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Springtime Reading: Ganges Boy, by Archana Prassana

If you are looking for a new book to start the spring season, check out recently released Ganges Boy, by Archana Prassana. A timeless story set against the backdrop of a small village in Varanasi, Ganges Boy weaves the reader into the life of a young boy trying to find his place  in a world [...]

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The Hero Project, a world of new action figures

Imagine that you are at the store with your child, walking down one of many isles of toys, secretly hoping they don’t ask you for some two-bit plastic character with eyes too big for it’s head and a price too big for the here-one-minute-gone-the-next frenzy. You are ready to say ‘No’ but instead, they pull [...]

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“Downward Blog” by Bad Swami

It feels especially weird, as an Indian, to go to Yoga classes here in America. When my American yoga teachers take one look at my brown skin, they immediately assume that I know what I am doing. As the class begins, they’ll recite Sanskrit names of various yoga poses, and then glance over at me [...]

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Bollywood Beats: a movie that dances to the beat of its own drum

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon the movie Bend it like Beckham on T.V. Although I’ve watched this movie several times before, it never fails to draw me in and keep me glued to my couch until I reach the very teary-eyed, joyful, satisfying end. There is a reason movies like Bend it [...]

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Swab your cheek and save a life: Amit Gupta Needs You!

Yesterday morning, I got a call from my friend Anurag. After making a few jokes about a ridiculously long text he had sent me the day before and confirming dinner plans for later this month, he then asked me, “Have you heard about Amit Gupta?”. Now as far as Indian names go, Amit Gupta is [...]

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Viewing the world through rose-colored glasses

I recently spoke at the University of Missouri-Kansas City about the effects of cultural on perspective and identity. On the surface, this topic is fairly obtuse- of course culture shapes our perspctive. However, it is surprising how deeply it affects the way we function in the world, and also how we process information. Moreover, diversity [...]

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