“Full Service” is in the January-March 2023 edition of “Akhar”
My short story “Full Service” appears in the January-March 2023 edition of “Akhar”, a prominent Punjabi literary magazine.
Cup & Kitaab: The Saga of an Inseparable Couple
A cup. And a kitaab. Their rishtaa, I am sure, was made in heaven. If you are not so sure, look at them. Closely. One is lonely without the other. As a naked hanger hung in a closet is without clothes. Or one shoe dangling down the rear of the trucks (to ward off evils) is without the other in whose search it keeps circling the country for years.
A conducive setting or an enabling environment is vital for any relationship. A hospitable host not only nurtures it but nourishes it as well.
Such a host—a cafe—for cup and kitaab is in Silvi Park, sector 64, Mohali. The host’s dedication and devotion to them are apparent from its name: Cup & Kitaab. It is a unique and popular community gathering place, opened in 2020, and features large portions of food, entertainment, conversation—and one unusual restriction.
You are welcome to traverse the walkway to the double-door entrance but leave your laptop at home. Their use is banned by Neeru Khatter, the establishment’s owner and creator, as a way to encourage reading and socializing.
“There are times when our guests are upset because we don’t allow anyone to use laptops in the cafe because I want them to read books, the old-fashioned way,” says Neeru, master chef and one-time English professor. “Sometimes I even thrust books into their hands while they await their orders. The essence of various events that we plan, like Cha and Charcha or Blind Date, is to promote and reward reading,” she said, underscoring her reverence for the written word.
A suspended signboard in the middle of the walkway says the host’s name beneath the artwork, the logo, in which the kitaab opens itself up to soak in the cup’s steaming love. A more prominent signboard showing their torrid affair is visible on the rooftop.
A PILLAR OF BOOKS
Past the live cooking stations on the left and straight ahead in the center of the cafe is a pillar with illuminated wooden spokes radiating from its head and shelves full of books below that guests can pick and read.
“I have cherished reading from childhood as much as I have loved cooking and eating,” confessed Neeru. “It was my dream to build something like this in the wild, in the middle of a natural setting, giving book lovers a cool and quiet place to read while sipping and savoring their favorites.”
With the support of her husband, Anshuvan, Neeru’s dream soon became a reality.
The menu and milieu herald desi and videshi
“Every visitor here is our guest,” Neeru says. “None of them is a customer to us. We love and respect each of them in the spirit of our centuries-old Indian mehman-nawazi
BUILDING A COMMUNITY
Much more than a restaurant, Cup & Kitaab has become a community and cultural hub, attracting students to senior citizens, office workers to business folks, actors, musicians, artisans and artists.
When we sat down to discuss the roots of Neeru’s inspiration and independence, she modestly shared, “As a child and young woman, my pocket money was consistently expended on buying books. Being the youngest and only daughter of two Moga professors’ three children helped. I could get away with anything I wanted. Not so when Anshuvan and I decided to wed after a few years of friendship. But, by then, it was too late for my parents and siblings to expect me to change my habits. I went ahead and wedded the guy I loved and wanted to spend my life with over their objections and against their wishes. Soon they realized I made the right choice, and we became one large happy family.”
She added that married life did not cool her obsession with reading.
“I can’t recall returning home from shopping or grocery without one or two new books. My daughters read voraciously during our several years in Libya and Oman when they were young. We returned to India because of my older daughter’s interest in theater. Once both got phones after coming here, they no longer retained their avid reading habit,” lamented Neeru with a deep sigh.
A HOME AWAY FROM HOME
We were in the middle of our relaxed conversation when Punjabi singer Crowny Singh entered with a friend. They joined the discussion. I was surprised when he looked at Neeru and said, “Mom, I want a chicken sandwich.”
Within a few minutes, the table between us was filled with sandwiches and scrumptious snacks. Crowny picked up a guitar and started to sing.
As I started to enjoy the evening and admire Neeru’s culinary skills, she returned from the kitchen to explain why Crowny called her “Mom.”
“We have a lot of guests in the cafe who are living away from their families,” she said. “We are their extended family. Some call me bebe, some aunty, and others bhabhi. We enjoy the satisfaction of making them feel they are with their family at home away from home.”
Neeru and daughter Rhythm Khatter with Amy Virk
Neeru and Anshuvan count many celebrities among their guests, including Ammy Virk, Tarsem Jassar, Rajvir Jawanda, Maninder Buttar, Ayushman Khurana, Aparshakti Khurana, Bir Singh, Gurshabad, Ali brothers and Gopal Dutt. Standup comedians Parvinder Singh and Gurpal Singh are good friends. Himanshi Khurana, Prince Narula, Yuvika, Fankaar Singh and choreographer Sumit Kumar also visit regularly.
