcFU='' type=''application/x-shockwave-flash'' wmode=''transparent'' width=''425'' height=''366''></embed></param></object>\r\n</div>In December 2003, <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com">Ethnomedia </a>launched their first theatrical production, "Phera"  (The Return), at the Bengali Drama Festival organized by Kallol of New Jersey. The play was an instant hit amongst the expatriate Bengali theater lovers and since then the play was staged at multiple cities across the US east coast and Canada, including the 2004 North America Bengali Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. \r\nThe play deals with the eternal struggle which every immigrant in USA has to go through in order to balance between the strong attachment to their home land and the economic and social demands of life. The play has received rave reviews from the audience and the press.  Read some of the comments and reviews at our website http://www.ethnomediallc.com/ .\r\n<!--more-->\r\nI have had several requests from theater lovers all over for the video release of the play in some form. I did distribute few copies of a DVD recording to some very interested people. However, I thought a video release through YouTube may be a better idea and hence this posting.  This particular recording was from one of our shows in Toronto, Canada. The recording does have several audio disturbances and the video quality also has suffered due to the multiple levels of compression that it went through. However, I hope, you will get some idea about the play. My only request would be, that you do not judge the play from the video and audio quality only.\r\n \r\nI am never a fan of watching plays from video recordings and I generally discourage people to do so. However, this play was so much in demand, that I had to succumb to the pressure. Since we do not have any near term plans of reviving this play, I thought the video release would be the next best thing to do. If you like the play, please pass the link to others who may be interested. If some interested and serious theater group would like to produce the play, I will happily pass the script to them. \r\n\r\nI am including below a brief synopsis of the play to help follow the video. You may skip this and watch the video and I hope you''ll still enjoy it as well. \r\n\r\n<blockquote><strong>Synopsis:</strong>\r\n\r\nSukomol, the protagonist who lives and works in USA, suddenly, arrives at his home to the utmost surprise and joy of his parents Satyasadhan and Mrinmoyee and his sister Sikha. Later in the afternoon, Sukomol breaks to his would-be father-in law Ramapada and his mother that he has come back for good and would like to work in India or possibly set up a chemical plant in his hometown. Mrinmoyee is delighted at the prospect of her son staying back in India, but Ramapada rebukes him for his naivety and foolishness. Being a failed politician himself, Ramapada reminds Sukomol of how impossible it is to build anything in West Bengal with its business hostile political environment. At this moment comes Bibhas, Sukomol’s childhood friend and gives him hope by promising that he will make all arrangements to make Sukomol’s dream a reality with the help of the local member of the legislative assembly. However, in the very next scene in an interesting twist, Bibhas confides to Sukomol that all that he had said was pure bluff, just to settle a score with his political rival Ramapada. He advises Sukomol to go back to USA and even pleads to take him along. Sukomol gets another jolt when his fiancée Krishnaa makes it very clear that her only goal in life is to go to America, and if Sukomol decides to stay back in India, she’ll do it alone. However, the final blow comes when Sukomol overhears his father who almost breaks down at the possibility that the flow of dollars is about to stop. Satyasadhan, who himself is an immigrant from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), struggled all his life to take care of his family, his parents, his brothers and sisters. He never had the chance of enjoying the slightest of luxury. Now, with his son working in USA and with his regular dollar remittances, Satyasadhan has started to get used to the better things of life, the small luxuries like traveling in a rented car and having a luxury bathroom. He dreads at the possibility of losing his current life and going back to the days of hardship. Only, Mrinmoyee, the eternal mother, tries to defend her son’s decision to the last moment.</blockquote>\r\n\r\n', 'YouTube Video Release of "Phera"', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'youtube-video-release-of-phera', '', '', '2007-10-10 17:40:03', '2007-10-10 21:40:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/102', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(103, 1, '2007-10-17 23:28:19', '2007-10-18 03:28:19', '<!--adsense-->\r\nThe other day, while channel surfing, I stumbled upon the Zee-TV SaReGaMaPa "Bishwayudh" grand finals. I have not been following this show, but the community was buzzing with excited fans rooting for the three finalists - Anik, Raja and Amanat. Anik became the champion and being a Bengali it felt good that another Bengali kid has succeeded in keeping up the tradition of excelling in the performing arts. And I think that this partisan and regional  feeling, in some sense, carries more weight in deciding who wins. It was impossible to qualitatively judge the three performers since they all were excellent singers. Hence, selecting the champion is nothing but a chance accident on who votes and for whom. \r\n<!--more-->\r\nAlmost all Indian TV channels (national and regional) host multiple music and dance (which I''ll talk about in a future blog) contests.  These so-called reality shows draw a huge fan following (it seems people are sick and tired of the cliche ridden, poorly made serials) and they also provide a platform to bring forth the best talents from all across the country. The ETV Bangla channel, that I watch most, has three such music contests - "Sa-theke-sa", "Tarana" and "Gane mor Indradhanu". "Sa theke Sa" is conducted by a very talented musician, Nachiketa. However, the screening process of the adult contenders do not seem to be strict enough which often results in mediocre performance. Judgment is rendered by a single senior musician instead of any voting or audience poll. "Tarana" is a kid''s contest and is targeted primarily for kids. Judgment process is similar to Nachiketa''s show. Some of the participants are really talented but the show lacks the glamor and glitz of the other more popular shows.   \r\n<p>\r\nOf the three contests, "Gane mor Indradhanu" is the most elaborate and competitive (and possibly the most funded) show.  The previous round of this show focused solely on Bangla songs and featured the adult performers. And what performers they have been. The show demonstrated that the depth and breadth of musical talent in Bengal is something that we should be really proud of. In the current round of "Gane mor Indradhanu - Tarana", the competitors are the teenage and pre-teenage boys and girls from all corners of Bengal. Listening to them is an amazing experience. Some of the young boys and girls are so talented that their songs bring tears to the most critical of the judges on the floor, not to mention the audience on the set and the viewers on the other side of the screen. Singers like Ahinjita (7-8 years old) or Debdyuti can sing at par with any of the established musicians. The contest is judged by a panel of distinguished musicians like Monomoy Bhattacharya, Jojo, Sudeshna Ray, Sampa Kundu and others and they do not hesitate to make critical comments (in a constructive manner) to point out the shortcomings of the performers. But they too are often awed by the sudden flashes of talent demonstrated by these youngsters.   If these talented performers are properly trained and groomed, I am sure that they will make us all proud one day and Bengal will retain its esteemed position in the field of Indian music for many more years in the future. Kudos to ETV Bangla for bringing this show to us.  The only complaint I have is that the show could have retained its focus on "Bangla Songs" only as it did in the previous round.</p>', 'Reality Music Contests on Indian TV Channels', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'reality-music-contests-on-indian-tv-channels', '', '', '2007-10-17 23:51:00', '2007-10-18 03:51:00', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/103', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(104, 1, '2007-10-16 14:13:31', '2007-10-16 18:13:31', 'Review of Satyameva published in the popular Bengali daily "Sangbad Pratidin"', 'Pratidin Review', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'pratidin-review', '', '', '2007-10-16 14:13:31', '2007-10-16 18:13:31', '', 84, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pratidin_stayameva_review_bw.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(109, 1, '2007-10-28 22:25:13', '2007-10-29 02:25:13', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAnanda Mandir of New Jersey is celebrating Maha Kali Pujo on Friday, November 9, 2007, starting at 6:30 p.m.\r\n \r\nIf you are interested in sponsoring Kali Pujo, please send your check in the amount of $101 directly to Ananda Mandir at 269 Cedar Grove Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873 before Nov. 5th as Biswabhai will prepare separate "ARGHYAs" for individual families for "HOM" on the Pujo night .\r\n \r\nPlease remember it is not necesssary to bring fruits, flowers and other items for Kali Pujo, since the temple provides them to the sponsors.', 'Kali Puja at Ananda Mandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kali-puja-at-ananda-mandir', '', '', '2007-10-28 22:25:13', '2007-10-29 02:25:13', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/109', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(111, 1, '2007-10-31 09:53:54', '2007-10-31 13:53:54', 'Public toilet in Kolkata', 'Public Toilet in Kolkata', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'public-toilet-in-kolkata', '', '', '2007-10-31 09:53:54', '2007-10-31 13:53:54', '', 108, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/toilet.JPG', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(112, 1, '2007-10-31 10:02:39', '2007-10-31 14:02:39', 'Kallol Durga Protima', 'Kallol Durga Protima', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kallol-durga-protima', '', '', '2007-10-31 10:02:39', '2007-10-31 14:02:39', '', 110, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dsc_0770.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(113, 1, '2007-11-08 15:51:00', '2007-11-08 19:51:00', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/charuthefilmcom.jpg'' title=''Charu: Unspoken''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/charuthefilmcom.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Charu: Unspoken'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>Once Satyajit Ray was asked, "Which of your films would you like to remake?" He answered that, if possible, he would have remade all his films except for "Charulata". It was only "Charulata" that he thought was made "perfectly" and he would like to keep it that way. Well, now an expatriate Bengali film maker, Amitabha Neil Ray, is trying to recreate history. Amitabha is planning on making "Charu: Unspoken", a modern version of Tagore and Ray''s Charulata set in current day America. To some, it may sound like sacrilege. To remake what most people think as a classic, to try to better one of the best film craftsman of all times, is what only few would like to dare. The stakes are too high, the expectations are sky reaching - almost impossible to meet, and failure seems to be inevitable. But, isn''t that what geniuses strive for? Isn''t the challenge to excel, to better the best, to pursue the dream to the end, what drives artists to create their master pieces? Didn''t Ray himself take the leap to recreate another master creators work and make it even better in many ways?  Great works of art always inspires other artists, and that is why Ray''s "Charulata" drives artists like Amitabha Neil Ray to remake his own, "Charu: Unspoken". <!--more-->\r\n<br />\r\nWhen Amitabha approached me to write the screenplay for the film, I too was not quite sure if this was the right thing to do. Will I  be able to reach anywhere near the artistry that Ray''s screenplay had achieved? But then, I tried to think it through and took it upon as a challenge to myself as to how to recreate Charulata in modern day America, more specifically New York. The original story (Tagore''s Noshto Nir - Broken nest) was set in late 19th century Bengal. The social, political and economical as well as the moral value system of that time was quite different from that of the 21st century New York. The environment of Charulata in Noshto Nir and the environment of Charu in New York are way different - hence their behaviors, their responses to the circumstances must be different. But the fundamental human psychology, the conflicts of relationships, and the basic moral dilemmas have not changed over the centuries. And this makes the story of Charulata, Amol and Bhupati a classic that transcends time and space. I hooked on to this basic pivotal point and framed the story of Charu, alone in a Manhattan high rise apartment, Anupam (Bhupati in Noshto Nir) a busy Wall Street executive, and Amol - a second generation Bengali American who strives to make it big in the New York theater scene.  Just like the film Charulata, "Charu: Unspoken"  isn''t just a triangular love story - it delves into the multi dimensional human psychology and attempts to deal with the complexities of human relationships at multiple levels. \r\n<br />\r\nBut screenplay is only a small part of the entire film making process. It is the film director who finally brings it to life. As David Mamet once mentioned, "In Theater the director serves the writer, but in film the writer serves the director." Amitabha now needs to spin his magic and artistry to create poetry on the silver screen. Being an artist and poet himself, Amitabha has all the right ingredients in himself to make this film a reality. An award winning painter, Amtabha had the good fortune of being an apprentice of the master painter of India, Paritosh Sen. His experience in the film society movement in Calcutta and his long associations with film makers like Purnendu Patrea and Gautam Ghosh made him thirsting to make a film of his own. Although he has made couple of documentaries, feature film is his passion - and hence "Charu: Unspoken".\r\n<br />\r\nFilm making is a team sport and Amitabha has formed quite a formidable team to ensure success. He has roped in internationally acclaimed art director Tushar Unadkat as the producer of the film. National award winning actress Rituparna Sengupta will be playing the central character, Charu. Active negotiations are in the process with several other well known actors and actresses from Mumbai film industry. For more details take a look into the <a href="http://charuthefilm.com">film''s website</a>. Principal photography of the film is scheduled to start in June 2008 and the film is scheduled to release in 2009. \r\n<br />\r\nAmitabha and his team are now actively looking for more producers/investors for the film. He has kept a tight reign on budget and plans to keep it well within $150,000 of which he has already secured $20,000 as seed money. The project is now looking for an executive producer who can invest around $130,000 and will enjoy complete financial authority over the project. Investors who can put in $10,000 or more are welcome to join the team too. Amitabha envisages that the film has the potential of making a significant return on investment. He cites the numbers from similar films like Mira Nair''s "Monsoon Wedding" which cost approx $160,000 and made more than $13.0 million in US box office. If anyone is interested to be an investor/producer of the film or even want to contribute to the project in any other way, please contact Amitabha at Amitabha@NeilRay.com. \r\n<br />\r\nAmitabha is embarking upon a journey that very few people would dare to tread.  He and his team needs all your support to make  this project a great success. I hope you will be with us on our journey too.', 'Remaking Charulata', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'remaking-charulata', '', '', '2007-11-12 11:20:26', '2007-11-12 15:20:26', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/113', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(108, 8, '2007-10-31 09:57:52', '2007-10-31 13:57:52', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<strong>by Amitava Sen</strong>\r\n<br />\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/toilet.JPG'' title=''Public Toilet in Kolkata''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/toilet.thumbnail.JPG'' alt=''Public Toilet in Kolkata'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>“Desh is doing wonderful and so much for the better”, declares my friend after his recent trip to Calcutta. I suppose Desh means Calcutta.  “People are so prosperous, everything is available at the wonderful shopping complexes; diaper, canned ham” he continues “you name it, they have it”. My friend is all dazed up by the malls and the wonderful shops there.  Like Sukumar Roy wrote in his celebrated poem that Borobabu’s moustache made him what really Borobabu was; to my friend the city belonged to its shopping malls and that’s what the Desh was all about.. What else he needs to be impressed about the tremendous leap Calcutta is taking towards progress?  He has no doubt in his mind that the country we have left behind is doing wonderfully well.  Truthfully I was not that persuaded by his argument, it was only the shopping malls, I thought. What’s the big deal?<!--more-->\r\nBut that was till my next visit to Calcutta.  I did not have to go any farther than Southern Avenue at Golpark in order to get totally swept away by Calcutta’s progress. The view of a public toilet made all the difference. The new public toilet under construction washed away any reservation I might have had.  Built to the architecture of Sydney opera house it was indeed mind boggling.  Even a person like me with a poor TV memory could not forget the images of its impressive opera house during 2000 Sydney Olympic. The Sydney opera was almost like a mascot for the event, it was hard not to remember and I continued to be awed by its magnificence. <br />\r\nAccording to the newspaper report the opera toilet in Calcutta would cost 25 lakhs of rupees not counting the cost of the valuable property it was built on.  Indeed, I thought Calcutta must be doing wonderfully well.  And what other than a cultured Bengali mind could think of a toilet looking like an opera house? <br />\r\nSome one said “Calcutta is a big bathroom”.  While not denying the truth in the statement and not depriving the voting masses of their proletarian rights of using the street sides as bathrooms, the municipal corporation has come up with the idea of adding an intellectual and artistic touch to the toilet culture of Calcutta.  Travel not far from the opera house public toilet and you will find another public toilet behind Gariahat market with decorative façade and imaginative signs.  Women’s stall, instead of a letter sign has a portrait of a stern looking Indira Gandhi and an effeminate portrait of poet Nazrul Islam in shoulder length tresses, looking like he is in a wrong place, adorns the men’s enclave wall. The other Sai Baba (not the one with bushy coiffure) who I am sure is there, to add a spiritual touch to the mundane business of relieving oneself is staring at you from the other side of the wall separating the men’s place.   People who are not sure which direction to take can walk straight to the middle and bump in to Rabi Thakur..  If you expect to be calmed down by soothing Rabindra Sangeet after suffering through irritating confusion, you may be disappointed; the attendant from the neighboring state prefers blaring rendition of “Jai Jagadisho Hare”.<br />\r\nReturning to the subject of opera toilet, I kept on wondering as to how much it was going to cost to use it and who would be using it? I would imagine the use fee will be set high enough to keep it out of the reach of the hoi polloi. The suggested rate should be no less than ten rupees (22 cents) which is the poverty level wage per day according to the government of India’s published data and which will safely keep thirty percent of the population out.   <br />\r\nThe families who live under the nearby Gariahat fly-over, cook there, sleep there, do all their ablutions there are definitely not its customers,  neither are the two children who sleep late into the morning on the sidewalk in front of Gariahat Police station, next to the opera toilet through every night. But never mind about them; they don’t matter, they are just numbers among 50 percent malnourished children in India. <br />\r\nThat does not mean that the place will close down for lack of clientèle.  There are still a lot of people who can afford bottles of quite expensive mineral water. I am sure it will attract a steady stream of NRI’s too. There are local clients as well, mostly from Rajasthan Diaspora. Their youths are the hip generation, always eager to spend their money on expensive services. Surely, there will be sprinkle of IT professionals.  As to its interior make up, Satyajit Ray and Ravi Shankar definitely belong there; Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Girija Devi are in contention too. Mozart or Brahms will be too hard on Bengali ear; Raga Vilaskhani Todi on Sitar should create the desirable ambience. If you rather would have a song playing, “Amar Oi Jharna tolar Nirjane” (In solitude of the quiet flowing stream) will be a fitting selection of Rabindra Sangeet. I could not visualize any lesser person than Jyoti Babu to preside over its inauguration.<br />\r\nAccording to a New York Times’ account 56% of the Indian households do not have a toilet, which means any kind of private place to go, A train journey from Howrah station to Tarakeswar in the morning made me think that the figure might be somewhat  understated. That is no consideration while building a 25 lakhs toilet as “the Desh”, when it is doing so well, should have toilets befitting its new found wealth. If lavish malls are the face of prosperity, colonnaded toilets should be its culmination.\r\nI am sure more of these 25-lakhs toilets are being planned in front of the Hotel Sonar Bangla or Hyatt or the Taj where a bottle of mineral water costs 12 hours’ wage of the driver of my rented car.  It will be a shame if the up scale, doing-well generation is made to use any lesser toilet following the consumption of purified, sanitized and branded water.<br />\r\nI cannot imagine my friend who is so impressed by the progress happening in Calcutta to have left Salt Lake neighborhood in the city with its gleaming shopping malls, out of his rounds. To make it starker how far Calcutta has traveled my friend should have visited the canal side in the fringes of Salt Lake.  There are plywood shacks with no toilet, no running water and no electricity, in one of them lives the person who cleans my cousin’s house, six people to a room.  What goes in the name of toilet is an enclosure of torn rags and the open canal bank.    Moving back to the shopping mall from the canal side I realize that Calcutta indeed has made a great stride, only in the process the ‘Calcutta’ has been left behind.\r\n\r\n', 'Of Shopping Malls and Toilets', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'of-shopping-malls-and-toilets', '', '', '2007-10-31 15:12:17', '2007-10-31 19:12:17', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/108', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(114, 1, '2007-11-08 14:52:15', '2007-11-08 18:52:15', '', 'Charu: Unspoken', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'charu-unspoken', '', '', '2007-11-08 14:52:15', '2007-11-08 18:52:15', '', 113, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/charuthefilmcom.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(115, 1, '2007-11-15 18:51:01', '2007-11-15 22:51:01', '<!--adsense-->\r\nI recently had the chance of watching Wes Anderson''s "Darjeeling Limited". I am not an Anderson fan by any sense, but few things drew me to the theater. First, I heard a lot of hoopla about Wes Anderson; second the crew included some familiar names like Lydia Dean Pilcher (the producer) and Cindy Tolan (casting director). And finally the title of the film - "Darjeeling Limited". Somehow I had the feeling that the film is going to show some parts of the beautiful hill town Darjeeling and the magical "Darjeeling" toy train. But I was disappointed.\r\n<!--more-->\r\nThe film has no Darjeeling, except a weird looking train ( a cross between "Palace on Wheels" and Chapra local,  where sexy stewardesses serve sweet lime and tea) named "Darjeeling Limited". Has anyone seen a stewardess in an Indian train? This is so un-Indian, that at times I was feeling like I am watching a fantasy movie. The story line, from an Indian view point, is a cliche ridden travelogue where three "Gora" brothers travel on this mythical train to attain some kind of spiritual bliss through narcotic laden cough syrup and occasional stops at temples of no relevance. We have seen too many of these "Mystical and Spiritual India Saves the Western Soul" kind of films. There is no harm in making such films, especially for the western audience (and India may earn some tourism dollars in the process), but to me this oversimplification of the Indian way of life  feels quite condescending.  The brothers seem to go through a spiritual change when they witness the death and funeral of an Indian boy in a remote village. The stoic nature of the funeral, accompanied by a kind of placid indifference to life brought the three brothers closer than they have ever been. During their own father''s funeral, they were busy trying to get his Porche from the garage and their mother not attending the funeral at all. But the brothers and Wes fail to understand that the life that those Indian villagers lead is a result of their socio-economic circumstances (just as theirs is.)  In a country with one of the highest infant mortality rates, such deaths are only a minor perturbation - and people just go on with their lives - cause they got to live. Is this the great message (or enlightenment) that the western audience is looking for? Or was it only the death that acted as a shock therapy to these rich and spoiled kids?  In that case, this film could have been shot anywhere in the world - Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Burma, anywhere - and the train could have been named Rio Express or Tashkent limited. \r\n<br />\r\nThe film does have its moments though. The prologue, a short film titled "Hotel Chevalier", was quite enjoyable. The short opening sequence of Bill Murray was funny but had no relevance to the rest of the film.  Technically the film looked good too, nice photography and great music - played from Jack''s ipod for most of the time. The humor, though tacky at times, was typical of a Wes Anderson film casting Owen Wilson and maybe enjoyable to many of his fans.  The use of portraits of Indian greats (like Gandhi, Patel, Tilak and others) on the train was interesting (never seen them on trains), especially when one of the last shots in the train showed a portrait of Satyajit Ray (at least that''s what it looked like in a fleeting moment) on the wall. Was it a joke? \r\n<br />\r\nI have a feeling that the film could have reached another dimension if the brothers had taken a real Indian train and experienced the real India in the process. Maybe, that would have helped them realize why their mother chose the life that she leads now. Wes Anderson had an opportunity to make a great film, but he blew it.', 'Darjeeling Limited : But Where is Darjeeling?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'darjeeling-limited-but-where-is-darjeeling', '', '', '2007-11-15 18:51:01', '2007-11-15 22:51:01', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/115', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(116, 1, '2007-11-16 14:52:26', '2007-11-16 18:52:26', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://enadonline.org">ENAD</a>, a theater group based in the Bay Area in California will be staging "Ron" on December 8, 2007 at Cubberley Theater in Palo Alto. "Ron", a play written by Sudipta Bhawmik, has been staged earlier in the USA and Kolkata, India by <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com">Ethnomedia</a> and has received excellent reviews from the critics and the audience. If you have friends living in the Bay Area, make sure that they don''t miss this play.\r\n<br />\r\n3.00pm and 6.30pm\r\n<br />\r\nTickets: $15 in advance, $20 at gate and $30 for VIP\r\n<br />\r\nChildren under six are not allowed. Parental discretion advised due to adult content.\r\n<br />\r\nFor tickets, call: Nisar Ahmed (510-708-0741)/Debankur Das (408-406-2184)/Rebanta Mitra (408-249-7633)', 'ENAD to stage "Ron" in California', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'enad-to-stage-ron-in-california', '', '', '2007-11-16 15:01:06', '2007-11-16 19:01:06', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/116', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(117, 1, '2007-11-16 14:58:35', '2007-11-16 18:58:35', '<!--adsense-->\r\nIndian Institute of Performing Arts (IIPA)  presents an evening of classical music and dance featuring\r\n<br />\r\n<strong>Brinda Guha (Kathak presentation)\r\n<br />\r\n<a href="http://mitali.org">Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik</a>(vocal)\r\n<br />\r\nMohan Deshpande(Vocal)</strong>\r\n<br />\r\nAccompanying musicians for the vocal recitals are <strong>Kedar Naphade</strong> on harmonium and <strong>Amod Dandawate</strong> on tabla.\r\n8th December at 7 p.m.\r\n<br />\r\nVenue:\r\nThe Community Presbyterian Church of the Sand Hills\r\n57 Sand Hills Road\r\nKendall Park, NJ 08824\r\nDonation: $15.00 per person.\r\nContact information: (732)-821-8719.\r\nemail: suparnaguha@aol.com', 'IIPA presents Indian Classical Dance and Music Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'iipa-presents-indian-classical-dance-and-music-concert', '', '', '2007-11-16 14:58:35', '2007-11-16 18:58:35', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/117', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(118, 1, '2007-11-30 00:18:29', '2007-11-30 04:18:29', '<!--adsense-->\r\nFew years ago, I met Partho Ghosh at a Kallol (of New Jersey) general body meeting. Initially I thought him to be a new member of Kallol. I watched him sitting quietly in one of the back seats and observing the proceedings of the meeting. Later, during a break, someone introduced me to Partho as a journalist from the "Pratidin" news paper house in Kolkata. It was then, when Partho disclosed to me his vision of a news paper that can serve as a bridge between us, the non-resident Bengalees (NRB) and our home land. I was a bit skeptic at first. <!--more-->This is nothing new, already we have few magazines like that including "Probasi Anandabazar" (from ABP) and even our own Sangbad Bichitra. Besides, in the days of Internet, I didn''t think such a magazine added value when all the major Bangla dailies and weeklies are available on the web. Partho disagreed. His point was that the Bangla dailies were not edited for the non-resident readers. Not only is the news content targeted towards resident readers, even the advertisements had minimal value to  us, the Bangla readers living  abroad. His vision was, not only does he want to carry the news items that are of potential interest to a global audience, he would also like to publish the news made by the non-residents. The advertisements (which is a must to make any publication viable) would also be specially selected such that they fulfill the needs of the NRBs. \r\nHe pulled out a copy of a thin, but glossy and colorful, newspaper named "Bideshe Protidin". As I browsed through the pages he  reminded me that this edition does not at all represent the vision that he has for the magazine. \r\n\r\nAfter that initial meeting, I kept on meeting Partho almost every year. In the mean time Partho has developed quite a network of readers in the USA and UK and has also quit Protidin to start his own publication company (PMG) and his dream magazine "India Doot". "India Doot" now has evolved from "cut-and-paste" kind of newspaper to a magazine that any NRB would be interested to browse through whenever a fresh copy lands on their hands. Partho and his team hunts for fresh news from our home land that are of potential interest to us and collects advertisement that can be of use to some of us too. He tries not to differentiate between the news made in India vis-a-vis news made in the USA or UK. The news stories written by his team are brief and to the point, just the kind we in these parts of the world would like to read.  Although, these days, the advertisements take up quite a bit of the newspaper real estate (no pun intended) but still the news content has not been compromised.\r\n\r\nMy wish list for "India Doot" has been to maintain an "events" section and a "classifieds" section. This would add more relevance to our lives abroad. Also an online version would have been nice.  \r\n\r\nIf you''d like to subscribe to India Doot, send an email to ghosh_forever@yahoo.com.', 'India Doot: A Monthly Magazine for Non Resident Bengalees', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'india-doot-a-monthly-magazine-for-non-resident-bengalees', '', '', '2007-11-30 16:14:30', '2007-11-30 20:14:30', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/118', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(119, 1, '2007-11-30 00:15:12', '2007-11-30 04:15:12', '<!--adsense-->\r\nUNITED STATES KOLKATA LITERARY EXCHANGE\r\nat JANUARY 2008 KOLKATA BOOK FAIR\r\nUSKLE will be bringing a group of 12 to 18 distinguished\r\npoets, writers, screenwriters, publishers, editors, translators\r\nand playwrights to the 2008 Kolkata Book fair\r\nplease check USKLE.org\r\n \r\n \r\nA Benefit dinner and\r\nAn evening of poetry reading by\r\n \r\nErica Jong\r\nYusef Komuniakaa\r\n \r\non Friday December 7th, 7 pm\r\nat Nupur Lahiri''s house (BFA)\r\n4343 Rt 27, Princeton NJ 08540\r\n \r\n To sponsor travel expanse for the delegates to Kolkata\r\nsuggested donation $100.00 or more\r\n \r\nErica jong, author of eight novels including Fear of Fying, Fanny, Sappho''s Leap,\r\n What do Women Want, A Midlife Memoir, Fear of Fifty and six volumes of poetry.\r\n \r\nYusef Komuniakaa won Pulitzer prize, William Falkner prize, Kingsley Tufts Poetry award\r\nfor his poetry and Bronze Star for for his service in Vietnam.\r\nIn 1999 he was elected a Chancellor of The Acadamy of American Poets\r\n \r\nRSVP Nupur Lahiri 732-821-3949\r\nKrishna Bhattacharya 732-536-6325\r\nGoutam Datta 908-507-5998\r\n ', 'Poetry Reading by Erica Jong and Yusef Komunyakaa', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'erica-jong-and-yusef-komunyakaa-poetry-reading', '', '', '2007-11-30 00:21:01', '2007-11-30 04:21:01', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/119', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(120, 1, '2007-11-30 16:22:01', '2007-11-30 20:22:01', '<!--adsense-->\r\nDECEMBER, 14, 8 pm  ANANDA SANDHYA at Ananda Mandir\r\n\r\nSMT SUGATA CHATTERJEE  (vocal)\r\n\r\nWith Sri MADHU VORA on Harmonium, And Sri SHYAM MOHAN on Tabla\r\n\r\nAs usual, the ANANDA SANDHYA concert is FREE, Children come free. However, your kind donation is always graciously accepted.\r\n\r\nFor info, call Arun Bhowmik at 908-672-1452.', 'Ananda Sandhya ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya', '', '', '2007-11-30 16:22:01', '2007-11-30 20:22:01', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/120', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(121, 1, '2007-12-04 18:24:56', '2007-12-04 22:24:56', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/70068652.jpg'' title=''Sicko: A Documentary that can change America''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/70068652.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Sicko: A Documentary that can change America'' class="alignleft" /></a>Michael Moore''s documentaries always manage to stir up strong emotions amongst their viewers. Fahrenheit 9/11  caused lot of stir, won an Oscar, but it did not change anything. One potential reason may be that the facts shown were hard to believe and there was no easy way to validate them. This reduced a very well made documentary to the status of a cheap political propaganda. But, Mr. Moore''s latest film, "Sicko", is different. It deals with an issue that we witness in our daily lives, directly or indirectly - the US health care system, or more specifically the US healthcare management system.\r\n<!--more-->\r\nBut, I think Sicko has done more than just highlighting the sorry state of the US healthcare system that we all know of. Sicko has been able to drive home the fact, that universal healthcare  (through a single payer system) works in most countries of the developed world (Canada, UK, France) as well as the developing world (Cuba). Hence there is no reason why it cannot succeed in USA if people and their legislators have the will to implement this change. Medicare already works for the seniors of this country. Why can''t the Medicare system be extended to cover all Americans? \r\n\r\nWhile watching the "Sicko" DVD, I was more fascinated to watch the extra features. It was highly educational for me to learn about the <a href="http://www.hr676.org/">HR 676</a>, the universal healthcare bill that is currently fighting to get support. <a href="http://www.house.gov/conyers/news_hr676.htm">This bill </a>proposes to offer complete healthcare to all Americans (and residents) through a single non-profit healthcare management organization. Note that this bill does not propose to nationalize health care or the health care industry. It only proposes that the healthcare management be governed by a single agency (like Medicare) whose objective would be to ensure that everybody receives the care they need and not be guided by profit motives that encourage denial of health care. This bill has huge support from the physicians (see <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/">Physicians for National Health Plan</a> site), nurses and the people who know about it. This site, as well as multiple other <a href="http://www.sickocure.org/speechless/">websites</a> (including <a href="http://www.michaelmoore.com/">Michael Moore''s website</a>) talks in details about this bill and how it could save billions of dollars and yet offer universal health care. I''d like to urge you to visit these sites (you can find several others jut by googling HR 676) and make yourself aware of this bill and the facts. If you are convinced then please ask your representatives to support this bill. All these websites offer you a convenient way to reach your local congressmen and senators. \r\n\r\nI know that many of us who are blessed with a health insurance system through our employers do not want to get bothered with these issues. But even if you have an insurance, that may not cover you for all your health care needs. Then what happens if one day we don''t have a job? Anyone who has tried to purchase private health insurance knows how expensive they are. \r\n\r\nI think it is high time that we raise our voice on this issue. Healthcare is not a privilege,  it is a right. \r\nIt is highly unlikely that any of the presidential candidates will do anything about it because they are obliged to the special interest groups from the health care management and pharmaceutical industry. So we must make ourselves heard and let our lawmakers know that it is their moral duty to make sure that their constituents get the proper health care they need. \r\n\r\nSo, please support HR 676.\r\n', 'Sicko: A Documentary that can change America', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sicko-a-documentary-that-can-change-america', '', '', '2007-12-04 18:28:02', '2007-12-04 22:28:02', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/121', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(122, 1, '2007-12-04 18:25:54', '2007-12-04 22:25:54', 'Sicko DVD', 'Sicko: A Documentary that can change America', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sicko-a-documentary-that-can-change-america', '', '', '2007-12-04 18:25:54', '2007-12-04 22:25:54', '', 121, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/70068652.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
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(123, 1, '2007-12-19 21:43:37', '2007-12-20 01:43:37', 'by <strong><a href="http://basus.net">Sambit Basu</a></strong>\r\n<a href="http://enadonline.org">ENAD</a>\r\n<!--adsense-->\r\n\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/pc084405_2.jpg'' title=''A Scene from Ron''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/pc084405_2.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''A Scene from Ron'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>I just finished directing a play by Sudipta Bhawmik called Ron. It’s a very relevant story of our time waited to be told. Sudiptada has weaved a magic spell of contemporary tale on an age-old philosophical conflict between the need to fight some wars and the principled position of anti-war. This not only looks at the current time, it does so from the first generation and second generation immigrants’ perspective.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAfter the play there was a short Q&A session with the playwright where he said that the play is definitely anti-war. But I am positive nobody can call it propagandist. I actually found it to be well-balanced and portrays the viewpoint of a soldier and his family’s perspective in a very touching way.\r\n\r\nAfter being involved with immigrant Bengali community theater for about 7-8 years, what I find most challenging is to capture the imagination of the community. The issues, the problems, the dreams, the hopes, the frustrations, the achievements of the first generation immigrants are different from the folks back home. Yes, this is true that the first generation, especially we the Bengalis, do enjoy living in a bubble of nostalgia when it comes to culture. We prefer Rabindrasangeet over classic Jazz, Bhimsen Joshi over George Gershwin, Kishore Kumar over Norah Jones. We prefer to go and see the current crops of group theater when we visit Kolkata, but seldom make attempts to see the local repertory theater’s productions. However, we do live our lives outside that bubble and constantly get challenged by a different world than what we used to face back home. Our theater should capture that.\r\n\r\nIn Ron, I thought, Sudiptada could strike the golden balance there where he could evoke a sense of nostalgia within the realm of our everyday existence. Our third production Chhenra Collage also struck that balance, it seems. Even after our tenth production some of the regular audience still refer to the third production. I may have some conjectures as to why this is happening, but cannot really tell for sure. But one thing is for sure, I like to continue doing this kind of theater where we can introspect our contemporary lives with compassion and humor.\r\n', 'We and Our Theater', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'we-and-our-theater', '', '\nhttp://enadonline.org,\nhttp://basus.net', '2007-12-19 21:46:29', '2007-12-20 01:46:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/123', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(124, 1, '2007-12-19 21:42:19', '2007-12-20 01:42:19', '', 'A Scene from Ron', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-scene-from-ron', '', '', '2007-12-19 21:42:19', '2007-12-20 01:42:19', '', 123, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/pc084405_2.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(125, 1, '2007-12-20 18:02:48', '2007-12-20 22:02:48', 'After receiving great critical acclaim in Kolkata \r\nEthnomedia Center for Theater Arts (ECTA)\r\nin co-operation with Raag-Rang Inc.\r\npresents\r\n\r\n<strong>SATYAMEVA</strong>\r\n\r\nA play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\n\r\nStarring :\r\nSudipta Bhawmik and Pinaki Datta\r\n\r\nDirected by Indranil Mukherjee\r\n\r\nJanuary 26 6.30pm and January 27 3.30pm \r\nEdison Valley Playhouse\r\n2196 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ\r\n\r\nTickets: $20.00 \r\nContact: (732) 241 7060 bhawmik@gmail.com indymukh@gmail.com\r\n<a href="https://www.desiclub.com/shop/cart/ticket_purchase.cfm?eventID=3790&eventTimeID=8661&CFID=17677398&CFTOKEN=99887991">Jan 26, Saturday Tickets - Click Here</a>\r\n<a href="https://www.desiclub.com/shop/cart/ticket_purchase.cfm?eventID=3809&eventTimeID=8680&CFID=17677398&CFTOKEN=99887991">Jan 27, Sunday Tickets - Click Here</a> \r\nAdvance booking in encouraged due to limited seating.\r\n\r\nSome review Comments:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>The Bengali-American group Ethnomedia from New Jersey, which stunned Calcutta last year with Ron, returned for the world premiere of dramatist-director Sudipta Bhawmik’s Satyameva. A senior executive body-shopping software engineers fires his incompetent new recruit, who pleads that he should not be sent back to India. By a remarkable plot of twists and turns (perhaps too many of them) Bhawmik conveys older Bengalis’ nostalgia for their birthplace and younger Bengalis’ desire to emigrate to America. Sankar Ghoshal and Indranil Mukherjee respectively give realistic portrayals of these parts, but the playwright’s craftsmanship tends to get the better of heartfelt emotions, which we had found in Ron. - Ananda Lal, telegraph</blockquote>\r\n\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pratidin_stayameva_review_bw.jpg'' title=''Pratidin Review''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pratidin_stayameva_review_bw.jpg'' alt=''Pratidin Review'' /></a>', 'Satyameva in New Jersey', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-in-new-jersey', '', '', '2008-01-21 12:55:03', '2008-01-21 16:55:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/125', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(126, 1, '2007-12-28 00:34:26', '2007-12-28 04:34:26', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/satyameva_logo.jpg'' title=''Satyameva''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/satyameva_logo.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Satyameva'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>"Satyameva Jayate" - a phrase from the Mundaka Upanishad is the national motto of India and all Indians. Literally it means, "truth alone prevails" - implying that truth is all that we should strive for, since truth only can lead us to success and happiness. But often this hypothesis has been proven wrong. Through bitter life experiences we all discover that "truth" hardly leads us anywhere - it is the "untruth", the "false" and "deceit" that we need to master in order to attain our goals and objectives. Or is it that our goals and objectives need to be re-examined? Are we chasing the right goals? Goals for which we do not have to rely on the "false" - goals that can truly be achieved by truth alone? Or is it that "truth" is nothing but an illusion, a "fake" notion that we like to believe to be "true"?\r\n"Satyameva",  tries to explore this age old question in a setting in North America where the immigrant Indian population tries to deal with this issue in their everyday lives.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nSanjoy, a young software professional, has arrived in the "land of opportunity" for just over six months and works for a software body shopping company "InterSoft" owned and operated by Bill (a Bengali American living in the States for over thirty years.) On the day of the play Bill fires Sanjoy and asks him to go back to India. Sanjoy, however, is not happy with this decision and refuses to oblige. He informs Bill that he is not going to return to India under any circumstances. He states that returning to India is synonymous to signing a death warrant for himself. He cannot subject himself to such a grave risk. And to justify himself, and to win his ultimate motive, he has to make a choice between truth or deceit. \r\n\r\nECTA (Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts) presents this new play at the Edison Valley Playhouse, in Edison NJ on January 26 and 27, 2008.', 'Satyameva: A New Play by ECTA', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-a-new-play-by-ecta', '', '', '2007-12-28 00:36:08', '2007-12-28 04:36:08', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/126', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(127, 1, '2007-12-28 00:33:31', '2007-12-28 04:33:31', '', 'Satyameva', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva', '', '', '2007-12-28 00:33:31', '2007-12-28 04:33:31', '', 126, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/satyameva_logo.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(128, 1, '2008-01-05 11:11:07', '2008-01-05 15:11:07', '<!--adsense-->\r\nJanuary 11th, 8 pm. Anand Sandhya at Ananda Mandir\r\n\r\nSMT ARPITA MAJUMDAR - vocal\r\n\r\nWith Sri MAHESH VAIDYA on Harmonium, And Sri SARANG DEB on Tabla\r\n\r\nCedar Grove Lane off Easton Avenue in Somerset, NJ.\r\n\r\nFor info, call Arun Bhowmik at 908-672-1452', 'Ananda Sandhya', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya-2', '', '', '2008-01-05 11:11:07', '2008-01-05 15:11:07', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/128', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(129, 1, '2008-01-05 11:14:14', '2008-01-05 15:14:14', '<!--adsense-->\r\nSaturday, January 12, 2008, 3:00PM – 7:00PM\r\n\r\nIN AID TO BUILD AN ASHRAM WITH A TEMPLE AND COMMUNITY CENTER\r\n\r\nBharat Sevashram Sangha, New Jersey Chapter Presents\r\n\r\nAn evening of cultural events\r\n\r\nPerforming artists: A.Vocal recital By: Gayatri Sharma\r\n\r\nB.Bengali Drama - Hatta Malar O Pare, By: Dhakar Drama Group\r\n\r\nPlay write: Badal Sirkar, Directed by: Subhasish Das\r\n\r\nC. A garland of creative & classical dance performance\r\n\r\nBy: Nritya Creations Academy of Dance, Directed by: Meena Basu Nag\r\n\r\nD. Kathak and creative dance presentation, By: Artists of Kala Mandir\r\n\r\nDirected by: Smt. Malabika Guha\r\n\r\nPlace: Green Brook Middle School\r\n\r\n132 Jefferson Avenue, Green Brook, NJ 08812\r\n\r\nSomerset County, Tel. #: 732-968-1051\r\n\r\nPlease bring your family and friends to support this fund-raising event.\r\n\r\nAll proceedings will be going to start the construction\r\n\r\nof the Ashram, Temple & community center\r\n\r\n For information please call the Ashram at: 732-422-8880\r\n\r\nor email us at: bssnj@hotmail.com / website: www.bssnj.org\r\n\r\nFor direction from your home please visit: www.mapquest.com', 'Bharat Sevashram Sangha Fundraising Event', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bharat-sevashram-sangha-fundraising-event', '', '', '2008-01-05 11:14:14', '2008-01-05 15:14:14', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/129', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(130, 1, '2008-01-17 12:55:38', '2008-01-17 16:55:38', 'FRIDAY JANUARY 18\r\n8:00 PM\r\n$10 cover to be paid at the door.\r\n\r\nViolet Samudra is a world fusion group that combines elements of Indian, Middle-Eastern & American music. It draws its inspiration from Shakti, Simon Shaheen, L.Shankar, Middle Eastern music in general, life....\r\nSteve Booke - Acoustic Guitar\r\nRay Ippolito - Percussion\r\nLisa Liu - Violin\r\nDibyarka Chatterjee - Tabla\r\nhttp://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=8397240\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Heights'' Collective blends old-world traditions into new sounds.  By living or training in countries from around the world, they draw influences from India, Argentina, Greece, Ireland, France, and American Jazz to create unique, distinctive and constantly evolving melodies and rhythms.\r\nMichael Bales - Violin\r\nRoshni Basu - Vocals\r\nNicolas Minc - Charango, Guitar, Vocals\r\nNeal Padte - Sax, Flute\r\nSpiro Pantazatos - Tabla\r\n \r\nVenue: The Actors Theatre Workshop\r\n145 West 28th Street (between 6th & 7th Avenues),\r\n3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001\r\nContact: 973 460 5282 / dibyarka@tabla.org\r\n\r\n', 'CONCERT VIOLET SAMUDRA with DIBYARKA CHATTERJEE ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'concert-violet-samudra-with-dibyarka-chatterjee', '', '', '2008-01-17 12:55:38', '2008-01-17 16:55:38', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/130', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(131, 1, '2008-01-17 12:58:21', '2008-01-17 16:58:21', 'Ananda Mandir will celebrate Saraswati Puja on  Monday February 11 and Saturday February 16, 2008.\r\nThe BOT cordially invites you to attend the PUJA ceremonies with your friends and relatives.\r\n\r\nSCHEDULES:\r\n\r\nMonday, February 11, 2008.\r\n\r\nPuja Rituals …………..From 7:45 A.M.\r\n\r\nFollowed by ………..Pushpanjali and Prasad Distribution\r\n                       AND\r\n\r\nSaturday February 16, 2008.\r\n\r\nBanibandhana and Utsav:\r\n\r\nSaraswati Aradhana, Hate Khori and Pushpanjali: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.               \r\n\r\nPrasad and Lunch ……..12:30 to 1:30 p.m.\r\n\r\nCultural Event………1:30 to 4:30 p.m.\r\n\r\nSatyanarayan Puja ……5:30 p.m.\r\n\r\nPlease note, on Saturday, February 16 the temple will remain open until 7:30 p.m.\r\n\r\nFor additional information, contact Biswabhai @ 732-873-9821 ', 'Saraswati Puja at Anandamandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'saraswati-puja-at-anandamandir', '', '', '2008-01-17 12:58:21', '2008-01-17 16:58:21', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/131', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(132, 1, '2008-01-17 13:00:45', '2008-01-17 17:00:45', 'Classical dance recital by Brinda Guha and ensemble.', 'Ananda Sandhya ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya-3', '', '', '2008-01-17 13:00:45', '2008-01-17 17:00:45', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/132', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(133, 1, '2008-01-24 01:15:37', '2008-01-24 05:15:37', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/mqp1.jpg'' title=''Theatre of Dionysus''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/mqp1.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Theatre of Dionysus'' class=''alignleft''/></a>Theater is one of the oldest forms of performing art. From the stone ages, men and women have been telling stories by enacting them when even no language existed. Ancient Greek theater still inspires us and they continue to be staged in all languages of the world. The ancient Hindu scriptures regard the text of the theory of performing arts (Natya Shashtra) as the fifth Veda (Pancham Veda). And just like the Greek theater, ancient Indian Sanskrit theater were also highly developed. <!--more-->\r\nHowever, with the advent of film and television, theater has been facing an uphill battle to pull in the crowd. The playwrights, and theater companies and groups had to reinvent themselves in many ways. Occasionally they have been successful, but still we have a long way to go. Technological advances in the film and television media keeps on attracting the audience with their glitz and glamor. But we fail to realize, theater has its own charm. Thornton Wilder, the famous playwright, once said, "I regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being. This supremacy of theater derives from fact that it is always ''now'' on the stage." There is something magical in watching an ensemble of actors performing on the stage in front of you, telling you a story that you share with a room full of people. Arthur Miller said, "My feeling is that people in a group, en masse, watching something, react differently and perhaps more profoundly than they do in their  living rooms".   When we watch live theater on stage we can feel ourselves, we can see ourselves - when we watch a good theater we almost go through a life changing experience. The power of stage is enormous - because it is real, it is not fake as in the movies.  Thornton Wilder puts it this way, "We live in what is, but we find a thousand ways not to face it. Great theater strengthens our faculty to face it."\r\nIt is not that nobody goes to the theater these days. In 2005 12.5 million people visited Broadway shows in New York and around 8.5 million people went to off Broadway theater. For good quality regional theaters too, you''ll find it difficult to get a ticket if you do not purchase them in advance. But the most neglected theater in USA is the community theater. They are hard pressed to get a good audience. They have to depend on those minuscule grants and donations from various sponsors. \r\n\r\nEthnic theater groups (like ours) who do theater in their regional languages, even have a limited audience. We often have to face the challenge - how can we fill our theaters with our own audience? The problem is that most of the plays we produce fail to connect with the people around us. They don''t feel that electrifying experience when they watch the revivals or old classics of Bengali theater. The only value is the nostalgia that these plays invoke within us, nothing else.  The second issue is that, these productions do not have the star power to pull in the audience. Some groups have tried to bring in actors and directors from India in order to attract the audience, but that cannot be a solution. And finally, of course, is the lack of production funds that is required to rent a theater space, to create a gorgeous stage and to market the show in popular media like television. To bring in the audience, the first condition is that we need to let the people know about the event. Inexpensive marketing methods like online marketing, some print media, fliers and posters can only reach a limited number of people. \r\n   \r\nHowever,I think that to bring in the audience in this country, the first thing we need to do is to develop our own theater that can connect easily with our people. We need to develop and produce plays that can reflect our own lives on stage, and only then will our people be interested in coming to watch their own plays. We (<a href="http://www.ethnomediallc.com">Ethnomedia Center for Theater Art</a>s) have been trying to do this for some time now and have been partially successful. <a href="http://enadonline.org">ENAD</a>, another theater group in the Bay Area have also adopted the same philosophy. But we have a long way to go. But I guess we need to start somewhere. \r\n\r\nSecondly, I think we need to establish a steady database of theater lovers who would like to watch our plays and then finding out the best means to reach out to them (email, snail mail whatever.) Creating a subscriber base is a standard practice of many community theaters, but since we do not have a regular schedule of shows planned well ahead, it is difficult for the audience members to plan their schedule around it. \r\n\r\nAnd finally, it is the audience who should feel the urge to go to the theater. If a person does not feel excited about going to the theater, about experiencing the way life is enacted live in front of them, about listening to and experiencing the stories of ourselves, then nothing can work. Theater is like a mirror where we can see ourselves, but we need to muster up the courage to face it and to enjoy it whole heartedly.\r\n', 'Why Go to the Theater?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'why-go-to-the-theater', '', '', '2008-12-16 01:32:15', '2008-12-16 05:32:15', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/133', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(134, 1, '2008-01-24 11:03:44', '2008-01-24 15:03:44', 'The orchestra of the Theatre of Dionysus', 'Theatre of Dionysus', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'theatre-of-dionysus', '', '', '2008-01-24 11:03:44', '2008-01-24 15:03:44', '', 133, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/mqp1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(135, 1, '2008-01-31 15:27:13', '2008-01-31 19:27:13', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/living_memory.jpg'' title=''Living Memory''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/living_memory.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Living Memory'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>From amongst a small but distinguished crowd of novelists of Indian origin in this country, Pronoy Chatterjee may not be a name that stands out in the public eye. The more famous authors like Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Amitav Ghosh and others have enjoyed the limelight more than some of the less famous writers like Pronoy who write for the love of writing, who write to express their deepest feelings for humanity - in the little time they can extract out from the busy daily life of a well renowned professional. But, it is the authors like Pronoy, who can sometimes tell us the tales that we have lived though all our lives, the tales that bring back memories of a past that we long for, bring in hopes for a future that we all dream about. \r\n"A Living Memory"  is Pronoy''s second novel (published by Author House) where he tries to "capture the complexities of desire and conflict in a small village in colonial India".  \r\nI have not read the book as yet, but the story line (given below) has attracted me enough to get a copy for myself to read.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<blockquote>India during the 1930s and ’40s was in a state of turmoil. Violent revolution against British rule, ethnic riots and widespread famine and disease on the national scene were eventually reflected in even the most remote villages. A Living Memory, retreats to that local, personal level, revealing the intricate psychology of social stigma, of love under adverse circumstances, and of the inescapable duality of dreams and disappointments.\r\n      Surrounding a sugar mill, the village of Alipur on the Mahi River is a close-knit community where families live in harmony. Bloody revolts against British colonialism, Hindu-Muslim riots that turn into massacres, and famine and epidemics have not yet disturbed the village’s tranquility.\r\n      One day a young girl, Runu, is found missing from her home. She has been taken captive by Mr. Bose, the most influential man in Alipur, who thinks he can take whatever he wants. By coincidence Runu is recognized by a boy named Tushar, who brings her back home, and a bond forms between them. Over time their intimacy deepens, but circumstances keep them apart.\r\n      Runu’s life is filled with uncertainty and disappointment, with love and hope. Although she enters into an arranged marriage, her dreams of Tushar remain. Fourteen years later, her husband dies of a heart attack. Runu becomes obsessed with returning to Alipur and reuniting with Tushar. But everything has changed.\r\n      The mill has been shut down. Rampant ethnic discrimination has robbed workers of their jobs. When Runu finally finds Tushar after a hard and complicated journey, she cannot connect with his world. Dismayed that the harmony of her youth and the promise of her happiness have been shattered, Runu is left with only a living memory.</blockquote>\r\n\r\nI had asked Pronoy, what motivated him to write a novel about a period that seems almost like a long lost nightmare? He answered  \r\n\r\n<blockquote>"My initial motivation for writing this book was to have a glimpse of my own childhood. First few chapters illustrate the environment under which I grew up till age 10, in Bihar and in a sugar mill community. However, as I was writing it developed as a fiction based on facts, not necessarily happened at the same place or to the same characters that I portrayed in the book. However, the incidents were true, happened to somewhere and to someone. Because I started with my childhood so I had to chose that specific period, late 1930s onward. I also wanted to illustrate the the incidents of Independence movements and the horrors of famine, flood and riots during that era."</blockquote>\r\n\r\nI have seen many movies of this period (Ashani Sanket - The Distant Thunder by Satyajit Ray comes to my mind), read several books and heard stories from my parents and grand-parents and the period always intrigued me, horrified me. I thought we were really blessed to have not experienced those days. But I guess, the period has also helped us to identify ourselves, to understand our vulnerabilities and develop as a better human being and a better nation. Pronoy''s "Living Memory" will once again help us to reflect upon those days and appreciate the struggles and pains that our earlier generation had to go through to make our lives better.  I look forward to read this book.\r\n\r\nOn a separate note, I had asked Pronoy another question, "Pronoy-da, English is not your mother tongue, but still you write in English. Is it because you feel you can express better in English or you want to reach a wider readership?" \r\nAnd Pronoy-da answered, \r\n\r\n<blockquote>"No, it''s neither one that you stated. I like to write in Bengali, but I cannot type Bengali and never took time to practice it. Writing a 300 page book in longhand and then to keep on revising and rewriting is extremely tedious and I don''t have that patience. Typing in English and making revisions and editing have become technically very simple with Microsoft Words and that''s the only reason I wrote in English."</blockquote>\r\n\r\n"A Living Memory" is available at all the major online stores (like from Amazon.com :  <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1434333612?ie=UTF8&tag=nnb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1434333612">A Living Memory</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nnb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1434333612" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> ) as well as from the publisher directly <a href="http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~46923.aspx">AuthorHouse.com</a>. If you read the book, please send in your comments on this site. \r\n\r\n', 'A Living Memory : A New Novel by Pronoy Chatterjee', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-living-memory-a-new-novel-by-pronoy-chatterjee', '', '', '2008-01-31 15:27:13', '2008-01-31 19:27:13', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/135', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(136, 1, '2008-01-31 15:14:03', '2008-01-31 19:14:03', 'Cartoon by Sudipta Bhawmik', 'Daami Chhobi', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'living-memory', '', '', '2008-01-31 15:14:03', '2008-01-31 19:14:03', '', 135, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/living_memory.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(137, 1, '2008-02-01 19:21:27', '2008-02-01 23:21:27', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/moglai.jpg'' title=''Moglai Porota''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/moglai.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Moglai Porota'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>Moglai Porota (or maybe Mughlai Parantha) is one of the most sublime Bengali comfort foods that I know of. I don''t know if the Mughals ever ate this tasty flaky fried dough interleaved with eggs, onions, green chilli and minced meat (keema). Whatever may be the source of this food, it has become a Bengali favorite of all times. I don''t recall  I have seen Moglai Porota in a menu of any restaurant outside Bengal (except the Bengali ones of course). Hence I am going to call it Mogali Porota, just the way Bengali''s love to call it.  Several restaurants (and hotels as we prefer to call these eateries in India) have earned their name to fame by serving their world famous Mogali Porotas to their clientèle. Anadi Cabin, Das cabin and many other names come to my mind. But not too many though, since making a good Moglai Porota is no easy task for any chef. Crafting the thin crepe from a heavily leavened flour dough requires a skill that can be mastered by very few. I have heard many tales of tricks and techniques used by the great Moglai chefs - some tossed the dough in air (like they do for pizza or rumali roti) twirling it in the air and allowing the centrifugal force to thin the dough out. Some thrashed the dough against a well oiled flat piece of granite or marble till the dough becomes thin, almost semi transparent. Some have used the simple roller pin with such dexterity that the dough flattened out like a thin paper in no time.   <!--more-->\r\n\r\nWhen I was in Delhi, during the early eighties, I used to live in the Chittaranjan Park (CR Park) area, where in market II there used to be a snack shop selling wonderful Moglai Porota. During weekends, this snack shack was our regular afternoon eatery. The owner cum chef used to prepare his mogali porottas out in the open and left no secrets to mull about. We watched in awe how he prepared the dough, how he flattened it on a flat piece of marble and then filled it with egg batter mix, folded the sides and gently placed it in the hot oiled skillet in front of him. The rich flavor engulfed the surrounding air, attracting more hungry souls to his benches - waiting for their turn. \r\n\r\nI later learned that this guy (I forget his name) spent his early youth in Kharagpur (my hometown) where he mastered the skills of making Moglai Porota. This information of course helped me to build a special rapport with him (no discounts though) and I keenly noted the art of Moglai Porota making. \r\n\r\nMy aunt also used to make pretty good mogali porotas. Her style was quite different from the CR Park master chef, but it was easily implementable in a home kitchen. The size of these porotas were smaller (due to the difficulty in managing the quickly shrinking dough), but tasted as good as any. \r\n\r\nI tried to blend the CR park recipe and my aunt''s recipe to develop my own which I am going to share with you now. After coming to this country, I was longing for Moglai Porotas but no restaurant around could offer me this delicacy. So I improvised. Since I knew that the most difficult part is to make the ultra thin crepe, I tried with Phillo-dough (someone suggested). But that was a disaster and I won''t recommend it to anybody unless you plan to bake your mogali (which you can pretty well imagine cannot be termed as moglai porota by any means.) So do it from scratch. Get some fine refined flour (not the whole grain type) and liberally add plenty of shortening to it (butter, ghee, oil, anything) and mix it well. Then add some water and knead the dough to a consistency when you can feel the elasticity building. This elastic property is what you need to get a good flaky texture, but it is also your greatest challenge when you try to flatten it. Keep the dough to one side and beat few eggs in a bowl, add some salt, chopped green chilli peppers, chopped onion (you can keep the chopped onion on the side too). If you prefer to put some keema (minced meat) filling, you should have it prepared too (I am skipping the recipe for brevities sake.) \r\nNow comes the difficult part and I suggest you get some help (maybe from your better half, or your guest whom you have invited to taste your culinary experiment.)  