WBEZ | India

Obituary for a man I knew for 10 minutes

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:28:00 -0500

Last week I got to meet a man in the last six hours of his life, although I obviously didn’t know that at the time. I don’t remember his name or where he was from, but I believe he was born in India. I shook his hand and looked at his face. He was visiting my roommate, dressed in a comically oversized suit and a cheap bowtie. He looked like he was dressed to perform at a child’s birthday party, the kind of man who might be secretly versed in magic. With golden apple cheeks covered in whiskers, he had the kind of warmth that sticks with you, like someone out of a Bob Hope movie.

He and my roommate searched for a particular brand of cigarettes on the streets of Devon all day, and as they waited for the elevator, they were going upstairs to her boyfriend’s place in retreat. They found out the cigarettes are illegal here, even though her boyfriend swore you could buy them on the street. I said goodbye to him as the elevator doors opened. I never saw him again. His bags are still in my apartment; his military duffle rests against my couch and his books linger on my table.

Shortly after meeting me, he fell out from the fourteenth story of our Edgewater apartment complex. The selling point of our building, which is otherwise the sort of economy buy that attracts college students and recent immigrants, is the view: a panoramic gaze upon the shores of an endless crush. On quiet days, I like to sit on my windowsill and watch the cold fabric continually wrinkle toward me, as if it were an invitation to meet. When he saw the lake and the sunrise that bursts into our apartment every morning, he decided to poke his head out to take a look.

My roommate described him as an adventurer, a "reckless Lisbon type" who wasn’t afraid of anything, even something as unbeatable as gravity. He reminded me of Shakespeare’s Mercutio, the type who narrowly stays out of trouble until it eventually finds him. My roommate trusted him to continue his record of narrow escape and went to the restroom. When she came back, he was gone. She figured that he went up to the roof to get a closer look and took her boyfriend with her to go get him, just in case. He wasn’t there either. She was the one who found him on the sidewalk. I can still see the mark he left behind.

After the incident, I didn’t see my roommate for days and wondered where the visitor had gone. She mentioned he would be staying with us. Was he too busy exploring? Were the sights that intoxicating he couldn’t resist staying out all the time? On Monday morning, a neighbor approached me to tell me she had seen an ambulance earlier that day. She wondered if I had seen it too, or if the white sheet was a ghost only she had witnessed. I confessed I hadn’t seen or heard anything and quickly dismissed it, sure everything was fine.

I went outside to look and the ambulances were still there, cleaning up the scene. I was still sure everything was fine. I never thought to connect the two events, until I got the news. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that moment since, my casual ignorance of how precious and fragile life is. I’ve spent the time since reflecting and trying to take it in, mourning a man whose name I can’t remember off the top of my head. Writers often want to put a period on things and give a closure to our lives. We want to celebrate the living and eulogize the departed to give their lives meaning. It's what we are born for.

I can’t give his life meaning, because I hope it already had that. I hope that, as he fell, he had the time to pray (if he is a person who prays) and settle up his tab on good terms with the proprietors. I hope he had the time to reflect and make amends in his heart where forgiveness was needed and that his mind was clear enough to leave one final thought, something you would want to write down for later. I hope he got one last look at that view.

We live with a third girl, who we’ll call Ann. In the last few days, she has found comfort in faith, revisiting the spirituality that helps the world make sense during times like these. But I don’t believe in God. I believe in us. I believe in our power to find light in the darkness and create meaning out of chaos. Humanity is my faith, even when its tested in moments like these. Humanity brings me back to the light.

I keep thinking of a man I met on the train a few weeks ago. He was coming from Panama to visit his mother for Mother's Day. He's traveled the world and found one constant.

"They always say the world is a terrible place and people are out to get you," he told me. "But the one thing I've learned is the world is good. The world is good. The world is good."

Even as I can't help but mourn for the visitor and for his family's loss, I have to remember this. The world is good.

Nico Lang writes about LGBTQ issues in Chicago. You can find Nico on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

Global Activism: Bright Hope International gives aid and comfort to the extreme poor

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:05:00 -0500

Join Worldview on Saturday, 4/6/13 for WBEZ's 6th Annual Global Activism Expo, hosted by the UIC Social Justice Initiative.

Bright Hope International helps faith communities provide aid and assistance to the extreme poor in some of the world’s most devastated countries. The group aligns many of its programs with the UN Millennium Development Goals. Some of Bright Hope's primary goals are in: extreme poverty and hunger eradication; universal primary education; combating infectious disease and promoting environmental sustainability - all this with a focus on gender equality, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. Bright Hope recently started a program to rescue girls from the sex trade in northern India.

We’ll talk with Bright Hope's CEO and president, C.H. Dyer about the group's work. Dyer has encountered a number of memorable people in his travels:

Justine Nkandu is a single mother of six from the rural area of Samfya, Zambia. She is thriving after being given the opportunity of a microloan through Bright Hope in 2009. From three years on the program, Justine increased production of beans by 300%. Last year, she harvested 84 gallons of peanuts and used the profits from her farming business to build a house and iron sheets for her roof. “My vision is to save money for my children’s education before they reach high school, and to maintain food security for my family,” she said.

Justine now feels that she has made enough capital to stand on her own and has requested that the leadership from her church allow her to step aside from the microloan program so that others may benefit. “My family no longer worries about where our next meal will come from. We are not poor anymore. Now we can bless others. I thank the Lord for giving me knowledge and wisdom to make me reach this far in sustaining my livelihood and my family,” she said. Justine is expecting to double her harvest of peanuts, cassava, and maize this year.

Global Activism: LIFT-USA making a difference for families in India

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:52:00 -0500

Reese Mugerditchian heard Father Jamels James on Global Activism, in 2010, talk about his group, Leading India's Future Today (LIFT). The NGO provides education and leadership training for children from various religious and social castes. It changed her life. Since then, Reese has been to India several times to work for LIFT. Mugerditchian and Dan Quinn, director of Operations for LIFT USA, are back from recent India trips.

You can see Reese and hear more about the work of LIFT and LIFT-USA at the 2013 Global Activism Expo on Saturday April 6th at the UIC Forum.

Reese said the Expo had a profound effect on her:

"In 2011 while driving to an appointment I listened to an interview Jerome McDonnell had with Fr. Jamels James. I've always had a passion for the children of India and dreamed of getting involved with an organization there. Something in that interview spoke to me. Luckily the [Global Activism] Expo was coming up and LIFT was planning on being there. After the Expo I attended a LIFT meeting. Fr Jamels asked me what had motivated me to come to the meeting, I told him I wanted to volunteer in India. And just like that he extended the invitation for me to visit LIFT. I'm not sure what I expected from my trip, I knew I wanted to volunteer, lend a helping hand - find a way to contribute in a meaningful way. I found so much more. The students of LIFT are amazing young adults. They are fiercely dedicated and joyful even though their lives have given them every opportunity to give up. These children are talented leaders and are making such a wonderful impact on their community. I really believe that they will be part of a great social change in India. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for worldview and WBEZ. Your program is doorway to the world for all of us dreaming to get out there and make a difference. I have since been to LIFT 4 times. Each visit allows me to connect with more of the children, learn their inspiring stories, and encourage them to continue their hard work."

Here's a video of two LIFT students talking about the program.

Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:26:00 -0600

India's tradition of colorful, extravagant festivals is well known around the world. In recent years, literary and film festivals have been making the headlines drawing international attention (including the likes of Oprah) to the new, modern India.

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012 is India's first contemporary visual arts festival, aiming to bring the burgeoning modern art scene into the mainstream. Held in the south Indian city of Kochi, the three month long festival features both local and international artists. The festival centers around the theme "Kochi-Muziri" drawing a link between the modern city of Kochi and its neighbor Muziris, an ancient sea port lost after a catastrophic flood in the 14th century.