“We do our best to ensure they too can relax and peacefully enjoy doing whatever they came in to do like everyone else,” Anshuvan said.
In just over two short years, Cup & Kitaab has evolved from a readers’ den into a vibrant cultural hub replete with art, craft, music and traditional celebrations such as Vaisakhi, Karva Chauth and Teej.
“Bunty Bains, of Bunty Bains Productions, and B Social owner, was the first person to help me promote Cup & Kitaab,” Neeru emphasized.
So, what’s next?
“Now, I am working on organizing meetings where our senior citizens lacking writing skills will share their life’s stories with young men and women who are talented writers but lack powerful masala to write about,” Neeru concluded.
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This column was published online by https://tricityscoop.com/ on September 11, 2022.
Guest Commentary: Why Delaware should go for offshore wind
Of the nine East Coast states, we are the only one without a commitment to use wind energy. In contrast, our neighbors not only have legally binding agreements to buy and use offshore-wind energy but are also scaling up ambitious plans around it.”
Charanjeet Singh Minhas is a board member of Delaware Interfaith Power & Light.
Delaware is burdened with twin disadvantages: It is the lowest-lying American state, and it is continuously sinking. But it also is blessed with a windfall, literally. The First State coasts have offshore-wind potential enough to power 137% of its energy needs.
These opposing factors combine to make a solid case for the state to move away from its current overwhelming dependence (91%) on carbon sources and toward indigenous offshore-wind energy for economic, scientific, health, climate and moral and ethical reasons. But the fossil fuel lobby in the state has fought this effort. Consequently, Delawareans are paying for a supply of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for life-threatening problems now and in the future — all while sitting next to an ocean of clean, renewable energy.
Of the nine East Coast states, we are the only one without a commitment to use wind energy. In contrast, our neighbors not only have legally binding agreements to buy and use offshore-wind energy but are also scaling up ambitious plans around it. The governors of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina announced a collaboration in 2020 to build offshore-power projects and promote the region as a hub for offshore-wind energy and industry.
They might have been nudged by New Jersey’s grander dream of becoming the hub of the nation’s offshore-wind energy industry. The Garden State aspires to be the Houston of American offshore wind.
The Interior Department in Washington, D.C., estimates we will see some 2,000 turbines churning along the East Coast by the end of the decade. As Lisa Friedman wrote in The New York Times, these hopes were further vitalized last February when the “three-day, 64-round bidding war among more than a dozen companies for a triangular section of ocean known as the New York Bight surpassed expectations.”
The United States government, adds Friedman, netted a record $4.37 billion because “it was the highest-grossing competitive offshore energy lease sale in history, including oil and gas lease sales. Analysts noted that leases were sold at about $10,700 per acre, more than 10 times the previous record of $1,000 per acre.”
New York State, which in 2019 passed an ambitious law to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change, had reached an agreement for two large offshore-wind projects the same year. These projects are an essential part of the state’s plan to get 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
“New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maryland have together committed, through legislation or executive action, to buying about 30,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore electricity by 2035 — enough to power roughly 20 million homes,” as noted in Yale Environment 360’s report more than a year ago.
Forget firm action on offshore electricity. Delaware doesn’t even have legislation to lend credibility to its greenhouse gases-reduction targets, as enumerated in its Climate Action Plan, unveiled in November last year.
Besides a bounty of wind resources, we also have nationally and internationally acclaimed local offshore-wind expertise. The University of Delaware’s Wind Power Program, initiated back in 2003, conducts research, education and outreach on wind power, with emphasis on coastal and offshore wind.
However, none of UD’s prominent experts was there when the Fenwick Island Environmental Committee hosted its offshore-wind symposium at Indian River High School on Friday, May 20. Representatives from US Wind and Ørsted were first to speak, highlighting clean energy, improved infrastructure and job creation from offshore-wind projects. They were followed by speakers who talked about problems with offshore-wind towers and turbines. Loss of viewshed, impacts to commercial fishing and effects on marine life were their primary concerns.
Also at the event was David Stevenson, Caesar Rodney Institute’s Center for Energy & Environmental Policy director and a former member of President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency transition team. He has questioned Delaware’s climate plan and opposed tighter air-pollution standards in the state. Last August, he was at a press conference outside the Massachusetts State House, where offshore-wind critics announced a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s approval of Vineyard Wind, the first major offshore-wind project in America to be issued an environmental permit.
Every noncarbon energy source brings with it proponents and opponents. Offshore wind isn’t a perfect or complete energy alternative. Still, it is a clean, renewable, healthy and economical energy solution suited to coastal Delaware, especially in light of the fantastic technological advancements and federal subsidies available now that expire in 2025.
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This column was published online by https://baytobaynews.com/ on July 21, 2022.
