tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80976931417247848522009-12-16T06:36:34.308-08:00From East to West, the Journey Continues...RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-2945576171236571932009-09-08T14:42:00.000-07:002009-09-09T20:04:51.508-07:00

I realize that I have been undercover for months. Just fell off the wagon and am slowly clambering back. When I saw this one minute video - a must watch, I knew I had to share because it so germane to all my writings about the concept of arranged marriages in India and the myths surrounding it. I thought, it would be nice to share this commercial which shows how marriages are still arranged in

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-53797877787046771102009-03-12T16:34:00.001-07:002009-11-23T19:59:27.208-08:00

It has been a while- I have been underground because I have been inundated with work which in all honesty I truly enjoy, but now have surfaced to touch base with you all to share more of my rich culture. I will be writing more as and when I get the time so don't give up on me yet. In the interim, read on...A picture of my adorable niece who has also joined in the wild abandon of this

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-91275915823600550322009-02-05T17:45:00.000-08:002009-02-22T07:37:24.357-08:00

Last June, I wrote a conceptual article on arranged marriages in India. For knowing more about the criteria behind finding matches, I would highly recommend reading this post. Today I want to expand more on the real-life dynamics behind this institution because there is both a lot of hype as well as a real curiousity about it, as evident from the questions I am frequently asked. Since I want to

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-79611137085572126722009-01-23T02:54:00.000-08:002009-01-30T20:13:05.241-08:00

A while back I wrote an article on role of temples, which becomes even more magnified for the Indian-Americans thousands of miles away from their home country. Today I want to share another aspect of worship in Hinduism. While the Hindus visit the temple often for various occasions or as they desire, worship of their gods is not limited to temple visits but is an integral part of their lives. So

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-52892628720379928362009-01-18T10:34:00.000-08:002009-01-20T11:35:17.346-08:00

There has been a lot of activity and excitement in DC since the past few weeks. In my more than two decades here in US, I have witnessed the inaugration activities for Presidents Reagan, George Bush (Sr), Bill Clinton and the incumbent President,but never have I seen such intensity in the air as in the case of our 44th President-elect Obama. It is truly unprecedented! The pride, the excitement,

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-43083343071728844612009-01-14T14:17:00.000-08:002009-01-15T15:30:32.376-08:00

The last few posts that I have posted have been a medley of cherished memories of my years as a high school teacher in New Delhi leading to lifelong friendship with a colleague who is still teaching back home in the same school, Modern School. Malini as most of you have come to know through this blog has been here on a Fulbright Fellowship. The following is actually a comment written by one of

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-24450761473748317172008-12-19T08:08:00.000-08:002009-01-14T14:53:41.611-08:00

Ideally the previous post, Part I, should be read to get the complete backdrop against which these events are being described. What follows is a pictorial journey of a lifelong friendship in the context of a beloved high school where I was a teacher in my past life and my friend still is.Against this backdrop of my baptism by fire entered into the scene my lifelong friend Malini, the new English

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-23832021302108613072008-12-16T17:54:00.000-08:002009-01-14T14:54:31.587-08:00

It is a quiet winter evening during the Holidays- perfect to indulge in fond memories with a friend who is visiting the US on a high school teacher exchange program as a Fulbright Fellow. Every evening she and I chat face to face via Skype -Every evening! Late into the night-from Washington DC to a small town in Washington state where she is getting a hearty dose of different world reality. Yes,

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-86364384017710210032008-12-09T18:53:00.000-08:002009-02-02T18:50:47.976-08:00

This is a guest post written by, as they say here, my BFF or best friend forever, Malini (she has commented in many of my posts recently), who I have known when we both met as high school teachers in New Delhi in 1982. Since then our bond has been unbreakable even though we have been thousands of miles apart since early 1987 when I left India for the US. I will write a separate post on that later

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-13695658249771552832008-12-04T20:43:00.000-08:002008-12-09T12:52:55.023-08:00

Delving through my old pictures for Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta, I came across this college picture showing four of us, freshmen, in our undergrad days at a very-well known rather notorious college, according to the conservative Indian standards in those days. The college was Miranda House in University of Delhi. Undoubtedly the college had quite a reputation for its "wild and fast" girls.

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-73427160274162011662008-11-28T09:47:00.000-08:002008-11-29T13:14:51.672-08:00

Here is a favorite picture that I want to share. It is one of my son conversing with his great-grandmother in Delhi, India. This was an amazing bond and sight to behold as each technically had no clue as to what the other was talking about. An almost four-year old chattering nineteen to dozen innocently in American-accented English to an almost hundred year old rather crusty lady who did not know

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-15946889436999317092008-11-25T16:44:00.000-08:002008-11-26T11:12:06.851-08:00

This morning, I got a pleasant surprise from one of my new friends in the fascinating world of blogging, Sandi McBride, a very interesting writer whose blog I now visit daily to enjoy her candid views on life- a woman after my own heart. Calling me "intriguing" - I wonder why since I am so open- and wanting to know more about me, she tagged me with a meme.Before I proceed further, let me list the

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-74062799779973166912008-11-22T17:32:00.000-08:002008-11-24T06:21:32.711-08:00

