Neal Katyal was on Colbert last night, and Stephen seemed genuinely shocked that he's Hindu (I think he thought he was Muslim?) He recovered quickly and tried to analogize Neal's work to on behalf of Gitmo detains to.... being Shiva the Destroyer.

Cute, with the usual fouls.

Most Hindus eat meat.
Diwali isn't universally supreme in the hierarchy of celebrations.

1 · maisnon said

Neal Katyal was on Colbert last night, and Stephen seemed genuinely shocked that he's Hindu (I think he thought he was Muslim?) He recovered quickly and tried to analogize Neal's work to on behalf of Gitmo detains to.... being Shiva the Destroyer.

I saw that! I was confused as to why Colbear was so shocked at that. And since I was crunk on cough meds, I giggled a little, but I also giggle at squirrels falling out of trees now, so that's rather meaningless. ;)

2 · ptr_vivek said

Cute, with the usual fouls.

Agreed. :)

I just wanted to share the IM convo that this linky-link spawned with maisnon. :-) Because I think it was pure comedy gold:

me: that's so funny
I thought the same thing!
I was like, "WHAT?! NO GUILT?!"
"Revisionist historian! Where are her kids? Let's ask THEM!"
maisnon: also, did they get her from central casting?
she was like the proto-auntie!
me: she really was
she had no defining traits beyond the stereotyped ones
I can't even really recall what she looks like now that the window is closed
maisnon: she had on a red sari
with like a brown shawl deal over it
and auntie glasses
gray hair in a ponytail (braid?)
me: yeah, I remember the glasses, and the shawl
maisnon: and some form of bindi/sindoor going on
me: yup, that's the impression I got, too
her face was very...auntie
very very auntie
maisnon: yes
me: prototypic, as you say
maisnon: she was just every auntie at every dinner party/wedding ever
me: hahahaha
I could easily see her asking me about whether or not I was getting married soon
or whether or not I was going to move back to Memphis to be closer to my parents
or telling me about her son, Gautam, who just graduated from Harvard Med Magna Super Duper Cum Laude
maisnon: exactly
and her daughter Kavita who is expecting TWINS!
me: oh yes
maisnon: and, beta, when are you going to make your mother a grandmother?????
(this would make her north indian - we don't do the "beta" thing)
me: both of whom are already scoring in the 1500's on their prenatal SATs
maisnon: HA!
and mysteriously not mentioning her son Shivaraj, he of the major weed problem
me: HAHAHAHAHA
Shivaraj
that cad
(where did you come up with that name?)
maisnon: who is being sent to India to "get in touch with his roots"
me: I'm cracking up
maisnon: BECAUSE SHE IS PROTOTYPE
1:09 PM who gets sent to India?
girls who have "boyfren"
and guys who are "not studying" or having "other issues" ( = weed)

Agreed re: the usual fouls. (It would have been so money if she'd repped Onam ;) )

Colbert: "So, you kind of worship yourself?"

She could have killed that one, instead of just nodding along. "We worship the divine spirit that exists within all of us." But, I thought she was a good representative, in that she presented herself in a dignified manner.

(this would make her north indian - we don't do the "beta" thing)

she's more like the severe aunty types - not the nosy types. she runs the ganesh temple in flushing, queens and has done so for many years. she's been the subject of attempted overthrows more than once (and lawsuits as well) but the lady has stayed strong and does a pretty good job of overseeing the temple ;)

neither does she - i believe she's kannadiga.

To be clear - I wasn't commenting on actual Uma-auntie. Just the proto/stereotype.

Man, I guess we were the only ones who thought our convo was funny, maisnon. :-P

9 · Salil Maniktahla said

the last comment about the

the last comment about the boyfren and weed was pretty funny :)

I thought your conversation was hilarious. We're all laughing at our desks. =)

What religion is Neal Katyal? I know he is Punjabi. He could be Muslim or Sikh or just non-religious. In Pakistan, I have been told there is a non insignificant percentage of Punjabi Christians as well. A lot of the left leaning lawyers I know are non-religious (I will wait for Razib to smite down my anectodal data)

To be clear - I wasn't commenting on actual Uma-auntie. Just the proto/stereotype.