While south India lacks a reputation for its art scene (that reputation is held strong by West Bengal), many of India's notable artists originated there such as singers SP Balasubramaniam and S Janaki. British musical artist M.I.A is also of south Indian descent. But even so, the regions inherent talent seems to move out to places like Bombay or Calcutta, places where there is a venerable art scene.

"Visual art has always been sidelined [in Kerala]," says Bose Krinshamachari, President of the Kochi Niennale Foundation and artistic director of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. "There is no museum culture, no cultural policy to support artists, no professional spaces or collectors. The most interesting artists are Keralites who have moved out of Kerala to the rest of the world."

"There are 4 million Keralites living outside of Kerala," he said, "We needed to do something that would put focus on the state culturally and benefit economically." Having traveled extensively abroad, Bose felt that a Biennial (an art exhibition held every other year) would realize their vision for Kerala.

Tucked away in various heritage buildings around Kochi, the art of 80 artists from 24 countries is currently on display. I visited the main exhibition site in the Aspinwal House, located right on the edge of India's west coast. Dispite having lived in India for nearly two years, I was expecting the exhibition to feel cold and sterile, much like the museums and galleries I would visit in Chicago or even around India.

What I found was far to the contrary. Several artists were standing alongside their pieces, engaged in conversation with both locals and foreign travelers. Children ran all around the worn-down warehouse which housed most of the paintings and small groups gathered together around particularly engaging video installments. Perhaps most delighting was an old tree which had rope swings tied to it for the public to enjoy.

Meera Sawkar, an American native noted the unique atmosphere for the exhibition. "Usually when you see these sort of audio and visual installations or paintings its in a really sterile, pristine environment. The industrial or barn like structures were a really unique backdrop for this modern art which used all these different technologies."

"It's a very interesting way to view art when you're both inside and outside and wandering through a historical heritage center."

"I came to Kochi to enjoy my New Years. I just found out about the festival walking by," says Kerala native Anish Rahman . "It is my first experience seeing anything this big and I like seeing so many foreigners enjoying also. It's really fantabulous," he finished with a smile.

While the content seemed similar to that which we see in western art exhibitions, they all included something which kept my focus in India. One video installation called "Pushing" by a Chinese artist that forced my own memories of crowded train platforms.

Another piece by Italian artist Guiseppe Stampone was a made-over auto-rickshaw (my regular mode of transportation around Bangalore) with speakers attached to the top playing Marylin Monroe's "Bye Bye Baby" on a loop.

My favorite was an audio installment by an Australian artist. A powdered spice mixture was placed on the ground next vessels connect to a speakers. Next to that, a sign that said "place the spices in the vessels." People of all ages would crouch on the floor, scooping spices into their hands and listening eagerly at the sounds the machine created.

"I loved that you can touch and feel and hear the art." added Sawkar. "it was really refreshing that it incorporated elements that were physical and that people were allowed to interact with the art. It's Indian."

Bose Krinshamachari is pleased with the responses to the Biennale. "The local people are the ones who should enjoy this first and foremost. Whether they realize this is the most significant artistic movement in South India's history is secondary."

Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar dies at 92

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:48:00 -0600

NEW DELHI — With an instrument perplexing to most Westerners, Ravi Shankar helped connect the world through music. The sitar virtuoso mentored a Beatle, became a hippie musical icon and spearheaded the first rock benefit concert as he introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over nearly a century.

From George Harrison to John Coltrane, from Yehudi Menuhin to David Crosby, his connections reflected music's universality, though a gap persisted between Shankar and many Western fans. Sometimes they mistook tuning for tunes, while he stood aghast at displays like Jimi Hendrix's burning guitar.

"My Dad's music touched millions of people," his daughter, musician Norah Jones, said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed by me and music lovers everywhere."

Shankar died Tuesday at age 92. A statement on his website said he died in San Diego, near his Southern California home with his wife and a daughter by his side. The musician's foundation issued a statement saying that he had suffered upper respiratory and heart problems and had undergone heart-valve replacement surgery last week.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also confirmed Shankar's death and called him a "national treasure." Ringo Star Shankar's death "a great loss musically, spiritually and physically."

