Coordinators of South Asian Identity Week are hoping to broaden the appeal of the program by involving different groups on campus and hosting a former CNN bureau chief, several acclaimed authors and experts on South Asia for a variety of lectures and forums.
The cultural week, which is in its third year, features lectures, information sessions and discussion forums centered on this year's theme: "South Asia: Assembling the Mosaic."
Bharati Kalasapudi '07, a co-coordinator for the week's events, said programmers tried to schedule a variety of activities to expose Brown students to the diversity of the South Asian region.
"One of the goals is to highlight the differences and similarities on the subcontinent," Kalasapudi said. "We hope it helps (students) develop a dialogue ... and share experiences."
Coordinators said they also hope the week's events will raise awareness about the search for a South Asian history professor. Filling the position "is a goal for many South Asians on campus," Kalasapudi said, adding the University currently lacks a faculty member who can adequately fill this role.
"South Asian studies have been neglected here at Brown," said Vidyasri Putcha '07, who is the week's other co-coordinator. "We want to show the University that there is interest in these activities."
While some events are open to the entire Brown community, other activities are designed primarily for a South Asian audience, Putcha said. One of these forums, scheduled for later this week, will address gender and sexuality from a South Asian perspective, she said.
The week's events began last Thursday with a convocation ceremony that featured Ravi Kalhan '96, whom Putcha described as instrumental in the development of Third World programs through his work as a Minority Peer Counselor coordinator and promoter of other events on campus for students of color.
Author Suketu Mehta gave a keynote speech that evening, focusing on the "search for home" and identity, a topic that resonates with minorities and South Asians in particular, Kalasapudi said. Mehta recently garnered literary acclaim for his new book, titled "Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found," which was published in September.
Mehta's diverse upbringing and eagerness to speak about the assimilation of immigrants into American culture made him an effective speaker, Kalasapudi said. The South Asian Brown students in attendance, many of whom have parents who are first-generation immigrants or are first-generation immigrants themselves, could easily relate to Mehta's message, she said.
The week's events will also feature a forum tonight on South Asian religion led by Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, a post-doctoral fellow in religion at Wellesley College.
The coordinators were interested in bringing Shukla-Bhatt to campus because "religious conflict is a theme for a lot of the world right now" and is a topic with increasing political relevance, Kalasapudi said.
The week will close with a Thursday evening lecture by Anita Pratap, a former South Asia bureau chief for CNN who has spoken with many South Asian leaders and is familiar with many of the economic and social issues of the region, Putcha said.
Putcha said she believes Pratap has the ability to "really speak to a non-South Asian population."
Both Kalasapudi and Putcha said they believe there is a strong desire among Brown students for exposure to South Asian culture and issues.
Kalasapudi said the events are attracting attendance figures "pretty similar to last year's," including about 65 students who attended Thursday's convocation.
