South Asia: This part of the world is also spinning

By: snigdhasen Topics: Politics & News World Asia

South Asia is going through turmoil -- some inflicted by nature, some by fellow humans. Myanmar's cyclone has mercilessly claimed lives in ways that we can't begin to fathom, no thanks to the Junta and its closed-door policies. Paddy fields in the Irrawaddy Delta have been washed away with bodies, bang in the middle of a global food crisis.

Food Crisis: Being more thankful, more thoughtful and less wasteful

A couple weeks back, news about limited rice exports from India gave my husband and I -- both raised on rice-heavy diets -- pause. We briefly mulled over the idea of buying an extra bag of rice just in case, but then let it slide.

Last week, our weekly groceries bill leaped from an average of $40-$60 to $90+. Whoa! What did we just buy?

Or is it the food crisis that we hear about? So it's here?

India outsources cheer: Some like it hot, some like it not

By: snigdhasen Topics: Race, Ethnicity & Culture World Asia Sports & Fitness

The hot hot ladies of the Washington Redskins cheer squad are in India shaking their shapely hips in those short shorts, matching go-go boots and bikini tops. Needless to say male fans were left salivating for more, our culture guardians gasping at the "vulgarity", purists demanding that the "Indian" sport be spared of such cheap thrills, and some fence sitters (me included) wondering and analyzing to no end what this all means and if all this fuss is warranted.

Background:

Daughters of the Soil (Part II) -- Sex Education in Madrassas

Daughters of the soil (Part I)

Changes in society are most sustainable when they come from within. It's more organic, addresses issues that truly matter and affects changes in a way that the society in question can relate to and absorb.

Cleavage Control: To show or not to show?

By: snigdhasen Topics: Feminism & Gender Race, Ethnicity & Culture World Asia Body Image

My first summer on Berkeley campus -- which was also my first year in the U.S. or in any country outside India -- left me smiling a lot. After taking in the unfamiliar sight of girls soaking up the oh-so-welcome sun in their short shorts and short skirts and tank tops, I was wowed by how comfortable women felt displaying their cleavages.