Labeled "the godfather of world music" by Harrison, Shankar helped millions of classical, jazz and rock lovers discover the centuries-old traditions of Indian music.

"He was legend of legends," Shivkumar Sharma, a noted santoor player who performed with Shankar, told Indian media. "Indian classical was not at all known in the Western world. He was the musician who had that training ... the ability to communicate with the Western audience."

He also pioneered the concept of the rock benefit with the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh. To later generations, he was known as the estranged father of popular American singer Norah Jones.

His last musical performance was with his other daughter, sitarist Anoushka Shankar Wright, on Nov. 4 in Long Beach, California; his foundation said it was to celebrate his 10th decade of creating music. The multiple Grammy winner learned that he had again been nominated for the award the night before his surgery.

"It's one of the biggest losses for the music world," said Kartic Seshadri, a Shankar protege, sitar virtuoso and music professor at the University of California, San Diego. "There's nothing more to be said."

As early as the 1950s, Shankar began collaborating with and teaching some of the greats of Western music, including violinist Menuhin and jazz saxophonist Coltrane. He played well-received shows in concert halls in Europe and the United States, but faced a constant struggle to bridge the musical gap between the West and the East.

Describing an early Shankar tour in 1957, Time magazine said. "U.S. audiences were receptive but occasionally puzzled."

His close relationship with Harrison, the Beatles lead guitarist, shot Shankar to global stardom in the 1960s.

Harrison had grown fascinated with the sitar, a long-necked string instrument that uses a bulbous gourd for its resonating chamber and resembles a giant lute. He played the instrument, with a Western tuning, on the song "Norwegian Wood," but soon sought out Shankar, already a musical icon in India, to teach him to play it properly.

The pair spent weeks together, starting the lessons at Harrison's house in England and then moving to a houseboat in Kashmir and later to California.

Gaining confidence with the complex instrument, Harrison recorded the Indian-inspired song "Love You To" on the Beatles' "Revolver," helping spark the raga-rock phase of 60s music and drawing increasing attention to Shankar and his work.

Shankar's popularity exploded, and he soon found himself playing on bills with some of the top rock musicians of the era. He played a four-hour set at the Monterey Pop Festival and the opening day of Woodstock.

Though the audience for his music had hugely expanded, Shankar, a serious, disciplined traditionalist who had played Carnegie Hall, chafed against the drug use and rebelliousness of the hippie culture.

"I was shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly. They were all stoned. To me, it was a new world," Shankar told Rolling Stone of the Monterey festival.

While he enjoyed Otis Redding and the Mamas and the Papas at the festival, he was horrified when Hendrix lit his guitar on fire.

"That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God," he said.

In 1971, moved by the plight of millions of refugees fleeing into India to escape the war in Bangladesh, Shankar reached out to Harrison to see what they could do to help.

In what Shankar later described as "one of the most moving and intense musical experiences of the century," the pair organized two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden that included Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr.

The concert, which spawned an album and a film, raised millions of dollars for UNICEF and inspired other rock benefits, including the 1985 Live Aid concert to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia and the 2010 Hope For Haiti Now telethon.

Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury was born April 7, 1920, in the Indian city of Varanasi.

At the age of 10, he moved to Paris to join the world famous dance troupe of his brother Uday. Over the next eight years, Shankar traveled with the troupe across Europe, America and Asia, and later credited his early immersion in foreign cultures with making him such an effective ambassador for Indian music.

During one tour, renowned musician Baba Allaudin Khan joined the troupe, took Shankar under his wing and eventually became his teacher through 7 1/2 years of isolated, rigorous study of the sitar.

"Khan told me you have to leave everything else and do one thing properly," Shankar told The Associated Press.

In the 1950s, Shankar began gaining fame throughout India. He held the influential position of music director for All India Radio in New Delhi and wrote the scores for several popular films. He began writing compositions for orchestras, blending clarinets and other foreign instruments into traditional Indian music.

And he became a de facto tutor for Westerners fascinated by India's musical traditions.

