ACHA Community Calendar 02/15/02– Page #
Community Calendar (Pacific Northwest), 02/15/02 (Next Issue on 02/28/02)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHACalendar
Editors: Pritam K. Rohila pritamr@open.org
Published as a community service by South Asia Cultural Resource Service of the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org, it is sent only by email on the 15th and the last day of each month. Suitable items for publication in it should be sent to Pritam K. Rohila pritamr@open.org at least one week in advance.
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CONTENTS
Holidays
_____________________________________________________________________________
HOLIDAYS
February: 17 First Sunday of Lent/Vasant Panchmi, 18 President’s Day (US), 19 Guru Ravidas Birthday, 23 Eid-Al-Adha
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
INVITATION
Dear ACHA Community Calendar recipients:
If you like what we are doing, we invite you to support our work by becoming a member of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), or by sending us a donation.
Annual dues are Individual $10, Couple/Family $25, Life $200. Please makes checks out to ACHA, mail them to Association for Communal Harmony, 4410 Verda Lane NE, Keizer, OR, USA.
Dedicated to promote peace in South Asia and harmony everywhere among South Asians of all ethnic, religious, and regional communities, ACHA was formed in 1993, in the wake of Babri Masjid destruction and the events that followed it in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Beaverton, OR. Do not hesitate to contact us at pritamr@open.org if you need more information about us, or you can visit our website www.asiapeace.org.
Membership of ACHA is open to adults of any nationality, religion, or ethnic background, who (1) Dedicate themselves to its objectives, and its mission, (2) Agree to follow the ACHA Declaration of Commitment in their day to day conduct, (3) Complete ACHA Membership Application, and (4) Pay annual dues.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
FEBRUARY 15
CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI
7:30 p.m.
Co-presented with CHAYA. Back again is poet and fiction writer Chitra
Banerjee Divakaruni. The paperback of last year's well-received book of
stories, The Unknown Errors of Our Lives (Anchor), will be in hand, as
well as a terrific new novel, The Vine of Desire (Doubleday). "This
exquisitely rendered tale of passion, jealousy, and redemption continues
the extraordinary relationship between Anjou and Sudha, the two
exceptional women at the heart of Divakaruni's praised Sister of My Heart.
The two cousins have traveled a lifetime away from their home city of
Calcutta to California, a place so foreign to their native culture and
values. . . Divakaruni expertly juxtaposes the challenges, freedoms and
crassness of modern-day America with the issues, both personal and
cultural, each woman faces. . . Divakaruni combines a gift for absorbing
narrative with the artistry of a painter." -- Publishers Weekly. For more
information on Chaya, please see www.chayaseattle.org
AT THE ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY
101 South Main Street : Seattle 98104
206-624-6600 :: www.elliottbaybook.com
Free admission, no tickets necessary unless otherwise noted
______________________________________________________________
6.
MARCH 5
AMITAV GHOSH
7:30 p.m.
Amitav Ghosh returns for the paperback release of last year's acclaimed
novel, The Glass Palace.
AT THE ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY
101 South Main Street : Seattle 98104
206-624-6600 :: www.elliottbaybook.com
Free admission, no tickets necessary unless otherwise noted
___________________________________________________________________________
7.
MARCH 8-9
South Asia Colloquium of the Pacific Northwest (SACPAN) will include 4
presentations by experts from Washington and British Columbia. Event is
open to the public and free of charge. Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall,
University of Washington. Watch this space for more details. For more
information, call the South Asia Center at 206-543-4800, or email
sascuw@u.washington.edu.
___________________________________________________________________________
8.
APRIL 6
BHARATI MUKHERJEE
time TBA (probably 2 p.m.)
DESIRABLE DAUGHTERS is the newest novel by Bharati Mukherjee; she will
also be reading at University Bookstore on Friday, APRIL 5.
AT THE ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY
101 South Main Street : Seattle 98104
206-624-6600 :: www.elliottbaybook.com
Free admission, no tickets necessary unless otherwise noted
________________________________________________________________________
9.
APRIL 10
DAVID DAVIDAR
at 7:30 p.m.
The head of Penguin India is here with his internationally praised first
novel, House of Blue Mangoes (Harper Collins).
AT THE ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY
101 South Main Street : Seattle 98104
206-624-6600 :: www.elliottbaybook.com
Free admission, no tickets necessary unless otherwise noted
________________________________________________________________________
10.
APRIL 10
"Kashmir Between India and Pakistan"
This presentation is part of the lecture/dinner series INTERNATIONAL
UPDATES. Dinner, presentation, question and answer session, beverages and
clock hours (with attendance at at least two International Updates)
included. Preregistration required, lecture-dinner fee is $25 per person.
Call (206)543-4800 or visit the web page
http://depts.washington.edu/jsoutrch/ for more information on all the
updates and for a registration form.
________________________________________________________________________
11.
Portland State is offering a summer course in Nepali for the first time
this summer.
The class will run 6/24-8/23. The instructor, Krishna Pradhan, recently
retired from the University of Wisconsin's Nepali language program,
designed and taught that curriculum for more than 20 years.
For more information, contact me! Pretty soon I'll know some more.
Barbara Brower
Professor, Department of Geography
Portland State University
Portland, OR 97207-0751
____________________________________________________________________
12.
MAY 1
MEENA NAIR
at 7:30 p.m.
READING AS PART OF A 3-AUTHOR PROGRAM WITH NELLY ROSARIO & ANN PACKER. In
the U.S. since 1997, this younger author will read from her first book of
stories, Video (Pantheon).
AT THE ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY
101 South Main Street : Seattle 98104
206-624-6600 :: www.elliottbaybook.com
Free admission, no tickets necessary unless otherwise noted
BOOKS
CLASSES & COURSES
LECTURES & CONFERENCES
*March 8-9, Seattle, WA: SOUTH ASIA COLLOQUIUM OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST (SACPAN), including 4 presentations by experts from Washington and British Columbia in Walker-Ames Room, University of Washington Kane Hall. Event is open to the public and free of charge. More info from South Asia Center 206-543-4800, or sascuw@u.washington.edu.
*April 10, Salem, OR: SEPTEMBER 11TH: CLASH OF CIVILIZATION OR ISLAMIC REVOLUTION, a lecture by Emory University Prof. Richard Martin, a presentation of Atkinson Graduate School of Management, at 7:30 p.m. at Willamette University College of Law, 245 Winter St. SE. Admission is free. More info from Janis Nichols 503.370.6069.
*April 10, Seattle, WA: KASHMIR BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN, a part of the International
Updates lecture/dinner series. Cost $25 per person. Pre-registration is required. More info from http://depts.washington.edu/jsoutrch/ or (206) 543-4800.
PEACE EVENTS
POETRY
*They Changed My God, by Anwar Iqbal, Via Shad Moarif, Member, ACHA’s discussion group Asiapeace http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asiapeace
I do not know how God is related to me
Is it love and respect that links me to Him?
Or fear that forces me to seek his refuge?
Is He a loving friend or a cruel ruler?
Is He like a cloud that protects us from the scorching sun?
Or is he the fire that burns us?
I still love Him, even after so many years
I cannot forget the time I spent with Him
That's when we were friends - me and my God
We roamed around together, holding hands
Collecting feathers of colorful birds
Exotic flowers, ran after butterflies
And spent hours in friendly chats
But they came and took my God away from me
And changed him
When they came, me and my God were
Having an important talk in a garden near our house
He was explaining to me why
Butterflies stain our hands
And fireflies do not burn them
They were all big men,
Some bearded, some not
Some had guns, some did not
Some were armed with swords and spears
And others had big sticks
They came and shouted:
We cannot let God waste his time
We are here to save him from kids and butterflies
He has more important things to do
Give him to us
They lifted God on their shoulders and
Walked out of my garden, chanting slogans
And they took him away
From me and my house
From my village and my city
Since then nobody has seen my God
Nobody knows where they have kept Him
He does not communicate with children anymore
He does not communicate at all
They bring all his orders to us and say
This is what God says. Do it
Those who do not
Are kicked, beaten up, flogged and even killed
All in the name of my God
He has changed so much since they took him away
That I do not recognize Him anymore
He is not the God I loved
He is their God
He does not speak the language of
Butterflies and fireflies anymore
His orders are not that of a loving friend
He talks like the worldly rulers
I still miss Him a lot
I want the God of butterflies and flowers back
I want to say to Him
O God how much I want you to come down
From your heavenly abode and play with me
I want to be a little child again
I want to hold your hand and run with you
Deep into the jungle
And when the jungle scares me
I want to hide in your arms
I want you to stay there, wait for me
Don't go away like others
You are more kind than a mother
And more caring than a father
I want you to leave all your work aside
For one day, just one day
Yes, I know it is important
I know it is You who bring
Clouds from the sea
And makes them rain on the thirsty earth
So that we could smell the fragrance and
The raindrops stir in the dry soil
It is You who bring the monsoon
Holding the reins of the sun, the moon, the stars
And the planets in your hands
And thus cause the seasons to change
It is you who prevent people
From killing each other in madness
You enable us to live under the loving care of our friends
It is you who feed insects hiding under the stone
And give warmth to the poor sitting around the fire
You also fetch a glass of water
For the beggar woman
You fill our dreams with color and light
And bring sleep to our burning eyes
You protect the travelers
And save us from our own madness
Yes You have so many important things to do
But you have always been doing this and more
Only You know how old this universe is
And how unending your daily chores
But you also know that my stay here is short
My age is not numbered in solar years
Then do this for me, O God
Give a day, just one day
From your busy schedule
To me
I want to hold your hand and walk
In the cruel crowd
Holding my head high
So that everybody could see
You have dodged your bearded guards
And returned to children and butterflies
You once again love the flowers
And their fragrance
We will walk together for miles
And when we are both tired
(Don't you ever get tired?)
We will sit somewhere along the beach
And watch the people walking past us
Dismissing the child and his God
In their ignorance
I want to watch them and smile at them
And you, my Provider
I don't want much from you
Just buy me a plate of chic peas
Some oranges and some mangoes
(They do not grow in the same season but You get them both for me!)
I also want you to fetch a glass of cold sherbet
With crushed ice
And then I want to put my head on your shoulders
(Don't be upset with me, this is how children behave)
And sleep, a long, long sleep
And when I do, you quietly close my eyes
And take me to the journey that awaits us all
If you are with me, why should I be afraid of
Any journey?
RADIO PROGRAMS
*Oregon & SW Washington: HINDI-URDU program, Sundays 1:00-3:00 p.m., at Sada-e-Watan at 1010 AM Radio. More info from Pervez Saleem, Box 20944, Portland, OR 97294, 503.255.1990, watan@worldnet.att.net
RELIGIOUS-SPIRITUAL
*February 17, Portland, OR: GURU & DISCIPLE, Sunday Service at 11 a.m. at Vedanta Society of Portland, 1157 SE 55th Ave. More info from www.vedantasociety.org swami@vedantasociety.org or 503.235.3919
*February 24, Portland, OR:THE PARABLES OF RAMAKRISHNA, Sunday Service at 11 a.m. at Vedanta Society of Portland, 1157 SE 55th Ave. More info from www.vedantasociety.org swami@vedantasociety.org or 503.235.3919
SLDE SHOWS
SOUTH ASIANS IN USA
WEBSITES