Blogging may be even slower in the next few months…

as I’ll be preparing for my qualifying exams, and then packing to go to India sometime in the summer of 2010.

In the meantime, I’ll be experimenting with Indian cooking, and maybe I’ll post my travails on this blog. This past week, my husband and I tried idlis (my mother gave us an idli steamer for Christmas). We didn’t quite get that wonderful spongy texture down (although my mother assures us this means our idlis were undeniably fresh, and not sitting out for several days fermenting to become fluffy, but also acquiring bacteria). Nor did the accompanying sambar curry I made have the right consistency, either (it was a bit too chunky and thick, which admittedly, I don’t mind). BUT, this I can say authoritatively: I recommend lightly oiling each idli steamer before pouring in the batter, and adding in coconut and curry leaves (which aren’t always easy to find –I have a whole bunch in the freezer) into any south Indian curry takes it to the next level. Yes, the next level.

Also, idlis are best eaten fresh (not that I’m complaining about our leftovers, but idlis are definitely one of those rare foods that don’t get better the next day).

Anyway, so that’s the update from me. Happy new year!

Indian food blogs?

As I start experimenting with Kerala food (I have already planned a few adventures with my mom this upcoming holiday season), I’m scouring the internet for good Indian food blogs. Any recommendations? Any South Indian ones in particular?

I came across a few recently, and three caught my eye:
Amma’s special
Mahanandi (Nice photography)
REDCHILLIES (I was amused by the idli fries!)

New book on gender, youth, and liberalization

Attention Kerala scholars!  I just finished reading an excellent book on youth, gender, education, consumption, and liberalization in contemporary Kerala by the anthropologist Ritty Lukose.

Many of the arguments in Liberalization’s Children really resonated with my experiences (as a female) from this past summer in Kerala (one reason I really liked the book). Lukose’s book is also a fast and fun read, filled with personal anecdotes, descriptions of Malayalam movies (from my childhood! Turns out my memory of Dollar is spot on…), and fascinating analysis of Malayalee pop culture, fashion, and literature.

Here’s my rough and brief summary of a key argument:
While many scholars and politicians argue that liberalization creates boundaries of exclusion and inclusion, especially in Kerala (for example, the rural gets left behind in the new and neoliberal India, while corporations benefit), Lukose demonstrates that such black and white understandings don’t accurately describe the experiences of young Malayalees. Kerala’s students are instead trying to navigate new aspirations and possibilities in gendered spaces (the last two words are especially important). So this is one way liberalization manifests itself in Kerala (as Lukose writes): anxieties over globalization surface in highly gendered politics about the place of women in public and the specter of sexual exploitation in an ever-expanding commodity culture (12-13).

There is lots of other great stuff in Liberalization’s Children as well, such as reflection on the nature of debates about politics in Kerala, deconstruction of the Kerala model trope, etc. Happy reading!

Links to organic resources

On biodiversity and organic farming

And an overview (bibliography) of agro-ecology and chemical-free farming

Right on, Marion Nestle

Despite reservations I have about the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sunday Food section (see here, for one example), and the limitations to Michael Pollan’s book, Omnivore’s Dilemma, I found today’s column by Nestle to be right on.

Today, Nestle addressed the recent controversy over Omnivore’s Dilemma: many universities and colleges are distributing it as required reading for incoming freshmen, to stimulate discussion. (NPR actually did a story on this recently: Farmers: What do you Think of Pollan’s Ideas?) Apparently, many industry officials and farmers with ties to the agro-food industry are objecting heavily, and have threatened to pull funding and support from these schools.

Nestle responded:
Although the rancher’s argument might appear to be about the value of presenting balanced views to students, universities are supposed to distinguish between academic and commercial interests. As university professors, Pollan and I base our opinions on our education, training, research and professional experience – not on how they might affect an industry. Our job is to teach students to read and think critically so they can form their own opinions about what we and others tell them.

If our professorial opinions cannot be offered without public disclaimers and insistence on equal time for opposing views, I have to assume that what we are saying must be perceived as influential. If it indeed is influential, I expect even more pushback as the current food movement extends its reach and becomes stronger and more effective.

Trouble? Bring it on.

(Emphasis mine)

South Asian Film Festival in San Francisco this week

3rd I’s seventh annual South Asian Film Festival in San Francisco begins this Thursday.

About 3rd I:
3rd I is a non-profit, national organization committed to promoting diverse images of South Asians through independent film. We represent filmmakers and audiences from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, The Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and the South Asian Diaspora.

No Malayalam films in the line up, but there are several non-Bollywoodesque films that look interesting.

Pesticide drift in CA

A harrowing news story of (commonplace) pesticide poisoning from the California Report.

Note: even workers on organic fields are susceptible to drift from other farms. Makes me wonder how chemical-free our organic fruits and vegetables really are….

Listening to this story, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a certified organic farmer in Wayanad, Kerala this past summer. According to this farmer, he’d like to convert all of his land to organic farming, and has mostly done so, except for his paddy fields. The reason for leaving the paddy fields alone? Frequent (and normal) flooding of fields washes pesticides from the paddies of other farmers into his, rendering any efforts to be chemical-free worthless at this point in time.

Biodiversity and Sashi Tharoor

(Unrelated — or are they?  This is where my PhD seems to be heading now….)

Rattan plants facing extinction in the Western Ghats

Sashi Tharoor wants more organic farming in Kerala

Chief Minister: encourage organic farming in the State

From the Hindu:

Encourage organic farming, says V.S. Achuthanandan…this will save the soil from negative impacts

Language Study in India

I was lucky to be able to participate in AIIS‘ Malayalam language course this past summer, and I highly recommend AIIS’ language programs (which is now accepting applications):

The American Institute of Indian Studies welcomes applications for its
summer 2010 and academic year 2010-2011 language programs. Programs to be offered include Hindi (Jaipur), Bengali (Kolkata), Punjabi (Mohali), Tamil (Madurai); Marathi (Pune), Urdu (Lucknow), Telugu (Vizag), Malayalam (Thiruvananthapuram) and Sanskrit (Pune) and Pali/Prakrit (Pune). We will offer other Indian languages upon request. All academic year applicants should have the equivalent of two years of prior language study. For regular summer Sanskrit, we require the equivalent of two years of prior study; for summer Bengali, Hindi and Tamil we require the equivalent of one year of prior study. For summer Urdu, we require the equivalent of one year of either Hindi or Urdu. We can offer courses at all levels, including beginning, in other Indian languages for the summer. Summer students should apply for FLAS (graduate students) if available for funding to cover the costs of the program. Funding for Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi and Urdu may be available through the U.S. State Department’s CLS program (see www.clscholarship.org ). Academic year students are eligible to apply for an AIIS fellowship which would cover all expenses for the program. AIIS is also offering a fall semester program. We offer Hindi and Urdu at all levels for the fall; we require two years of prior language study for other languages for the fall. The application deadline is January 31, 2010. Applications can be downloaded from the AIIS web site at www.indiastudies.org . For more information: Phone: 773-702-8638. Email: aiis@uchicago.edu.