He gave lessons to Coltrane, who named his son Ravi in Shankar's honor, and became close friends with Menuhin, recording the acclaimed "West Meets East" album with him. He also collaborated with flutist Jean Pierre Rampal, composer Philip Glass and conductors Andre Previn and Zubin Mehta.

"Any player on any instrument with any ears would be deeply moved by Ravi Shankar. If you love music, it would be impossible not to be," singer Crosby, whose band The Byrds was inspired by Shankar's music, said in the book "The Dawn of Indian Music in the West: Bhairavi."

Shankar's personal life, however, was more complex.

His 1941 marriage to Baba Allaudin Khan's daughter, Annapurna Devi, ended in divorce. Though he had a decades-long relationship with dancer Kamala Shastri that ended in 1981, he had relationships with several other women in the 1970s.

In 1979, he fathered Norah Jones with New York concert promoter Sue Jones, and in 1981, Sukanya Rajan, who played the tanpura at his concerts, gave birth to his daughter Anoushka.

He grew estranged from Sue Jones in the 80s and didn't see Norah for a decade, though they later re-established contact.

He married Rajan in 1989 and trained young Anoushka as his heir on the sitar. In recent years, father and daughter toured the world together.

The statement she and her mother released said, "Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as part of our lives."

When Jones shot to stardom and won five Grammy awards in 2003, Anoushka Shankar was nominated for a Grammy of her own.

Shankar himself won three Grammy awards and was nominated for an Oscar for his musical score for the movie "Gandhi." His album "The Living Room Sessions, Part 1" earned him his latest Grammy nomination, for best world music album.

Despite his fame, numerous albums and decades of world tours, Shankar's music remained a riddle to many Western ears.

Shankar was amused after he and colleague Ustad Ali Akbar Khan were greeted with admiring applause when they opened the Concert for Bangladesh by twanging their sitar and sarod for a minute and a half.

"If you like our tuning so much, I hope you will enjoy the playing more," he told the confused crowd, and then launched into his set.

Worldview 6.11.12

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:41:00 -0500

Monday on Worldview:

We have a special broadcast as part of Front and Center's series on literacy.

First, we look into India's booming book industry. English-writing authors are treated like Bollywood celebrities, complete with lines for autographs and coverage by the paparrazi. But the glamorous book festivals, attended by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, are taking place in a country where more than a quarter of the population is illiterate. Authors Vikram Chandra and Naresh Fernandes, former Editor-in-Chief of Time Out Bombay, fill us in on the state of literacy in India.

Then, in Peru, books are a luxury. People wait for hours to get a book signed, in something that resembles the opening night of a blockbuster film in the United States. Peruvian writer Daniel Alarcon explains what all the fuss is about.

And, Worldview explores how literacy rates have impacted the training of Afghan security forces. In a country estimated to be only 28 percent literate, Afghan soldiers can’t even read ID badges to determine who should be allowed through security checkpoints. Now, the training of Afghan forces includes a literacy component. Heath Druzin, a reporter for Stars and Stripes, tells Worldview about the new program.

'Bitter Seeds' film exposes epidemic of Indian farmer suicides

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

Big agribusiness companies like U.S.-based Monsanto claim their genetically modified (GM) seeds offer effective solutions to feeding the globe’s exploding population. But there’s growing concern over such technological trade-offs. Even those of us who own iPhones have only to read the stories coming from the Apple/Foxconn plant in China to see that an easier life for us can come at great cost to the impoverished in the developing world.

These GM seeds are sterile and therefor don’t regenerate. Farmers can no longer depend on nature for their survival and are forced to buy from multinational agribusiness entities like Monsanto or ADM in order to plant anew. On the ground, small-scale farmers are losing their land. The situation is especially desperate in India, where an epidemic of farmer suicides has claimed over a quarter-million lives in the last 17 years. Every 30 minutes, one farmer in India, deep in debt, commits suicide.

