Theme Semester Newsletter #5 The Center for South Asian Studies is pleased to announce a new research opportunity for undergraduate students. Coming out of discussions with Delhi University during President Coleman s visit to India in the fall, this new program will allow UM students to participate this semester from Ann Arbor in interdisciplinary research projects being conducted by faculty-led student teams at Delhi University in India. Participating students will have an opportunity to go to India this summer to meet with their Indian research team. For more information on this innovative international collaboration, and for details on how to participate click here: UM-DU Undergraduate Research Program. Theme Semester activities continue this week unabated, despite the weather! We look forward to seeing you. For the full roster of Theme Semester activities, please refer to our website: lsa.umich.edu/india This week s newsletter features upcoming events, a quote, a Hindi phrase, an interesting fact about India, featured news stories, an Indian recipe, and a work of art from a UM collection. Please refer to our website and Facebook page for any updates. This newsletter has been brought to you by the Theme Semester Student Advisory Board. To subscribe to this newsletter please register here. Learn Hindi! र न म xyz Mera nam xyz haih. My name is xyz. Upcoming Events February 5 - February 15 All events are free and open to the public. UPCOMING EVENTS To explore the full range of Theme Semester activities, including conferences, lectures, music, and more, please go to our website. February 6: Anthropologizing Europe: Late 18th and Early 19th Century Indo-Persian Accounts of "Native" Europeans - a lecture by Mohamad Tavakoli, University of Toronto, 5:00 pm room 1636 School of Social Work Building. Did you know? Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally,
Sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. February 10: Tamas (Darkness) - part of the Theme Semester Media Series, 7-10 pm, Room 2435, North Quad. This is a TV miniseries that became famous in India in the mid/late 80s for its realistic depiction of the partition of the Indian subcontinent. The media series is sponsored by the Center for South Asian Studies and co-sponsored by Screen Arts and Cultures (Cohn Fund) and the Language Resource Center. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India. For future reviews and reflections on Theme Semester events, visit our blog. February 13: Iron Age Landscapes of South India: The Tungabhadra Corridor Archaeological Project- a lecture by Carla Sinopoli, University of Michigan, 12:00 pm room 2009 Ruthven Museum Building. Sponsored by the Museum of Anthropology. February 13: An Evening of Hindustani Classical Music- a performance by Pandit Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, 7:30 pm Museum of Art. Sponsored by the Center for World Performance Studies. February 14: Space, Language, and Genre: For a Multilingual Literary History of Adwah - a lecture by Francesca Orsini, University of London, 4:00 pm room 1636 School of Social World Building. Sponsored by the Center for South Asian Studies and co-sponsored by the Department of History, the Eisenburg Institute for Historical Studies, and the Department of Comparative Literature. February 15: India Before the Himalayas: When Snakes ate Dinosaurs- a lecture by Jeff Wilson, University of Michigan, 4:00 pm Rackham Amphitheatre. Sponsored by the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. Weekly Quote If the country prospers even a little by doing away with me, I am willing to be hanged. - Indira Gandhi
India in the News Extracted from notable news sources Devyani Khobragade enjoys no immunity in visa fraud case, US tells court. Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade does not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution on charges of visa fraud and making false statements, the US State Department has said in papers submitted before a court in New York. Read More. Schools come together to celebrate Hindi, Urdu. It was a contest unlike any other. Students from schools across the capital gathered to celebrate the beauty of Hindi and Urdu. The event, Kaavyanjali, not only had students reciting acclaimed Hindi poems, but also singing Urdu ghazals and qawwalis. Read More. Will take action if TV series hurts religious sentiments: HC. Any content in Zee TV s series Buddha that hurts religious sentiments can be grounds to take it off air, said the Bombay High Court on Friday. A division bench of Justice S J Vazifdar and Justice B P Colabawalla, however, said that it would not interfere if the issue is trivial. Read More. Non-populist Irrigation Bill shelved for fear of irking farmers. The Narendra Modi-led government, keen on sending the message of good governance to the people, has decided to hold the Gujarat Irrigation and Drainage Bill 2013. However, the State Right To People (Public Service) Bill 2013, is expected to get its final shape very soon, given its populist nature. Read More LGBTs ask govt to stop harassing them. Over 300 members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Bangalore staged a rally Wednesday at Mysore Bank Circle seeking repeal of Article 377. Read More Vegetable Korma Servings: 2 Total Time: 1 hour Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 40 mins Source: Food.com Ingredients 1/3 onion, chopped 1/3 inch ginger, peeled 1 2/3 garlic cloves 2/3 green chilies (seranno) 2/3 teaspoon ground coriander 2/3 teaspoon ground cumin 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 tablespoon oil or 1 tablespoon ghee 1/3 to taste assorted vegetables, such as bell pepper, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, potato 1/3 to taste salt 1/3 cup plain yogurt 1/8 cup water 1/16 cup cashew nuts
1/16 cup pine nuts (optional. you can use all cashews) 2/3 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro Directions: 1. Puree half the onion with the ginger, garlic, and chilies into a fine paste in a food processor. 2. Add the ground spices and mix. 3. Chop half the nuts to a fine paste with a food processor, set aside. 4. Heat the oil and fry the remaining onion (chopped) over medium heat until browned, stirring frequently. 5. Add the spice/onion paste and fry until it starts to smell really good (30 seconds or so). Stir in the veggies with longer cooking times such as potatoes and fry for a while. 6. Add nuts, nut paste, and other veggies as cooking times dictate. 7. Reduce heat to low and add water (or milk to make it even more rich) and yogurt (whole milk yogurt!). Take care not to overcook the yoghurt, as it will separate and degrade. 8. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice. Varahi Varahi India, Cola Period, first half of 10th century From Tamil Nadu State, Kancipuram Granite Source:UMMA This image was discovered in 1926 by the French archaeologist Gabriel Jouveau- Debreuil in Kancipuram, an area about 70 km southwest of Chennai (Madras), along with a large group of other sculptures of goddesses and one image of Siva. Varahi is one of the Saptamâtrikâ, or "seven mothers" mothers of the principal gods of the Hindu pantheon. Several other, larger images goddesses at the site have been identified as Yoginis, or
tantric goddesses. Varahi is the female counterpart to Varaha, the boar-headed incarnation of Vishnu. In Hindu mythology, the Seven Mothers are extremely powerful and as a group represent the power of all of the gods. The female principal is the active one in Hinduism and the Mothers as a group can destroy demons and protect against diseases.