All these steps are to be done in quick succession and you will have very little time to spare in between.\r\n1. Tear of small pieces of dough and make cute little balls in your pre-oiled fist. Put them aside.\r\n2. Take a fairly large skillet and place it on your stove top (don''t forget to light the stove) and add about half a centimeter high level of oil. Let it heat. \r\n3. Take a well oiled roller pin and on a smooth oiled surface, try to flatten the dough ball to a thin sheet (preferably square, but any shape will do), such that you can almost see the other side through it. As I said earlier, keeping it stretched is going to be a challenge. The moment you lift the roller, the sheet will try to contract to its original ball shape. But keep trying since practice makes perfect. \r\n3. Just when you think you have reached the desired thinness and size, quickly hold the four corners of the dough sheet with your two hands and ten fingers. Then ask your assistant to pour couple of spoon fulls of egg batter mix into the center and spread it out a little. If you have chopped onions, green chilli  on the side, sprinkle them on top of the egg. If you intend to use keema, add a spoonful too.\r\n4. Now quickly fold in the four corners of the dough sheet to the center to cover the egg and form a square shape. Overlap the corners and sides such that no egg batter leaks out. \r\n5. Lift the porota carefully with your fingers and lower it gently into the hot oil in the skillet/pan. Take care not to touch the hot oil. \r\n6. Fry the porota till it is golden brown. Lift the porota from the oil and put it on a plate and serve with cilantro garnish. You may cut the porota to bite size pieces if you prefer. \r\n\r\nNow that you have learned the secret of making Moglai Porota, the next question would be, what is the best side to go with it? Moglai Porota and Kosha Mangsho has been a fantasy for many Bengalis, but I personally do not prefer that combination since the strong flavor of Kosha Mangsho nullifies the Porota. Some restaurants will serve you with a side salad of thinly sliced cucumbers, onions in a mustard dressing and some with a tamarind chutney. You can pick your own side, no hard and fast rule there. \r\n\r\nSo good luck to all of you. And remember, when you plan on making some Mogali at your next party, give me a buzz.\r\n\r\n', 'Moglai Porota', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'moglai-porota', '', '', '2008-02-01 19:21:27', '2008-02-01 23:21:27', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/137', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(138, 1, '2008-02-01 19:12:35', '2008-02-01 23:12:35', 'Moglai Porota', 'Moglai Porota', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'moglai-porota', '', '', '2008-02-01 19:12:35', '2008-02-01 23:12:35', '', 137, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/moglai.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(139, 1, '2008-02-04 17:39:24', '2008-02-04 21:39:24', '<!--adsense-->\r\nDrama - ABU HOSSEN\r\nDirected by Subhasis Das\r\nPresented By Sreesthi\r\n \r\nSaturday 9 th Feb 2008 at 7:30 pm\r\nVFW Hall at Edison\r\n1970 woodbridge ave\r\nEdison NJ - 08817', 'ABU HOSSAIN - Play by Badal Sircar', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'abu-hossain-play-by-badal-sircar', '', '', '2008-02-04 17:40:52', '2008-02-04 21:40:52', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/139', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(140, 1, '2008-02-15 00:24:05', '2008-02-15 04:24:05', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAnanda Mandir will be celebrating Shiva Ratri on Thursday, March 6, 2008. You are cordially invited to participate in the celebration of this event.\r\n \r\nThe Nirghanto  is  as  follows:\r\n \r\na)   Temple  will  open..........10:00 a.m.\r\nb)   Rajbesh & Hima  Chandana  Arati...........8:00 p.m. \r\nc)   Pushpanjali and Prasad Distribution.......8:45 p.m.\r\nd)   Temple  will  close..................................9:00 p.m.\r\n \r\nThe Temple will remain closed temporarily from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ', 'Shiva Ratri at Anandamandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'shiva-ratri-at-anandamandir', '', '', '2008-02-15 00:24:33', '2008-02-15 04:24:33', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/140', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(141, 1, '2008-02-28 11:07:42', '2008-02-28 15:07:42', '<!--adsense-->\r\nMarch 14, 2008, 8.00pm\r\n\r\nFeaturing INDRANI CHAKRABORTY and SUCHISMITA DUTTA LAL\r\n\r\nArtists of the month\r\n\r\nINDRANI CHAKRABORTY\r\n\r\nIndrani has been learning Hindustani Classical music from Mitali banerjee Bhawmik for the past several years. She is the recipient of the Folk Arts Apprenticeship award from “New Jersey State Council on the Arts” in 2003 and 2005 for Hindustani Classical music. She has performed in various prestigious musical events in New York, New Jersey, and Atlanta.\r\nIn her earlier days in India, Indrani has learned various forms of Bengali music (Rabindra Sangeet, Atul Prasad, Nazrul Geeti, Bhatiali, etc.) under the tutelage of Mrs. Shukla Dam, and had completed her “Visharad” degree. She performed for Guwahati Doordarshan in Assam, and for All India Radio Shillong. Indrani is a software engineer by profession.   \r\n\r\n\r\nSUCHISMITA DUTTA LAL\r\n\r\nSuchismita started learning music from Smt. Renuka Sen when she was 5 years old. She completed Sangeet Prabhakar in Hindustani Classical Vocal from Prayag Sangeet Samiti and during this period also performed at the local radio station. She is currently receiving additional training from Mitali Bhawmik.\r\nSuchismita is a Research Assistant at Rutgers University, working on her Ph.D. in Structural Biology.\r\n   \r\nTabla accompaniment by Sri Amod Dandawate\r\nHarmonium accompaniment by \r\nYoung Master Neil Nadkarni\r\n\r\nPlease come and share this fabulous musical evening.\r\nAs usual, the ANANDA SANDHYA concert is FREE, Children come free. However, your kind donation is always graciously accepted.\r\n\r\nAnanda Mandir is located on Cedar Grove Lane off Easton Avenue in Somerset, NJ.\r\nFor info, call Arun Bhowmik at 908-672-1452.\r\n\r\nVisit <anandamandir .org> for direction and additional information on Ananda Mandir\r\n</anandamandir>', 'Ananda Sandhya Vocal Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya-vocal-concert', '', '', '2008-02-28 11:09:23', '2008-02-28 15:09:23', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/141', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(142, 1, '2008-03-18 14:32:57', '2008-03-18 18:32:57', 'Actors'' Theatre Workshop, 145 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001 (between 6th and 7th avenues).\r\n\r\nMarch 21st,  8.00 p.m.\r\n\r\nIst Half\r\n\r\nKedar Naphade - Harmonium solo\r\nAmod Dandawate - Tabla accompaniment\r\n\r\n2nd Half\r\n\r\nMs. Mitali Banerjee Bhowmik - Vocal\r\nSamir Chatterjee - Tabla accompaniment\r\nKedar Naphade - Harmonium accompaniment\r\n\r\nTicket and artist information : http://www.tabla.org/events.html or http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/chhandayan/cal ', 'Chhandayan Concert featuring Mitali Bhawmik', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chhandayan-concert-featuring-mitali-bhawmik', '', '', '2008-03-18 14:32:57', '2008-03-18 18:32:57', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/142', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(143, 1, '2008-03-18 14:35:14', '2008-03-18 18:35:14', '<!--adsense-->\r\nActors'' Theatre Workshop, 145 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001 (between 6th and 7th avenues).\r\nApril 18th*,  8.00 p.m.\r\n* please note the change of date from April 11th\r\n\r\nIst Half\r\n\r\nMs. Deepal Chaudhury - Santoor\r\nPratik Devasthale - Tabla accompaniment\r\n\r\n2nd Half\r\n\r\nSteve Gorn - Bansuri (Indian bamboo flute)\r\nDibyarka Chatterjee - Tabla accompaniment\r\n\r\nTicket and artist information : http://www.tabla.org/events.html or http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/chhandayan/cal ', 'Chhandayan Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chhandayan-concert', '', '', '2008-03-18 14:35:14', '2008-03-18 18:35:14', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/143', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(144, 1, '2008-03-18 15:42:55', '2008-03-18 19:42:55', '<!--adsense-->\r\nRecently, the members of the esteemed organization Cultural Association of Bengal (CAB) has been flooded with letters, emails and phone calls regarding the upcoming election of its executive committee members. CAB is one of the oldest Bengali Associations in USA and its primary contribution to all of us Bengalis living in North America (as well as those in other countries including India and Bangladesh) is the annual North America Bengali Conference (NABC) held every year in one of the major cities of USA or Canada. Although the conference each year is hosted by a local organization who work quite autonomously, CAB own the franchise rights and maintains some degree of control over the proceedings. This activity alone has given CAB a national (as well as international) visibility that brings with it some greater opportunities as well as responsibilities.<!--more--> As far as opportunities are concerned, such a broad visibility can permit CAB to transform itself to a truly "North American" organization representing Bengalis all over USA and Canada, serving as an umbrella organization. And this is not an easy task and it calls for leadership and vision that can motivate the members to be a part of a larger community serving a larger cause. This where the responsibility factor comes in. The leadership and the executive team of  CAB needs to be inclusive and open its arms to all those who want to participate irrespective of their social, economical or geographical status.  CAB should rethink its activities and put more emphasis on those that can reach out a larger membership body spread around the country. For example,\r\n\r\n1. CAB should start a national membership drive, both individual members as well as organizational members. Each member organization should be allowed to have one representative to the larger policy making body of CAB.\r\n\r\n2. CAB can also initiate local chapters in each state. These chapters can not only organize their won activities but also help the other local organizations with their activities. \r\n\r\n3. CAB should use their magazine "Sangbad Bichitra" to the fullest extent to help bring the people together. It should publish more local news that is of interest to us, publish local events and happenings, interviews of people around us, classified columns etc. In the age of internet and satellite TV, cut and paste of old news from our homeland does not carry that impact anymore. News and stories should have relevance to our lives and must be current. The CAB committee should really think about reinventing this wonderful tool they have at their disposal to reach out to people. \r\n\r\n4. CAB does not have a decent website. This is almost unthinkable in this day and age. When millions of dollars are spent on NABC activities and to bring in artistes from India, I do not understand why a minimum amount is not spent on an website. The size of the executive committee is quite large, and it should not be an issue to assign one or two members for this activity alone. \r\n\r\n5. Give something to the members that increases the value of their membership. "Sangabad Bichitra" is indeed a valuable product to offer the members, but there can be others too. For example, negotiate with the local businesses to offer discounts to the CAB members. If the CAB membership grows, I am sure many businesses will be happy to offer discounts to the members if they patronize.\r\n\r\nThese are just some of my thoughts, and I know that it is easy to think but quite difficult to implement. But I guess that is what the executive members are for. Elections are great and any democratic organization should go through such a process. However, I don''t think it is necessary to create cliques, subgroups, panels and rosters within the organization and create divisiveness. In organizations like this, people should be willing to work with each other - we should be inclusive. We may have difference of opinions, but after all our objectives (as a member) are same. We all live in this adopted homeland of ours, and we should be willing to stand by each other at all times. \r\n\r\n', 'Cultural Association of Bengal (CAB)', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cultural-association-of-bengal-cab', '', '', '2008-03-18 15:43:51', '2008-03-18 19:43:51', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/144', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(145, 1, '2008-03-19 13:44:02', '2008-03-19 17:44:02', '<!--adsense-->\r\nIn celebration of Women''s History Month.\r\nEpic Actors'' Workshop n collaboration with Bengali Students Association of Rutgers University\r\npresents a one-woman show\r\n"<strong>The Breast Chronicle</strong>" \r\nfeaturing <strong>Gargi Mukherjee</strong>\r\nBased on Mahasweta Devi''s story\r\nAdapted and directed by Sakti Sengupta\r\n\r\nMultipurpose Room, Busch Campus Center of Rutgers University on March 30, Sunday from 6:00 to 7:30 pm ', '"The Breast Chronicle" A One Woman Show', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'breast-chronicle-a-one-woman-show', '', '', '2008-03-19 14:58:29', '2008-03-19 18:58:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/145', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(146, 1, '2008-03-25 10:39:33', '2008-03-25 14:39:33', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://www.pragati.org/comingevents.htm">Pragati of Philadelphia</a> presents\r\n\r\n<strong>ECTA</strong>''s latest production\r\n\r\n"<strong>SATYAMEVA</strong>"\r\n\r\nWritten by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nDirected by Indranil Mukherjee\r\n\r\nat the \r\nGwyn-Nor Elementary School\r\n139 Hancock Road\r\nNorth Wales, PA 19454\r\n\r\non April 26, Saturday at 5.00pm\r\nFor details <a href="http://www.pragati.org/comingevents.htm">CLICK HERE</a>\r\n', 'Satyameva in Philadelphia', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-in-philadelphia', '', '', '2008-03-25 10:39:33', '2008-03-25 14:39:33', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/146', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(147, 1, '2008-03-25 10:44:52', '2008-03-25 14:44:52', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAnanda Mandir presents \r\na classical vocal recital by\r\n\r\n<strong>Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik</strong>\r\n\r\nMitali will also release her latest album of devotional Bengali songs, "Hrid Majhare" at this event.\r\n\r\nApril 18, Friday, 8.00pm', 'Ananda Sandhya featuring Mitali Bhawmik', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya-featuring-mitali-bhawmik', '', '', '2008-03-25 10:44:52', '2008-03-25 14:44:52', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/147', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(148, 1, '2008-03-25 10:54:11', '2008-03-25 14:54:11', '<!--adsense-->\r\nIn memory of Late Pt V.G.Jog, Raag-Rang presents its first concert of<strong> Hindustani and Carnatic Jugalbandi</strong>, a blend of North Indian and South Indian music featuring <strong>Smt Joya Biswas</strong> the first lady of sitar and<strong> Sri Ananta Krishnan</strong> on Violin accompanying them on tabla by <strong>Pt Samir Chhaterjee</strong> and Mridangem by <strong>Sri Suresh Ramchandran</strong>.\r\n\r\nConcert will start with two vocal presentations by Megha Nair and Indrani Chakrabarty Khare accompanied by Amod Dandawate on tabla and Neel Nadkarni on Harmonium.\r\n<p>\r\n<strong>Balaji Temple Auditorium</strong> (HTCS) 780 old Farm Road, Bridgewater, NJ 08807 \r\n\r\n4th May at 4 p.m. to 7 P.m. Admission—members $15.00, and non-members $20.00\r\n</p><p>\r\nContact (732) 241-7063, (908) 240-8289, (609)-890-4890 or email bhawmikm@gmail.com, mayuresh.khare@gmail.com,dhu92@optonline.net.\r\n\r\nRSVP will be appreciated.\r\n</p><p>\r\nRaag-Rang Inc. is a not-for profit tax-exempt 501(3)(c) organization dedicated to the promotion of Indian music.</p>', 'Pandit V. G. Jog Memorial Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'raag-rangs-first-classical-concert', '', '', '2008-04-03 12:05:13', '2008-04-03 16:05:13', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/148', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(150, 1, '2008-04-03 22:49:58', '2008-04-04 02:49:58', '<!--adsense-->\r\nECTA (Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts) is looking for two actors for their upcoming theater production ("Baanaprastha" written by Sudipta Bhawmik and directed by Indranil Mukherjee) to be staged in fall 2008. A brief description of the characters are given below. Interested person may please contact by email to either indymukh@gmail.com or bhawmik@gmail.com. Actors may be called for a brief audition.\r\n<p>\r\n<strong>Character A:  Bengali speaking male, mid to late twenties, tall and thin built.  \r\n\r\nCharacter B:  Bengali speaking female, late teen - early twenties.</strong>\r\n</p>\r\nActors must be committed to the rehearsal schedule and all stage productions of the show and should posses the passion to act. \r\nPlease note that this is a voluntary service and ECTA will not compensate the actors or the crew either financially or by any other means. \r\n\r\nA Brief Note on ECTA:\r\n\r\n<blockquote>ECTA (Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts) Inc. is a not-for profit community theater company dedicated to produce and stage quality theater. ECTA''s past productions include, "Phera", "Alibaba", "Kalsudhhi", "The Redemption", "Durghatana", "Ron" and "Satyameva". ECTA has staged plays all across USA and also in India. ECTA''s mission is "to tell our own stories through theater."        </blockquote>\r\n\r\n ', 'Actors Needed', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'actors-needed', '', '', '2008-04-03 22:51:22', '2008-04-04 02:51:22', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/150', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(151, 1, '2008-04-17 15:33:38', '2008-04-17 19:33:38', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/020.JPG'' title=''Satyameva in New Jersey''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/020.thumbnail.JPG'' alt=''Satyameva in New Jersey'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>I''d like to notify some of ECTA''s (Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts) upcoming shows.\r\n\r\nThose of you who have missed our play "Satyameva" at the Edison Valley Playhouse, you may catch the show on April 26th 5.30pm at the Gwyn-Nor Elementary School, 139 Hancock Road, North Wales, PA 19454 . The show is hosted by Pragati of Greater Philadelphia. \r\n\r\nECTA has been invited to participate at the California Bay Area Natyamela to be held on June 7th at the Amador Theater, Pleasanton, California. ECTA will be staging their latest production, a one act play titled "Taconic Parkway", at this venue. The play is written and directed by Sudipta Bhawmik and the cast includes Pinaki Dutta, Indranil Mukherjee and Keka Sirkar. Please inform your friends and family in the area to attend the festival and watch our play. \r\n\r\n', 'Some Upcoming Shows of ECTA', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'some-upcoming-shows-of-ecta', '', '', '2008-04-17 15:33:38', '2008-04-17 19:33:38', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/151', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(152, 1, '2008-04-17 15:30:53', '2008-04-17 19:30:53', 'A scene from Satyameva', 'Satyameva in New Jersey', 0, 'Scene from Satyameva', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva-in-new-jersey', '', '', '2008-04-17 15:30:53', '2008-04-17 19:30:53', '', 151, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/020.JPG', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(153, 1, '2008-04-23 12:13:58', '2008-04-23 16:13:58', '<!--adsense-->\r\nKallol of New Jersey\r\nCordially Invites You To Join\r\nKABI JAYANTI 2008\r\nOn Saturday, June 7, 2008,\r\n5 pm to 10 pm\r\nFor An Evening Filled With Music, Dance and Sumptuous Food, Showcasing\r\nSraboni Sen (Kolkata) & Jayita Ghosh (NJ)\r\nVenue - Cross Roads South Middle School , 195 Major Road, Monmouth Jct., NJ 08852\r\nSraboni Sen\r\n§§§ Junior Talent Show From Our Community §§§\r\n(Interested Participants Should Contact Dhriti Bagchi @ 732598228, dhritibagchi@yahoo.com)\r\n§§§ Melodies of Tagore A Rendition by Jayita Ghosh §§§\r\n§§§ Dance Recital Local Dance Groups §§§\r\n§§§ Bengali Songs for all seasons Sraboni Sen (Kolkata) §§§\r\nTICKETS (Per Person): STUDENTS: $15 | ADULTS: $25 | PATRONS $40\r\nFor Tickets and Information Contact:\r\nSoumen Roy: 732.317.4756 / Arunansu Dasgupta: 732.572.0391 / Amal Paul: 908.212.7359 /\r\nDebahuti Roy: 908.756.8474 / Jaya Bhattacharya: 908.561.0390 / Rajib Bannerjee: 516.286.2123\r\nAshok Ganguly: 908.243.0455 / Raj Majumdar: 732.632.8082 / Kousik Bhowal: 732.910.1962\r\n0r Visit WWW.KALLOL.COM', 'Kabi Jayanti Celebration by Kallol of NJ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kabi-jayanti-celebration-by-kallol-of-nj', '', '', '2008-04-23 12:13:58', '2008-04-23 16:13:58', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/153', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(154, 1, '2008-04-23 14:49:06', '2008-04-23 18:49:06', '<!--adsense-->\r\nMay 10th (Saturday 9 p.m. to Sunday, 8 a.m.)\r\n\r\nChhandayan All-Night concert\r\n\r\nSynod Hall, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC\r\n\r\nPt. Jasraj (Vocal), Smt. Joya Biswas (Sitar), Pt. Ronu Mazumdar (Bansuri)\r\n\r\nPt. Debashish Bhattacharya (Guitar), Smt. Rajyashree Ghosh (Vocal)\r\n\r\nK. V. Mahabala (Sitar)\r\n\r\nAccompaniment : Samir Chatterjee, Ramdas Palsule, Daniel Weiss (Tabla) Dibyarka Chatterjee and on Harmonium will be Kedar Naphade.\r\n\r\nTicket & information : 973 460 5282 / http://www.tabla.org/allnight.html', 'Chhandayan All-Night Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chhandayan-all-night-concert', '', '', '2008-04-23 14:49:26', '2008-04-23 18:49:26', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/154', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(155, 1, '2008-04-28 11:42:06', '2008-04-28 15:42:06', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tagore.jpg'' title=''Rabindranath Tagore''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tagore.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Rabindranath Tagore'' class=''alignleft'' /></a>The Indian Institute of Performing Arts (IIPA) and associating friends will host an event entitled “Rabindranath: Universe and Beyond” on Sunday, June 1, 2008 at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  The program (2PM – 8PM) will celebrate the multifarious output of India''s Nobel Laureate poet, philosopher, composer Rabindranath Tagore, and attempt to expand the boundaries of appreciation  of his literary and musical work through performances by different cultural groups. For further information, visit http://www.iipa.us/Rabindranath.', 'Rabindranath: Universe and Beyond', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'rabindranath-universe-and-beyond', '', '', '2008-04-28 11:42:06', '2008-04-28 15:42:06', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/155', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(156, 1, '2008-04-28 11:39:57', '2008-04-28 15:39:57', 'Rabindranath Tagore', 'Rabindranath Tagore', 0, 'Rabindranath Tagore', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'rabindranath-tagore', '', '', '2008-04-28 11:39:57', '2008-04-28 15:39:57', '', 155, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tagore.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(157, 1, '2008-05-01 13:08:39', '2008-05-01 17:08:39', '<!--adsense-->\r\nUndoubtedly, the North America Bengali Conference (NABC) or Bongosammelan, has become the key annual cultural event of the Bengalis not only belonging to the North America but also to the Bengalis all over the world. The amount of interest amongst the Bengalis back home in West Bengal is phenomenal. Artists of all genre''s (musicians, actors, writers) consider an invitation to perform at the NABC as a major achievement in their career.   It was quite evident the other day when in one of the Bengali tele-serials/films,     one of the characters (a musician) was expressing with pride about her recent invitation to perform at the Bongosammelan and highlighting the fact as a key measure of her success as a musician. Besides, any person who has been even loosely associated with any NABC organizing committee would know how they get deluged with requests from performers to get an invitation.  However, the organizers of NABC are very careful and they place their bets only on the time tested popular artists with very few promising performers in the list. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nNow, this is all very good because the presence of these wonderful artists help to pull in the crowd (which is very important for the financial health of the NABC org) as well as improve the overall quality of the event. People who attend the conference paying a fat registration fee, expect to be entertained by their favorite professional artists and not by some local amateurs who can hardly set up their feet on the stage. It is the presence of these professionals that has helped NABC to grow to its current size and prestige. \r\n\r\nNot only the artists, NABC is now pulling in sponsors from India too who pay big bucks to have their name plastered across the conference walls, the big publishing houses of Kolkata, the jewelers and garment sellers, travel agents and others. The booming economy in India and the weak dollar is now helping these vendors to come closer to their customers living in this part of the world. Again, this is all very good. We now have special NABC edition of our favorite Anandabazar Patrika in our hands fresh off the press every day during the conference. It is all that we had always dreamed about for our sammelan, the North America Bengali Conference. \r\n\r\nBut where does the Bengalis of North America fit into this cultural "maha yagna"? First of all, some of them are the organizers of the event who can hardly sleep for the last couple of months leading to the event. Second, they participate as delegates - they roam around the halls with their badges hanging from their necks, meet friends, have "adda" sessions, sit through the performances of their favorite artists while continuing the "adda", and keep complaining about the mis-management and the quality of the "so-called Bengali food" served by the preferred vendors. Then comes the handful of performers belonging to a category known as "North American Bengali Performers". These people pay a hefty sum as a performance registration fee from their organizations besides their own registration fee just to have an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of the greater North American Bengali Community. They rehearse for months, spend huge sums of money to travel to the venue, stay in hotels paying from their own pockets and even pay for their food. They are the second class performers. No one, except their own clan, wants to watch their show. They are given the opportunity to stage their performance just as a favor, to maintain a tradition that is withering away, and of course to get their money (which is again becoming less of an issue).  \r\n\r\nAs far as what I know from the seniors, NABC started with the objective of creating a festival where Bengalis from all parts of North America would gather together, share their thoughts, feelings and talents through music, drama, literature and other art forms. Having few performers from India to enhance the event was a part of the proceedings but I don''t think it was the primary objective. These days, the professional entertainers steal the show. Please note, that I have nothing against the guest artists from India. We need them for all the reasons I mentioned earlier. My request is, please do treat the local North American Bengali performers with some respect too. It is true that, typically, the performances by the domestic artists do not match up with that of the guest performers. Neither do they have the fame and charisma to pull huge crowds. But over the last decade, with the boost in new immigrants from India, the quality of domestic talent has improved significantly. Many of them are actively engaged in pursuing their careers in performing arts and some of them perform at the same level (if not better) as the artists we bring in from India. Besides, many of our second generation young men and women are extremely talented and some of them selected performing arts as their career. Some have already received recognition on stage and screen. They need to be treated as artists too, they need to be encouraged and told that the North American Bengali community recognizes their talent and supports their artistic endeavors. \r\n\r\nI would like to take this opportunity to make a request to the organizers of NABC (the local organizer as well as CAB). These days,   NABC brings in lot of funds and several times the organizers have excess funds in their coffers which lie idle for years. I would like to request them to set up a grant or scholarship to be awarded to those who would pursue studies in performing arts (preferably related to Bengali/Indian arts) or to those who are engaged in artistic endeavors of exceptional quality. This will not only encourage the domestic artists to improve their skills, it will also  inspire our children to take a more serious look at our cultural heritage as an option.', 'North America Bengali Conference (NABC) and the North American Bengali', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'north-america-bengali-conference-nabc-and-the-north-american-bengalis', '', '', '2008-05-19 23:07:18', '2008-05-20 03:07:18', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/157', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(158, 1, '2008-05-01 17:21:05', '2008-05-01 21:21:05', '<!--adsense-->\r\nHindustani Classical Vocal Concert by Pt. Ganapati Bhat\r\nHost: Gajanan Hegde / Anoop Bhargava\r\nLocation:\r\nGentry Club House\r\n43 Franklin Drive, Plainsboro, NJ 08536 US \r\nWhen:\r\nSunday, May 4, 3:00PM\r\nPhone:\r\n609-716-0202\r\n\r\nPandit Ganapati Bhat, is one of the leading lights of Hindustani Classical vocal music. Panditji is a "Gandabandha Shishya", disciple of Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru, the maestro from Dharwad. Panditji''s gayaki is inspired by Gwalior and Patiala gharanas as well.\r\nPanditji will be accompanied by Gopala Krishna on Tabla and Shreepad Hosmane on Harmonium. Please visit www.PtGanapatiBhat.com for additional details.\r\nMinimum suggested donation is $ 15 per person. Tea, Coffee and Light snackswill be served during break.\r\nPlease forward this invitation to other classical music lovers as well.\r\nPlease RSVP at the earliest to help us plan the event.\r\nghegde@comcast.net', 'Hindustani Classical Vocal Concert by Pt. Ganapati Bhat', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'hindustani-classical-vocal-concert-by-pt-ganapati-bhat', '', '', '2008-05-01 17:21:05', '2008-05-01 21:21:05', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/158', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(159, 1, '2008-05-05 23:03:30', '2008-05-06 03:03:30', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/red_oleanders.jpg'' title=''Red Oleanders''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/red_oleanders.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''Red Oleanders''  class=''alignleft'' /></a>"Rakta Karabi" by Rabindranath Tagore has been considered by many pundits as one of the pillars of modern Bengali drama. The universal appeal of the play needed to transcend beyond the confines of the limited Bengali speaking populace and Tagore himself took upon the task of translating the play to English and gave it the title of "Red Oleanders". Unfortunately, not too many productions of this wonderful play happened in the western world. One conjecture has been that Tagore''s language, in his translated works, failed to withstand the test of time as the English language evolved over the ages. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nNupur Gangopadhyay Lahiri, a medical doctor by profession but an artist by passion,  recently made an attempt to present the play in a more contemporary language in order to bring forth this phenomenal work to the western readers. The new translation, "Red Oleanders", published by Punashcha Publication of Kolkata, will undoubtedly help the western readers appreciate the prediction of mankind''s future, as Tagore perceived it from his vantage point, some eighty years ago. \r\n\r\nSunil Gangopadhyay writes in the foreword of the book, , "Rakto Karabi is an especially mentionable play by Tagore. For successful staging of this play.... the ancient and incomprehensible idioms need to change. An English translation of Rakto Karabi has not yet been successfully staged. Still today, the possibility of an effective production in the western world is there with some editing and reworking of the original version. \r\nNupur Lahiri has completed this complicated task. ...However, her mission of this translation required many stages of rewriting and re-editing to ultimately create a beautiful form: an example of sincere devotion to Rabindranath Tagore. "\r\n\r\nProfessor Kathleen O''Connell, University of Toronto, English Department, (TAGORE STUDIES) writes, "I''ve gone through your translation and I think it''s very well done.  I hope that we''ll see it staged before too long."\r\n\r\nWriter Nabaneeta Dev Sen says about the release of the book, " I like the translation, it is clear and easy to read. A difficult task- to translate a play with dialogue and songs - well done"\r\n\r\nThe book is available from \r\nBFA BOOKS 732-821-3949\r\nBengal Foundation of America\r\n4343 Route 27, Princeton NJ 08540\r\n\r\n', 'A New Translation of Tagore''s "Rakta Karabi" - The Red Oleanders', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-new-translation-of-tagores-rakta-karabi-the-red-oleanders', '', '', '2008-05-21 12:16:41', '2008-05-21 16:16:41', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/159', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(160, 1, '2008-05-05 23:00:57', '2008-05-06 03:00:57', '', 'Red Oleanders', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'red-oleanders', '', '', '2008-05-05 23:00:57', '2008-05-06 03:00:57', '', 159, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/red_oleanders.