The informal session with Daljit Dhaliwal sure filled up quick!

Holy shit. There was an "informal session" with DD?
Why don't I ever get to leave the bunker for cool assignments?

a friend of mine who worked for the BBC is that riz was (is?) notorious for hittin' it.

Strong.

Both in word and in image.

checking SM during the bombing this week has made me obsessed with this blog. damn you. i have no investment or interest in SAJA and yet I find myself wanting more. What is this curse you people have put upon my head? Damn you!!!!

Desi Page Six?

and of course, you obviously already know he was there, but the Ill Hindu himself was both stylin' and asking hard-hitting questions of the conference's distinguished speakers, raising interesting issues about outsourcing and flexibilization in the news business. Fascinating issues, Ill Hindu -- and awesome threads.

How come the bombings weren't discussed? Shouldn't they be mentioned/discussed (atleast stop the revelries for a moment of silence?) or is this South Asian Jerks Association?

or is this South Asian Jerks Association?

I think it is clear to all who the jerk is.

I think it is clear to all who the jerk is.

haha um just kidding... yes, just kiddin'... heh.

a friend of mine who worked for the BBC is that riz was (is?) notorious for hittin' it.

Very true. I have heard similar stories as well. Now that he has joined Al Jazeera he will have the bad boy thing going on for him. Some of the Al Jazeera presenters are not too bad either.

Prasad, I think you misread this:

Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Richard Boucher broke from the Bush band’s behavior with a candid conversation on US foreign policy!………Not! Survivors said his soporific speech produced little more than Zzzz’s! The Mumbai bombings were barely discussed!

As I understand it, it was Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Richard Boucher who barely discussed the bombings in his remarks, not that Sajaites.

The tall caramel smoothie kept the crowd in stiches and reddened the cheeks of at least one lady! He’ll need to keep his mind out of the Qatar if he wants to top those Emi-ratings!………

yes, prasad, to clarify, i was told by several attendees that boucher made only brief mention of the bombings. sorry if the phrasing was unclear.

and of course, you obviously already know he was there, but the Ill Hindu himself was both stylin' and asking hard-hitting questions of the conference's distinguished speakers, raising interesting issues about outsourcing and flexibilization in the news business. Fascinating issues, Ill Hindu -- and awesome threads.

Yes. And now I know the color of his laptop. Muhahahahahahahaha.

Great post, Sid :) It was vewy thowough.

Ummm the ill hindu is such a hottie.
Why has this not been mentioned before?

great post. thank you. love the photos.

SAJA people, if you're reading this, next year Sepia Mutiny wants more invites! ;-)

'Twas fun. The panels I went to were really great and it was nice to catch up with friends/acquaintances.

AIEEEEEEE

please please please please don't user the word juggernaut!! it's a word that needs to expire! become obsolete! go stale! be forgotten! cease and desist in existence! disappear

from a recent letter I wrote to another editor:

I feel duty bound to inform you that this a rather hurtful usage/word to those of us who hold its origins in religious esteem. Jaganath means Lord of the Universe, and is a particular form of Krishna Whose Deity resides in the coastal town of Puri, in India. A yearly festival there, the Festival of the Chariots, commemorates the ability of worshippers to drag God out of His palace with the ropes of their love. The festival has been very crowded for hundreds of years, and sometimes people get hurt in the crowds. The British colonists, who did not care to investigate the theology of a religion they did not respect, assumed that this was the point of the festival and conceived of the chariots as being those of a murderous tyrant. Given that the word has no alluding resonance for most people, and if it does, it is one of misconception and misunderstanding, it's not really very effective anyway. I humbly request that you please consider not using it. Thank you!

I realize in this case you meant it in a wholey positive sense, describing Sree, who was my J-school adviser, but even so. . .:-( this is a word that makes Saheli sad! so sad! Nobody wants a Sad Saheli, right? /sniffle sniffle. :{

Oh yeah, great post. I really wish I could have gone this year.:-)

saheli, the whole point of the post was to go over the top... i've been to puri and am down with jagganath... but i hear you nonetheless. if you can supply me with a suitably bombastic and most importantly, alliterative, replacement for "J-school juggernaut," i'll be happy to change it. since you know the brother, i'm sure you can come up with something :)

if you can supply me with a suitably bombastic and most importantly, alliterative, replacement for "J-school juggernaut," i'll be happy to change it

saurav loves a challenge. He doesn't always meet them, but he loves them:

J-school junky
J-school jabberwocky
J-school jenga specialist
J-school generator
J-school jungabunga (okay, i made that one up :)

no cheating! i didn't use the internets and neither should you.

J-schoool jalebi?

Is Al-Jazeera International ever coming online? Last I heard, they hired a lobbying firm to make their case for it to be allowed to broadcast in the US.

Saheli, you'll be happy to know that my dictionary/thesaurus gives its due to the Sanskrit word "jaganaatha", citing its meaning as lord of the world, but then again it is Webster's New World edition ;)

because that's how I roll, yo, thesaurus at my side ;)

I don't think I can beat J-school Jabberwocky. And I can't play by Saurav's rules, b/c I keep my brain on the internet. SAJA steamroller? Columbia King of Connections?

DesiDancer---I've definitely seen it in dictionaries, but lacking the explanation of how the British sensibility was inherently a misconception, and by default propagating the notion that Jaganath is some kind of bloodthirsty Deity requiring human sacrifice, when the real sensibility of the festival is almost exactly the opposite.

Thanks for humoring me Siddhartha. Lord Jaganath and Puri are particularly dear to me, and I've come across enough people who have passively absorbed this misconception at some point that it really does pain me.

jabberwock it is, then. 'twas brillig, and the slithy toves...

...did gire and gimble in the wabe. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Riz Khan is surely a "caramel smoothie." Despite physical flaws he is 100% charisma. Unfortunately, no hot mamas at the SAJA convention. There were the usual good-looking desi chicas but no standouts... except one. She had FANTASTIC eyes and a bombshell figure. She walked with grace and had immaculate clothing. I heard someone call her Kavitha or Kaavya? Anyone know her?

Prasad, I think you misread this:

Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Richard Boucher broke from the Bush band’s behavior with a candid conversation on US foreign policy!………Not! Survivors said his soporific speech produced little more than Zzzz’s! The Mumbai bombings were barely discussed!

As I understand it, it was Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Richard Boucher who barely discussed the bombings in his remarks, not that Sajaites.

Ennis, thanks for the clarification. I misread it too, and was surprised: I'd assumed coverage of the blasts in MSM/the blogosphere would get discussed at least some.

Sid, that is one ill shirt. Mah Hindu.

hey there friends

SAJA was good, but could be better. what's great is that it's rich with programming and there are no speeches. (what? a desi event without speeches?!) what needs to improve is punctuality (still IST!) and the social events. there was a karsh kale concert on that thursday. SAJA should have hooked up with him for a concert-mixer-party. better than the lame bar.

also, is it just me or were there way fewer people this year? last year was packed.

anyway, kudos to the hotties in da house. weren't many (guess the journo cross-section is uglier than the regular desi chica population!) but the couple i IDed were smokin'! but no bites. guess i didn't have my game on.. ;-)

anyway, great to meet the other writers, journos and like-minded folks.

rock on.. and thanks SP for the great coverage. thanks to PM for pics.