Contributing editor Priya Ramachandran also blogs at Words on Water [img_assist|fid=2165|thumb=1|alt=shabana|caption= ] Indian actress Shabana Azmi, who was awarded the International Gandhi Peace Prize in London earlier this month, has triggered off a controversy with her statements that Islam did not require women to cover their faces. (Azmi is Muslim.) Predictably enough, the more conservative Muslim clerics in India are riled up about it.

Contributing Editor Priya Ramachandran also blogs at Words on Water [img_assist|fid=2145|thumb=1|alt=jolie] I really don't know what to think of rumors circulating that Brangelina are adopting from India this time. With a name like India planned, I assumed it would be a girl. But, to wit:

[img_assist|fid=1906|thumb=1|alt=gandhi] October 2nd was Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. In India, we used to look forward to this day mainly because it was a government holiday. Schools, banks, post offices all closed down. There'd be ceremonies everywhere - serious looking politicos would garland Gandhi photos, prayer songs would be sung. If your parents were like mine, they'd sit you down in front of the telly and make you watch Attenborough's Gandhi for the 418th time in your life.

Every mother knows this - pregnancy gives you that extra sanction, that lets you smile wistfully at kids on the street, or strike up "Don't you have the cutest smile ever?" conversations with wide-eyed kids. I was no different. I'd stop to admire kids everywhere - on the Metro, Target, Walmart, the restroom line. I'd gush about these kids to my husband, who thankfully did not suffer from the same craziness.

My daughter's baptism is around the corner. She will be formally accepted into the Catholic Church this Saturday. I have mixed feelings about it. In some ways, I rationalize that I just want her to be a good human being, so it does not matter what faith she is. But then, I worry that she will learn little of the Hindu identity she inherits from me, especially given how glamorous Christmas and Santa Claus can be. I worry than my plain vanilla Gods will pale in front of all that dazzle.