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(161, 1, '2008-05-06 12:07:48', '2008-05-06 16:07:48', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAnanda Sandhya – May 9th 8.00pm\r\nAnanda Mandir, Cedar Grove Lane, Somerset, NJ\r\n\r\nFeature artist: Pandit Madhav Gudi (classical vocal)\r\nTabla accompaniment – Sai Shyam Mohan\r\n\r\nHarmonium – Sri Madhu Vora\r\n\r\n', 'Ananda Sandhya Featuring Pandit Madhav Gudi', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya-featuring-pandit-madhav-gudi', '', '', '2008-05-06 12:08:34', '2008-05-06 16:08:34', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/161', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(162, 1, '2008-05-08 14:30:08', '2008-05-08 18:30:08', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/indrani.jpg'' title=''My House - by Indrani Choudhuri''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/indrani.thumbnail.jpg'' alt=''My House - by Indrani Choudhuri''  class=''alignleft'' /></a>Indrani Choudhury''s paintings (all in water color) will be on display at the Highland Park Public Library, Highland Park, NJ. for the month of June, 2008. She will be present at the Exhibit on 7th June (Saturday) from 1-4 pm.  You can find some of her paintings at www.indranisgallery.com.', 'Exhibition of Water Colors by Indrani Choudhury', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'exhibition-of-water-colors-by-indrani-choudhury', '', '', '2008-05-08 14:36:12', '2008-05-08 18:36:12', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/162', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(163, 1, '2008-05-08 14:35:25', '2008-05-08 18:35:25', '', 'My House - by Indrani Choudhuri', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'my-house-by-indrani-choudhuri', '', '', '2008-05-08 14:35:25', '2008-05-08 18:35:25', '', 162, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/indrani.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(164, 1, '2008-05-15 14:20:17', '2008-05-15 18:20:17', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/debesh_das.jpg'' title=''Debesh Das''><img src=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/debesh_das.jpg'' alt=''Debesh Das'' class=''alignleft''  /></a><a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Kolkata-to-have-chip-design-facility-by-mid-2009/286165/">The Financial Express on its March 19 issue</a> published an article which drew the attention of many high-tech entrepreneurs. It reported the laying of the foundation stone of a twenty story building that will house the  India Design Center (IDC), a semiconductor chip design facility. West Bengal IT minister Debesh Das, who laid the foundation stone, said the facility will be set up according to a concept paper prepared by IIT Kharagpur and will offer semiconductor-related post graduate courses. It will also have space for semiconductor-driven companies and serve as an incubation centre for promoting entrepreneurs. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n"The centre, to be set up on 1.7 acres, will conform to international standards covering the entire semiconductor spectrum, VLSI design, assembling, testing and packaging. An advanced IT park related to semiconductor design will also be built near the IIT Kharagpur, and the process of land acquisition is on," Das told reporters. \r\n\r\nIs this a sign of a new era in West Bengal? Not too long ego, West Bengal was one of the most industrialized states in the country. However, during the last three decades the state fell from its pedestal with many industries closing their shutters and/or moving out to other "industry friendly" states.  Constant labor unrest,  anti-capitalistic attitude and apathy towards the investors have turned off the conglomerates as well as the foreign multi-nationals who in the meantime were setting up their shops in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra and other states. \r\n\r\nIn the post Jyoti Basu era, things took a definite turn with Buddhadev Bhattacharya at the helm of the left front govt in West Bengal. He realized that, in the changing global scenario, West Bengal cannot move along the path of progress without capital investments and industrialization.  His initiatives resulted in a change in the industrial climate of West Bengal. IBM, Wipro came to Kolkata to setup their huge offices in Kolkata. And recently, West Bengal grabbed the attention of the World when Ratan Tata unveiled the "Nano" - the one lakh rupees car manufactured in Singur, West Bengal. Mr. Bhattacharya had to face an uphill battle both from within his party as well as from the opposition. But this man seems to be determined to make 21st century as West Bengal''s century. His policies and tactics in implementing his dream has not always been very pleasant, things went out of control in places like Nandigram, but he kept on moving ahead. It is not easy to change the philosophy and mind set of a party and a state that has grown complacent with the state of steady decline, a party that is agro-centric and gloats in their success of land reforms that happened almost quarter of a century ago. Hence, Mr. Bhattacharya knew that in order to change the state, in order to take it to the next century, he needs new comrades - comrades who understands technology, who understands what it takes to compete in the global marketplace of high technology. He inducted into his cabinet young ministers like Dr. Debesh Das (an electrical engineer with a Ph.D in semiconductor chip design methodology) to head the Information Technology (IT) ministry. \r\n\r\nWest Bengal has a lot to offer to any company interested in setting up a shop in the state. With some of the major technical institutions of India (IIT Kharagpur, Jadavpur University, Bengal Engineering College, Calcutta University and others) situated in the state, West Bengal has a huge pool of trained engineers readily available for any challenging assignment. The rapid modernization of infrastructural facilities (24 hr power supply, high speed freeways, IT and technology parks etc.) and low cost of doing business (compared to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and other popular destinations of IT companies) West Bengal offers itself as the best place to set up any high-tech venture, be it a software development and service enterprise or for design and manufacture of high end semiconductor chips and systems. And I am sure, the big tech-businesses of the world are carefully watching West Bengal as their potential destination.\r\n\r\nBut one needs to be careful about the kind of industry being set up in West Bengal. Call centers and BPOs are not the kind of business that can propel the growth. We need manufacturing and IP (Intellectual Property) generating businesses that can compete with the world. And such businesses won''t come from the big houses - it has to grow from small garage shops, from some passionate and driven entrepreneurs who has a dream to build something in West Bengal. The challenge is to attract them, retain them and provide them with infrastructural and logistical support. This is what the West Bengal Govt and its ministers like Dr. Debesh Das should focus on. It is good to have the big investors set up their big businesses in WB, but Dr. Das, please do not lose track of these young entrepreneurs. Let''s not blindly follow the growth models of Bangalore and Hyderabad, rather let''s try to emulate the Silicon Valley model. A growth from within is the most sustainable model and adds the most value. If this model succeeds, it will automatically attract talent, entrepreneurs and investors to the Hoogly Valley from the Silicon Valleys of the world. \r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Dr. Debesh Das, IT Minister, West Bengal is currently touring USA to meet several technology companies and investors. He will meet several entrepreneurs and investors in New Jersey on the 20th of May, 2008.</blockquote>\r\n\r\n', 'West Bengal on the Verge of an IT Revolution? ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'west-bengal-on-the-verge-of-an-it-revolution', '', '', '2008-05-21 12:12:31', '2008-05-21 16:12:31', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/164', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(165, 1, '2008-05-15 13:35:24', '2008-05-15 17:35:24', 'Debesh Das, IT Minister, West bengal', 'Debesh Das', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'debesh-das', '', '', '2008-05-15 13:35:24', '2008-05-15 17:35:24', '', 164, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/debesh_das.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(166, 1, '2008-06-09 16:44:32', '2008-06-09 20:44:32', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/satyameva_banner.jpg''><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/satyameva_banner.jpg" alt="" title="satyameva_banner" width="180" height="150" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-167" /></a>After a long hiatus and constant requests from theater lovers, ECTA will be staging three plays on June 28th and 29th, 2008, at the Edison Valley Playhouse (EVP) in Edison, New Jersey. \r\nOn 28th June, Saturday, there will be an encore staging of "<strong>Satyameva</strong>" , a play by Sudipta Bhawmik, directed by Indranil Mukherjee; starring Sudipta Bhawmik and Pinaki Dutta. \r\n\r\nOn 29th June, Sunday, two plays will be staged. Theater Practitioners of Cleveland, OH will present an audio and video staging of "<strong>Ashomoy</strong>" a new play by Sudipta Bhawmik starring Saubhik Sengupta and Moushumi Sengupta. \r\n\r\nThis will be followed by "<strong>Taconic Parkway</strong>", written and directed by Sudipta Bhawmik, starring Indranil Mukherjee, Keka Sirkar and Pinaki Dutta. This play will premiere at the California Natyamela on June 7th. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nSynopsis of the plays and other details are given below. Seating is limited, hence please book your seats as early as possible. \r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Synopsis: <strong>Ashomoy</strong>\r\nA play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nA phone rings in the middle of the night in a middle class Bengali home in suburban America and throws the life of a married couple in complete jeopardy. \r\n\r\nProduced by <a href="http://theaterpractitioners.org">Theater Practitioners of Cleveland OH</a>. Directed by Saubhik Sengupta\r\nDuration: 30 mins</blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Synopsis: <strong>Taconic Parkway</strong>\r\nA play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nManasij, a veteran Bengali screen actor is visiting USA with a theater group to stage some shows in multiple cities. During his first stop in New York, he is hosted by Dipak and Sharika at their multi-million dollar mansion in upstate New York. The enthusiastic host, Dipak, expresses his desire to make a film with Manasij as the hero and their daughter Pom as the heroine. But Sharika objects to this proposal vehemently. She would never let Pom take part in this dream project of Dipak. Manasij tries to mediate, but soon realizes that he is being pulled into a dark vortex of suspicion and animosity that was carefully camouflaged by the opulence and the veneer of apparent happiness of an affluent NRI family. \r\nProduced by ECTA Inc.\r\nDuration: 1 hour.\r\n</blockquote>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/126">For details about Satyameva click this link.</a>\r\n\r\nVenue: Edison Valley Playhouse, 2196 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ\r\n\r\nSaturday June 28, 2008,  3.30pm Satyameva  \r\nSunday   June 29, 2008,  3.00pm Ashomoy + Taconic Parkway\r\n                                   5.30pm Ashomoy + Taconic Parkway\r\n\r\nAdmission: $20.00 for each day; $35.00 for two days. ECTA Member discount 20%\r\nContact: indymukh@gmail.com, kaudata@yahoo.com\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'ECTA Mini Theater Festival: Satyameva, Ashomoy, Taconic Parkway', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'upcoming-ecta-shows-in-new-jersey', '', '\nhttp://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/126', '2008-06-10 10:14:21', '2008-06-10 14:14:21', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=166', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(167, 1, '2008-05-22 16:06:07', '2008-05-22 20:06:07', '', 'satyameva_banner', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'satyameva_banner', '', '', '2008-05-22 16:06:07', '2008-05-22 20:06:07', '', 166, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/satyameva_banner.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(168, 1, '2008-05-24 10:10:50', '2008-05-24 14:10:50', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YlU_3KCwEvM&hl=en&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YlU_3KCwEvM&hl=en&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>\r\nTake a peek at this exciting promotional video "Advantage Bengal" produced by the Department of Information Technology, Govt. of West Bengal and Webel. Listen what the IT business leaders are saying about the IT opportunities in West Bengal as well as from the Chief-Minister Mr. Buddhadev Bhattacharya and IT Minister Dr. Debesh Das. Share this video with others who may be interested by using the "Share This" button on your right. ', 'Advantage Bengal: A Video on the IT Industry Opportunities in West Bengal', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'advantage-bengal-a-video-on-the-it-industry-opportunities-in-west-bengal', '', '', '2008-05-24 10:12:19', '2008-05-24 14:12:19', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=168', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(169, 1, '2008-05-29 23:14:07', '2008-05-30 03:14:07', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2cHQ_EfkYbs&hl=en&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2cHQ_EfkYbs&hl=en&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355" class="alignleft"></embed></object>On June 28th and 29th, ECTA Inc. will be presenting a mini theater festival of three plays.  On 29th June, an encore presentation of the highly acclaimed play "<strong>Satyameva</strong>" will be held at 3.30pm. This play has received great reviews both in Kolkata and USA and has been recently made into a Telefilm (titled Satyasotyo for Tara channel) by the reputed actor and director of Kolkata, Chandan Sen. Watch the promo video by clicking the image above.\r\n\r\nOn 29th, the festival features two shows of two plays each. The first play, <strong>Ashomoy</strong>,  is a novel audio-visual presentation by Theater Practitioners of Cleveland OH, directed by the veteran All India Radio and Doordarshan artist Saubhik Sen. "<strong>Ashomoy</strong>" will be followed by "<strong>Taconic Parkway</strong>", a one act play by ECTA Inc. "Taconic Parkway" is a dark play of an immigrant Bengali  couple and a visiting actor from India. The play premieres at the California Natyamela on June 7th, 2008. \r\n\r\nSynopsis of the plays and other details are given below. Seating is limited, hence please book your seats as early as possible. \r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Synopsis: <strong>Ashomoy</strong>\r\nA play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nA phone rings in the middle of the night in a middle class Bengali home in suburban America and throws the life of a married couple in complete jeopardy. \r\n\r\nProduced by <a href="http://theaterpractitioners.org">Theater Practitioners of Cleveland OH</a>. Directed by Saubhik Sengupta\r\nDuration: 30 mins</blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Synopsis: <strong>Taconic Parkway</strong>\r\nA play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nManasij, a veteran Bengali screen actor is visiting USA with a theater group to stage some shows in multiple cities. During his first stop in New York, he is hosted by Dipak and Sharika at their multi-million dollar mansion in upstate New York. The enthusiastic host, Dipak, expresses his desire to make a film with Manasij as the hero and their daughter Pom as the heroine. But Sharika objects to this proposal vehemently. She would never let Pom take part in this dream project of Dipak. Manasij tries to mediate, but soon realizes that he is being pulled into a dark vortex of suspicion and animosity that was carefully camouflaged by the opulence and the veneer of apparent happiness of an affluent NRI family. \r\nProduced by ECTA Inc.\r\nDuration: 1 hour.\r\n</blockquote>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/126">For details about Satyameva click this link.</a>\r\n\r\nVenue: Edison Valley Playhouse, 2196 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ\r\n\r\nSaturday June 28, 2008,  3.30pm Satyameva  \r\nSunday   June 29, 2008,  3.00pm Ashomoy + Taconic Parkway\r\n                                   5.30pm Ashomoy + Taconic Parkway\r\n\r\nAdmission: $20.00 for each day; $35.00 for two days. ECTA Member discount 20%\r\nContact: indymukh@gmail.com, kaudata@yahoo.com\r\n', 'A Mini Theater Festival', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-mini-theater-festival', '', '\nhttp://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/126', '2008-05-30 00:00:32', '2008-05-30 04:00:32', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=169', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(170, 1, '2008-05-30 16:48:38', '2008-05-30 20:48:38', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/398px-vijay_tendulkar.jpg''><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/398px-vijay_tendulkar-150x150.jpg" alt="Vijay Tendulkar" title="398px-vijay_tendulkar" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-171" /></a>I was deeply hurt to hear the news of the death of Vijay Tendulkar, one of the greatest playwrights of Indian theater. It was only last year, at the South Asian Theater festival, I had the opportunity of meeting Mr. Tendulkar. It was an experience that I will never forget.  He was physically frail, but his will was as strong as any young man. It was this will and his love for theater that brought him over here, few thousand miles away from home, to see how are we doing our theater.  During his speech at the opening ceremony, the way he protested against the non-issuance of visa to one of the participating teams demonstrated that the fire was still burning within him - the fire that led him to write the plays that changed Indian theater.\r\n<!--more-->\r\nDuring the time when most Indian playwrights were busy translating and adapting western plays, Tendulkar came as a breath of fresh air. His plays grew out of the common man, his drama developed from their life stories, from the grass roots society. The films he wrote also bears the same signature, his protest against exploitation, protest against violence and injustice to humanity.\r\n \r\nWhen I met him last year, he wanted to see my plays. Somebody, close to him, had possibly told him about my plays, especially "Ron" that was staged at the first South Asian Theater festival. Unfortunately, last year I had no play in the festival. I told him, that I''ll try to send him a copy of my plays (translated to English). He gave me his card and asked me to visit him in India with my plays. \r\nIt will be my life long repentance that I could not avail of this opportunity to visit him, discuss theater with him, and get some lessons from the great master. But he will be a great inspiration to me for all times.\r\n\r\nI hope and pray that his soul rests in peace.  ', 'Vijay Tendulkar : A Real Indian Playwright ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'vijay-tendulkar-a-real-indian-playwright', '', '', '2008-05-30 16:50:35', '2008-05-30 20:50:35', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=170', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(171, 1, '2008-05-30 16:43:02', '2008-05-30 20:43:02', 'Vijay Tendulkar', '398px-vijay_tendulkar', 0, 'Vijay Tendulkar', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '398px-vijay_tendulkar', '', '', '2008-05-30 16:43:02', '2008-05-30 20:43:02', '', 170, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/398px-vijay_tendulkar.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(172, 1, '2008-06-10 10:24:16', '2008-06-10 14:24:16', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href=''http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/archives/151/satyameva-in-new-jersey/'' rel="attachment wp-att-152"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/020.JPG" alt="Scene from Satyameva" title="Satyameva in New Jersey" width="300" height="168" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-152" /></a>After receiving wide critical acclaim and audience appreciation in Kolkata, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, ECTA offers an encore presentation of "Satyameva", a play by Sudipta Bhawmik.\r\n\r\nSanjoy, a young software professional, has arrived in the “land of opportunity” for just over six months and works for a software body shopping company “InterSoft” owned and operated by Bill (a Bengali American living in the States for over thirty years.) On the day of the play Bill fires Sanjoy and asks him to go back to India. Sanjoy, however, is not happy with this decision and refuses to oblige. He informs Bill that he is not going to return to India under any circumstances. He states that returning to India is synonymous to signing a death warrant for himself. He cannot subject himself to such a grave risk. And to justify himself, and to win his ultimate motive, he has to make a choice between truth or deceit.\r\n\r\nECTA (Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts) presents this new Bengali play (with English SuperTitles) at the Edison Valley Playhouse, in Edison NJ on June 28, 2008 at 3.30pm.\r\nAdmission: $20.00\r\n', 'ECTA Festival: Satyameva', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ecta-festival-satyameva', '', '', '2008-06-10 10:24:17', '2008-06-10 14:24:17', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=172', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(173, 1, '2008-06-12 14:49:27', '2008-06-12 18:49:27', '<!--adsense-->\r\nRecently we (ECTA) had the opportunity to stage our new play “Taconic Parkway” at the California Natyamela 2008 held at the Amador Theater in Pleasanton, CA. Last year when I was visiting California to see the staging of my play “Ron” by the local group ENAD, I met Pradosh Sarkar  who invited me to participate at the 2008 Natyamela, their fourth year of the festival. Pradosh Sarkar, a playwright and director himself, is a key member of Sanskriti, the group that organizes the Natyamela.  In the previous years they limited their invitation only to the local groups, but Pradosh told me that he wants to make an exception in 2008 by inviting us from New Jersey. And I had no option but to accept the offer when he also assured me that they would take care of the expenses.  However, Pradosh reminded me that they have a time limitation and each play must be limited to an hour, give or take ten minutes.  This was a challenge for me since the plays we had in our repertoire all exceeded this limit. But I thought that this may be a perfect opportunity to work on a new play that was brewing in my mind for some time. After I came back, I started to work on the script and soon developed a one act play named “Taconic Parkway” which perfectly fits the bill for the California Natyamela 2008. It had three characters, and was limited to an hour and ten minutes. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nCalifornia Natyamela 2008 was hosted jointly by Sanskriti and BINA (Bangladesh Community Bay Area). The theater hall, Amador Theater, was a bit out of the way for most Bay Area residents, but as the festival progressed the hall was almost full. The festival included two children’s plays, the Sukumar Ray classic “Lokkhoner Shoktishel” and “Maa’r kaachhe shona” by Bangladesh Community Children''s Ensemble, Bay Area. Including children’s plays was indeed a laudable effort and I congratulate the organizers for keeping these slots for our next generation. These kids, when they grow up will surely carry a fond memory of this day and maybe develop an interest in the culture of their roots. \r\nThe next play was “Mimangsha,” a play written and directed by Pradosh Sarkar and produced by Sanskriti. Our play,  “Taconic Parkway” was the next and was followed by “Amader American Dream :  Belashesh Edition” written and directed by Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal and produced by BINA.\r\n\r\n"Taconic Parkway" is a dark play in many ways. It delves into some of the areas of human psyche that we are afraid to face or deal with. Manasij, a veteran actor of the golden age of Bengali cinema, is visiting USA from Kolkata and is hosted by a middle aged couple Dipak and Sharika at their mansion in upstate New York. Although this invitation seemed to Manasij like a typical, well to do non-resident Bengali''s fancy to host celebrity guests at their homes, it soon turned out to be something else. Both Dipak and Sharika had their own agenda with Manasij, and Manasij was slowly pulled into a dark vortex of suspicion and animosity that was carefully camouflaged by the veneer of apparent happiness of an affluent NRI family. \r\n\r\nNatyamela 2008 was the premiere show of "Taconic Parkway", which featured some of our veteran actors, Indranil Mukherjee, Keka Sirkar and Pinaki Datta. The play received an overwhelming response as was evident from the applause at the end of the play as well as from comments from <a href="http://sanskriti.org">Sanskriti''s</a> web site.  Here are some of the comments:\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>"Very powerful. Aami maajhe maajhei naTokTa mone mone replay korchhi. Thanks for writing our stories." - Sambit Basu, ENAD, CA.\r\n\r\n"Sudipta Bhawmik is rather established in theatrical area. That''s what many told me there. I built up lot of expectation from this play. And, I got more than I expected. I can not thank the committee enough to bring this production all the way from New Jersey. We were totally engrossed. I can not mention any single moment as great. It was so seamless. The dramatic turn at each moment was just like a hide and seek. At the end what you get is a pleasant surprise." - Jagat Bandhu Das, San Francisco, CA.\r\n\r\n"New Jersey-r natok ekebare tan tan. Dipak ar Sarika ki bhison ujjol. Dipak bodh hoy sobaikei chhariye gechhen. Monosij-ke khub maniyechhe choritre. Emon thas-bunot-er natok to kotodin dekhi ni. Golper ki othapora! Ki bandhuni! " - Debaraoti Sen, Livermore, CA.\r\n\r\n"Durdanto...oshadharon natak ei Taconic Parkway...amar pore eto bhalo legechhe...je...ki bolbo...anekkei nataktar kotha bolechhi." - Amitava Dutta, Ganakrishti, Kolkata.</blockquote>\r\n\r\nAs a side note, let me mention that "Taconic Parkway" has been officially invited by Ganakrishti of Kolkata to stage it at their festival (Ganakrishti Natyotsav 2008) this year. Unfortunately, I am not sure if we would be able to take our show due to the high costs involved. Hence, we are looking for sponsors. Anybody interested to help us take our story back to Kolkata, please contact me.\r\nThank you. \r\nP.S. Please do not miss Taconic Parkway to be staged in New Jersey on June 29th.', 'California Natyamela 2008 and Taconic Parkway', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'california-natyamela-2008-and-taconic-parkway', '', '', '2008-06-13 14:39:03', '2008-06-13 18:39:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=173', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(175, 1, '2008-06-24 11:06:02', '2008-06-24 15:06:02', '<!--adsense-->\r\n[display_podcast]\r\nLast week I wrote about our new radio play "Baad Protibad" that was broadcast on EBC Radio 1170AM during the Sunday morning Bengali program "Probaho" conducted by Abhijit Sanyal. The play received quite a bit of positive feedback, and I thought that for the benefit of the people who could not listen to the radio that morning, I''d upload this play as a podcast. You can listen to this play by clicking the player above or download it into your iPod or similar digital players.\r\n\r\nThe credits are given below.\r\n<blockquote><strong>"Baad Protibad"</strong>\r\nA Hilarious Play in Bengali by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\n\r\nProduced by ECTA Inc.\r\nDirected by Indranil Mukherjee\r\nCast:\r\nSubhodev Das as Ashok\r\nAparajita Das  as Kakoli\r\nIndranil Mukherjee as Soumen\r\nAnisha Das as Jhimli\r\n\r\nRecorded and mixed at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, NJ, Studio by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee\r\nEdited by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee and Indranil Mukherjee\r\nMusic and effects by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee.\r\nSong "Need some cash to fill up my gas" by Vikram Kumar</blockquote>\r\nPlease let me know how you liked the play. We may do more plays like this in the future.', 'Podcast: "Baad Protibad" A (Hilarious) Play in Bengali', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'podcast-baad-protibad-a-hilarious-play-in-bengali', '', '', '2009-05-03 11:30:39', '2009-05-03 15:30:39', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=175', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(176, 1, '2008-07-03 11:57:09', '2008-07-03 15:57:09', '<!--adsense-->\r\nThe Cultural Association of Bengal (CAB) every year honors a group of people for their outstanding contribution to the society. This year, one of our closest friends, Pronoy Chatterjee has been awarded the "Distinguished Service Award" for his contribution towards promoting and nurturing Bengali literature in North America. His award letter reads,\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>You are one of the foremost literary personality in the United States who has helped the cause of propagating and nurturing Bengali culture in North America, the goal the Cultural Association of Bengal cherish. You have done so as founder of NJPA and through years of association with Kollol of Jew Jersey, Ananada Mandir and other well known organizations. Your contribution to literature and work on arsenic cleaning in water is also well known.\r\nIn recognition of your dedication, we have the honor to award you the “Distinguished Service Award’ during the 28th North American Bengali Conference.</blockquote>\r\n\r\nPronoy Chatterjee is an ardent author, has written two novels (a review of one of his books appear in this blog) and has been an editor or several Bengali magazines including "Kallol Sahitya Sambad", "AnandaLipi", "Ananda Sangbad" and many others. He has that magical ability to inspire people around him to be creative, to develop their literary skills that have been dormant in them, and to enrich the lives of the community members through their creations. \r\n\r\nMy heartiest congratulations goes to Pronoy-da for this well deserved award.', 'CAB Honors Pronoy Chatterjee', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cab-honors-pronoy-chatterjee', '', '', '2008-07-03 11:57:09', '2008-07-03 15:57:09', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=176', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(177, 1, '2008-07-03 15:15:29', '2008-07-03 19:15:29', 'These are some of the feeds from various sources that I read often:\r\n\r\n<strong>Times of India</strong>\r\n\r\n[feedsnap, 6]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rssfeedsdefault.cms[/feedsnap]\r\n\r\n<strong>Hindustan Times</strong>\r\n\r\n[feedsnap, 6]http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/blog/atom.xml[/feedsnap]\r\n\r\n<strong>India Today</strong>\r\n[feedsnap, 6]http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_rss&feed=RSS1.0&no_html=1&issueid=60&rsspage=home[/feedsnap]\r\n\r\n', 'Feeds', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'feeds', '', '', '2010-01-25 15:51:17', '2010-01-25 19:51:17', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?page_id=177', 3, 'page', '', 0);
