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Preoccupation with India’s booming economy lead many to forget that the Indian subcontinent is home to nearly as much spiritual innovation (and conflict) as the Middle East. A great topic for a Mosaic International Cafe Conversation.

When: Tuesday April 24 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Where: Udupi (Indian Vegetarian Restaurant) 4225 Lafayette Road  Indianapolis

(Inside International Bazaar – Past Lafayette Square Mall.  Near

Value

City Furniture Store, between DJ Supply and the

India

Palace)

$10.00 per person includes meal and soft drink; specialty beverages and gratuity extra. SEATING IS LIMITED. RSVP by calling or emailing Cindy at 317.920.0231 or cindyball@sbcglobal.net.

Mosaic International Conversation Cafés provide a chance to discuss serious issues in a relaxed and enjoyable setting. The groups of conversationalists range from their 20s to 70s, from all ethnic groups. What better setting for a discussion of India than the South Indian restaurant Udupi? This discussion of India will include former Indiana First Lady Judy O’Bannon (a great friend of India who will later be leading an Ambassadors for Children “voluntourism” mission to that country) and a Buddhist spiritual leader.

If this discussion sounds interesting …After the discussion on May 1 go to the 9:45 showing of the award-winning Indian film Milk and Opium, a highlight of the Indianapoilis International Film Festival.

Know before you go … read some provocative articles.

• From Sign and Sight, farewell to spice and curry: Claudia Kramatschek introduces a new generation of Indian writers, a far cry from the senior cultural ambassadors of yesteryear

• From Economic and Political Weekly, secularism without secularisation: What explains the failure of secularism in the US and India? Why have secular constitutions proved to be incapable of preventing the growing “religionisation” of the state and the public sphere?

• Americans have a love affair with India, seduced by a colorful culture, one of the world’s great cuisines, and the sense that these two great democracies are a lot alike. In reality, however, the two countries have very little in common, and a lot that could pull them apart.

For more information after the discussion … check out a few books about Indian (new and classic):

• Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India (excerpt) (review) (review) (review) (review) (review)

• Vikram Chandra, Sacred Games  is a sprawling marvelous detective novel set in Mumbai.

• Edna Fernandes, Holy Warriors: A Journey into the Heart of Indian Fundamentalism 

• Mira Kamdar, Planet India: How the Fastest- Growing Democracy Is Transforming America and the World  

• Ramachandra Guha, India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy (review)

• Gurcharan Das, India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age 

• Stephen Philip Cohen, India: Emerging Power

• Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali: A Collection of Indian Poems by the Nobel Laureate 

• V. S. Naipaul, India: A Million Mutinies Now

 Want to learn more? Talk to a local expert about India.

Milind Thakar: University of IndianapolisJyotika Saksena: University of IndianapolisSumit Ganguly: Indiana University

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.