Dipa Ghosh's blog

 I recently spoke to my Pakistani friend. She and I were discussing the state of Muslims in America after 9/11. She kept saying how because of some conservative irrational bigots, all other Muslims are being misunderstood. I agree with her. But I cannot help but ask this. When the attack happened in India in November, all my Muslim friends asked me if I and my family were fine. But this friend told me, “Oh I hope Muslims in India are not put through trouble because of this.” I could not believe her. People died.

 I must say I never thought that I would give much thought to Iowa. Somehow it is one of those states which does not figure much in mainstream politics. But allowing gay marriage is something that was very unexpected. But I am thrilled. For the life of me I have never been able to understand, how does allowing two mutually consenting adults to marry each other pose to be such a problem. The most common theory that states that this undermines the sanctity of traditional marriage seems a very weak argument.

On a rainy afternoon, I emerged from the black hole of the Judiciary Square Metro Station and faced a giant stature of a lion, in memory of a war survivor. Opposite the lion were statues of two lionesses (they could have been jaguars or panthers) and that statue was also in memory of some war hero. (I apologize I don't remember the names).
Upon entering National Museum Building I was greeted by a giant inflated Sakura (pink cherry blossom blowup), and the pillars and walls were adorned with pink pieces of paper symbolizing the blossoming tree.

Last year the Indian Premier League started in India. Celebrities and sports personalities and some rich businessmen bought players, national and international and there were eleven teams that played out the games. Among the international players even Pakistan cricket players were auctioned and bought by different team owners.

For spring break, I was in Torronto, Canada, visiting a childhood friend. She took me to see the Vagina Monologues. In the past I have seen them being performed twice. The first time was during my first year in college, when I was too much in shock to even understand what was going on. Then I watched it my senior year and felt if anything it was degrading to women, by relating a woman to a body part the "vagina". There were smart  women who were shouting taboo words and reclaiming them. What are they trying to prove?

I have a confession to make. I love dancing. I love Hip Hop. Whenever am at a nightclub I just cannot stop moving once hip hop music starts playing.

When we walked in, the first thing we had to do was to pick one identification card. Each card had the name and information of one Jewish person who had lived during the holocaust. I picked the card of a Polish lady, whose family of fourteen was incarcerated at a concentration camp where she died of disease, before they could be put into the gas chambers. The passageways between the floors had high walls on all four sides. The walls were lined with pictures of some of the people killed during the holocaust.