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(178, 1, '2008-07-10 16:24:08', '2008-07-10 20:24:08', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/bmlogo.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/bmlogo-129x300.jpg" alt="Bangamela 2008" title="Bangamela" width="129" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-179" /></a>Just as the excitement and  euphoria of the recently concluded BangaSammelan (Toronto) dies down, Bengalis living in the middle western states are preparing to get into a festival of their own - Bangamela. \r\n\r\nThe 10th annual Bangamela 2008 will be held in Columbus OH this year from July 18 to 20. The event is hosted by COBCA (Central Ohio Bengali Cultural Association).  Just as Bangasammelan (NABC) is franchised and sponsored by CAB (Cultural Association of Bengal),  Bangamela is managed and controlled at the high level by MABA or Mid America Bengali Association.  Without going into the details about the genesis of Bangamela, it suffices to say that the Bengalis of the mid west felt that they needed to have a festival of their own, a festival that is located closer to where they live and is easily accessible compared to NABC that tends to get most of their attendees from the densely populated (with Bengalis) east and west coast states.  <!--more-->\r\n\r\nMy first experience with Bangamela was in Memphis at the Bangamela 2007, where I joined the festival as a performer (along with our Theater group ECTA). There were about four to five hundred attendees (a small fraction of a typical NABC attendance) and they had a long line up of performers from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. There were no crowds or long lines, no running around from one auditorium to the other. People were relaxed, they were busy meeting old friends and making new ones. It felt a lot homely and cozy atmosphere than NABC. Maybe this was what NABC was fifteen or twenty years ago. There were some organizational mishaps, scheduling problems and lack of event management skills - but tell me one Bengali festival that doesn''t have any? \r\n\r\nI understand the 2008 Bangamela is expecting a larger crowd, they will have multiple performance venues and the guest artist (from India) line up is also longer. Once again, we will be staging our play (Satyameva) too as an invited theater group, and hopefully once again we will be able to meet friends and make friends. I know of several other people from the NY NJ area who will be attending this  festival, and this shows that Bangamela is now attracting more and more people from the areas that were traditionally NABC areas.  And I have no problem with it. The more the merrier. In this country of market economy, competition is the name of the game. Competition can help improve the quality of the festival, can help reduce the cost to the consumers - since they will go to the event that offers them the most value for their money.  And think about the artists and performers from India, they too will have more than one opportunity to offer their art to the Bengalis of USA.  \r\n\r\nHence I wish Bangamela and Bangasammelan (NABC) both the best for their efforts in bringing the Bengalis of USA together - be it in Ohio or in California, or in New York.   Lets all celebrate our great heritage together at the festival of our choice and make this adopted homeland of ours a better place to live as a Bengali.\r\n\r\n', 'Bangamela - The Festival for the Midwestern Bengalis', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bangamela-the-festival-for-the-midwestern-bengalis', '', '', '2008-07-10 17:18:43', '2008-07-10 21:18:43', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=178', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(179, 1, '2008-07-10 17:18:06', '2008-07-10 21:18:06', '', 'Bangamela', 0, 'Bangamela 2008', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bmlogo', '', '', '2008-07-10 17:18:06', '2008-07-10 21:18:06', '', 178, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/bmlogo.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(180, 1, '2008-07-11 12:06:42', '2008-07-11 16:06:42', '<!--adsense-->\r\nJuly 20th 2008 Sunday, 3 pm\r\n\r\nSuggested Donation  $10 per person,  Sponsors  - $50 per family\r\n\r\n<strong>Ashvin Bhigendra</strong>, a leading male Carnatic musician is paired with <strong>Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik</strong> a leading female Hindisthani musician.\r\n\r\nat 24 Scott drive Morganville, NJ 07751\r\n\r\nAshvin  will be accompanied by Arun Ramamurthy on Violin and Suresh Ramachandran on Mridangam.\r\n\r\nMitali will be accompanied by Kedar Naphade on Harmonium and Amod Dandawate on Tabla.\r\n\r\nFor more details and directions etc.\r\n\r\n  Jayashree Suresh  732- 251-7085  rsuresh59@yahoo.com', 'Hindusthani - Carnatic Vocal Music Jugalbandi', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'hindusthani-carnatic-vocal-music-jugalbandi', '', '', '2008-07-11 12:06:42', '2008-07-11 16:06:42', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=180', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(181, 1, '2008-07-16 11:07:30', '2008-07-16 15:07:30', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BSSWpe79MNI&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BSSWpe79MNI&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344" class="alignleft"></embed></object> On 15th of July, 2008, Barack Obama laid out his foreign policy strategy in very clear and specific terms. He talked about how he would end the war in Iraq, how he would like to combat terrorism and end the oil based conflicts by reducing our (as well as other nations) dependency on oil.  His plans call for getting back the world''s confidence in America, to get back some of its lost credibility by working together with the nations of the world to combat terrorism, reduce oil dependency and control climate change. He even talks about his willingness to sit down and talk to Iran about resolving the nuclear crisis. \r\nAll this may sound quite idealistic, but I guess at this point of time this idealism gives some hope to make things right. Any idealism can succeed if it is supported by the people. Let''s hope that Barack gets the support he deserves and brings in the change he envisions.\r\n<strong>Watch the speech in this embedded video.</strong>', 'Barack Obama''s Strategy for a New World', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'barack-obamas-strategy-for-a-new-world', '', '', '2008-07-16 16:02:57', '2008-07-16 20:02:57', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=181', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(182, 1, '2008-07-16 15:57:30', '2008-07-16 19:57:30', '<!--adsense-->\r\nIt is our great pleasure to have The Famous Rabindra Sangeet Artist Pramita Mallick with us. We are organizing a Sangeet Anushthan for her honor on 20th of july (Sunday) at 5:30 pm. Please come and enjoy the evening with us.\r\n\r\nVenue: 112 Monroe Ave, Edison, NJ 08820 (Sharmila & Sandip''s house )\r\n\r\nTime: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm \r\nThere will be no ticket for this Anushthan but your willing contribution for the artist will be appreciated.\r\n\r\nPlease call me if you need anymore information and forward this mail to your friends who are interested.\r\n\r\nMy phone # 908-4228-6650(home) 908-787-6590 (cell)\r\n\r\nEmail id dastandra@yahoo.com or tandra1975@yahoo.com ', 'Rabindrasangeet Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'rabindrasangeet-concert', '', '', '2008-07-16 15:57:30', '2008-07-16 19:57:30', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=182', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(183, 1, '2008-07-21 10:19:34', '2008-07-21 14:19:34', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<strong>Dakshineswar Ramkrishna Sangha</strong>\r\nAdyapeath, USA Foundation, Inc.\r\n(A non-profit tax-exempt organization)\r\nAn Evening of Songs by Lopamudra Mitra &\r\nDance Recital by Nritya Creations\r\n(A Fund Raising Event for Temple Fund)\r\nLopamudra Mitra, the most popular contemporary singer in Bengal today is\r\nperforming in New Jersey this summer!\r\nDaughter of Late, Shree Pranab Mitra and Shreemati Sumita Mitra, she started\r\nlearning music from her father in childhood. Ranging from Rabindra Sangeet,\r\nIndian Classical music, Bhajan and Nazrulgeeti, her versatility knows no\r\nbounds. She ultimately found her platform in the songs based on poems of\r\nrenowned Bengali Poets. And that was her way to success. She performed all\r\nover India with her new approach and won the music-lovers'' heart.\r\nShe won many awards for her unique dramatic style of singing, which is\r\nfashioned with the classical aid and tenor voice quality. She won the prestigious\r\n''Bengal Film Journalist Award'' on her debut playback in the film ''Sedin\r\nChaitramas’. Her album ''Bhalobaste Balo'' was honoured as the best puja\r\nalbum, best singer and album of the year in 2001. Her other album ''Jhor Hole\r\nPar!'' got the ''ZEE MUSIC AWARD'' in 2005.\r\n\r\nThe scintillating creative dance performance of Nritya Creations will keep you\r\nspellbound. Nritya Creations is the winner of First Prize in the Senior Category and Best\r\nChoreographer Award at the 2008 Naya Andaz Dance Competition 2008.\r\nMeena Basunag, the founder and Artistic Director of Nritya Creations\r\nartistically blends various styles of Indian Classical dance such as Bharat\r\nNatyam, Oddissi, Manipuri and Kathak with western contemporary forms such\r\nas jazz and ballet and other cultural dance forms to create a unique and\r\nwonderfully pleasing experience of sight and sound. Nritya Creations has also\r\nwon the Best Choreography and Best Performance Awards at the 2008 Naach\r\nRevolution.\r\nhttp://www.nrityacreations.com/\r\n\r\nContacts:\r\nSwapan Nandi (609) 235-9576 Pamela Ghosh (732) 516-0730\r\nKeya Chatterjee (732) 369-6759 Anasua Biswas (732) 727-2621\r\nAmitava Hazra (908) 874-6923 Kanika Mazumdar (732) 496-5216\r\nAvijit Dasgupta (732) 548-6065 Madhumita Sinha (201) 796-5738\r\nTapan Dutta (732) 650-9513 Priya Bhattacharya (609) 799-7975\r\nUttarjyoti Banerjee (732) 767-0260 Santanu Chakraborty (732) 572-3650\r\nOn July 27th, 2008 at 4:00PM\r\nMarlboro High School, 95 N Main Street, Marlboro, NJ 07746\r\nTickets: $100, $50, $35 & $25\r\n\r\nDRSA, USA Foundation, Inc. (A Non-Profit Organization)\r\n1190 Easton Avenue, Franklin Township, NJ 08873, USA\r\nPhone: (732) 249-7077 E-mail: adyapeathusa@adyapeathusa.com Website: www.adyapeathusa.com', 'An Evening of Songs by Lopamudra Mitra', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'an-evening-of-songs-by-lopamudra-mitra', '', '', '2008-07-21 10:19:34', '2008-07-21 14:19:34', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=183', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(186, 1, '2008-07-23 22:03:04', '2008-07-24 02:03:04', '<!--adsense-->\r\nThe proliferation of internet and web technology has ushered in a new era in the publication of Bengali literary magazines. Any Bengali who has the slightest inclination towards Bangla literature must have been associated with some kind of "little magazine" related activity in some point of their life, be it writing, editing, publishing or even selling them to their patronizing clients. The thrill of seeing ones own writing in print fascinated them and hence whenever a few like minded folks got together, a visit to the printing press became obligatory. The smell of ink and the clanking of the printing machines was intoxicating to say the least - long hours were spent proof reading those smudgy newsprint and trying to pool in as much money they could by either begging the local business owners to insert an advertisement or by coughing up their own savings to pay the press owner.  But the exponentially growing costs of paper and printing has often resulted in an untimely death of the magazine and hence the death of many literary dreams. Many of these talents also whither away just because they do not get the opportunity to be noticed by any of the leading print publications. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nBut the internet technology has given new hopes to the thousands of these dreamers who want to reach out to world with their literary creations through the world wide web. It has not been easy to publish Bengali content on the web. Several technical obstacles had to be overcome. The web savvy publishers of these e-zines or webzines found several alternatives to get their content published. The newer browser and font technologies have helped too. But still the Bangla web publication is not as easy as publishing in English or any other European language or even Hindi for that matter. \r\n\r\nOne of the premier Bangla e-zines that comes to my mind is "<a href="http://www.parabaas.com/">Parabaas</a>".  Parabaas, first published in 1997 had a dedicated editorial team lead by Sameer Bhattacharya. Over the years, Parabaas has matured into a well read and well respected magazine on the internet. Several established as well as upcoming writers contribute to this magazine. Parabaas also has a section for kids. It has also a section that carries English translations of well known Bengali literary works. Special issues on theater, poetry or famous literary personalities are quite common. The special issue on Buddhadev Bose, Satyajit Ray or the issue on Bengali theater is a real pleasure to read.  I would like to encourage everybody to check out Parabaas and enjoy the rich content it offers. \r\n\r\nAnother ezine of interest is <a href="http://www.shatorupa.com">Shatarupa.com</a>. This is another magazine that is on line for quite some time (1999).  Edited by Sanhita Mallik and Chaitali Som, the magazine publishes a variety of Bengali literary content. \r\n\r\n<a href="http://abasar.net">Abasar.net</a> is another webzine that provides more than fiction and literature. It aims to be something like a wikipedia but does not allow open submissions. \r\n\r\nThe online magazine <a href="http://www.kaurab.com/">Kourab</a> is dedicated to Bangla poetry only. The magazine''s impressive layout with Jamini Roy''s sketches makes it an interesting place to visit. \r\n\r\nSome other ezines that are worth trying out are:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href="http://calcuttans.com/palki/">Palki</a></li> uses dynamic font.\r\n\r\n	<li><a href="http://www.guruchandali.com">Guruchandali</a> has a unicode version and can be viewed in all browsers and operating systems that support unicode.</li>\r\n 	<li><a href="http://www.anirban.com">Anirban</a>  - a magazine as well as a portal.\r\n</li></ul>\r\n\r\nThere are several other such web magazines dedicated to Bangla literature. But not all them are worth mentioning in this list. Many of these e-zines work only on Internet Explorer on Windows. However, if you find any good site, please let me know.  I sincerely wish more and more quality Bengali e-zines come up on the web and the literary talents all around the globe who wish to write in Bengali can have their work published and appreciated by the readers of Bengali literature. \r\n\r\n\r\n', 'Bangla E-Zines', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bangla-e-zines', '', '', '2008-07-23 22:04:13', '2008-07-24 02:04:13', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=186', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(185, 1, '2008-07-22 11:08:08', '2008-07-22 15:08:08', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/daami_chhobi.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/daami_chhobi.jpg" alt="" title="Daami Chhobi"  class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-136" /></a>Long time ago, I used to draw cartoons for some magazines like Proma (published in Kolkata), Udayan (published from NY), Sangbadik (also published from New York) and News India Times. I would like to share some of them with you. This cartoon was published in Proma few years ago. It is a take on art valuation. Let me know how you like it. In future weeks I''ll post one cartoon a week, from my old archives.', 'Cartoon of the Week: Quality of Art', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-daami-chhobi-expensive-art', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:49:18', '2008-10-14 17:49:18', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=185', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(188, 1, '2008-07-28 12:23:24', '2008-07-28 16:23:24', '<!--adsense-->\r\nOn the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami (Sunday, August 24, 2008), Anandamandir will be hosting a four hour long (3.00pm to 7.00pm) event of Bhajans and Bhakti Sangeet.\r\n\r\nMusicians are invited to participate (singers, accompanists) in this great event and be a part of the Anandamandir community. \r\nIf you would be interested to participate, then please send an email to suranjanbc@hotmail.com by Thursday, July 31, 2008.  With your help and support this will be an enchanting evening of Bhajan and Bhakti Sangeet.', 'Bhajan Sandhya at Anandamandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bhajan-sandhya-at-anandamandir', '', '', '2008-07-28 12:23:24', '2008-07-28 16:23:24', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=188', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(189, 1, '2008-07-30 10:24:51', '2008-07-30 14:24:51', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ulto_chhobi.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ulto_chhobi-300x196.jpg" alt="Ulto Chhobi" title="ulto_chhobi" width="300" height="196" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-190" /></a>This cartoon was done for "Proma" a long time ago. Abstract art has always drawn the attention of humorists and cartoonist. This one exaggerates the abstractness to the extent that the artist himself does not have any clue regarding his own painting, not event it''s orientation. Many of us, the naive (read pseudo) art connoisseurs, think that abstract art - the art that does not represent any form that we are familiar to, is quite easy to render. Many of us consider them nothing but few blotches of paint and maybe some geometric patterns in an arrangement which does not resemble anything that we see in our daily lives. Hence, many pseudo-artists tend to declare themselves as artists  by creating such absurd canvasses and trivialize the bewildered viewers as "uneducated an uncultured" brutes.  This is true not only for fine arts, but also in those branches of art that thrive on abstractions and absurdity - like poetry, play, film, music and even short stories. Hence it is of utmost importance, that we make an attempt to train ourselves to be able to appreciate these  art forms - to open up our minds to appreciate forms and colors and movements and sounds that are beyond our accustomed reality.   ', 'Cartoon of the week 2: Abstract Art', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-2-abstract-art', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:49:02', '2008-10-14 17:49:02', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=189', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(190, 1, '2008-07-30 10:22:38', '2008-07-30 14:22:38', '', 'ulto_chhobi', 0, 'Ulto Chhobi', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'ulto_chhobi', '', '', '2008-07-30 10:22:38', '2008-07-30 14:22:38', '', 189, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ulto_chhobi.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(197, 1, '2008-08-10 10:43:44', '2008-08-10 14:43:44', '<!--adsense-->\r\nANANDA MANDIR Presents\r\nHERITAGE DAY & ANANDA MELA 2008\r\nA FUN FILLED DAY OF ACTIVITIES\r\n\r\nStarting with Heritage Day Celebrations  August 16 @ 10:00am\r\n\r\n  NATIOANAL ANTHEM, PRABHAT FERI, FLAG HOISTING, BHARAT\r\n  MATA PUJA, CHILDREN TREE PLANTING, PRESIDENT’S SPEECH,\r\n  CULTURAL PROGRAMS including VANDE MATARAM- Song & Dance\r\n\r\nFOODCOURT   & SHOPPING,\r\n\r\nFollowed by Ananda Mela Activities @12:00pm–\r\nGAMES FOR Adults, Young Adults, Children & Family;\r\n\r\n CHILDREN’S COMPETETIONS\r\n BADMINTON & TABLE TENNIS COMPETITION;\r\n ($5 ENTRY FEE FOR MEN’S / YOUNG ADULT’S BADMINTON & T.T. COMPETETION)\r\n CANDY SEARCH & SPOON RACE, MUSICAL CHAIR,\r\n TUG OF WAR & YOUTH PROGRAM - MAGIC SHOW,\r\n PRIZE DISTRIBUTION & RAFFLE DRAW\r\n\r\nIn the evening 6:30pm ONWARDS  Rakhi & Jhulan Yatra Samapan\r\nAND Community Dinner\r\n\r\nAT ANANDA MANDIR CAMPUS\r\nDate: AUGUST 16th, 2008\r\nTime:  Starts at 10.00 AM\r\n269 Cedar Grove Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873\r\nPhone: 732 873 9821\r\nwww.anandamandir.org\r\n\r\nContact: Krishna Dutta Roy – 732-390-8069 / Sanjit Dutta - 732 821 5996\r\n\r\nAnanda Mandir requests your presence to make this a Grand Success\r\n', 'HERITAGE DAY & ANANDA MELA 2008', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'heritage-day-ananda-mela-2008', '', '', '2008-08-10 10:47:48', '2008-08-10 14:47:48', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=197', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(196, 1, '2008-08-05 11:06:49', '2008-08-05 15:06:49', '', 'Lopamudra Mitra', 0, 'Lopamudra Mitra', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'lopamudra', '', '', '2008-08-05 11:06:49', '2008-08-05 15:06:49', '', 195, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/lopamudra.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(203, 78, '2008-08-20 21:18:20', '2008-08-21 01:18:20', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p class="BodyText-Elegant" style="0in 0in 6pt;"><strong><span style="Arial;"><span style="x-small;"><em>Ananda Mandir is starting a regular </em><span style="AR-SA;">Sahitya O Alochana </span><em>- </em><span style="AR-SA;">Meeting of literary readings and discussions</span><em>with a meeting this </em></span></span></strong><strong><span style="Arial;"><span style="x-small;"><em>Friday, 22  August 2008, at 8:30 PM. </em></span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="BodyText-Elegant" style="0in 0in 6pt;"><strong><em><span style="Arial;"><span style="x-small;">The aim is to have a quasi-monthly meeting of literary readings and discussions, occasionally interspersed with lectures on religion or philosophy. The first meeting will focus on how to get the effort organized, but we will also have invited speakers from our community speaking on selected topics. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.</span></span></em></strong></p>\r\n</blockquote>', 'Sahitya O Alochana @ Ananda Mandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sahitya-o-alochana-ananda-mandir', '', '', '2008-08-20 21:18:20', '2008-08-21 01:18:20', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=203', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(193, 1, '2008-07-31 10:00:29', '2008-07-31 14:00:29', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAT ANANDA MANDIR Artists of the month\r\n\r\nMADHUMITA  SAHA \r\nMadhumita will be accompanied on Tabla by her husband, the illustrious\r\nTabla Maestro\r\nPandit Samar Saha\r\n\r\nOn the harmonium, it will be our own and very talented\r\nSri Kedar Naphade\r\nWho has accompanied all prominent vocalists from India for many years\r\n\r\nAs you can see, this one will be memorable event presented by ANANDA MANDIR\r\n\r\nPlease come and share this fabulous musical evening.\r\nAs usual, the ANANDA SANDHYA concert is FREE, Children come free. However, your kind donation is always graciously accepted.\r\n\r\nAnanda Mandir is located on Cedar Grove Lane off Easton Avenue in Somerset, NJ.\r\nFor info, call Arun Bhowmik at 908-672-1452.\r\n', 'Ananda Sandhya: Madhumita Saha', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-sandhya-madhumita-saha', '', '', '2008-07-31 10:00:29', '2008-07-31 14:00:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=193', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(195, 1, '2008-08-05 11:10:51', '2008-08-05 15:10:51', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/lopamudra.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/lopamudra.jpg" alt="Lopamudra Mitra" title="Lopamudra Mitra" width="110" height="150" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-196" /></a>Few weeks ago, <a href="http://www.lopamudra.in/adver/103423home.html">Lopamudra Mitra</a> presented a concert at the Marlboro High School Auditorium at the invitation of the Dakshineshwar Ramkrishna Sangha Adyapeath (DRSA) of New Jersey. She was touring USA at the invitation of the Bangamela 2008 (held in Columbus OH) and before leaving the country, she made a brief visit to New Jersey. It was Lopamudra''s special attachment to Dakshineshwar Adyapeath that brought her to this fund raising concert. However, the audience response was only lukewarm at best. The torrential downpour before the concert may have contributed to the low attendance, but I think the major reason is the multiple events that are happening all around us during the summer season. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nLopamudra''s concert started quite late (by Sunday evening standards), but it was worth waiting for. Her well trained mellifluous voice that traverses the three octaves with extreme ease and grace was a treat for all music lovers. The power in her voice and rendition style touched everybody. \r\nDuring the early nineties, when Suman Chatterjee and few others heralded in a new era of Bengali music, it was primarily dominated by male singers. Lopamudra appeared into this new arena with her unique approach. Her musical rendition of the famous modern Bengali poems (Joy Goswami, Jibananda Das and others) took Bengal by storm. Her musical interpretation of Joy Goswami''s "Benimadhab" gave the poetry a new meaning - it shattered the notion that modern Bengali poetry lacked lyricism. \r\nOn this rainy afternoon in New Jersey her voice and music reverberated not only in the auditorium but in the hearts and minds of the few listeners who came daring the storm. She proved once again her versatility in all forms of Bengali music - modern, folk, Rabindrasangeet.  Her rendition of "Aguner Parashmoni" at the end left the whole auditorium humming the tune even after the concert had ended. \r\n\r\nDRSA deserves our heartiest thanks for bringing this wonderful artist to us. However, the organizers could have limited the number of events and provided Lopamudra some more time. I am all for supporting local talents, but please make sure that these performers have the quality to share the same stage with an artist like Lopamudra. ', 'Lopamudra Concert in New Jersey', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lopamudra-concert-in-new-jersey', '', '', '2008-08-05 11:10:51', '2008-08-05 15:10:51', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=195', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(588, 1, '2011-09-23 20:11:39', '2011-09-24 00:11:39', 'It is said that you can take a Bengali out of Bengal, but you cannot take Bengal <a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/durga-protima.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-420" title="Kallol Durga Protima" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/durga-protima.jpg" alt="Durga Protima Kallol of New Jersey" width="331" height="221" /></a>out of a Bengali. I''d rather rephrase it by saying that you can never take Durga Puja out of a Bengali. The greatest Bengali festival is once again knocking on our doors and the New Jersey Bengalis are gearing up to greet their Mother Durga with utmost fervor.  Although according to the Bengali calender the puja starts (Maha Shasthi) on Sunday October 2, the enthusiastic New Jersey Bengalis are not willing to wait that long. ICC of Garden State will start their festival on Saturday 24th September and continue till Sunday the 25th. The Puja will be held at the Mt Olive High School, 18 Corey Rd, Flanders, NJ 07836. They have also lined up an impressive cultural program featuring the famous Bengali singer Nachiketa (more on Nachiketa later), a Bengali play from Toronto, and Soumen Adhikari, another singer from Kolkata. Several other local programs and great food also awaits the attendees. Note:  I just learnt that ICC has canceled Nachiketa’s program due to lack of timely confirmation from the artist’s agent. Instead, they will be presenting Nirmalya Ray, a well known artist to the NJ music lovers.<!--more-->\r\nOn 25th early morning, Ananda Mandir will be invoking Devi Durga with their live annual Mahalaya Mahishasura Mardini presentation.  Over the years, this program has developed a great following with overflowing crowd, all coming in from far and near at 4.00am in the morning. Good words of this event has spread far and beyond the US shores. So if you want to attend this event, then arrive at the Mandir by 4.00am to secure a seat. The event is generally followed by a traditional Bengali breakfast of Luchi, Aloor dom and Jilipi, although I am not sure if this tradition is to continue this year.\r\nKallol of New Jersey will be celebrating their Puja starting on Friday Sept 30 and continue till Sunday October 2nd.   Kallol’’s cultural program has always been a mix of local and guest performers of excellent quality. This year,  on Kallol’s stage  Purbayan Chatterjee  ( Sitar) along  with Pandit Anindyo Chatterjee (Tabla) will be presenting “String Struck” on Friday evening, a classical musical program including Sitar and vocal music.  The famous singer  Nachiketa will be presenting his concert “Tumi Sesh Parjonto” on Saturday evening.  Sunday evening will feature Aparna Sen (readings) along with Soumajit Das (vocals) and Sourendra Mallik (piano), to present “You and I… Lovingly Yours”. The other events that promise to enthrall the audience include, “Bisarjan” a program of dance and recitation directed by Faroque Azam and “Durga Stotra” a dance recital by Mili Bhattacharya,  both on Friday. On Saturday the Kallol children will perform “A Wonderful World”, a musical play written and directed by Aparajita Das.   This futuristic play brings a group of friends into an endangered world wrought by global warming, resource depletion, and life form extinction. Their journey creates an open window into the dangers of what life can become for our children and the future of the planet. The ex-New Jerseyan, Tarun Chatterjee, will stage “Kabar” a play by Minir Choudhury with his team from Columbus Ohio.  Mina Basu Nag (Nritya Creations) & Sanjeeb Bhattacharya will also present a dance recital. On Sunday, Kallol''s choreographer and director, Sunrita Mitra pays homage to  Rabindranath Tagore by presenting highlights of three immortal creations, "Taasher Desh", "Chitrangada" and "Chandalika" in a single musical and dance presentation titled “Troyee”.\r\n\r\nGarden State Cultural Association, GSCA, will be celebrating their Puja on Oct 1 and 2 at the Plainfield High School. Theit cultural events  include dance recital by Mitra Purkayastha’s troupe and\r\na hilarious Bengali play “Eta Byaktigoto”, written and  directed by Soumendu Bhattacharya along with\r\nSongs by Pratibha Singh &amp; Soumen Nandi (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009 finalists) on Saturday evening. On Sunday, the events include  “Surer Biswayane Rabindranath, a GSCA musical production followed  by Monomoy Bhattacharya (Kolkata) concert of  modern Bengali Songs.\r\n\r\nAnandamandir will be celabrating their Durga Puja from October 2 to 6 as per the Bengali calendar and so will Bharat Sevashram Sangha. However, at this time I do not have any information regarding their cultural programs.\r\n\r\nLike cultural programs, food is an integral part of any Durga Puja celebration in New Jersey. All the organizers promise to have scrumptious dinner on all evenings during the Pujas.  "Panthar Mansho" (goat meat) will be the key attraction at all the community Puja''s except at the Anandamandir and Bharat Sevashram Sangha temples.\r\n\r\nI hope that you all will have a great Durga Puja and enjoy the festival to the fullest.\r\n<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="420" height="315" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1iBQSt4saNU?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1iBQSt4saNU?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WCj2gZTqf8Q?version=3&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WCj2gZTqf8Q?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>', 'Durga Puja 2011 : New Jersey Style', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-puja-2011-new-jersey-style', '', '', '2011-09-25 23:31:37', '2011-09-26 03:31:37', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=588', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(198, 1, '2008-08-13 12:09:32', '2008-08-13 16:09:32', '<!--adsense-->\r\nRecently a bunch of reviews on ECTA''s mini Theater festival plays have been published in various news and online media both in USA and India. I would like to share them with you, since many may not have access to these publications, especially those which are published in India. \r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Gautam Dutta wrote about "Satyameva..." in Sambad Bichitra (published by CAB). The review is in Bengali and to read it <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/docs/gautam_review_web.pdf">click here</a>. \r\n     </li>\r\n	<li>Gayatri Gamarsh wrote about the second day of the festival in Ananda Sambad. <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/docs/gayatri_gamarsh_fest_review.pdf">Click here to read that review</a>.</li>\r\n	<li>Alolika Mukherjee''s detailed review appeared in Saptahik Bartaman in Kolkata. <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/docs/Bartaman_festival_all.pdf">Click here to read it</a>.</li>\r\n	<li>Madhu Rye Thaker writes about Satyameva in India Abroad. <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/docs/Madhu_Rye_Review_web.pdf">Click here</a>. </li>\r\n	<li>Jyotirmoy Dutta writes about ECTA and Taconic Parkway in DesiTalk. <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/docs/desitalk.pdf">Click Here</a>.</li>\r\n	<li>Sambit Basu writes about Taconic Parkway in his blog "<a href="http://basus.net/?p=23">Monk''s Pearl</a>".\r\n</li></ul>\r\n\r\nThe opinions expressed in these reviews are solely that of the reviewers themselves. They provide us with different perspectives, but they can never replace the actual viewing of the play and its enjoyment. Plays, films and any other objects of art should be viewed and appreciated on your own. To get an wonderful perspective on reviews, I recommend watching the fantastic animated film "Ratatouille" and listen to the final review by Anton Ego (Peter O''Toole) the dreaded food critic.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'Some Reviews on ECTA''s Theater Festival', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'some-reviews-on-ectas-theater-festival', '', '\nhttp://basus.net/?p=23', '2008-08-14 11:37:39', '2008-08-14 15:37:39', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=198', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(199, 1, '2008-08-12 17:03:20', '2008-08-12 21:03:20', '', 'bartaman_festival_all', 0, 'Saptahik Bartaman Review', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bartaman_festival_all', '', '', '2008-08-12 17:03:20', '2008-08-12 21:03:20', '', 198, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/bartaman_festival_all.pdf', 0, 'attachment', 'application/pdf', 0),