This past Thursday, I attended the Eagles concert in DC. And it was a mind-blowing experience. There must have been thousands of middle-aged Americans including me who went totally berserk when the the well-suited Eagles sang "Lying Eyes," "Hotel California," "Take it Easy," and other greatest hits. Of course, having a great dinner with a margarita and great company certainly made it even more so

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-5719974054601608172008-11-13T15:49:00.000-08:002008-11-15T09:17:12.675-08:00

The seemingly mundane picture above is not really so! It was taken within the first few months of my arrival in the US. This picture along with others, few of which I am sharing here caused a big tizzy with my in-laws back home in New Delhi. See below for context...India in the eighties believed in very traditional attire for the women as shown below. Generally women from genteel families wear

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-3462288590190256562008-11-07T03:45:00.000-08:002008-11-07T05:39:54.738-08:00

I have been an empty-nester for almost two years now and my son is a sophomore in college only a couple of hours away at UVA. However each time he comes home to visit, I go through a hard time bidding him good-bye. They grow so fast!Having come from a culture where children live home with their parents well into their adulthood and often even after they marry, assuming there are no financial and

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-44116397069726545802008-11-05T17:47:00.000-08:002008-11-06T15:59:05.535-08:00

I am finally sitting down with my cherished cup of tea and enjoying solitude with my faithful canine at my feet. It has been a wonderful day of pure joy and wonder at the immense strides the nation has taken with the election of Barack Obama, undoubtedly a phenomenon who has swept away the last racial barrier in the American socio-political setup. I sincerely believe that.While on a more mundane

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-56065526217903234632008-11-04T19:23:00.000-08:002008-11-05T15:38:23.519-08:00

Tonight is going to be a long night. To be honest, I have been sleep-deprived for many nights now because I am hooked on CNN and MSNBC for constant election coverage. Since I became a US citizen in 1991, I have taken my civic duty very seriously and voted in every US election. But I am surely echoing the sentiments of many when I say that today was certainly a historic day. In all the years I

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-32272517772133764062008-10-30T18:47:00.000-07:002008-10-30T18:53:00.065-07:00

Just a note to let you all know that I am taking off for a bit because am extremely swamped on all fronts... Will return bright-eyed and bushy tailed whenever... Hopefully soon.Till then keep smiling!

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-65212019225440585242008-10-17T01:59:00.000-07:002008-10-17T21:49:54.711-07:00

After my last couple of articles on a journey of faith, thought for Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta, I would share some pictures of Hindu temples in US that have been constructed to fulfill the religious and social needs of the Indian-Americans. When I arrived here in the late 80s, I had no idea that there were so many Hindu temples in the US, but should not have been surprised considering the US

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-89339916229736835652008-10-14T14:24:00.000-07:002008-10-17T21:52:22.890-07:00

Continued from Part I which provides the background for this incredible journey, which is basically a testimony of personal faith, in which the six of us -three adults and three kids under six-decided to continue with a pilgrimage against all odds.Read on...So here we were dazed in a packed train sitting essentially in a third class (the lowest) compartment without reservation huddled like cattle

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-27689241049711730552008-10-12T21:08:00.000-07:002008-10-13T16:42:06.121-07:00

Today my girlfriend (currently visiting the US from Delhi) and I were reminiscing about a couple of pilgrimages we had made together in India and the events that has occurred which basically reinforced our strong faith in the Supreme Force. This is how it all began...Despite all the modernization and education, spiritualism is so integrated in the Indian psyche that visiting holy places spread

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-11193283325553157232008-10-03T04:14:00.000-07:002008-10-02T20:37:55.206-07:00

Recently a couple of American girlfriends kept asking me about tattoos that they had seen on some of my Indian sisters. Perplexed I could not for the life of me fathom what they were talking about till it struck me what they had thought to be "tattoos" were actually the henna patterns which they must have seen on the hands and feet of a newly-wed Indian girl or her girlfriends who had attended

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-13687911333222888562008-09-27T20:18:00.000-07:002008-09-28T14:04:19.592-07:00

A modern multi-generational Indian middle class family today - a portrait of a dear friend's familyThis article is dedicated in honor of my father's birth centennial which is today- he passed away in January 1997. Yes, today is my father's birthday as he was born on September 28, 1908. Now he was a true patriarch not only of his many sons and daughter and grandchildren, but also with respect to

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-87646244219752010782008-09-19T15:14:00.000-07:002008-09-20T17:42:59.954-07:00

Chicago skylineI have returned today after a wonderful two-day business trip to Chicago. I have visited the city earlier also, but this time,the trip was different because the conference hotel I was staying in was right in the heart of downtown, one of those boutique hotels that have still managed to retain their old world charm. This stay was vastly different from the earlier day trips when one

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8097693141724784852.post-65351061152217611532008-09-12T14:13:00.000-07:002008-09-30T19:10:38.290-07:00

Continued from Part I which MUST be read to get the complete story of the Bhandari family which now was in safe territory, but the saga continued...Interestingly, while the common theme was one of loss, displacement, rebuilding and ultimate transformation, the partition experiences were felt differently by different sections of society based on a number of factors including their social standing

RBK's Realmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667401504159282979RBK925@gmail.com9