Wednesday, Worldview talks with director Micha X. Peled, who had documented this epidemic in the film Bitter Seeds. It begins in 2004, when an American company introduced genetically modified seeds to the Indian market, with catastrophic results for local farmers. Bitter Seeds follows one farmer through a disappointing season of drought and parasite infestation. Required by a money-lender to put up his land as collateral, he gambles on everything he has. Bitter Seeds is the final film in Peled’s “Globalization Trilogy,” following Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town and China Blue.

Bitter Seeds screens Wednesday May 30) at the Gene Siskel Film Center as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Panel discussion with filmmaker, Arvind Ganeson of Human Rights Watch and Rebekah Silverman, associate director for Growing Home.

Worldview 5.30.12

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:49:00 -0500

Wednesday on Worldview:

Egyptians head to the polls mid-month to elect a new president; now the field of candidates has been narrowed down to two. Ahmed Rehab, director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, tells Worldview what this election means for the future of Egypt.

Then, Rehab sticks around to talk about the power of music in this political campaign. Campaign songs and online music videos have played an influential role in Egyptian politics since the uprising in Tahrir Square. Many of the songs were written by underground musicians who flourished during the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak. Ahmed, Jerome McDonnell and Eight Forty-Eight/Radio M host Tony Sarabia dissect the lyrics during Global Notes.

And, Worldview talks with director Micha X. Peled about his film, Bitter Seeds. The movie examines the causes of an epidemic of farmer suicides in India—one every 30 minutes. In 2004, an American company introduced genetically modified seeds to the Indian market, with catastrophic results for local farmers. Bitter Seeds screens Wednesday at the Gene Siskel Film Center as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

Weekend Passport: Mexican Mole, German cinema and Indian dance

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:02:00 -0500

Friday on Weekend Passport, we ride the Cinco de Mayo wave into Mole de Mayo.

Every restaurant with a mole dish (pronounced MO-lay) boasts about it being the best in the city. Mole is a traditional Mexican chocolate sauce made up of chilies, nuts, spices, seasonings and of course, chocolate, originating from the Puebla region of Mexico. This weekend the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation puts their mole where your mouth is at their 4th annual Mole de Mayo Festival. It’s a traditional Mexican mole festival with a Chicago twist. Restaurants from around the city compete for the title of “Best Mole.” A panel of celebrity chefs judge, and you will too – for the coveted “People’s Choice Award.” Once you’ve sampled enough Mole, put down your spoon and grab a drink. There will be Micheladas – Bloody Marys made with beer – and Sangria.

The festival is packed with live entertainment both days, with everything from Samba dancing to Mexican wrestling to fire eaters! Kids can make Mexican crafts with Alfonso “Piloto” Nieve Ruiz. Dance off the deliciousness with music by local performers. Saturday’s bands include hip hop group Phero, Hyrakan, Aztec music and Sones de Mexico, a two-time Grammy nominated group. Sunday features Danza Folklorica, the Luciano Antonio Trio and Son del Viento performing music that brought on the mariachi movement. Mole de Mayo; 18th Street and Peoria just off of Halsted. Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.; suggested donation between $1 and $5.

Once you’ve had your fill of mole test out your language skills at the Dankhaus German Cinema – Now! showing of Ein Sommermaerchen (A Summer’s Fairy Tale). The documentary film chronicles the 2006 World Cup from behind the scenes of the German national soccer team. This film became the highest grossing documentary film in Germany, but Germanophiles aren't the only who will enjoy it – the film has English subtitles.

American soccer fans have a special reason to check out this filme: Former German national team coach Juergen Klinsmann is now the head coach of the U.S. national soccer team. Not only that, but Arne Friedrich, a former defender on the German team, now plays for the Chicago Fire.

Along with a cash bar you'll find German snacks like pretzels and sausage. Plus Luke Feron, the organizer of the event, argues their popcorn is better than any multiplex. Ein Sommermarchen; free on Friday in the Skyline Lounge at DANK Haus German Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Avenue at 7:30 p.m.

Check out the trailer for Ein Sommermaerchen:

From the cinema to a dance studio: Next is the debut performance of Apsara, a member of the University of Chicago’s Dance Council. Apsara is a mix of students and Hyde Park community members who specialize in a variety of Indian classical dances. This weekend’s show is based on the theme "Love of Krishna."