(200, 1, '2008-08-14 13:39:16', '2008-08-14 17:39:16', '<!--adsense--><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/kemon_haante-300x206.jpg" alt="Walk the line" title="kemon_haante" width="300" height="206" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-201" />Arranged marriage is still quite common in India, and one important phase in an arranged marriage is the process of selecting the bride. Mind you, I said "bride selection" and not "groom selection". An important component of this process is to visit the bride''s home and conduct an interview of the girl to figure out if the girl is a suitable candidate. In some cases, the girl is not only asked to provide verbal answers to the questions, but also demonstrate their gait, posture, length of the hair and also their artistic, musical, and culinary skills. This cartoon was drawn to emphasize on this aspect of the selection process - the girl demonstrates her gait by walking on a tight rope. After all, that''s what she will have to do everyday at her in-laws family - walk the fine line with amazing dexterity, balance and skill. Women of our country may not be participating at the Olympics gymnastics events, but this skill of walking the horizontal beam is in their genes. This cartoon was done for Proma (published from Kolkata) few years ago. I thought this would be an interesting post during this Olympic season. ', 'Cartoon of the Week 3: The Selection Process', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-3-the-selection-process', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:48:09', '2008-10-14 17:48:09', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=200', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(201, 1, '2008-08-14 13:35:59', '2008-08-14 17:35:59', '', 'kemon_haante', 0, 'Walk the line', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kemon_haante', '', '', '2008-08-14 13:35:59', '2008-08-14 17:35:59', '', 200, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/kemon_haante.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(202, 1, '2008-08-14 17:50:44', '2008-08-14 21:50:44', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<strong>Cultural Association of Bengal</strong>\r\npresents\r\nA gala concert of classical Indian Music\r\nOn 13th September 2008, Saturday , 5 P.M. \r\nat Q208, 74-13 commonwealth Blvd, Bellerose, NY 11426\r\n\r\n<strong>Pt. Tarun Bhattecharya</strong> on Santoor accompanied by <strong>Abhishek Basu</strong> on tabla. \r\nEminent vocalist <strong>Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik</strong>, accompanied by <strong>Sri Dibyarka Chatterjee</strong> on tabla and  <strong>Sri Kedar Naphade</strong> on Harmonium. \r\nYoung vocalist <strong>Indrani Chakrabarty Khare</strong> will be recognized by cultural association of Bengal (C.A.B) for her achievement.\r\nSuggested Donation $20.00, $35.00. Ample free parking inside the school premises.\r\nContact Number: 718-631-9819, 516-298-2454, 914-277-4662, 732-496-0385, 631-821-5684,\r\n917-518-5484, 718-380-1373, 516-501-1966, 516-232-5124.\r\nDirection: By subway/bus: E or F train to Union Tpk exit. Then Q46 bus to Cross Island Parkway stop. Enter school gate.\r\nBy car: (1) Grand Central Parkway (east) to Union Tpk exit. Right turn to Unin Tpk. School entrance between Cross island and commonwealth Blvd.\r\n(2) Grand Central Park way (west) to Little neck PKway. Left Turn to Littleneck PKway. Go under Grand central PKway.Right turn on Littleneck PKway. Right turn again on Union Tpk.\r\nSchool on right after crossing Commonwealth Blvd.\r\n(3) Long Island Expressway to Littleneck Pky exit. Take Little Neck Pky (South). Go under Grand Central Pky and follow option 2.', 'CAB Classical Music Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cab-classical-music-concert', '', '', '2008-08-14 17:51:43', '2008-08-14 21:51:43', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=202', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(204, 78, '2008-08-20 21:20:14', '2008-08-21 01:20:14', '<!--adsense-->\r\nAnanda Mandiis celebrating Sri Krishna Janmashtami on  Sunday, August 24 From 6:00 AM to 9 :00 PM.\r\n<div style="exactly;">\r\n<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="right">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style="#ece9d8;" align="left" valign="top">\r\n<p class="TOCText-Elegant" style="exactly;"><span style="Garamond;"><strong><span style="#cc0000;">Sri Krishna Janmashtami</span></strong><strong><span style="red;"><span style="yes;">                         </span></span></strong><span style="12pt;">Sunday, Aug 24, 2008<span style="yes;">                 </span><span style="yes;">                                 </span>Extended Temple Hours<span style="yes;">                              </span>6:00 AM to 9:00 PM<strong><span style="red;"></span></strong></span></span></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="exactly;"><strong><span style="Times New Roman;"><span style="lime;"><span style="yes;"> </span></span><span style="x-small;">6:00 am<span style="yes;">                </span>--Mangal<span style="yes;">  </span>Aarati</span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="exactly;"><strong><span style="x-small;"><span style="Times New Roman;"><span style="yes;">  </span>6.30 am<span style="yes;">            </span><span style="yes;">  </span><span style="yes;"> </span>--Sri<span style="yes;">  </span>Krishna Sahasra Naam Path</span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="exactly;"><strong><span style="x-small;"><span style="Times New Roman;"><span style="yes;">  </span>7.30 am - 9.30 <span style="yes;"> </span>am <span style="yes;"> </span>--Nitya Puja</span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="exactly;"><strong><span style="x-small;"><span style="Times New Roman;">10.00 am -11.00 am <span style="yes;"> </span>--Srimad Bhagavad Path</span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="exactly;"><strong><span style="x-small;"><span style="Times New Roman;"><span style="yes;">  </span>3.00 pm - 6.30<span style="yes;">  </span>pm <span style="yes;"> </span>--Bhajan<span style="yes;">  </span>Sandhya<span style="yes;">      </span></span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal" style="exactly;"><strong><span style="x-small;"><span style="Times New Roman;"><span style="yes;">  </span>7.00 pm -<span style="yes;">  </span>8.30<span style="yes;">  </span>pm --Janmashtami<span style="yes;">  </span>Puja<span style="yes;">  </span>&amp;<span style="yes;">  </span>Aarati</span></span></strong></p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</div>', 'Sri Krishna Janmashtami at  Ananda Mandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sri-krishna-janmashtami-ananda-mandir', '', '', '2008-08-20 21:20:14', '2008-08-21 01:20:14', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=204', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(205, 1, '2008-08-21 10:33:22', '2008-08-21 14:33:22', '<!--adsense-->\r\nIIT KGP Alumni – East Coast Summer Picnic 2008\r\n\r\nHi Alumnus –\r\nOur 11th annual picnic is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 2008 (rain or shine). Please join us. Bring your significant other and family, and reconnect with friends. Lounge, bhaat, play and enjoy. Help grow the newly formed NY/NJ alum chapter.\r\n\r\nWhen: Sat, Sept 20, 2008, 11am-4pm\r\n\r\nWhere: Duke Island Park Pavilion, Old York Road, Bridgewater, NJ\r\n\r\nPark Contact: 908-722-7779, http://www.somersetcountparks.org\r\n\r\nCost: $20/adult (16yrs and above), $5 (6-15 yrs); Cost goes up after Sept 6\r\n\r\nCatered Indian lunch will be served at 12:30pm. Please bring along lawn chairs and/or rugs to make yourselves comfortable. If you have any games or sports equipment (e.g., soccer, volleyball, cricket, cards, baddy), please bring along. If you would like to help with the event, please reach out to us.\r\n\r\nTo avail the early bird rate, register by September 6. After that the event fees go to $25 and $8 respectively.  Send email to Ajit Agrawal (ajit_k_agrawal@yahoo.com)  to use Paypal to register using credit cards.\r\nIf you prefer to send a check, please send to: Ajit K Agrawal, 315 West End Avenue, #8B, New York, NY 10023.\r\n\r\nKGP ka tempo HIGH hai! See you on Sept 20.\r\n\r\nAjit Agrawal (ajit_k_agrawal@yahoo.com)\r\n\r\nSubhodev Das (subhodev@att.net)\r\n\r\nArnab Dey (arnabdey@hotmail.com)\r\n\r\nKunal Sinha (kunalsinha@gmail.com)\r\n\r\nVinod Addidam (vinod.addidam@mba.stern.nyu.edu)\r\n\r\nRavi Gupta (ravi2gupta@yahoo.com)', 'IIT Kharagpur Alumni – East Coast Summer Picnic 2008', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'iit-kharagpur-alumni-%e2%80%93-east-coast-summer-picnic-2008', '', '', '2008-08-21 10:33:22', '2008-08-21 14:33:22', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=205', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(206, 1, '2008-08-21 10:37:21', '2008-08-21 14:37:21', '<!--adsense-->\r\nJadavpur University Alumni Picnic 2008\r\n\r\nSaturday, August 23, 2008; 10.00am\r\nMercer County Park, West Windsor, NJ\r\n\r\nContact: nkpaul@gmail.com ; jbhowmick@hotmail.com ; tchakraborty@alcatel-lucent.com', 'Jadavpur Univ Alumnii Picnic 2008', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'jadavpur-univ-alumnii-picnic-2008', '', '', '2008-08-21 10:37:21', '2008-08-21 14:37:21', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=206', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(207, 1, '2008-08-21 14:18:04', '2008-08-21 18:18:04', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/babul-supriyo.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/babul-supriyo-227x300.jpg" alt="Babul Supriyo" title="babul-supriyo" width="227" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-208" /></a>The most awaited event for any Bengali, the Durga Puja festival, is less than two months away. Kallol of NJ will be celebrating this festival during the weekend of October 3 to 5, 2008, while Garden State Cultural Association will have a concurrent celebration on Oct 4th and 5th.  Having a concurrent celebration has its pros and cons. On the positive side, it helps to divide the audience which otherwise becomes impossible to manage at a single venue. The negative aspect is that many of us, who would have loved to attend both (and attend them completely), are denied of the opportunity. \r\nHowever, even this joint celebration (I mean the dates only) is not helping the organizers. Depending on what performers are being invited from Kolkata or Mumbai by these organizers, crowd management becomes a major issue with frequent interruptions and threats from the Fire dept. Inviting these famous artists to perform during the Puja is a double edged sword. You need to get the popular star performers to pull in the crowd because it is them who pays for the enormous expense. On the other hand, too many people cannot be accommodated in the  spaces the organizers typically use. <!--more-->\r\nHence the Durga Puja organizers have adopted new policies to control the crowd as well as bring in some predictability to the number of potential attendees. Kallol of NJ, from this year (2008) will be accepting early registrations for the Durga Puja festivals. Once they reach their target number, no further registrants will be allowed and hence no drop-ins. This proposal was formally announced during the Kallol picnic, however further details will be mailed out to the members in late August. This year Kallol is inviting the famous singer from Mumbai, Babul Supriyo, to perform on Sunday (Oct 5th) and they expect a huge turn out.  There will be few more guest artists (to be announced soon) as well as local performers. So, if you do not want to miss Babul Supriyo, you better register (with early payment of your contribution) soon. I don''t know if Kallol is offering a staggered contribution rate to encourage early registration, but I am told that the process is going to be enforced quite strictly and professionally.  \r\n\r\nThis is all very nice and fair. But, to me, this excessive formality takes out some of the fun of attending the Durga Puja festival. It almost sounds like we are attending a conference (like NABC?) or some formal event where we need to follow strict rules of attendance. Dangling those ugly badges on your beautiful and expensive attire is itself an insult to many of the fashion conscious attendees. And now you may have to wear wrist bands or indelible ink stamps to make sure you can get past the gate keepers. You need to commit months ahead which Puja you''d like to attend instead of making a spontaneous decision. \r\nBut I guess we need to sacrifice some of our freedom to help better manage the festivities. Aren''t we getting used to this already?\r\n', 'New Jersey Durga Puja 2008', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'new-jersey-durga-puja-2008', '', '', '2008-08-21 14:18:04', '2008-08-21 18:18:04', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=207', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(208, 1, '2008-08-21 14:12:14', '2008-08-21 18:12:14', '', 'babul-supriyo', 0, 'Babul Supriyo', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'babul-supriyo', '', '', '2008-08-21 14:12:14', '2008-08-21 18:12:14', '', 207, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/babul-supriyo.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
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(209, 1, '2008-08-26 13:34:24', '2008-08-26 17:34:24', '<!--adsense-->\r\nFri Sep 12 7pm – 10pm\r\n(Timezone: Eastern Time)\r\nGeorge Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (map)\r\n\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mitali.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mitali-257x300.jpg" alt="Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik" title="Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik" width="257" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-210" /></a>You are invited to this music concert in the New Brunswick Theater District that I am helping to organize for September 12. Knowing your love for music, I am taking this opportunity to invite you to the concert and requesting to please kindly forward the invite to all interested music lovers you know. This concert will take you on a trip to the whole India through its music. Light music from all four corners of India will be presented by the accomplished and beloved artists mentioned below. Moreover, this is a fund raising concert to help the victims of the Myanmar floods and China earthquake, supported by the South Asian Professional Network (SAPN) of Merrill Lynch. A donation of $35 per person is desired to raise sufficient funds for the unfortunate victims.\r\n\r\nYour participation will provide palpable help to the survivors.\r\n\r\nThe $35 include a ticket for the concert, full course Indian dinner\r\nand soft drinks at the theater. Please RSVP before September 6 and your\r\nseats will be reserved. Your donations will be accepted at the theater\r\non September 12 prior to the concert.\r\n\r\nAgenda on Septeber 12 (Friday)\r\nDinner 7:00pm-7:45pm\r\nConcert 7:45pm-10:00pm\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Artists\r\n\r\nVocal:\r\n\r\n<strong>Dr. Mohan Deshpande\r\n\r\nSmt. Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik\r\n\r\nSmt. Astha Shukla\r\n\r\nTabla: Dr. Amod Dandawate\r\n\r\nHarmonium: Dr. Kedar Naphade.</strong>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n ', 'The Music Of India : A Concert at New Brunswick Theater District', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-music-of-india-a-concert-at-new-brunswick-theater-district', '', '', '2008-08-28 15:16:20', '2008-08-28 19:16:20', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=209', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(210, 1, '2008-08-26 12:08:59', '2008-08-26 16:08:59', '', 'Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik', 0, 'Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'mitali', '', '', '2008-08-26 12:08:59', '2008-08-26 16:08:59', '', 209, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mitali.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(211, 1, '2008-08-28 15:08:41', '2008-08-28 19:08:41', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/niramishasi_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/niramishasi_web-300x198.jpg" alt="Vegeterian" title="Niramishashi" width="300" height="198" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-212" /></a>Pujo contribution or Chaanda (as we fondly call this concept) is always an issue with the average Bengali. Be it in India or in USA, Bengalis have the feeling that this is an unjust extortion in the name of a festival that we all like to attend. It should be free for all of us. Where the organizers get their funds is not for us to bother about. Since, most of the Pujo organizers make it a point to ensure that each and every attendee pays their contribution, we''d like to get away with the minimum amount that helps us to claim a stake in the festival. But the Pujo organizers these days are smart, they make the contribution amount quite obvious by displaying it in bold font. To justify the specified amount, the organizers will cite different components of the cost incurred to hold a festival of this magnitude, like goat meat, Mumbai and Kolkata performers - etc etc. This cartoon raises a legitimate question - why not an a-la carte system for Pujor Chanda? Sounds fair to me!\r\n ', 'Cartoon of the Week 4: Pujor Chanda', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-4-pujor-chanda', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:47:50', '2008-10-14 17:47:50', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=211', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(212, 1, '2008-08-28 15:06:41', '2008-08-28 19:06:41', '', 'Niramishashi', 0, 'Vegeterian', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'niramishasi_web', '', '', '2008-08-28 15:06:41', '2008-08-28 19:06:41', '', 211, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/niramishasi_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(213, 1, '2008-09-03 11:19:19', '2008-09-03 15:19:19', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/goatmeat_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/goatmeat_web-300x180.jpg" alt="Suggested minumum pieces : 8" title="Goat Meat" width="300" height="180" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-214" /></a>Durga Puja festival has always been a great source of inspiration to me as a cartoonist. I have drawn several cartoons related to this festival and the way we celebrate it in our adopted homeland. Last week I posted one on the "Chanda" issue. This cartoon (drawn a long time ago for Kallol Sahityo Patrika) also takes a spin on the same touchy subject. In earlier times (late 80''s and early 90''s), the Pujo organizers did not specify or "suggest" any contribution amount to the attendees. The strong "suggestion" became, sort of, necessary from the later half of the 90''s when goat meat (or mutton curry) became a must item at the Saturday evening community dinner. Goat meat has always been an expensive item, and with the unpredictable attendance being a major problem, estimating the amount of meat to be cooked is always an issue. The volunteers serving dinner had to deploy smart strategies to control the number of mutton pieces to the hungry devotees standing in the line. At the beginning phase, they are generally generous, especially to their friends and families. However, soon (after a quick review by the supervisors) the strategy changes to a rationing mode when the number of mutton pieces served becomes indirectly proportional to the number of attendees. Now in this situation, the tired and hungry attendee, who has paid the "suggested minimum contribution" has all the right to demand a "suggested minimum number of pieces" of the precious goat meat. After all, that was one of the key factors that attracted him to this festival in the first place!\r\n', 'Cartoon of the Week 5: Pujo Cartoon', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-5-pujo-cartoon', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:47:38', '2008-10-14 17:47:38', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=213', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(214, 1, '2008-09-03 11:17:00', '2008-09-03 15:17:00', '', 'Goat Meat', 0, 'Suggested minumum pieces : 8', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'goatmeat_web', '', '', '2008-09-03 11:17:00', '2008-09-03 15:17:00', '', 213, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/goatmeat_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(215, 1, '2008-09-03 22:08:10', '2008-09-04 02:08:10', '<!--adsense-->\r\nECTA (Ethnomedia Center for Theater Arts) is looking for actors and actresses for their upcoming production to be staged in late November 2008. Previous acting experience is nice to have but not necessary. Love for theater and performing arts is a must.  \r\n\r\nIf you are interested please attend the following casting call. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Play: Banaprastha - a play in Bengali by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nDirected by: Indranil Mukherjee\r\n\r\nDate and Time: Friday Sept 5 at 7:30pm\r\nPlace: 28 McBride Way, Bridgewater, NJ 08807\r\n\r\nTo RSVP send email to indymukh@gmail.com or bhawmik@gmail.com</blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'ECTA Looking for Actors and Actresses', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ecta-looking-for-actors-and-actresses', '', '', '2008-09-03 22:09:07', '2008-09-04 02:09:07', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=215', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(216, 1, '2008-09-10 16:57:24', '2008-09-10 20:57:24', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/aastegaan_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/aastegaan_web.jpg" alt="Pujor Adda" title="Adda" width="450" height="377" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-217" /></a>Entertainment events are the major attractions of any Durga Puja festival. The Puja organizers spend thousands of dollars to get the most popular artistes from India as well as from the local talent pool. It is the star entertainers that pull in the crowd, and crowd brings in revenue. The popularity ratings of the entertainers define the success of a Durga Puja. \r\nBut is it true? If the stars and their entertainment was the only reason to attend a Puja festival, then why do we have to listen to the constant rumbling noise of numerous "adda" sessions that continue in the background? As the audio levels of the performers rise, so does the noise level.  To many attendees (myself included) the main attraction of attending a Puja is the opportunity to meet friends and engage in endless "addas". We have no ill feeling towards the performers, they can continue to do their job as long as they don''t disturb our "addas". After all, it is them who made us decide which Puja to attend - but they cannot deny us our birth right to be able to talk, talk and talk for hours on. We will occasionally listen to one or two songs to give our tired jaw bones some rest, but soon we''ll get back to argue about who was the best performer of the song, and how this "hopeless" artist has ruined the song completely. We''ll lament the dearth of talent in Bengal and how we miss the golden days of Kishore and Hemanta-da, how the new generation of band music is destroying Bangla music and why one should ban artistes like Sumon and Nachiketa. \r\n', 'Cartoon of the Week 6: The Pujo Entertainment', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-6-the-pujo-entertainment', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:47:25', '2008-10-14 17:47:25', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=216', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(217, 1, '2008-09-10 13:05:46', '2008-09-10 17:05:46', '', 'Adda', 0, 'Pujor Adda', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'aastegaan_web', '', '', '2008-09-10 13:05:46', '2008-09-10 17:05:46', '', 216, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/aastegaan_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(218, 1, '2008-09-11 10:34:56', '2008-09-11 14:34:56', '<!--adsense-->\r\nTagore   Society   of   New York\r\nWill celebrate\r\n100 Year Anniversary of  writer, poet ,novelist\r\nBuddhadeb Bose\r\n\r\nSunday, September 14, 2008 @ 2.00 PM\r\nAt the residence of Dr.Nupur Lahiri\r\n4343 State Hwy No. 27\r\nPrinceton, NJ 08540\r\n732-821-3949\r\n\r\nIntroduction	Jyotirmoy Datta\r\nSongs	Supti Dasgupta / Sushmita Sarkar / Nupur Lahiri\r\nPoetry Reading	Pijush Dey / Mel Datta\r\nPlay recital	To be Determined\r\nPoetry Reading	Farooque Azam / Arvin Ghosh\r\n	\r\n\r\nDirection:\r\nRt. 1 south – turn right on Promonade Blvd.\r\nTurn right on Rt. 27 drive 1 mile\r\nThe house is on left across Little Rocky Hill firehouse\r\n', 'Birth Centenary Celebration of Buddhadeb Bose', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'birth-centenary-celebration-of-buddhadeb-bose', '', '', '2008-09-11 10:34:56', '2008-09-11 14:34:56', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=218', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(219, 1, '2008-09-18 15:55:02', '2008-09-18 19:55:02', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a class="alignleft" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/800px-indian_food_set.jpg?referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php?s=indian+food&amp;m=0&amp;cat=0'');" href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/800px-indian_food_set.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-220" title="Indian Food" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/800px-indian_food_set-300x225.jpg" alt="A Thali of Indian Food" width="300" height="225" /></a>All around us we find tons of books, websites, and other information about food and nutrition. What we should eat and what not, what foods to avoid for diabetes, what foods to eat to lower cholesterol and what foods to avoid for weight loss. Zillions of nutritionists, dietitians, physicians, nurses, body builders and quacks have made millions writing such books. Most of these books, however, cater to the western food habits. Their meal suggestions, recipes and nutritional information cover only the kind of diet that we Indians hardly eat in our daily lives. Some diet books lightly touch upon some of the Indian foods but they are severely limited to the typical north Indian recipes like tandoori chicken or chicken tikka masala. But if you are a Bengali, then CTM (as they call chicken tikka masala in UK) appears rarely on our diet. We would be interested in knowing whether chhaanar dalna is a healthier meal than shorshe ilish.\r\n<img class="alignright" style="float: right; margin: 6px;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/indian_food_healthy.jpg" alt="Healthy Indian Food" width="200" height="150" />Few months ago, a friend of mine forwarded me an <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/downloads/IndianNutrition_Book.pdf">e-book (a pdf file) titled "Indian Foods: AAPI''s Guide to Health, Nutrition, and Diabetes"</a>. This book, written by a team of experts appointed by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) provides an invaluable guide to the Indians living in America to make some sense of their diet in terms of healthiness. The best part of this book is that it contains chapters pertaining to the regional foods of India. For example, in its chapter on Bengali and Oriya cuisine, the author provides a table (no pun intended) showing a typical Bengali diet and how it can be modified to make it healthier.\r\nI''d like to welcome you all to <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/downloads/IndianNutrition_Book.pdf">download this book by clicking on this link</a>. AAPI is distributing this book for free. I thank AAPI for providing this valuable resource.', 'Indian Food and Nutrition', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'indian-food-and-nutrition', '', '', '2009-03-23 14:20:09', '2009-03-23 18:20:09', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=219', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(220, 1, '2008-09-18 15:52:07', '2008-09-18 19:52:07', '', 'Indian Food', 0, 'A Thali of Indian Food', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '800px-indian_food_set', '', '', '2008-09-18 15:52:07', '2008-09-18 19:52:07', '', 219, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/800px-indian_food_set.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(221, 1, '2008-09-18 23:20:01', '2008-09-19 03:20:01', '<!--adsense-->\r\nLive Mahishasura Mardini at Anandamandir \r\nFeaturing some of the best musicians of New Jersey\r\n\r\n4.30AM', 'Live Mahalaya at Anandamandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'live-mahalaya-at-anandamandir', '', '', '2008-09-18 23:20:01', '2008-09-19 03:20:01', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=221', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(222, 1, '2008-09-18 23:40:18', '2008-09-19 03:40:18', '<!--adsense-->\r\nFollowing is the list of Durga Puja celebrations in New Jersey with dates and venues:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Kallol of New Jersey</strong>\r\n    Oct 3, 4, 5\r\n    Ukrainian Church Community Center, \r\n    135 Davidson Ave, Somerset, NJ\r\n\r\n2.  <strong>Garden State Cultural Association</strong>\r\n     Oct 4th and 5th 2008\r\n    Plainfield High School,\r\n    950 Park Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Indian Community Center of Garden State</strong>\r\n   Oct 4th & 5th\r\n   Eisenhower Middle School\r\n   47 Eyland Avenue\r\n   Succasunna, NJ 07876\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Garden State Puja Committee</strong>\r\n   Oct 4th and 5th, 2008\r\n   40 Sullivan Dr, Jersey City, NJ\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Anandamandir</strong>\r\n   Oct 5th to Oct 9th , 2008\r\n   269 Cedar Grove Lane,\r\n   Somerset, NJ 08873-5212\r\n\r\n6. <strong>Bharat Sevahram Sangha</strong>\r\n    Oct 5th to 9th 2008\r\n   3490 Route 27, Kendall Park, NJ 08824\r\n\r\nYou may visit the websites of these Pujas from our <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/test-web-collage">Webcollage</a> page.', 'Durga Puja in New Jersey', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-puja-in-new-jersey', '', '\nhttp://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/test-web-collage', '2008-09-19 14:08:16', '2008-09-19 18:08:16', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=222', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(223, 1, '2008-09-19 14:32:24', '2008-09-19 18:32:24', '[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]', 'Contact', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'contact', '', '', '2008-09-19 14:32:24', '2008-09-19 18:32:24', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?page_id=223', 5, 'page', '', 0),
(224, 1, '2008-09-23 12:32:00', '2008-09-23 16:32:00', '<!--adsense-->\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ab.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ab.jpg" alt="Amitabh Bachchan" title="Amitabh Bachchan" width="90" height="67" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-225" /></a>Blogging by celebrities is a trend that has caught on for quite some time now. But in most cases the celebrities use the blog to market their latest products, films, music, whatever. Blogging regularly, in the midst of their busy schedule, is quite a challenge for any celebrity. Still some find the time to do it, besides the marketing aspect, just to be connected to their fans - sometimes even to show the people a different side of their personality which is never exposed through the medium they generally use. <!--more-->\r\nOne of the most popular celebrity blog these days (at least in India) is the one by Big B - Amitabh Bachchan (I am not including the link here - visit my web collage page and find it for yourself). When I first read the blog (few months ago), I thought may be this was just another PR channel operated by some ghost blogger on behalf of Mr. Bachchan. But after closely following the blog for some time, my impression started to change. The regularity with which the blog is published, the subtle little details that he writes, his minute observations, thoughts and expressions are too real to be emulated by a ghost writer. This blog surely brings Mr. Bachchan much closer to his fans, makes him a real person. It is the next best thing to sitting next to him on a quite afternoon and chatting away about the so-called trivialities of life. And I must mention that his writing skills are extraordinary. Just like his acting skills, he can touch his reader''s heart through his writings too - almost instantaniously. When he writes about his father''s feelings when he was admitted to the hospital after a near fatal injury on the set of Cooly, or when he writes about his feelings regarding the terrorist attacks in Delhi - one can almost hear him speaking in his soulful voice.  \r\nI would like to request Mr. Bachchan to use his extraordinary writing skills to write a memoir of his struggles, his successes and failures, his joys and sorrows and share with us. I am sure it will be an international best seller.', 'Big B''s Blog', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'big-bs-blog', '', '', '2008-09-26 13:09:14', '2008-09-26 17:09:14', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=224', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(225, 1, '2008-09-23 12:30:24', '2008-09-23 16:30:24', '', 'Amitabh Bachchan', 0, 'Amitabh Bachchan', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'ab', '', '', '2008-09-23 12:30:24', '2008-09-23 16:30:24', '', 224, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ab.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(226, 1, '2008-09-25 17:44:47', '2008-09-25 21:44:47', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/baarite_chaanda_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/baarite_chaanda_web-300x235.jpg" alt="Chaanda collection service " title="baarite_chaanda_web" width="300" height="235" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-227" /></a>In several of my earlier blog articles, I wrote about our sensitivity to paying Durga Puja contributions (popularly known as Chaanda). The Puja organizers have tried to be innovative in extracting (no I never said extorting) the funds from the pockets of the attendees - they suggested (very strongly) donation amounts which partially resolved the problem but not the unpredictability. They have now resorted to early registration to ensure the committed funds (doesn''t matter if the contributors fail to attend due to weather or personal issues) and again they are successful to a great extent (Kallol has stopped early registration two weeks in advance and have declared "House Full").<!--more--> Now, if this too fails in the coming years, the organizers can use the age old technique of door to door collection service, as we did back in our home country. This style of collection has a special appeal to many old timers. The collectors can use a barrage of methods, the maastan approach, the pleading approach, the good cop bad cop routine etc. etc. Some of the contributors may even like the personal touch and treat the collectors with some home made delicacies served with a cup of tea. So folks, those of you have been reluctant to register early or refused to succumb to the strong suggestions, look out for the chaanda collection service car on your driveway next year.', 'Cartoon of the week 7: Durga Puja Chaanda Collection Service', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-7-durga-puja-chaanda-collection-service', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:47:08', '2008-10-14 17:47:08', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=226', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(227, 1, '2008-09-25 17:39:42', '2008-09-25 21:39:42', '', 'baarite_chaanda_web', 0, 'Chaanda collection service ', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'baarite_chaanda_web', '', '', '2008-09-25 17:39:42', '2008-09-25 21:39:42', '', 226, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/baarite_chaanda_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(238, 1, '2008-10-08 10:44:15', '2008-10-08 14:44:15', '<strong>by Amitava Sen</strong>\r\nHe was standing there outside the Puja hall wearing a pained look, like he has been left on the wayside by the world and ignored.  I knew the man well, not intimately but well enough over three decades.  I have seen him in most of the Pujas since 1976.  Part of his misery was the October chill in which he was made to wait. I empathized and asked him what’s going on. It appeared that he could not produce the computer print-out confirming his registration which he claimed to have made on line. Later, one of the officials relented and finally produced his entry badge. It all ended well, so I thought.\r\nBut the man remained nonplussed. I asked him not to take it too hard. Doesn’t he realize that he is passé and he is irrelevant now? The Puja officials are quite within their rights.  His mistake was to expect a 1976 style congenial familiarity. Too bad that the changing of the guards has passed him by, un-noticed, again his mistake. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nPuja brochure published on the occasion correctly points out that Durga Puja is more of a social event. True, but which society? Society this man has known has been taken over by new net connected relationship; it’s a new social order. If you cannot meld, better get out of the way, remove yourself from the scene; it will roll over you, no matter how much it hurts.\r\nThe gentleman conceded my point and admitted that suddenly he realized that he did not know the majority of the crowd. Most were strangers to him. One of his nieces, who worked with computer all day, had booked him an entry pass on line.  A lot of his friends and mine as well are not blessed with a computer savvy niece and they missed out. Our turned-down friends are sadly wrong if they assume that thirty-two years of loyalty will get them an entry to their supposedly familial affair.  You do not have to be very smart to calculate the arithmetic of it; three days’ meals , for husband, wife and two children under twelve and an opportunity to Bhangra- Break dance to the tune of your favorite band,  all for hundred and change, a definite bargain;  who could pass it by?  So, the tickets went fast. Our friends have been a day late if not a dollar short. Next year at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, check the internet on an hourly basis or make friends with  internet folks, if you want to avoid the heart break  of missing out on the un-nerving new age heavy metal screaming of the band,  I earnestly advised the gentleman.\r\n\r\nIt’s a different age and players are different.  The days of Puja as a service to the community and cultural program by the members of the club and an occasional artist or two from Calcutta are over, now it is a strange pop rock band on Friday, a sa-re-ga-ma artist on Saturday and a touch of Bollywood on Sunday. It is also a matter of getting featured in Annada Bazaar Patrika, making your parents proud and neighbor jealous back home. \r\nI can see a point here; in this global era, thinking in terms of only a conventional community is thinking backward. Society and community as we have known it, is probably dead for us here. Better be prepared for a Kobi-Joyonti-Dhamaka in the summer and a globalized Hangama in New Year’s Eve, but do not expect the comfort of familiarity.\r\nAt the end  I advised my friend; yes, by the end of the day we were in friendly terms, not to lose his heart, go with the flow, stay hip and most of all behave well with the new-era crowd; you may even some day be rewarded with a cameo appearance on the stage handing over computer generated appreciation certificates. And do not forget to bundle up to stay warm in the October chill.\r\n\r\n<strong>Amitava Sen</strong>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'Are you still Relevant?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'are-you-still-relevant', '', '', '2008-10-08 10:44:15', '2008-10-08 14:44:15', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=238', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(229, 1, '2008-09-29 12:04:24', '2008-09-29 16:04:24', 'This year something unprecedented has happened. The two major Durga Puja committees have closed their doors to the Bengalis of the area who have failed to pre-register in due time. Kallol organizers tell me that they are completely sold out and do not have space for a single extra person. They had to express their inability to accommodate hundreds of people. Apparently this year the township authorities have clamped down with severe restrictions on the number of people that can be accommodated at the Ukranian Cultural/Community Center hall where Kallol celebrates its Durga Puja.  It is envisaged that the township authorities will be inspecting the venue every day during the festival during the peak hours.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is indeed a very sad situation. Bengalis of the area have been coming to these Pujas for a long long time. And this is the first time, they may not be able to attend their favorite festival for which they having waiting year long, just because they missed the registration deadline in their busy life. Kallol did not even have a deadline. They closed their registration window as soon as they reached their target number.  The community is buzzing about this issue, and sometimes the buzz in breaking out into loud arguments about whether the organizers have the right to restrict admissions to a "sarbojonin" or public festival celebration. But I think they are missing one point. Any organizer would love to have more attendees - because that''s what fetches the revenue. But in this country we are bound by several laws and regulations that prevent us from doing things the way we would like them to be. Moving to a bigger venue is also not economically feasible without a guaranteed huge revenue stream. \r\n\r\nHence, to all our friends who have not been able to register to either Kallol or GSCA Pujo, I''d request them to patronize the other two New Jersey Pujo''s this year. ICC of Garden State and the Garden State Puja Committee of Jersey City are having their celebrations during the same weekend. They also plan to have great entertainment program with bands like Chandrabindu from Kolkata. And I understand, they do have some extra room to accommodate few more people. Following are their details: \r\n\r\n<strong>Indian Community Center of Garden State</strong>\r\nOct 4th & 5th\r\nEisenhower Middle School\r\n47 Eyland Avenue\r\nSuccasunna, NJ 07876\r\n\r\n<strong>Garden State Puja Committee</strong>\r\nOct 4th and 5th, 2008\r\n40 Sullivan Dr, Jersey City, NJ\r\n\r\nAlso, I''d request you to become members of organizations like Kallol and GSCA, such that in future years your admission is assured.\r\n\r\n', 'Kallol and GSCA Durga Puja Registrations Sold Out!!!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kallol-and-gsca-durga-puja-registrations-sold-out', '', '', '2008-09-30 14:01:45', '2008-09-30 18:01:45', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=229', 0, 'post', '', 9),
