ambainny

Venus Williams rocked Wimbledon today, she was one set down and two points away from being eliminated by another American Lisa Raymond. But the defending champion fought back winning point after point, hitting ace after ace. Venus Williams fought back with grit and determination winning the second and third set. Serena and Venus, make tennis so fun to watch and exciting. I wish they both get back to form and start winning grand slams again!

Saw a powerful movie on P.O.V. last night, No More Tears Sister. It was about the short life of Dr. Rajani Thiranagama, a human rights activist, professor of anatomy, wife and mother. She, a Tamil Christian, started off as a leftist revolutionary, along with her Sinhalese husband. She then joined the Tamil Tigers, disgusted with their politics, their senseless killing of any opposition to their rule and callousness, with which they played with young Tamilians lives, she broke away from them. This was unacceptable for the Tigers and she was killed by their bullets. She created a human rights group in Jaffna Sri Lanka and a home for destitute women, raped by Indian Peace Keeping Force, or the Sinhalese Army. Background on the film by Helene Klodawsky, the Canadian director of the film. My desire to do a film on Rajani Thiranagama coincided, in ways I only fully realized later, with a great hunger for a more open discussion on human rights in the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. Perhaps som...

Article in NYT on the Delhi Club scene June 25, 2006 Surfacing Night Life Has the Spice in New Delhi By MIKE McPHATE FIVE years ago, a typical night out in New Delhi was a family trip to the latest Bollywood blockbuster. Then came the so-called children of the liberation. The young heirs to India's new market economy grew up on Indian MTV, made more money than their parents and now wanted to party. Flushed with disposable income, they carved out a kinetic new night life in south Delhi, an upscale collection of neighborhoods stretching from Humayun's tomb in the north to Qutab Minar in the south. "Delhi is no longer a snake charmer city," said Sandeep Gandotra, a nightclub promoter who is planning to publish Delhi's first party listings magazine. There are now roughly 150 bars and nightclubs in the area, most of them appearing in the last several years. And more seem to arrive every week. Cover charges usually don't exceed 500 rupees (about $10.50 at 47 rupees...

An exhibition is opening on September 18th at the Rubin Museum on Early Sikh Art and Devotion. Here’s a blurb from the Rubin website on Early Sikh Art and Devotion I Know No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion September 18, 2006 through January 29, 2007 Sikhs live in the popular imagination—they are known for their courage and resolve, and for their striking appearance and distinctive dress. Less well known, however, are Sikh beliefs and ideals, and the roots of Sikh culture and art in the traditions of North India. This exhibition will present approximately 100 works from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century, including paintings, drawings, textiles, metalwork, and photographs that identify core Sikh beliefs and explore the plurality of Sikh cultural traditions . To start off the festivties, Fakir Syed Aijazuddin spoke on Symbolism in Sikh Portaiture. He was a pleasure to hear, he was articule, knowlegable, with an excellent slide show, that backed up what he was speaking ...

Saw a wonderful documentary on PBS, titled the Lion in the House, about children dealing with cancer. See a review here and here in The New York Times. Death, tear-inducing pain and agonizing treatment dilemmas are all confronted head-on in "A Lion in the House," which will be broadcast over four hours Wednesday and Thursday on 1. PBS's series "Independent Lens." But the heart of the film is the vibrant, vital spirit of children. There's bubbly Alex Lougheed, 7, voted "cutest personality" at camp; easygoing Justin Ashcraft, 19, who has had leukemia for 10 years; and Tim Woods, who is fatherless and admits that he loves the extra attention he receives having cancer. The film's second half features an aspiring rapper, Al Fields, 11, and the determined, active Jen Moone, 6. A diverse demographic mix of age, sex, race and income, they were selected from several dozen children being treated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Th...