Eating Elephants

Satyamev Jayate

Satyamev Jayate is a show airing in India that is becoming very important to creating some corrections to the injustices that are common to the people and ignored by those in authority, both official and cultural. Hosted by Amir Khan (and produced by him and his wife Kiran Rao), the topics being addressed are raising the ire of those that want the status quo kept the same. It is a similar show format to Oprah's talk show when she dealt with serious stuff.

All of the episodes are available with English subtitles. This is the 5th episode, I believe, and addresses love marriages and honor killings associated with them.

If you are wondering about some of the issues Hindustanis (Indian citizens) are facing on a regular basis, please check out episodes or segments of this program on YouTube. It is certainly not all issues, but change comes with each forward step. 

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

This is kinda for me, kinda for the curious others...

Every culture/country in the world has some form of staple "bread" item. Usually, it's a flat bread, often made out of a grain or sometimes a root. It's hard to figure out America's because there is so much influence from other countries. If I had to pick one, I would say Native American Fry Bread, but I think that came after the Europeans got here. 

So, in India, there are several types and varieties of bread native to Indian cooking. My favorite is chapati because of the flavor and, when I am at an Indian restaurant, I try to get roti because it is usually less filling than naan. Leaves more room for the good stuff.

I Googled Paratha Vs. Roti because I wanted to see if anyone had a good side by side description of the types of  Indian bread. I found this and it does a pretty good job. Wikipedia also has good pages and pictures about each of these. Here is the link to this info: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081013075612AAkR6KB

Enjoy!

Roti, Chapati & Paratha are all Indian flatbreads. They are made on a flat top griddle or tawa. They are similar but there are subtle differences:

ROTI is a traditional unleavened whole-wheat bread which, depending on the country and the cook, can be as thin as a "skin" or soft and pliable, closer to a pita. Rotis are eaten mainly in North India but are known as "phulkas" in the West & the South parts of India. Deep fried versions are known as "poori".

CHAPATI is traditionally made from very finely milled whole wheat "chapati flour" and tend to be thin and papery. They are made using a 3 fold process into a triangular shape and then rolled out into a circle. Each layer is well oiled (ghee), resulting in thin layers. This type of flatbread is also known as "poli" and eaten commonly in the Western & Southern regions of India. Nowadays, many cooks add a tbsp or so of yogurt to the dough with the end result being soft chapatis without the excess use of oil or ghee.

PARATHA is a North Indian flatbread that may be stuffed or not. It is usually on the thicker side and may have several layers (8-10) that are well oiled with ghee.

NAAN, which is made from white flour and leavened either with a starter or with yeast. It is traditionally made in a tandoor oven.

BHATURAS are fried versions of naans. They are eaten with chole. (Chole is a dish made with chickpeas, like a curry or masala.)

My New Love Speaks Marathi (Part 3)

So, as I learned more about Inida and how vast and diverse it is, I became enthralled. I began reading about non-movie news every day. I found, as more and more Americans seem to be, that India has this fascinating diversity that co-exists somehow. The conundrum seems to be that there are vast numbers of lower class and poverty stricken people whose numbers are getting larger and a higher class that seems to be getting smaller. The middle classes are struggling to emerge and define themselves. It seems they don't know how to resolve the poverty they see with the affluent life they think they want.


I wanted to understand what was going on more. I also developed an urge to help people there see that they can rise above where they were. I realized that it would be much easier by learning Hindi. Each Indian state or region also has it's own language. Since I want to go to Mumbai and Pune the most, I decided I also want to learn Marathi, which is what is spoken in Marharashtra.


I also decided to focus on Maharashtra because, even though there is so much work that could be done throughout the rest of the country, I would quickly become overwhelmed. (My brain needs something to focus on or it will focus on nothing.) There is so much facing that area right now, BUT there are so many who want to make life in Mumbai better for everyone!


So, how to get there? Well, like I said, language is important. I finally found a teacher in Rancho Cordova that can teach me Hindi and Marathi. I start in a few weeks and am very excited about it. I decided to also present a paper at a symposium at my school in March. It will be on the Jan Lokpal Bill which was recently introduced to the congress there. It is an anti-corruption bill that they have trouble getting passed. It's no too much of a surprise since India has often been found to be the one of the most corrupt countries. Although, per the list I liked here, it's better than it was; but for being the world's largest democracy, it's not doing too hot.


I guess there are a few reasons I want to go to India at this point. I am going to observe. I am going to serve. I am going to have fun. I am going to learn. I am going to connect with humans that are more worried about feeding their kids then posting on Facebook. Maybe I'll even get to help teach kids, which is something that will definitely keep India looking up! There are so many groups there working to help India rise above. I think I will have a hard time deciding where to start when I am ready.


So, that's the direction I am headed in. Not sure of all the steps yet or what the final product will look like. I need to focus on school and language right now. Challo!