Interfaith Iftar hosted by Delaware Sikh Coalition
I am thankful to the members of Delaware’s Muslim community, pastors of various churches, plus members of state’s Sikh and Hindu communities for their joyous participation and making it a memorable event.
Interfaith Peace Walk – 2022
About this Event
Just like the earlier years, we had started our annual Walk DE Talk from in front of the Old College Hall on East Main Street in Newark at 01:00 P.M. and ended it in the New Ark United Church of Christ, less than a mile away. Once there, everyone who attended was encouraged to share a message of love and peace—if he or she wishes to. Before leaving we all took group pictures, and wished our city, state, country and the entire universe all the best.
Commentary: The world’s faithful want action on climate change
When people come to comprehend what Archbishop Desmond Tutu said — “Climate change is a moral challenge, not simply an economic or technological problem” — nature’s stewardship becomes a calling.”
“The world is going up in flames — shower it with Your Mercy, and save it! Save it, and deliver it, by whatever method it takes,” reads a shabad in Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture. Followers of Sikhism — the world’s fifth-largest independent religion — recite it in disquieting times.
Over the past few years, the pandemic has not been the only reason Sikh congregations — who believe that “Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all” — sing it devotionally at their gurdwara. The Earth’s rising temperature has also given deeper meaning to Sikhs’ Sunday prayers.
Among the world’s faithful, Sikhs are not alone in their concerns about climate. “The skyrocketing number of books on ecotheologies show that commitment to climate action has entered the mainstream of most religions,” say Tobias Müller and Esra Özyürek of the Netherlands’ University of Groningen. “The research that we’ve done suggests that, by leveraging their massive influence, these groups can help the world take significant steps towards averting climate catastrophe.”
Climate-dedicated organizations or initiatives mirror nearly every faith’s commitment to preempt climate Armageddon. Among the Abrahamic religions, for instance, Dayenu is “a Jewish call to climate action.” The World Council of Churches has “care for creation and justice” at its center, and Muslims have an “Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change.”
Similar dedication amongst religions born in the Indian subcontinent is reflected by the “Hindu Declaration on Climate Change,” “The Time to Act Is Now: A Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change,” “EcoSikh” and the “Jain Declaration on the Climate Crisis.”
NASA’s scientists have calculated that the average global temperature on Earth has increased by at least 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.9 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880 and report that the rise has accelerated since 1975, a threatening pace that signals a “code red for humanity.”
The role of religious communities in confronting this upward march to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is crucial.
When people come to comprehend what Archbishop Desmond Tutu said — “Climate change is a moral challenge, not simply an economic or technological problem” — nature’s stewardship becomes a calling.
In 1970s India, the Chipko (hugging) movement ended deforestation in Uttarakhand. Sunderlal Bahuguna, who coined the “ecology is the permanent economy” mantra, was the movement’s most well-known face. He motivated poor villagers, primarily illiterate women with subsistence livelihoods, to confront tree felling to save their hearths, homes and the environment using Gandhian techniques. They took on a solid government forestry department that was colluding with big contractors — and won.
The movement earned its “Chipko” name because villagers hugged and chained themselves to trees to stop loggers from cutting them down. Hugging a tree meant “our bodies before our trees.”
When religious communities pool their resources for a shared cause, their strength grows synergistically. The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham perhaps had this in mind when she founded Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) — “a religious response to global warming” — in 1993. Today, the organization has 40 state chapters and 22,000 congregations. Delaware Interfaith Power & Light (DeIPL) is its affiliate in President Joe Biden’s home state.
The entire IPL community, especially us in Delaware, rejoiced when one of President Biden’s first actions was to reenroll the U.S. in the Paris Agreement. Unfortunately, we have been equally disappointed to see how fossil fuel-funded legislators have repeatedly defeated his ambitious environmental agenda on Capitol Hill.
Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons and Maggie Siddiqi of the Center for American Progress wrote, “Faith-based climate activism is deeply rooted at the local level, particularly in communities that bear direct witness to the harms that the climate crisis inflicts on the environment in their immediate surroundings.”
Delaware is a sinking coastal state that is also the lowest-lying in the country. Consequently, the sea level is rising higher and faster. DeIPL and other environmental groups are working together to create awareness about the state’s precarious situation and lobby the government in Dover to declare a climate emergency that reflects “a statewide commitment to a just transition toward a decarbonized economy that invests in and ensures clean energy and quality jobs and reverses the climate crisis.”
President Biden’s party in the First State has a government trifecta, with supermajorities in both chambers and a Democratic governor. While the president’s endeavors in Washington, D.C., continue, he should nudge his colleagues in Dover to turn his home state into an example of environmental excellence he can showcase nationally and internationally.
Perhaps then, we can realize Guru Granth Sahib’s observation: “Air, water, earth and sky — the Lord has made these His home and temple.”
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This column was published online by https://baytobaynews.com/ on April 17, 2022.
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