(230, 1, '2008-10-01 10:34:44', '2008-10-01 14:34:44', 'Here is a note I received from Subal Sarkar, Vice Chair, GSCA Board of Trustees.\r\n\r\n<blockquote>GSCA pre-registration will remain open till midnight October 1 , and  2. GSCA Puja is held in  a much larger facility than Kallol and will have plenty of room to accommodate registration at the gate on  first-come first-in basis until the capacity is reached.</blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'GSCA Registration still open!!!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'gsca-registration-still-open', '', '', '2008-10-01 10:34:44', '2008-10-01 14:34:44', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=230', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(231, 1, '2008-10-01 21:02:14', '2008-10-02 01:02:14', '<strong>Welcome to NY/NJ Bengali Website</strong>.\r\n\r\nThis site is about the Bengali life and experience in the US east coast. Please feel free to subscribe to our weekly email of new posts and event announcements.\r\n\r\n    * Click on the Subscribe tab above (or the Feedblitz button on the right sidebar) and fill up the form with your email address. You''ll receive a weekly email newsletter with the latest posts. Please note the email newsletter is delivered from FeedBlitz@mail.feedblitz.com. Make sure your email server does not block or filter out emails from feedblitz.\r\n    * To post an article  you need to register (subscription will not do) by clicking the Register/Login link on the right sidebar.\r\n    * If you like this blog or any article on this blog, share it with your friends. Click on the Share This button on the right side bar. You can share either by email or through multiple other social networking sites like Facebook, Stumbleupon etc.\r\n    * You can also subscribe to this blog through any RSS feed reader (like Google Reader). To subscribe to this feed use http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/index.php/feed\r\n\r\nThanks.\r\nSudipta Bhawmik\r\n[WP-CUMULUS]\r\n', 'About Us', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'about-us', '', '', '2009-03-05 15:09:29', '2009-03-05 19:09:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?page_id=231', 6, 'page', '', 0),
(232, 1, '2008-10-02 10:29:21', '2008-10-02 14:29:21', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/auditorium_title_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/auditorium_title_web.jpg" alt="Holy Food, Prasad" title="No Food - Prasad" width="450" height="343" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-233" /></a>Finally, the Durga Puja festival is upon us. After all the registration/pre-registration dust settles, we''ll all assemble in front of Maa Durga and pray to give us a good life. We may be at different puja celebrations, but in some way, we all will be connected by the single thread of joy, hope and happiness that this festival has been bringing to us over the years. \r\nOne of the most enjoyable things at the Durga Puja festivals is the community dinner. Sitting together and having a nice meal with the rest of the community gives a great feeling of solidarity. But these dinners are also a source of major logistical issues.<!--more--> Switching gracefully from the dinner to the cultural programs becomes a major problem. People trickle in at the dinner hall at their own pace, while the events start on the main stage. Many people, in the great urge to enjoy the events of their favorite artists, are tempted to bring in their dinner inside the auditorium and enjoy the food as well as the performance. And this, as usual, causes a major problem. All auditoriums forbid bringing any food or drink inside the hall. But we still manage to sneak in some, maybe some snacks, or a cup of tea, or a can of soda. At the end of the show, when all the happy audiences have left, the organizers find themselves in a big mess of trash - spilt coffee, decaying food, foam cups, dirty napkins, crushed soda cans. Under the angry eyes of the hall authorities threatening to impose severe fines and ban the organization of using the facility in the future years, the festival organizing committee members get to work to clean the premises.  I understand, that sometimes, food becomes necessary - maybe for a hungry child, or maybe to take some prasad for the member of the family who had to stay home, or maybe that hot cup of tea which doubly enhances the enjoyment of that nostalgic song. But please, think about the consequences of such actions. Keep the food and drinks outside the auditorium, please help in keeping the facility clean. Lets all enjoy the Pujas without any incidents that can cause any unnecessary strains.\r\nWish you all a very Happy Durga Puja.', 'Cartoon of the Week 8: Puja Prasad', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-8-puja-prasad', '', '', '2008-10-14 13:46:48', '2008-10-14 17:46:48', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=232', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(233, 1, '2008-10-02 10:22:32', '2008-10-02 14:22:32', '', 'No Food - Prasad', 0, 'Holy Food, Prasad', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'auditorium_title_web', '', '', '2008-10-02 10:22:32', '2008-10-02 14:22:32', '', 232, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/auditorium_title_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(234, 1, '2008-10-06 16:07:40', '2008-10-06 20:07:40', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/dhunuchi_wt_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/dhunuchi_wt_web.jpg" alt="Dhunuchi dance" title="Dhunuchi Dance" width="450" height="308" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-235" /></a>After three days of hectic scrambling, managing thousands of registrants, the blaring music from the entertainers and the long dinner lines, Kallol Pujo celebrations have finally come to an end.  Although many skeptics were not sure about how the Pujo would fare out, especially when many people were not happy when Kallol had announced the closure of their registration due to full capacity, overall the people who attended were quite happy. The crowd was well managed and as far as I know, nobody was turned back due to their failure to register early. The new full sized idol of Maa Durga and her entourage was something that attracted many to stand for few extra minutes before the Goddess than before. The simple styling of the idol reminded many of us of our local Puja''s back home. The ample "adda" space all around was also utilized very well. The vendor stalls were quite crowded (except not many seemed to open up new accounts with BoA), especially the food vendor made a killing with $2.00 mini veg chops. The community dinner served in the tents was as predictable as ever, however the lines moved quite fast on all evenings.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nKallol, this year, arranged for a wide variety of entertainment programs. Friday evening''s star attraction was the famous "Bangla" band "Cactus". I have listened to Cactus earlier, and I like their music. This time too, they did not disappoint me.  Their renderings of Gautam Chattopadhyay''s famous songs (from Mohiner Ghoraguli) were extremely good. Cactus is a rock band, and they don''t make any pretensions about it.  And unlike many of the mushrooming bands of Kolkata, these folks sing in tune. Their lyrics are not their greatest strength, but under those blaring guitars, bass, keyboard and drums, who''s following the lyrics anyway? The huge decibels of their delivery, emptied the first few rows of the Kallol seniors very quickly and made room for the young crowd to gyrate and stomp to the tunes of Cactus who also proved that they are equally good with the traditional Bangla music, be it the Baul melodies or the popular Tollywood numbers. \r\nOn Saturday, the evening started with a show by the kids of Kallol a dance extravaganza presenting the folk and modern dance forms from the different parts of India. The show staged about forty kids, from toddlers to teens, and they did a wonderful job. The show was directed and choreographed by Sunrita Mitra. This was followed by a play in Bengali by the members of Kallol. Adapted from Dario Fo''s famous play "The Virtuous Burgler", "Taskar Brittanto" is an excellent comedy that when executed properly can have a major impact on the audience. This presentation, as the director Debi Prasad Palit himself admitted during the curtain call, was not adequately rehearsed. The lack of preparedness on the part of the actors and the director showed, the comedic timings were miscued, some lines missed and the erratic editing of the script caused hiccups in the flow. However, the people still enjoyed the play due to a working audio system and the power of the dialogs. A little more care and imagination could have resulted in an unforgettable experience. \r\n\r\nAfter the play, the two of the guest artists from Kolkata came on stage. The first was Bratati Bandopadhyay, who recited a bunch of poems with her customary musical accompaniment. Here renditions were pleasing to the ears, but I had a feeling that she failed to connect to her audience. Shampa Kundu, who came on stage after Bratati, however did connect quite well to the Kallol crowd. Her wide repertoire of songs, ranging from the music of the late nineteenth century to the contemporary, catered to the entire spectrum of the audience. Although she took couple of songs to warm up, but as the evening progressed, her vocal prowess became quite evident and she enthralled the audience with her pleasing tonal quality, smart selection of songs and her on stage demeanor. \r\n\r\nThe Sunday evening entertainment was a real contrast between tradition and popular culture. The evening started with a classical vocal presentation by the young and promising musician Shounak Chattopadhyay. Shounak started his concert with a vilambit jhaptal kheyal in Raga Behag, followed by a teental drut. His next rendition was a small composition in Rag Desh from which he switched to a Randra Sangeet and a tarana in the same raga. He concluded the concert with a bhajan in Raga Bhairabi, the famous "Bhavani dayani", an appropriate musical invocation to Maa Durga. Shounak''s rendition spoke volumes about his potential as a classical vocalist - his clean and copy-book style exposition during the vilambit, his crisp taans demonstrate that he has been working on his craft quite diligently. The only thing that he now possibly needs to master is to pour his heart into the music and give it some feeling that can touch his audience''s soul. He looked a bit disturbed, maybe he was under the pressure to finish his concert and make way for Babul Supriyo to come on stage. The huge audience was also getting impatient, they wanted their popular artist to come on stage and render some high octane Bollywood numbers, rather than listen to a young classical vocalist. Shounak was ably accompanied on the tabla by Sameer Chatterjee and on the harmonium by Kedar Naphade. \r\n\r\nThe grand finale of the evening was the presentation by Babul Supriyo. After spending about fifteen minutes to adjust the sound, Babul stabilized and bolted out one after another popular numbers from Bollywood and Tollywood. His cheesy comments and jokes often fell flat on his audience, but his music was quite well received, especially by the young crowd. He invited the beauties from the audience on the stage to dance to his tunes and too many were eager to oblige causing enough stress to the organizers. The stress heightened when he invited a bunch of kids to the stage and got the volunteers and stage managers panicking to prevent an accident (which could have potentially resulted in severe unpleasant consequences). Thankfully, nothing untowardly happened.  Babul even pulled up one of the senior most members of Kallol, Ajit Rakshit, and made him dance to his rendition of "Khaike paan...".   \r\nBabul was possibly well prepped up to cater to the wide range of his audience''s age and taste,  and he delivered by singing not only the recent and popular numbers but also several oldies from Manna Dey, Hemanta Mukherjee and others. Overall, Babul tried his best to impress his audience, but the question remains as to whether he was worth the money spent on him. I saw many people nodding their heads in disappointment stating that these songs could have been possibly rendered by many talented singers at a fraction of the cost. \r\n\r\nSo this was Kallol''s Durga Puja celebration. I am sure the other Pujo''s (which I missed) were also equally enjoyable. I''d like to hear about them too. \r\n\r\nWishing everybody a Happy Bijoya. \r\nSudipta', 'Another Successful Durga Puja by Kallol of NJ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'another-successful-durga-puja-by-kallol-of-nj', '', '', '2008-10-08 10:46:36', '2008-10-08 14:46:36', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=234', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(235, 1, '2008-10-06 16:03:38', '2008-10-06 20:03:38', '', 'Dhunuchi Dance', 0, 'Dhunuchi dance', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'dhunuchi_wt_web', '', '', '2008-10-06 16:03:38', '2008-10-06 20:03:38', '', 234, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/dhunuchi_wt_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(236, 1, '2008-10-07 12:40:36', '2008-10-07 16:40:36', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/neel.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/neel.jpg" alt="Neel Kashkari" title="Neel Kashkari" width="239" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-237" /></a>Neel Kashkari, a 35 year old son of immigrant parents Chaman and Sheila Kashkari from Jammu and Kashmir, has been appointed by the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to oversee and manage the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. This brings Neel directly under the global spotlight as to how he manages this huge and controversial issue that affects millions of people not only in USA, but also all around the globe. The other day, when an NPR radio commentator mentioned that "a rocket scientist" has been invited to rescue the Wall Street, he was not joking. Neel did work as an R&D engineer at TRW in California where he helped in the development of space technology for NASA, like the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled to be launched in 2013 to replace the aging Hubble Telescope. Neel received his  engineering training from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and later an MBA in finance from Wharton School of Univ. of Pennsylvania.  \r\nThe media is now buzz with this new comer and his name has already been a source of many puns and wise cracks - "Cash Carry" to handle the cash debacle? Isn''t he too young and inexperienced to handle such a grave economic situation? \r\nBut many are pinning their hopes on this bright young Indian American. His youth, his creative and out of the box thinking, as well as his engineering background to craft innovative solutions to tough problems, can prove to be an asset in resolving this crisis. We all look forward to Neel to get us out of this black hole.', 'Neel Kashkari to Oversee $700bn Bailout', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'neel-kashkari-to-oversee-700bn-bailout', '', '', '2008-10-07 12:40:36', '2008-10-07 16:40:36', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=236', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(237, 1, '2008-10-07 12:38:34', '2008-10-07 16:38:34', '', 'Neel Kashkari', 0, 'Neel Kashkari', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'neel', '', '', '2008-10-07 12:38:34', '2008-10-07 16:38:34', '', 236, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/neel.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(239, 1, '2008-10-08 18:41:22', '2008-10-08 22:41:22', 'NJPA cordially invites you with your family and friends to celebrate Kali Puja on October 25th, 2008.\r\nPuja :	3:00 P.M. to be performed by Swami Bikramananda of Bharat Sevasram\r\nDinner :	5:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.\r\nCultural Program :	7:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. Special attraction Shamit Tyagi of Sony Fame Gurukul\r\nVenue :	Crossroads South Middle School\r\n195 Major Road, Monmouth Junction, NJ, 08852', 'Kali Puja', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kali-puja', '', '', '2008-10-08 18:41:22', '2008-10-08 22:41:22', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=239', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(240, 1, '2008-10-08 18:52:30', '2008-10-08 22:52:30', 'Kallol of NJ to celebrate Lakshmi Puja on\r\nSaturday, October 11, 2008 \r\nAt the Kiddie Keep Well Camp 85 Roosevelt Drive, Edison NJ 08837 \r\n\r\nPuja: 3:00 p.m. 	  	Anjali: 4:00 p.m.\r\nDinner: 9:00 p.m. 	  	\r\n\r\nVijaya Sammelani & Cultural Program: 6:30 p.m. ', 'Kallol Kojagari Lakshmi Puja', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kallol-kojagari-lakshmi-puja', '', '', '2008-10-08 18:52:30', '2008-10-08 22:52:30', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=240', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(241, 1, '2008-10-13 21:11:43', '2008-10-14 01:11:43', 'In today''s world of minuscule attention span, writing and reading long blog articles are sure to lose popularity. After all the "text messaging" generation does not want  to spend hours reading long drawn blog essays. Hence "micro-blogging" is the rave of the day and undoubtedly,  the king of micro blogging is "Twitter".  The world blog comes from "Web Logs", which implies that blogs are essentially online logs of the blogger ramblings, sort of like a diary or online journal. Twitter does just that, it allows users to write snippets (140 characters or less) of any message that you want to share with your friends of the world, and they get logged onto your home page. But the story does not end here. If you have a bunch of friends who are interested in you, who want to know what you are up to, who would like to "follow you", they can link up with your "Tweets" and receive an update whenever you post something through tweeter. Check out my tweeter page <a href="http://twitter.com/bhawmik">http://twitter.com/bhawmik</a>  to figure out what I am talking about. For example, if you''d like to follow me, just click the link "follow". You will of course have to sign up with Twitter before you can follow somebody. People who are familiar with Orkut scrapping or Facebook wall writing or status update should get the idea, except on Twitter you are doing a one-to-many messaging, rather than one-on-one with global access.\r\n<!--more-->\r\nBesides individuals, many corporations, news organizations, radio stations, all have twitter accounts and you can follow any one you like. Corporations use Twitter as a marketing tool.  News organization use it to send out their latest breaking news snippets. Individuals use it to stay connected. The possibilities are endless. \r\n\r\nYou can send tweets or received tweets from your mobile phones. You can have desktop applications on your computer to receive and send tweets. And of course you can use the web site too. Once you get hooked on to it, it is hard to live without it.\r\n\r\nTwitter offers an API to build smart interfaces and plugins to use in several applications. For example, Wordpress bloggers can use a Twitter plugin to have their tweets posted on their blog page - check out the right hand side bar. You''ll notice a short column of my twitter messages. When I don''t have the time to write about a topic but feel the urgent need to share it with my readers, I use Twitter and the message gets posted on my blog.  This allows me to post the latest happenings. \r\n\r\nSo give it a shot. Try out Twitter and jump on the latest band wagon.', 'Twitter - The Latest Craze in Micro-blogging', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'twitter-the-latest-craze-in-micro-blogging', '', '', '2008-10-13 21:13:19', '2008-10-14 01:13:19', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=241', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(242, 1, '2008-10-14 21:17:03', '2008-10-15 01:17:03', 'On 16th November, at 3-30 p.m.\r\n\r\nRaag- Rang presents a magical evening of\r\n\r\nHindustani classical music, featuring the master of sound magic Steve Gorn on bamboo flute.\r\n\r\nConcert will start with two short vocal presentation by Anand Arikarevula\r\n\r\nand Smt Girija Iyer accompanied by Shree Amod Dandawate on tabla and Smt\r\n\r\nIndrani Chakrabarty Khare on harmonium.\r\n\r\nVenue: Universal Unitarian Congragation Of Princeton.\r\n\r\n50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton 08540.\r\n\r\nAdmission: non-members: $20.00(kids between 5-10 years $10.00).\r\n\r\nMembers: $15.00 (kids between 5 to 10 years $7.00).\r\n\r\nContact : (732)-241-7063, (609)-890-4890, (908)-240-8289 or\r\n\r\nEmail bhawmikm@gmail.com, mayuresh.khare@gmail.com,\r\n\r\ndhu92@optonline.net', 'Raag-Rang Presents Steve Gorn', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'raag-rang-presents-steve-gorn', '', '', '2008-10-14 21:17:03', '2008-10-15 01:17:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=242', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(243, 1, '2008-10-16 11:10:00', '2008-10-16 15:10:00', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pujor_saari_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pujor_saari_web.jpg" alt="Pujor Saari" title="Pujor Saari" width="450" height="348" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-244" /></a>From the recent comments and postings on this and other blogs and from the "addas" at various Bijoya Sammilani parties, I keep on getting a constant message - maybe we are missing the good old style Durga Puja as it used to happen in this part of the world. We all can agree on one thing that back home, the Bijoya Dashami was one of the saddest day of the year. No amount of "Naru", "Laddu" or "Ghugni" could sweep away the sadness. But when we came to this country, we discovered that Durga Puja does not have to end on one specific day. <!--more-->Each Puja committee celebrated the festival on non overlapping weekends and the festivities continued for weeks. As attendees to these festivals, we too felt the importance and the market value of our presence.  Due to the short supply of the Bengalis in this region, we were in high demand. We are treated as "Patrons" and not as "Registrants". These days, with all the major organizations having their Puja on the same weekend, we are missing out on this prolonged celebrations. In this foreign land, where social interactions between ourselves are so rare, we long for the opportunity to meet at a common place, spend some time together, exchange few words, share our joys and sorrows. This fragmentation of the festivities is tearing this fragile social bond in some sense. Many of our friends with whom we meet every year at these Puja festivals, could not attend the same venue. This never happened in the earlier days. However, I guess this was inevitable. When a society grows, such fragmentation is bound to happen.\r\nBut thanks to Anandamandir and Bharat Sevashram Sangha, this year the festivities were extended by at least one more week and the members of our community could display their newly acquired fashion gear for few more days. \r\n\r\nSubho Bijoya to you all.', 'Cartoon of the Week 9: Are we Missing Something?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-9-are-we-missing-something', '', '', '2008-10-16 11:18:43', '2008-10-16 15:18:43', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=243', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(244, 1, '2008-10-16 11:09:06', '2008-10-16 15:09:06', '', 'Pujor Saari', 0, 'Pujor Saari', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'pujor_saari_web', '', '', '2008-10-16 11:09:06', '2008-10-16 15:09:06', '', 243, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pujor_saari_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(246, 1, '2008-10-22 11:11:36', '2008-10-22 15:11:36', '<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FYGofKL8FN8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FYGofKL8FN8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>\r\nLast night (Tuesday Oct 21, 9.52pm US Eastern time) I watched with awe when the giant PSLV rocket blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space center in Shriharikota, India, carrying with it India''s pride - the Chadrayaan-1 unmanned lunar mission.  Largely ignored by the US media, the Chandrayaan-1 mission may not be of much interest to the US population but it is a giant step for India to prove to the world that India can do whatever it puts its mind to. With the success of this mission, India will join the select group of countries who have made lunar missions.  Many are asking for the economic justification of such an expensive adventure. When the majority of Indians are lacking the basic necessities of life,  scientific extravaganza like a "Lunar mission" is seen as nothing but sheer luxury. The nuclear exercise at least had some tangible benefits in the defense and energy sector. What benefits are we expecting by sending a box full of instruments to the moon? Are we sending a space craft to the moon only because "it is there"? Or is it because we want to stake a claim on a new frontier by planting the tri-color just as we did in Antartica? <!--more-->\r\nAlthough, both of the above objectives are true to some extent, I think the motivations are deeper than that. Expeditions like this add value in many dimensions. First of all it improves the scientific and technological credibility of the country in the global community and firmly establishes India as a major technological power. Secondly, India''s moon missions and the advanced rocket launch capability can prove to be a profitable venture as they offer this service to other countries to carry their space and/or lunar payloads at a competitive price. Chandrayaan-1 is already carrying multiple foreign instruments including two from USA.  A third benefit that may come out of this is the development of ancillary industries to support the space missions. For example, in USA, most of the NASA development work is done by third party contractors. The demands of space technology can foster the development of many products that can be beneficial to the common people. When a large scientific project like this gets in motion, the scientific community gets energized and the offshoot technologies, that may or may not be directly related to the space missions, can themselves prove to be extremely beneficial. And of course we cannot completely ignore the knowledge gained from the experiments conducted on the lunar surface.\r\n\r\nDuring the summer of 1981, I had the good fortune of working with the Indian Space Research Organization''s (ISRO) Ahmedabad outfit as a summer trainee from IIT Kharagpur. Although it was only a two month association, but I think I can still claim some kinship with this organization and feel proud that I too had once contributed to what has culminated today to a full fledged moon mission - the Chandrayaan. \r\n\r\nWay to go ISRO, way to go India!\r\n\r\nFor more details on the mission visit the <a href="http://www.chandrayaan-i.com/">Chandrayaan website</a>.', 'Chandrayaan-1 Lifts Off', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chandrayaan-1-lifts-off', '', '', '2008-10-22 11:16:24', '2008-10-22 15:16:24', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=246', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(247, 1, '2008-10-23 20:20:07', '2008-10-24 00:20:07', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/nonta_khaabaar.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/nonta_khaabaar.jpg" alt="Namak Harami Korbo Naa." title="Nonta Khabar" width="450" height="306" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-248" /></a>In the famous Bengali play "Alibaba" by Khirodprasad Bidyabinod, when the righteous dacoit chief came as a guest to Alibaba''s home - he mentioned about one diet restriction that he had - he doesn''t eat salt. Obviously his salt restriction was not because of hypertension or any other nephrological disease that he might have had (the playwright did not give any clues except that he was quite hot tempered). He didn''t want Alibaba to serve him any salty food because then he would have had to pay for his salt indebtedness. He would no longer be able to kill Alibaba and his family and loot back his wealth. He could never be a "Namak Haram"! Such is the power of salt. This mythological power of salt has been used as a test of ones righteousness. If you ever ingest salt served by somebody, you should always sing his praise - in Bengali we say "Noon khai jaar - Goon gai taar!" But these days we hardly obey such silly dictum.<!--more-->  So, when an eligible bachelor makes his rounds with his family at potential brides homes they look forward to the traditional hospitality of being served with a sumptuous meal both sweet and salty. I know of a person who used to have is regular evening snacks at potential brides places. I even heard a story that some NRI person, before going to India on a vacation, would advertise in a Kolkata newspaper looking for a bride. Then he would visit each of the applicants house and enjoy a great meal. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this story, but I wouldn''t be surprised if somebody nurtured such a perverse hobby. \r\nThe tradition of arranged marriage in India is a long way from being eradicated from the society. But if you do not like the girl sitting in front of  the potential in-laws, at least have the courtesy to refuse the salty food being served in front of you. At least, it will give the girls family, some kind of a sign. ', 'Cartoon of the Week 10: The Power of Salt', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-10-the-power-of-salt', '', '', '2008-11-03 13:00:16', '2008-11-03 17:00:16', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=247', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(248, 1, '2008-10-23 17:05:28', '2008-10-23 21:05:28', '', 'Nonta Khabar', 0, 'Namak Harami Korbo Naa.', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'nonta_khaabaar', '', '', '2008-10-23 17:05:28', '2008-10-23 21:05:28', '', 247, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/nonta_khaabaar.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(249, 1, '2008-10-30 01:48:47', '2008-10-30 05:48:47', '<strong>by AMITAVA SEN</strong>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/obama8.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/obama8-240x300.jpg" alt="Barack Obama" title="obama" width="240" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-250" /></a>It is hard to be in a party these days without entering in to a conversation about the presidential election. My Bengali friends are frenzied and crazed about the prospect of Barack Obama getting elected our president. They are incredulous about the fact that they are living in the same planet and at the same age as The One. It’s like the second comings of Jesus Christ, Gautama Budhha and Lord Krishna, all combined together.  Throw in Elvis Presley and a sprinkle of Karl Marx in the mixture.  Barack Obama, we are sure is going to set every thing right on January 21, 2009 and in the process make us all millionaires with his tax cut. Talk about world peace? We are going to dinner with Iran, Al Qaeda and Taliban, our buddies and we will all live happily ever after in peace. Dow is going to touch 20,000 in weeks, our 401(K) reverting to its full glory and all those crooks in Wall Street will be sent to gallows. <!