12 · Pagal_Aadmi_for_debauchery said

What religion is Neal Katyal? I know he is Punjabi. He could be Muslim or Sikh or just non-religious. ... A lot of the left leaning lawyers I know are non-religious (I will wait for Razib to smite down my anectodal data)

...except he said "I'm Hindu." (This may not be the link to the exact clip.)

...except he said "I'm Hindu." (This may not be the link to the exact clip.)

Ok, I misread the earlier comment. I do tivo the Colber report but usually watch it on the weekends.

Quick! Someone make a funny so I can interject with a discussion of Obama vs. McCain's tax plans and their relative merits vis a vis brownz.

"Prototypical" or otherwise. :-D

She said No sin in Hinduism, but Hindus bathe in Ganga to get rid of sins.

17 · Samir said

She said No sin in Hinduism, but Hindus bathe in Ganga to get rid of sins.

That's the fun of Hinduism. Anyone can interpret it the way they want and make a garage version of it for themselves.

In response to Colbert's question on whether he's a Jihadi, Katyal said that no he is a Hindu. WTF? Is he implying that all Muslims are jihadis?

Also, his comment that there is no constitution in the world that is comparable to the US constitution is just pandering to the American audience. As a constitutional scholar, he should know better.

Katyal is overrated.

Close enough for Mutiny-work, Samir.

*sigh*

I give up.

19 · abdul said

Is he implying that all Muslims are jihadis?

Don't folks make the argument that Jihad is an internal struggle that all muslims go through to better themselves? Or is that all a buncha crock?

21 · budugu said

19 · abdul said

Is he implying that all Muslims are jihadis?

Don't folks make the argument that Jihad is an internal struggle that all muslims go through to better themselves? Or is that all a buncha crock?

Yes, jihad is an "internal struggle". But these days "Jihadi" connotates terrorists. (and I may be wrong but I don't think any Muslim refers to themself or others as a Jihadi when they are overcoming a personal crisis). Still adbul needs to chill - Katyal doesn't need to defend Islam, and Colbert was joking!

I love it! This lady just did more to intelligently rep hinduism than just about anything i've ever seen on tv. she presented her explanations with a kind of dignity and respect that IMHO i think hinduism rarely gets, when it gets any attention at all.
i mean sure it was colbert, but auntie rocked it.

2 · ptr_vivek said

Most Hindus eat meat.

Although many hindus eat meat, but vegetarianism is considered a virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism and definitely Jainism.
I am impressed with Aunty.

Also, his comment that there is no constitution in the world that is comparable to the US constitution is just pandering to the American audience.

Or he just might have done some comparative work on world constitutions.

24 · zuni said

2 · ptr_vivek said

Most Hindus eat meat.

Although many hindus eat meat, but vegetarianism is considered a virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism and definitely Jainism. I am impressed with Aunty.

Oh Yeah? Tell that to my Bengali wife and her family.

Uma Auntie was great! Stephen was as usual briliant! Kalidasa moved Kali to laughter when he asked her how she managed to get by when she had a cold (with so many heads and hands). Show of hands... what next will Colbert think of?

26 · jyotsana said

24 · zuni said

Although many hindus eat meat, but vegetarianism is considered a virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism and definitely Jainism. I am impressed with Aunty.

Oh Yeah? Tell that to my Bengali wife and her family.

Umm...I am actually bengali and vegetarian. But you are right about that virtue being quite overlooked by bengali and mallu hindus in general ;). Nevertheless, in theory it is considered a virtue.

I totally agree that Stephen was too funny...esp 'show of hands'.

"Diwali isn't universally supreme in the hierarchy of celebrations"

true .diwaali is not the most celebrated festival among hindus .

Durgapooja and Vijayadeshami in Bengal,Dussehra in Karnataka,Pongal and Navarathri in Tamil nadu,Vidhyarambam and Vishu in keral,Tirupati festival in Andhra pradesh.

