This is such a fascinating story and it just shows how industriousness could be nurtured into entrepreneurship if given the chance. I wonder, though, if Mumbai does redevelop this slum, whether they'll build a recycling center to fill the void...

Quoted: Thousands of small-scale recycling factories in Asia's largest slum face an uncertain future amid plans to redevelop the area.

I'm attending a screening of this film about post-9/11 anti-Skih violence on April 19th at the Northwest Film Forum for an article I'm working on. Click on the link about screening events to RSVP for the Seattle one... it's free and the filmmaker and one of the film's subjects will be attending.

Quoted: One of America’s first post 9/11 hate crime murders punctuated a growing wave of violence against Sikhs in retaliation for the terror attacks. Told from the perspective of the victim’s brother, A DREAM IN DOUBT travels to Mesa, Arizona to reveal a story of national tragedy, murder, community and the American dream.

Wow, this week marks the 49th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's exile from Tibet. Some great pictures in this slide show...

Quoted: This week in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, fleeing the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet, crossed the border into India, where he was granted political asylum.

Haha great interview with Shashi Tharoor (Indian fiction/non-fiction author & high-ranking U.N. diplomat) on the Colbert Report.

Quoted: Shashi Tharoor believes that Stephen would have been at the top of the caste system.

A good recap/analysis of what happened in the Pakistani elections.

Quoted: Heading into Monday's parliamentary elections, Pakistan desperately needed good news. Bombs, protests, and President Pervez Musharraf's authoritarian impulses have made almost daily headlines and created the impression of a country spiraling toward chaos.

Great PhD paper about parental involvement and spouse choice in urban India. She did a lot of her research using online marriage sites. I actually read a little blurb on this in the Atlantic Monthly - very cool.

Quoted: When parents are involved in mate choice, sons are significantly less likely to marry college-educated women and women engaged in the labor force.

Apparently he was somewhere around 91 years old...

Quoted: The Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, credited with introducing the Beatles to ancient Hindu meditation, dies.

Just something to keep in mind when we're in Calcutta... steer clear of poultry/chicken products (in S. Asia in general) and be careful about water sources.

Quoted: The bird flu epidemic in the Indian state of West Bengal spreads closer to the capital, Calcutta, officials say.

An interview with the female suicide bomber who was convicted of attempting to assassinate the Sri Lankan prime minister. The Tamil Tigers are known for having female suicide bombers, as well as young girl soldiers.

Quoted: On the day before she set out to blow up the Sri Lankan prime minister, Menake went shopping for a sequined top to hide the vest full of explosives that would turn her into a human bomb.