--more-->\r\nWhile animated discussions were going on in our weekend party, I noticed the absence of one person amongst us who was often teary-eyed at the mention of the coming of the messiah.  Where were they, he and his wife? I inquired.\r\nI was told that she wasn’t feeling well.  That was not the real reason though.  I didn’t, but it seemed every one else knew the underlying reason for her not feeling so well. Her daughter who is a doctor in Texas has signaled her intention to get engaged soon. Her fiancé is a doctor too; they have known each other since their days at Baylor Medical School.  Man’s parents are medical practitioners in Texas.  And his brother is a lawyer from Harvard.\r\n\r\nFabulous, so where is the problem?  What more the parents can want for their child?  Well, there is a small problem, the man is good looking, six feet tall; but he is African American, Black in other words. The parents are so embarrassed; they would rather not face their friends.\r\nEvery one of us in the party was understanding and empathetic. How could a mother act any other way?  How could the parents and the family be stigmatized like this and still feel well? The ladies sniffed at the prospect, the men looked away. Except one who argued; so what if he was black.  He is different, wouldn’t fit in our culture; comes the answer from a couple whose daughter is married to a Caucasian and he is white alright.  Even if he is a notch lower in academic or economic ladder and his culture is also not quite same as ours, the couple is happy about their daughter’s choice. They even took their white son-in-law to show off to their relatives in Calcutta.  We did not quite see the point here and did not really know where the difference was, but we agreed intuitively.\r\nHow about Barack Obama as your son-in-law, I asked. Can you imagine Obama, who had almost reached the threshold of sainthood coming to your home? Of course that would be a real privilege and an honor; but not as my son-in-law, was the unanimous sentiment. Was it because he was dark skinned?  Some one in the party pointed out that Obama may be a shade lighter than half the people in the room.  My friends were flabbergasted with the argument; didn’t every body see the point?  He is black.  We’re not ready, at least not yet to accept a black person as family.\r\n\r\nIt is that simple.  Why does not every body get such an obvious point, the couple with Caucasian son-in-law said in exasperation. I do get their point but what I do not get is how I can anoint a person as my president who is not fit to be my daughter’s husband.\r\n', 'Barack Obama: Son-in-Law', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'barack-obama-son-in-law', '', '', '2008-10-30 01:48:47', '2008-10-30 05:48:47', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=249', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(250, 1, '2008-10-30 01:48:17', '2008-10-30 05:48:17', '', 'obama', 0, 'Barack Obama', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'obama8', '', '', '2008-10-30 01:48:17', '2008-10-30 05:48:17', '', 249, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/obama8.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(251, 1, '2008-10-30 21:35:17', '2008-10-31 01:35:17', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/bazar_kore_wt_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/bazar_kore_wt_web.jpg" alt="Bonghisr Bazaar" title="bazar_kore_wt_web" width="450" height="321" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-252" /></a>', 'Cartoon of the Week 11: Sheer Pleasure', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-11-sheer-pleaseure', '', '', '2008-11-05 12:34:29', '2008-11-05 16:34:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=251', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(252, 1, '2008-10-30 21:34:03', '2008-10-31 01:34:03', '', 'bazar_kore_wt_web', 0, 'Bonghisr Bazaar', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bazar_kore_wt_web', '', '', '2008-10-30 21:34:03', '2008-10-31 01:34:03', '', 251, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/bazar_kore_wt_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(253, 1, '2008-11-03 12:54:34', '2008-11-03 16:54:34', '<strong>A Musical Odyssey : Journey through history and Genres</strong>\r\nA unique mehfil celebrating the diversity of raagdari and folk music from India''s different regions. Our journey will take us across India''s landscape, stopping at points of interest from the Himalayan Highlands to the backwaters of Kerala, from the havelis of Rajasthan to the flowing waters of Bengal, as distinguished artists perform the music of their heritage.\r\n\r\nGhazals, Bhajans, Taranas, Tillanas, Folk, Thumris, Dhrupad, Khayal, Kirtans, and more - \r\nFeaturing:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Dr. Mohan Deshpande               \r\nMitali Banerjee-Bhawmik  \r\nAstha Shukla-Shrivastav\r\nKamala Ramamurthy       \r\nBhupendra Gadhavi                \r\nTrupti Parikh  \r\nUma Ramakrishnan  \r\nKedar Naphade       \r\nAmod Dandawate</blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNovember 9, 2008, 4:00pm (sharp)\r\n\r\nHills Highlands Recreation Center/Clubhouse \r\n75 Hansom Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920\r\n\r\nTel: (201) 447-6936, (908) 429-1120, (973) 539-5534\r\nDonations of $15/adult & $7/below 18 years of age will be collected at the door. Limited seating, RSVP.\r\nLimited parking at Venue. Street parking is allowed. Please look for the appropriate road signs.\r\n', 'Music Of India', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'music-of-india', '', '', '2008-11-03 12:54:34', '2008-11-03 16:54:34', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=253', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(254, 1, '2008-11-03 12:56:07', '2008-11-03 16:56:07', 'AN EVENING OF SITAR AND VOCAL CLASSICAL MUSIC\r\n \r\nSRI PARTHA BOSE : SITAR\r\nEVENING RAGAS AND DHUNS\r\n \r\nSMT ESHA BANDOPADHYAY\r\nKHYAL,THUMRI,RAGPRADHAN\r\n \r\nSRI ADITYA NARAYANBANERJEE: TABLA\r\nSRI MADHU VORA: HARMONIUM\r\n \r\nAT 4343 RT 27, PRINCETON NJ\r\nDATE FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2008\r\nTIME 8PM\r\nSUGGESTED DONATION\r\n$20/COUPLE   $15/SINGLE\r\nREFRESHMENTS INCLUDED\r\nARATI BHATTACHARYA :7328878073\r\nNUPUR LAHIRI :7328213949', 'Sitar and Vocal Classical Music', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sitar-and-vocal-classical-music', '', '', '2008-11-03 12:56:07', '2008-11-03 16:56:07', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=254', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(255, 1, '2008-11-03 13:05:52', '2008-11-03 17:05:52', 'Cultural Association of Bengal presents\r\nHeritage\r\nA Centenary Celebration of Buddhadev Bose''s Literary Works\r\n\r\nOn August 16, 2008\r\nEdison Valley Playhouse, 2196 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ\r\n\r\n3-4:00PM- Poetry Reading & Seminar on Buddhadev Bose’s Literary Works\r\n4:30-5:30PM- A Play “Satya Sondho\r\n\r\nAdmission: $5 (including snacks)\r\nContact: 908-507-5998, 347-612-6111, 908-281-7438, 732-241-7060, 201-602-4291\r\n', 'Buddhadev Bose Centenary Celebration', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'buddhadev-bose-centenary-celebration', '', '', '2008-11-03 13:05:52', '2008-11-03 17:05:52', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=255', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(256, 1, '2008-11-05 12:32:31', '2008-11-05 16:32:31', '<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jll5baCAaQU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jll5baCAaQU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nNovember 4, 2008 will go down as one of the greatest days in America''s history. Today, the Americans rose up to a new hope, to look forward to the change promised by their President elect Barack Obama. Barriers of prejudice has been shattered and the impossible has been made possible. The entire world, along with the Americans, is looking towards the new leader with the hope that America will once again prove to be the great land of opportunity, a country that lends its helping hand to all in need, and a country that inspires everybody around the globe. The following two pictures illustrate how much hope the World has on this new leader.\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/capt2c23ea48aa4e4bdf9ffe6d5aabb29e1bindia_us_election_reax_amd101.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/capt2c23ea48aa4e4bdf9ffe6d5aabb29e1bindia_us_election_reax_amd101-300x183.jpg" alt="" title="India US Election Reax" width="300" height="183" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-257" /></a>An Indian artist (in Ahmedabad) makes a painting of American president elect Barack Obama and Mahatma Gandhi to mark the victory of Obama (photo courtesy AP Photo/Ajit Solanki). It is interesting to see how people are relating Obama to Mahatma Gandhi - through civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr.\r\n<p>\r\n<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/captcpsocy13061108011057photo00photodefault-512x347.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/captcpsocy13061108011057photo00photodefault-512x347-300x203.jpg" alt="Congrats Obama" title="captcpsocy13061108011057photo00photodefault-512x347" width="300" height="203" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-258" /></a>In Puri (Orrisa, India) a sand sculpture congratulating US president-elect Barack Obama by the Indian sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik on a beach has become a major attraction (Photo courtsey AFP/Sanjib Mukherjee). These photos clearly indicate that the World (and India) is hoping that Obama will be able to bring in lasting peace by keeping his promise of working with the countries of the world.\r\n</p><p>\r\nLet''s all stand behind this charismatic leader and help him build a new future for all of us.</p>', 'OBAMA WINS', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'obama-wins', '', '', '2008-11-06 12:15:32', '2008-11-06 16:15:32', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=256', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(257, 1, '2008-11-06 11:45:01', '2008-11-06 15:45:01', 'An Indian artist makes a painting of American president elect Barack Obama and Mahatma Gandhi to mark the victory of Obama in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)', 'India US Election Reax', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'india-us-election-reax', '', '', '2008-11-06 11:45:01', '2008-11-06 15:45:01', '', 256, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/capt2c23ea48aa4e4bdf9ffe6d5aabb29e1bindia_us_election_reax_amd101.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(258, 1, '2008-11-06 11:46:33', '2008-11-06 15:46:33', 'Congrats for Barack : A sand sculpture congratulating US president-elect Barack Obama by Indian sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik is seen on a beach in Puri.\r\n(AFP/Sanjib Mukherjee)', 'captcpsocy13061108011057photo00photodefault-512x347', 0, 'Congrats Obama', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'captcpsocy13061108011057photo00photodefault-512x347', '', '', '2008-11-06 11:46:33', '2008-11-06 15:46:33', '', 256, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/captcpsocy13061108011057photo00photodefault-512x347.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(262, 1, '2008-11-18 23:25:41', '2008-11-19 03:25:41', 'I had often been requested to write plays for our children. With our kids in mind, few years ago I wrote a play titled BSL or Bangla as a Second Language. BSL is a hilarious short play for children (pre-teens, teens, young adults) of Bengali origin. Neil, Nick, Jay and Seema live in USA. But like all children of Bengali speaking parents, they are being forced to learn Bengali (or Bangla) against their will. Neil, the most innovative and smart kid he is, invents a device that can make one learn Bangla (or any other language) in seconds. Nick agrees to be the first guinea pig for the trials of this machine and the results are - quite unexpected to say the least.<!--more--> The play was successfully staged during the Durga puja celebrations of Kallol few years ago.  I have also received several requests from the Bengalis living in different parts of the country to make the play available for their children.\r\n\r\nAlthough the script has been published earlier in the India Doot Saradiya magazine, unfortunately the magazine circulation is less than adequate to reach the right people.  Hence to make the script available to a larger readership, I have uploaded it on Scribd.com and can be downloaded or read <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/8118622/BSL-Bangla-as-a-Second-Language">here</a>. \r\n\r\n<a title="View BSL : Bangla as a Second Language document on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/8118622/BSL-Bangla-as-a-Second-Language" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">BSL : Bangla as a Second Language</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_338578564856348" name="doc_338578564856348" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" align="middle"	height="500" width="100%">		<param name="movie"	value="http://documents.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=8118622&access_key=key-2de6l9u0mtt2kwnmc9kv&page=1&version=1&viewMode="> 		</param><param name="quality" value="high"> 		</param><param name="play" value="true">		</param><param name="loop" value="true"> 		</param><param name="scale" value="showall">		</param><param name="wmode" value="opaque"> 		</param><param name="devicefont" value="false">		</param><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> 		</param><param name="menu" value="true">		</param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> 		</param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> 		</param><param name="salign" value="">    		<embed src="http://documents.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=8118622&access_key=key-2de6l9u0mtt2kwnmc9kv&page=1&version=1&viewMode=" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_338578564856348_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle"  height="500" width="100%"></embed>	</param></object>	<div style="margin: 6px auto 3px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;">	<a href="http://www.scribd.com/upload" style="text-decoration: underline;">Get your own</a> at Scribd or <a href="http://www.scribd.com/browse" style="text-decoration: underline;">explore</a> others:		  <a href="http://www.scribd.com/browse?c=64-literature" style="text-decoration: underline;">Literature</a>  		  <a href="http://www.scribd.com/browse?c=65-children-s" style="text-decoration: underline;">Children''s</a>  			  <a href="http://www.scribd.com/tag/children" style="text-decoration: underline;">children</a>  		  <a href="http://www.scribd.com/tag/theatre" style="text-decoration: underline;">theatre</a>  		</div>\r\n\r\nNOTE: If someone decides to stage the play, please send me an email. The play should not be staged without the permission of the playwright.', 'BSL : Bangla as a Second Language', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bsl-bangla-as-a-second-language', '', '', '2008-11-18 23:25:41', '2008-11-19 03:25:41', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=262', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(260, 1, '2008-11-12 12:19:32', '2008-11-12 16:19:32', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/zoo_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/zoo_web-300x221.jpg" alt="Culture Shock" title="Culture Shock" width="300" height="221" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-261" /></a>The other day I was at the Union County College (UCC) to participate in a seminar/talk about immigrant issues as portrayed in works of art and literature. The topic emerged from the works of Jhumpa Lahiri, since her two books, "Interpreter of Maladies" and "The Namesake", are being selected as the college novels for the 2008-2009 term. After my talk, few of us were chatting regarding how we deal with cultural differences in our everyday life in this country. Each of us were narrating some incidents in our life and in connection to "The Namesake" we were talking about the significance of names in different cultures,  how we address each other, and how they are being interpreted. <!--more-->When I was giving the example of how, in the film "The Namesake", Ashoke and Ashima reacted when Maxine addressed Ashoke by his first name, one of the faculty members mentioned that she doesn''t like her students address her by her first name.  This came as a surprise to me, cause in many cases I have seen students addressing their professors by their first name, and at the insistence of the professors themselves.  The UCC professor also mentioned that in one instance, when one of her students addressed her as "Miss", she didn''t like it either. I told her that in India, we used to call our lady teachers in schools as "Miss" and maybe that''s what this student thought would be appropriate to address her, although "Madam" would have been more appropriate especially in a college. She then felt much better. One of the UCC students, mentioned that in her home country (Portugal), they would not even address their teachers as "you". For example, instead of asking one''s professor, "Would you like a cup of coffee?", she would ask "Would Prof. Das like a cup of coffee?" Addressing the Prof as "you" would have been too demeaning. \r\n\r\nExperiencing culture shock, and then to learn to absorb the shock, is what we have been doing every day since we arrived in this country. It is not only the language and behavior that matters, but also our environment and our surroundings surprises us quite often.  Things that we take for granted and feel are obvious in one culture becomes something rare and exotic in another. The case in point is highlighted in the above cartoon. Long time ago, I had taken my kids to the zoo and was amazed too see common animals like goats and cows, whom we used to see everyday in the streets of India, are kept in a zoo for kids to watch and pet. Similarly, when visitors from India come here and see herds of deer in our backyard, they get excited cause in India you get to see a deer only in a zoo or in one of the exotic forest reserves. \r\nI used to be shocked to see common people keeping snakes and lizards as pets in this country. In India, we always tried (in vain) to stay away from these reptiles.  The list of such shocking experiences goes on and on. \r\n\r\nWhy not share your culture shock experience with us all? We can have a good laugh together. So click the comment link and jot down one of your hilarious experiences. We all will feel much better.', 'Cartoon of the week 12: Culture Shock', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-12-culture-shock', '', '', '2008-11-12 12:19:32', '2008-11-12 16:19:32', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=260', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(261, 1, '2008-11-12 12:04:51', '2008-11-12 16:04:51', '', 'Culture Shock', 0, 'Culture Shock', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'zoo_web', '', '', '2008-11-12 12:04:51', '2008-11-12 16:04:51', '', 260, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/zoo_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(263, 1, '2008-11-20 21:09:29', '2008-11-21 01:09:29', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/astrology_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/astrology_web.jpg" alt="Can you please tell me from which platform will the train depart?" title="Prediction" width="500" height="347" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-264" /></a>\r\nMany of us are strong believers in astrology and other similar practices like palmistry, tarot cards etc. etc. that claim to predict one''s future. A huge industry runs on servicing such people and also provides employment to millions. The television and other media advertisements of such sooth sayers and fortune tellers prove that they earn enough money to invest in these marketing campaigns. The precious and semi-precious gem stone market in India depends on the belief that the negative influence of the planets and stars can be countered by wearing a specific kind of gem stone that can cost thousands of rupees. <!--more-->Circulation of newspapers and magazines thrive on the so called accuracy of their horoscope/sun-sign columns. It should be a topic of serious investigation by psychologists as to how can a large segment of the population be swayed to believe that the future events of their life depends on the time of their birth or is scribed in the lines in their palms. It is true that sometimes such predictions help boost ones confidence, or provide them with some kind of mental strength to deal with an unforeseen event whether it happens or not. But in many cases it rather acts the negative way, pushing someone into desperation or even depression, leading to serious consequences.  \r\nHowever, I feel that these predictors of future can be utilized in rather useful ways as seen in this cartoon. If one could predict when a train would depart, or whether a flight would be delayed or not, it would be a great service to people like us.', 'Cartoon of the Week 13: Prediction', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-13-prediction', '', '', '2008-11-20 21:09:29', '2008-11-21 01:09:29', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=263', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(264, 1, '2008-11-20 18:18:43', '2008-11-20 22:18:43', '', 'Prediction', 0, 'Can you please tell me from which platform will the train depart?', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'astrology_web', '', '', '2008-11-20 18:18:43', '2008-11-20 22:18:43', '', 263, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/astrology_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(265, 1, '2008-11-20 21:31:35', '2008-11-21 01:31:35', 'Ananda Mandir invites you on Friday, Nov.21st , 2008 at 8:00 PM  to join Sahitya O Alochana  for an evening of discussion on Ritwik Ghatak. ?????? (?????) ??? the brilliant & famous bengali scriptwriter & filmaker that is compared with Satyajit Ray & Mrinal Sen. The discussion would cover his life, sense, impact influences, and manner of reinventing cinema.\r\n \r\nAll are welcome.\r\n\r\nFor further information please call 973-939-7375.', 'Sahitya Alochona', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sahitya-alochona', '', '', '2008-11-20 21:34:03', '2008-11-21 01:34:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=265', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(266, 1, '2008-11-27 14:20:10', '2008-11-27 18:20:10', 'It is Thanksgiving eve and this dastardly scene unfolds in front of me on the Indian News networks - Mumbai under attack. Soon CNN picked it up and all news networks focused on the financial capital of India - Mumbai. It was dramatic, to say the least, to witness the Taj, Oberoi and Trident hotels on fire, gun shots and explosions, and the closeups of blood stained people and property. As I write this, the siege is still on with several hostages under the clutches of the terrorists and more than 100 people killed. \r\n\r\nI don''t know who is doing this (although some sources are reporting that Deccan Mujaheddin has claimed responsibility) and for what purpose, but it is clear that it is a very well planned and well coordinated effort to not only shake up India, but also the entire world. India is rapidly gaining recognition as a major economic power, it''s opinions carry lot of weight in the global economy. All major economies in the world are eager to do business with India and Mumbai is their main port of call.  Possibly the terrorists hope to scare off the world by trying to demonstrate Mumbai (and India) as an unsafe place to do business with. But they are grossly mistaken. They fail to understand that the world is not only watching their cowardly attacks but also the heroic efforts by the police and the army, the selfless efforts of the hotel employees who risked their lives to save  their guests. The chief of anti terrorist squad, Hemant Karkare and the additional commissioner of police, Ashok Kamte laid down their lives along with several other of their compatriots to save the lives of the people of Mumbai. The entire world will be with India and thwart the efforts of the terrorists to isolate India. \r\n\r\nLet''s all condemn these attacks and show our solidarity behind the people of Mumbai. Our deepest condolences goes to the families of the victims of this incident. We hope that the people of Mumbai and India will stay calm and not do anything rash and violent to hurt their fellow citizens ''cause  that will only serve the cause of the terrorists.   ', 'Terror in Mumbai', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'terror-in-mumbai', '', '', '2008-11-27 14:20:10', '2008-11-27 18:20:10', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=266', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(267, 1, '2008-11-27 15:26:53', '2008-11-27 19:26:53', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/urhalpool.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/urhalpool-300x205.jpg" alt="Urhalpool" title="urhalpool" width="300" height="205" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-268" /></a>A new Bengali/English webzine, <a href="http://urhalpool.com">Urhalpool</a>, has been launched by the local New Jersey group Shrishti.  The magazine is edited by Gautam Dutta and the first issue consists of contributions from some great writers like Sunil Ganguly, Taslima Nasreen, Sreejato, Subodh Sarkar, Maillika Sengupta, Alolika Mukherjee, Jyotirmoy Dutta and others. The issue also includes interviews of Bratya Basu, Suman Ghosh, Gautam Ghosh, Noam Chomsky and others. The cover is painted by the celebrated artist Paritosh Sen. \r\nUrhalpool is indeed a commendable effort. But as with most magazine, be it print or online, the challenge is sustaining it for the long term. I hope the publishers of this magazine keep up their good work through perseverance and love for literature and art.', 'Urhalpool: A New Bengali/English Webzine', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'urhalpool-a-new-bengalienglish-webzine', '', '', '2008-11-27 15:26:53', '2008-11-27 19:26:53', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=267', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(268, 1, '2008-11-27 15:25:14', '2008-11-27 19:25:14', 'A Webzine', 'urhalpool', 0, 'Urhalpool', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'urhalpool', '', '', '2008-11-27 15:25:14', '2008-11-27 19:25:14', '', 266, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/urhalpool.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(269, 1, '2008-12-04 22:11:01', '2008-12-05 02:11:01', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/tag_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/tag_web-300x240.jpg" alt="Buy and Return" title="Buy and Return" width="300" height="240" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-270" /></a>Last week the holiday shopping season kicked off with mad black Friday. With the current economic turmoil and officially declared recession looming on us, many pundits predicted that this shopping season will be less than stellar. However, the black Friday sales reports say something different. Shoppers flocked to the stores in hordes, many camped outside their favorite stores overnight. The tragic stampede death of a security worker at the Long Island Wal-mart clearly indicated the shopper frenzy was not at all dampened by any economic concerns. On the other hand, some may argue, that this shopper frenzy is caused due to the economic conditions since people want to spend the minimum this season. Hence black Friday was possibly their only option to get the best possible deals. \r\nThe other day I heard another pundit on the NPR who suggested that whatever disposable (now that''s a loaded word) income one makes this season, they should spend at the stores. This not only helps the economy, but also is the best use of the money at this moment since neither the stock market nor the bank can be relied upon. Hence enjoy while you can. \r\nAnother option may be to enjoy short term and return! The long return lines at the stores after the Christmas can be longer this season. After the instant gratification of shopping a fresh product, send it back to where it came from. Returning stuff is a hobby for many folks. They just buy stuff only to return them. The liberal return policy of these stores (who believe that the best way to satisfy a customer is to gladly accept the returned merchandise) have spoiled many a shopper. They love to return stuff, they seem to fall in love with the customer service counter as much as they love the cash counter. The only gripe they have is that they need to retain the price tags and the receipts. If only the tags could have been made invisible and the requirements for receipts waived - this world would have been heaven!', 'Cartoon of the Week 14: Buy and Return', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-14-buy-and-return', '', '', '2008-12-04 22:11:01', '2008-12-05 02:11:01', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=269', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(270, 1, '2008-12-04 22:08:18', '2008-12-05 02:08:18', '', 'Buy and Return', 0, 'Buy and Return', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'tag_web', '', '', '2008-12-04 22:08:18', '2008-12-05 02:08:18', '', 269, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/tag_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(271, 1, '2008-12-12 00:50:40', '2008-12-12 04:50:40', 'Like me, if any of you watch ETV Bangla in your homes, you must be watching this new tele-serial "Dhoop Chhaya" or "Sun and Shade" the latest remake of "The Godfather". Since Francis Ford Coppola made his classic mafia-gangster movie trilogy and created film making history, there has been several attempts to make films inspired by these great classics. Ram Gopal Verma made his Sarkar and Sarkar Raj adapted directly from the Coppola classics with the Bachchan father son duo - Amitabh and Abhishek. And now ETV Bangla is doing their share - "Dhoop Chhaya" a new tele-serial directed by Debangshu Sengupta and produced by Atanu Roy.  The story revolves around the mafia family of Raghuram Pathak (Don) whose hot headed son Uday Pathak (Sonny) and the more refined Parashar Pathak (Michael) rule the Kolkata underworld.  The opening episode looked so much like that of the opening sequence of Godfather (I) that I expected to see a shot by shot remake. The serial even has the family counsel Tom Hagen''s (Robert Duvall) character is played in this serial by Saswato Chatterjee.  However, the serial has now taken its own twists and turns, and like most serials, the believability of these plot twists are questionable. But overall, the serial has the intensity to keep the viewers glued to the screen. The acting overall is at par and in some instances, quite good. Another positive aspect of this serial is the presence of some fresh new faces. It often becomes tiring to see the same faces in all serials. Sometimes it becomes difficult to figure out what serial is on - the same actors acting out similar characters in similar story lines. It seems the actors are not at all concerned about over exposure and how it can damage their career as well as the viewership of these serials. Kolkata never lacked in acting talent and we the viewers would like to see fresh talent on our screens.  I hope the producers will take notice of this issue. ', 'Dhoop Chhaya : Yet Another Godfather Remake', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'dhoop-chhaya-yet-another-godfather-remake', '', '', '2008-12-12 00:50:40', '2008-12-12 04:50:40', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=271', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(289, 1, '2009-02-27 00:34:09', '2009-02-27 04:34:09', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/slumdogs.gif"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/slumdogs.gif" alt="Hey, shouldn&#039;t we get our fair share?" title="slumdogs" width="298" height="264" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-290" /></a>The recent success of "Slumdog Millionaire" at the Oscars have resurfaced a new crisis that has often plagued us, the people of India and Indian origin. Well, I should possibly qualify that statement by saying that not everybody is complaining. In fact the slum dwellers are celebrating the Oscar win as their won victory. It is only those people who feel insecure of their reality has been complaining the most by accusing that these artists and film makers are making millions by exploiting the poverty of India. Many have been offended by the film''s title "Slumdog" as a derogatory comment on the slum dwellers. Some have even moved to the court and demanded that the film be re-titled. Some have been organizing protest rallies and meetings to awaken the masses against the western exploitation of our poverty.<!--more--> However, such accusation have not been made only against the western film makers. Satyajit Ray was criticized several times for winning awards by displaying the poverty of India to the international audience. They complain that films like "Slumdog" do not portray the real India. India is not only tattered slums and undernourished villages - it is also the skyscrapers, the multi-nationals, SENSEX and the vast middle class for which the entire world is trying to set up their stores in India.   But is it the true India? \r\n\r\nI guess it is a moot point to attribute such labels to a country as large and complex as India. Trying to describe it in any simple terms is like those three blind men who tried to describe an elephant. Any attempt to portray India using simple motifs like slums or villages is just that, nothing more. But art is not just labels and stamps and no work of art should be viewed as such. "Pather Panchali", "Ashani Sanket" were not about poverty but about the spirit of humanity.  Danny Boyle''s "Slumdog Millionaire" is not about slums, it is about the spirit of the characters, their hopes, and their dreams to succeed in an environment that works against them.  An artists role is not to provide solutions to problems, but to use his/her art as a mirror and hold it in front of us such that we can see ourselves in a different light. \r\n\r\nI don''t claim that "Slumdog" is the best film ever made, but it is indeed a good film, a thoroughly enjoyable film that does expose some of the unpleasant realities of Indian cities. It even reminded me of a novel we read when I was a child, "Maa Ami Ashok" (Mother, I am Ashok"), a heart wrenching tale about a young boy who was kidnapped by the anti-socials who used to cripple the children and force them to beg on city streets.  It was hard to believe that such ghastly things can happen then, as it is now. But the human spirit can overcome any hurdles as long as it has the will to succeed, and a dream to pursue.\r\n  ', 'Slumdogs, Oscars, and Artists', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'slumdogs-oscars-and-artists', '', '', '2009-02-27 00:36:56', '2009-02-27 04:36:56', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=289', 0, 'post', '', 0);