Zuni,

I had just conceded battle to my wife on the relative merits of sambar and mangsher jhol - I would be happy having the former well into the hereafter, although I quite like the latter. My wife can't do without the latter for very long. In this losing battle notions of virtue do not figure at all! And then what about Kali Puja when mangsher jhol must be served with bottles of whisky?

I think there are two sources of vegetarianism in India: ahimsa & avoidance of ritual pollution. In the latter case I think vegetarianism has more to do with hunters/butchers being considered "unclean" rather than the sin of killing the animal.

i think dr. mysorekar did a great job, as always. she is a well respected individual in the NYC hindu community, and is almost always at the Flushing Ganesha temple when she is not practicing as an ob/gyn. she has tirelessly worked to correct the image of hinduism and has strived to make first generation indian-americans understand their religion and culture. i'm proud to have her rep hinduism on television.

Ummm festivals @ 28,

What is "Tirupathi festival". Though of pucca Telugu and Andhra origin, I've never heard of this. I'm looking forward to being educated.

Thanks

@lifelong

Lmao. Cut #28 some slack. He probably thinks we all shave our heads annually at the "Tirupathi" festival. :p

I also never heard of the "Tirupathi Festival" and I am not trying to challenge anyone. I am also Hindu and speak Telugu (and Kannada) but I need to get informed. Is there another common name for the Tirupathi Festival?

Lifelong, gm, Aditya et al.

I had no clue either but Googling gave me this from Bharatonline:
"Brahmotsavam is also known as 'Tirupati festival' in Andhra Pradesh.".

I am not sure how important it is for Telugus, but it certainly is a big festival for Sri Vaishnavites in general
(wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmotsavam for background)

:-|

1:09 PM who gets sent to India? girls who have "boyfren"

I'll bet that guys who have "boyfren" get exiled to India even faster.

could we have a post/video of a squirrel falling out of a tree...*giggle*

Kolmogaurav stole my retort! :)

I thought the IM convo was classic Salil/Maisnon, and right on the money, especially the beginning of it. As soon as I heard her say there is no guilt, I was going to write to her to ask her to send a letter informing my mom. :)

Finally, in addition to clearly not knowing how commercialized Diwali has become, ummm... considering offerings are made to Lakshmi, I would have responded that we don't worry about it getting overcommercialized because it's, well, kind of the point. But, I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, so hopefully the fundies will not hunt me down for that!

In response to Colbert's question on whether he's a Jihadi, Katyal said that no he is a Hindu. WTF? Is he implying that all Muslims are jihadis?

No he is implying that all Jihadis are muslims.

>>vegetarianism is considered a virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism and definitely Jainism.

Hinduism and Jainism, yes. Buddhism - no.

M. Nam

41 · MoorNam said

>>vegetarianism is considered a virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism and definitely Jainism.

Hinduism and Jainism, yes. Buddhism - no.

M. Nam

But ahimsa is an important point in Buddhism. It is another matter that lot of Buddhist eat meat (esp in places like tibet where you can grow almost nothing). Some historians even point that it was Buddhism and Jainism that led to vegetarianism in Hinduism.

Word to Maisnon & Maniktahla. She was totally proto auntie. Actually she irritated me in the way proto aunty usually does, b/c the sweeping representation of her particular version of Hinduism as The Hinduism bugged me as it did even when I was a kid.

Zuni! Bengali Vegetarians in the house, represent!

Kolmogaurav said

I'll bet that guys who have "boyfren" get exiled to India even faster.

Kolmogaurav, you are my potential friend!

39 · brimful said

Kolmogaurav stole my retort! :)

I thought the IM convo was classic Salil/Maisnon, and right on the money, especially the beginning of it. As soon as I heard her say there is no guilt, I was going to write to her to ask her to send a letter informing my mom. :)

Finally, in addition to clearly not knowing how commercialized Diwali has become, ummm... considering offerings are made to Lakshmi, I would have responded that we don't worry about it getting overcommercialized because it's, well, kind of the point. But, I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, so hopefully the fundies will not hunt me down for that!

You got it right! That's the point! Well said.

"Word to Maisnon & Maniktahla. She was totally proto auntie. Actually she irritated me in the way proto aunty usually does, b/c the sweeping representation of her particular version of Hinduism as The Hinduism bugged me as it did even when I was a kid."

Yeah I hear you on this one...but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, because that's one of the difficult things about trying to explain Hinduism...it's like a giant buffet...what's on your plate isn't necessarily going to be on someone else's.

On a sliiiightly more serious note, I'm curious about one thing that we all maybe take a bit for granted, but which is getting some light on this thread for the first time (in my experience): the idea that India itself is some form of palliative, a cure-all for things as varied as "boyfren," disagreeable habits, or even drug addiction.

Since maisnon and I had our convo on IM, I've been idly questioning friends. Almost everyone has an anecdote about a family friend who sent a kid to India for one reason or another. My own experience with this was tragic. The younger son of a family friend wound up addicted to something hardcore in college (heroin? We're not sure). His parents packed him up and sent him off to the motherland, where predictably his situation only got worse. He came back to America (supposedly cured!) and then only a few months later died from an overdose, possibly as a suicide.

I'm curious. Is this a South Asian thing? Do other immigrant transplant cultures here in America think that it's appropriate to send children to their homeland if they're being problematic?

And where did this notion come from, really?

Is this a South Asian thing? Do other immigrant transplant cultures here in America think that it's appropriate to send children to their homeland if they're being problematic?

Probably happens more with non-European immigrant families as the culture clashes are sharper. Here's the story of a family from Ghana from a few years ago:

Najima and Nayaba Bawa were despondent when their parents first raised the subject of sending them home to Ghana. Nayaba, 14, who like her sister grew up in Washington, said, ''We wondered what we had done to be sent away.''

When they arrived at the Ghananian school and met the children of other Africans from the United States, they realized that their parents' decision was not uncommon. The Bawas, and other African families like them, have opted for a temporary reverse emigration for their children. In part it is an effort to help them maintain links to their African heritage. But it is also, many say, a conscious, protective response to adolescence in the United States.
link

Is this a South Asian thing? Do other immigrant transplant cultures here in America think that it's appropriate to send children to their homeland if they're being problematic?

Not just a south asian thing. I heard that a lot of Netherlands families send their kids with weed problem back to homeland. And interestingly.lots of kids actually volunteer :D

Dr. Uma Mysorekar is my father's first cousin. I HAVE A RELATIVE WHO WAS ON THE COLBERT REPORT! WHAT WHAAAAT!!

47 · Salil Maniktahla said

I'm curious. Is this a South Asian thing? Do other immigrant transplant cultures here in America think that it's appropriate to send children to their homeland if they're being problematic?

Where else would one send the mentally troubled, but to the asylum ?

I *heart* Colbert.

And now I adore Uma Auntie

That is all.

To all you Memphis-born confused desis and their diatribes on aunty -- aunty is way cooler than you. Let's see you try to explain Hinduism in less than two sentences and encompass all of aum.

While the premise of this segment is promising, Colbert wastes an opportunity here. Watching this clip is like watching a 5 year-old tell knock-knock jokes; lines you've heard before that are remain unimaginative and bland the second time around. These standard "jokes" (read: superficial American understandings) on Hinduism disappointed me. Colbert was so formulaic I thought there might still a writer's strike on.

Finally I was also disappointed with the way he treated Dr. Mysorekar, a leader who was there with serious intentions, but had essentially been brought in to provide Colbert with more opportunities to needle her with tasteless, reduntant remarks. A little of that is ok, but it was clear to me Colbert had no other intention to invite her on the show.

Overall the segment was like one long compilation of all the Apu jokes in 15 seasons of the Simpsons (except less funny).

BRoWN ST*R ouT

I don't know about Diwali but according to this Bengali Durgapuja is commercial enough.