SAJAforum

AMERICA SPOTTING: "Fiddler on the Roof" in Hindi, in Delhi

Ben Frumin, an American journalist in India, has a piece in the current issue of New York's Jewish Daily Forward about a Hindi version of "Fiddler on the Roof." From "From Raj to Riches, Tevye Hits Delhi":

Despite the fact that almost all her knowledge of Jews and Jewish culture comes from a couple of books and the film “Schindler’s List,” Renu Chopra, a slight Hindu woman raised in the north Indian state of Punjab, plays a surprisingly convincing Yente, the nosy shtetl matchmaker in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

“I’ve never met a Jew, never,” Chopra said while wrapping a black shawl around a sparkling gold-and-red kurta during a recent rehearsal. “People [in India] don’t know about Jews. They have no idea about Jews.”

That’s not surprising, considering that there are only about 5,000 Jews in this country of 1.1 billion people, and only about 40 Jews in the capital city of New Delhi. But that didn’t stop an amateur theater company here from staging a Hindi “Fiddler” that’s played five times since this past December, with four more shows scheduled for April. The play, a recent performance of which drew an audience of about 1,000, has enjoyed considerable success in a city where Bollywood blockbusters are a far bigger draw than the slim theatrical pickings.
<snip>
The production — put on by Dramatech, a 23-year-old amateur theater company run by alumni of a prestigious technical institute — is a lean version of the original musical. Sagar spent months carefully translating several songs to Hindi, including “Tradition” (“Parampara”), “Matchmaker” (“War De Mujhe”), “If I Were a Rich Man” (“Jo Main Hota Malamaal”) and “To Life” (“Zindagi”). But others were cut, including “Miracle of Miracles,” “Tevye’s Dream” and “Now I Have Everything.”

Read his full piece here (the word "shtetl," which shows up a couple of times in the copy, refers to a small Jewish village or town, as seen in throughout 19th Century Europe - a word that doesn't need translation in The Forward).

See several grainy video clips  from this play below. Post your comments, please.

AMERICA SPOTTING: A village called America - in India

Here's news of a village in India with an unusual name. The press in India have noted a village called America about 85 miles from colorful Jodhpur, in the heart of Rajasthan. From the Times of India story:

India's own America is just a few kilometres from Falodi and Kheechan, famous for the migratory demoiselles crane. Its actual name happens to be Lordiyan, but, over the years, it has acquired the tag "America" - and each villager seems to have his own reason for calling it so.

"America" has 100% literacy and is self-reliant in many respects. "Our self-confidence is the reason people started calling our village 'America'," says Bansi Lal Vyas, 65, a retired schoolteacher.

His peer Lalji gives another twist: "Many residents of this prosperous village moved to Mumbai. Also the womenfolk of this village used to go to Falodi in groups for shopping and their affluence and attitude led people of Falodi to refer to Lordiyan as America."

Resident Ashok Vyas, too, has a tale: "There's a belief that if anyone utters the name of this village in the morning, he would either go hungry through the day or meet with some mishap. Thus, people started calling this village by different names." This, according to Vyas, resulted in people gradually settling down on one name, and it happened to be America.

No word on whether they pronounce it "Amreeka" the way many northern Indians would say the country's name.

Although the name appears to be somewhat self-assigned based on Indians’ perception of “America” the witticism and spiritedness behind the renaming make its usage nearly undeniable. In the days when the name was still catching on, imagine a hearty shop owner in a noisy bazaar. Bits of sunlight color the tarmac. In the distance, a few familiar women can be seen approaching his shop. As they reach the steps of his shop and wipe their sandals on the welcome mat, “Khama ghani hukam! Aaiye, aaiye!” (Greetings, Ladies!) Turning to the shop attendant, “Naya maal nikalo ji, Amrica wali aayeen hain! (Take out the latest stock, the American women are here to shop.)   

Good sales that morning and the name finds a few more followers!

Early last year, SAJA covered a story about a "Lahore" In Orange County, Virginia by Imran Siddiqui of VOA’s Urdu TV Channel. Follow the link to read about how the name came about and the grand plans of a Pakistani American who had acquired some land at the time.

