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Mrs. Parthasarathi talks to students about India as part of the Cross Culture Program(UNESCO).

Navratri in Seoul

By Cho Jae-eun/Kim Kyoung-mo Contributing Writers
Compared to most expatriate gatherings, this one was rather small: about 80 people at a minimally decorated hotel ballroom. Other expat parties, however, don't involve a ceremonial. battle between a goddess and a demon king.
Don't worry if you missed the Dandiya party, held at the Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel in central Seoul last weekend. The event is an annual tradition for Indians around the world, who gather at parties from Oct. 1 to 9 to hold a Navrati Festival, celebrate the indian goddess Durga, and perform the Dandiya dance. This stick dance, said to be ''as old as Lord Krishna," is from the Gujarat region of India and involves the dancers, both men and women of all ages, using sticks to depict the battle between Durga and Mahishasura, king of demons.
The Dandiya party, one of the most
prominent Indian gatherings in Korea, is organized by the Indian Merchant Association, which is now in its 20th year. The association comprises 50 representatives of Indian companies in Korea; most of the firms specialize in textiles or general trade. Besides for the Dandiya, the group also holds events for other Indian celebrations, such as Diwali (the Festival of Lights) and Holi (the spring festival), as well as charity events.
"The association is still in the process of expansion," said Syed Agha, the president of the India Merchant Association. "[It] starting out from 20 companies that joined to over 50 companies at present. It has spread its influence as a gathering of community people [Indians in Korea]."
Mr. Agha is the director for Grand Prism Ltd., a trading fIrm that exports textiles, garments, electronics and hotel supplies. He has been coordinating the events throughout his three
years as president.
The event at the Hilton hotel consisted of many things Indian - including starting on "Indian Time," as it was jovially dubbed. Although the setting of the ballroom was ready for the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start, the members and their families turned up about an hour later.
Past 8:30, women and children arrive dressed in colorful saris, from the voluminous authentic type featuring intricate beadings and miles of drop-dyed chiffon to the more casual sari tops in trendy colors -turquoise and magenta -paired with jeans.
The men's outfits, on the other hand, was more diverse, with outfits from plaid shirts and khakis to an earthy-colored traditional garb: a long tunic, called kurta, worn with chodidar (pants) and duptta (men's scarves) that match the overall costume.
The latest entry to Korea's Indian community was the new ambassador
of India to Korea, N. Parthasarathi and his wife. The couple arrived last week from India.
Currently there are about 4,000 to 5,000 Indians living in Korea, according to Mr. Agha, but the number has been growing, with a noticeable number flying here to work in Korea's powerful IT industry.
Most Indians speak Hindi and English, but many are fluent in Korean as well. Among them is R.K.Bhesaniya, a trader of textiles who recently acquired Korean citizenship. (He wouldn't be the first to do so: according to legend, King Suro of the lst century Korean kingdom of Gaya married an Indian princess, who would have been the first Indian to
, become a Korean "citizen.")
" Although our home towns are scattered all over India, [Indians in Korea] never had any trouble getting along. We were always like family,"
said Mr. Bhesaniya, who speaks flluent Korean and has been here for 11 years.
After a buffet dinner featuring assorted curry dishes, smatiria and Indian desserts such as sago (coconut juice and tapioca), came the highlight of the festival: the Dandiyo dance competition. !
At the small DJ box stood J Bhagutandani, the volunteer for this event, who mixed a variety of Dandiya songs with contemporary pop and techno. When "Pardes " by the popular singer Kumar Kishore came on, dancers on the floor lip- synched all together. By midnight they had a winner: The grand prize, a one-night stay at the Hilton, went to Pankaj Agarwal and his wife Pooja. Mr. Agarwal, a native of Kishang, is enrolled in electronic engineering department of Seoul National University's master's program.
estyle@joongang.co.kr

Novel in News

January 13, 2005





Tailing the assassin
Ready to look at the other side of the mirror...

N. Parthasarathi in New Delhi. Photo: Anu Pushkarna.












HE SLICES out a while from his busy South Block assignment to talk about his maiden book "The Reluctant Assassin" just out in the market. Having leafed through this Star Public publication, you pick on your queries for him. But before you realise, he throws his questions at you.
"Have you read the book?" "What do you think of it?" "Give me an honest appraisal"... .
Well, being an Indian Foreign Service official, having spent a good amount of time practicing diplomacy in many countries, including Pakistan, he knows where to effect the break. "I think I should leave it you. Please ask me anything about the book."

And N. Parthasarathi, Joint Secretary (Administration) at the Ministry of External Affairs, begins to unwind. "I wrote this book when I was in Damascus before joining this assignment here. Being a diplomat, one is always busy. But at times, if you miss one or two parties, you surely can take out time. In my case, I had to write as the story in my mind was ripe enough," says this soft-spoken Bangalorean, oft closing his words with a smile. Being a civil servant, writing non-fiction is an issue you'd better not fiddle with. And so, fiction is what one is left with. Having been in the know of terror that is so real and raw, be it in India or Pakistan, drowning most times the human side of life, and circumstances playing an evil game at a random pace, Parthasarathi had the canvas complete. It is the tale of a young Muslim boy from Bangalore, Imran Khan, touching the sleepless city of Mumbai one sunny day for a job interview. Falling victim to situations, he gets rimmed by events that have their roots in a few terrorist attacks in the city. One thing leads to another and he bundles up his innocence for a maiden visit to his father in Karachi. But he has many things going wrong for him - his religion and his timing to see his father in Pakistan.

"Having seen the two sides of the coin, I realised that we have to do something to wipe out the distrust for each other in the two countries. The only weapon to do it is through love and empathy," Parthasathi gives a thoughtful raison d'être. And arguably so, he crafts his characters with abundant love. "I have used simple words for everyone to understand the story. All through, I have restrained myself from being judgemental," he states. "It is a humane story and needs to be humanely told," he stresses. Though the Mumbai attacks in the book have a strong semblance to the 1992 Mumbai riots, Parthasarathi prefers to generalise it: "It could have been the Sikh riots in Delhi." What he wants to show here is a man falling deep in man-made problems, which are bigger here, considering the presence of mindless terrorism in his novel. Innocent beings becoming victims of situations.

"Also, I wanted to show very strongly that if you do any wrong, the wrong gets you finally. That is why, Imran had to lose his beloved sister," he avers. Being the maiden effort, the book has quite a few touching moments. But what is attractive, both at the start and at the end, is the narrative technique applied. In the Author's Note on Page 1, he gives a signed account of how he happened to meet Imran in Udaipur, commanding at once your attention and interest. As if it is a tale plucked out of real life. At the end, the epilogue talks of his auto-parts store in Udaipur again, the place he met Imran. Rounding off the canvas in a full circle.
But alas, we too know the line between fiction and reality is not so thin.

SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY