What's the 'Holed Up'?

Days after I schedule job interviews in Mumbai, terror rips through the beautiful city. It came to us first through a voice mail from my aunt who has lived there for 30+ years. Then we turned on CNN. Thanks to its partnership with IBN there was minute-to-minute coverage. I sat with my laptop and oscillated between SAJAForum, BBC, CNN.com and the Wall Street Journal.

For months now my mother has been warning me of the unstable situation. I feel that Indians everywhere have been tuned into the terrorism -- these attacks were at once depressing and anticipated. Right before the "Deccan Mujaheddin" stormed in via boat, the city had already gone on strike regarding the lack of national security. Indian people are jaded with the politicians and their extravagant spending.

With a slap on the wrist for online journalism I have to say I haven't seen such inconsistent reporting. Every Web site I went to had a different death toll or angle. It was the "get it out, then get it right" system. As much as we hunger for information now, I don't think we should settle for semi-correct reporting.

The city of Gainesville has more fire management than the 19 million+ population of Mumbai. Putting out the fire in the Taj seemed like a kid throwing a pitcher of water on a burning house. India is no longer a third world country. Why aren't these basic necessities secured?

Finally, my disturbance rests on the murder of the rabbi and his wife at the Chabad house. Maybe working for the Shpiel has made me sensitive -- but these two deaths really drove the painful situation home. As I watched their baby Moshe being carried away in a police car, my rage turned into sorrow.

Obama Curry

I'm not sure that anybody followed Obama's campaign trail closer or louder than my grandparents. The television might have dabbled in Hindi sitcoms and Ram Dev lectures in the morning, but Zee TV gave way to CNN all day long for more than a year.

My grandfather staunchly refused to change his Indian citizenship. He grouchily mumbles "this is not my country" while praising Barack and criticizing every congressman with equal fervor. But my grandma's 50 years in the country have warranted voting rights.

My cousin Manisha read my grandmother the absentee ballot choices out loud and filled out her form. When she got to Amendment 2, my grandma wanted a simple version. It went something like this:
Manisha: So, should gay people be allowed to get married or not?
Grandma: What do I care? Let the gays be married.

My family can't agree on interracial marriages, belly button rings or whether we are Maharastrian or Kannada, but we did unite under the O. When our candidate of choice stepped into victory our entire family of Republicans, Indian citizens, hippies, government employees and plenty of doctors cheered along with the electoral college.

As for the question of a black president. According to my grandma: "It's about time...we're all black anyhow."