As for Lordiyan, it was not always America, neither ideologically nor by name.

Says Rajendra Saral, who translated many of Lenin's books from English to Rajasthani in the 1960s, "This village used to be called Lalchin [lal means red and chin is hindi for China] (after Red China) due to belief in Communist ideology in 1960s."

The village, about 1,500-strong, has nearly 750 houses with Pushkarna Brahmins dominating the social milieu, says Narsingh Das, the village sarpanch.

Long live the happy and united residents of America! Post your comments below.

PREZ RACE: Expat Democrats in India voting in global online primary

[ SAJAforum's resources for covering the 2008 Presidential Race ]

A Republican friend visiting India sent me a note about U.S. Democrats reaching out to expats in India. From DemocratsInIndia.org:

U.S. citizens living abroad may vote in the U.S. Democratic Party’s February 5-12, 2008 Global Presidential Primary – the first ever online, worldwide U.S. election.

Nevada, South Carolina, Florida, Super Tuesday…soon it will be your turn to vote in the Global Primary, from anywhere in the world. For the first time in history, you can vote online – but only if you register to vote and join Democrats Abroad by January 31 at www.VoteFromAbroad.org. When you register you will receive a ballot, a secure ID and instructions for voting.

Whether or not you register by the January 31 deadline, you also have the option of casting your ballot in person at our New Delhi Voting Center: Ploof Restaurant, 13 Main Market, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi February 5 (Tuesdsay), 6 (Wednesday), 9 (Saturday) and
12 Tuesday), from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. on each day. Bring your passport, register with Democrats Abroad and vote a paper ballot on the spot!

Read more about the effort below. Meanwhile, in response to a question about similar Republican efforts, my friend wrote:

Haven't been able to find any Republicans. At least the Republicans don't seem to be active on the expat network. There seem to be lots and lots of young Americans -- both Indians and non-Indians working here with NGOs and they're the driving the Democratic outpost here!

If you know of similar Republican efforts in India (or Democratic efforts in other South Asian nations), please post in the comments below.

 

NEPAL: Orlando Bloom visits UNICEF programs in Nepal

Orlando Bloom became the latest young Hollywood figure to get involved with children in the developing world. He was just in my hometown of Pokhara, a small tourist destination just 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu.

Bloom was on a four-day visit to several UNICEF program sites for Nepali children in western districts of Kaski and Chitwan.

I found it amusing that villagers welcomed him with traditional garlands and red tika on the forehead.

From The New York Observer :

While most of us were eating cold noodles and watching Project Runway, another major Hollywood actor joined the industry’s growing brigade of charitable stars.<snip>

Later, when he visited another village, Pokhara, Mr. Bloom played a small role in a “mini-drama” that some three-dozen area children were recording for a radio program. The play was reportedly about “the plight faced by young girls in a hostel without a female warden.” Mr. Bloom played a helpful fellow guest with advice to share. “Talk about your problems,” he read from the script. “There’s no need to feel shy. It’s always good to talk about issues that concern you.”

More pictures and a report on his trip on the UNICEF website:

AMERICA SPOTTING: Chennai Photos

After much Desi Spotting in the U.S., I have compiled a bunch of photos as part of my America Spotting in the city of Chennai in June 2007.

Take a look - would love to hear your thoughts.

AMERICA SPOTTING: A Different Kind of White House

I spend so much time looking for desi stuff in the U.S., that I figured that during this India trip (Kerala & Chennai), I'd do some America spotting instead. I will post stuff as I come across it (do send us appropriate material, too).

Here's something to get us started. I came across this sign on a walk along Kovalam beach outside Thiruananthapuram (one of those cities that changed its name, just like Mumbai and Kolkata; in this case, it was formerly Trivandrum), the capital of Kerala. I have fond memories of it from my childhood - lots of evenings spent  during holidays  and such.

If you come across America Spotting stuff in South Asia, send it to saja[at]columbia.edu