The performance depicts the story of the Hindu God Krishna as told by the loves of his life: Radha, his soul-mate, Rukmini, his wife and Yeshoda, his foster mother.

The first piece is an imagined conversation between Radha and Yeshoda – an invented encounter not found in Hindu mythology. The two relate stories to each other about Krishna in order to feel closer to him. In doing so, mother and lover realize a common love for Krishna and gain a mutual respect for one another.

The second peice recalls the tale of Rukmini and Krishna's wedding. This is one of the more popular stories out of Krishnalore as Rukmini's older brother and Krishna are eternal sworn enimies. The story climaxes when Rukmini convinces Krishna to kidnap her. (Yeah, it get's intense.)

The show is hosted in true Indian tradition, with no raised stage. Kamaya, presented by University of Chicago’s Apsara Dance Troupe; Bartlett Rehearsal Space on the University of Chicago campus; 7 p.m. Saturday; free.

Safe travels!

Killing Pigeons Softly in Oak Park

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:32:00 -0500

Oak Park, the town — or, excuse me, village — I proudly call home, is known for a few things.

For starters, there’s Frank Lloyd Wright. People come from all around to take the “See the Homes that Frank Lloyd Wright Was a Jackass in” Tour.

Oak Park is also the boyhood home of Ernest Hemingway; if it weren’t for Oak Park schools teaching him the alphabet, he never would have written any books.

More importantly, the village has also long been known for being a warm and inclusive community.

Now that wonderful and well-deserved reputation is being threatened. Don’t get me wrong: People of all kinds are still welcome and encouraged to make Oak Park their home.

But . . . this week, the village board considered an ordinance that calls for KILLING — or, excuse me, euthanizing — pigeons.

It appears that there is, to quote the Wednesday Journal’s Anna Lothson, “a continuing presence of a flock of pigeons under the newly upgraded Marion Street el viaduct.”

Don’t these pigeons realize how perilously close they are to the finest wine and cheese shop the village has to offer?????

As someone who moved to Oak Park at least in part for the pigeons, this obviously has me enraged. Not enraged enough to have attended the village board meeting, but enraged.

To me, pigeons are one of the telltale signs of a great city. Name a great city and I’ll show you pigeons slightly ruining the quality of life.

Now, name a, well, not so world-class city. You won’t find any pigeons, I guarantee. When was the last pigeon that called Toledo (sorry, Mom and Dad) home? They’d only improve the quality of life, so what would be the point?

Some, like Oak Park trustee Bob Tucker, might wonder why Oak Park can’t just move the pigeons someplace else, like to Berwyn.

Again, to quote the Wednesday Journal, Mike Charley, environmental heath supervisor in the village, “said it’s proven pigeons return home.”

So, the answer is to just kill them? What’s next, Mr. Charley? Doing the same to our kids upon graduating college without jobs?

Instead of seeking to humanely remove as many pigeons via death, Oak Parkers should be thankful. Thankful that we don’t have kleptomaniacal monkeys roaming the streets, like they do in New Delhi.

This, according to The New York Times, mere hours after the Great Pigeon-Killing Ordinance meeting: “The monkey population of Delhi has grown so large and aggressive that overwhelmed city officials have petitioned India’s Supreme Court to relieve them of the task of monkey control.”

The Hindu religion, the article reports, says that people should feed monkeys on Tuesday and Saturdays.

“(Veterinary Services Director R.B.S.) Tyagi expresses impatience with residents who feed the monkeys one day, then complain to the city when the monkeys steal their clothes on another day.”

One solution in New Delhi is to hire a bigger kind of monkey to urinate around your home. The urine repels the smaller monkeys causing all the problems. The one drawback: The urine also repels people.

In any event, the official vote on whether to destroy pigeons is coming June 4. Write your congressman.

(The next Interview Show is Friday, June 1, at The Hideout, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Guests include chef Michael Kornick and author Rich Cohen.)