B C Speakers

Indian Fiction Rising

NEW DELHI – The release of Amitav Ghosh’s latest historical novel, “River of Smoke ,” the second in a proposed trilogy about the China-Britain Opium Wars, prompted a celebratory gathering on Friday of Delhi’s intellectuals at the understated but oh-so-expensive Aman Hotel here.

Interest in Indian literature has been growing here and abroad. Large American publishing companies like Hatchette and Random House recently opened divisions in India. The Jaipur Literature Festival started in Rajasthan’s capital in 2006 and next year will host guest speakers including Orhan Pamuk, Tina Brown and Salman Rushdie. Then there’s the critical acclaim that Indian writers have received: The 2006 Man Booker prize went to Kiran Desai for “The Inheritance of Loss ,” and Aravind Adiga won in 2008 for “White Tiger.”

Mr. Ghosh credits his compatriots’ willingness to write about their emotions for the popularity of Indian fiction.

In a recent interview with the Persian-French writer Lila Azam Zanganeh for the magazine Guernica, Mr. Ghosh said that American fiction is “just so ironicized, it’s just boring.”

“But you know emotion, and passion, and all those things, I think that’s why people all around the world read us.”

The first volume of Mr. Ghosh’s series, “Sea of Poppies,” a historical novel about the 19th-century opium trade, which came out in 2008, was a best seller in India, where the author was born, and in the United States, where he lives.

Gaucharan Das, a management consultant turned historian , echoed this sentiment while waiting in line at the book party for Mr. Ghosh to sign his copy of “River of Smoke.” “We’re articulate and argumentative,” said Mr. Das, who is editing a 15-volume history of trade in India from 300 B.C. to the present, to be published by Penguin India. “We love to talk.”

Also on hand Friday to talk it up at the book party were Omair Ahmad, the author of the novel “Jimmy the Terrorist,” and Rahul Bose, a Bollywood actor/rugby player/activist .

The film director Mira Nair breezed in to the party around 10, while other guests were filing out, to visit with Mr. Ghosh, an old friend from college. She was also trying to track down her mother, a diminutive gray-haired woman who was found some minutes later safely tucked away in the hotel lobby, surrounded by a small crowd from the party.

Sospeso Coffee and Roasting House, Tijuana, B.C., Mexico «

A while ago, my aunt was telling me about a place in Tijuana that roasted their own coffee and was owned by a guy that was a pretty big deal. A quick google search later, I learned she was spot on. There was a cafe in TJ that was slanging the real deal, third wave, legit coffee that I’m used to finding in LA…in Tijuana? I wouldn’t have thought it…

So after leaving La Diferencia, we surprised my favorite aunt Leti at work, and then headed over to check out Sospeso. When we walked in, Amy Winehouse was playing through the speakers, and I was immediately drawn to the bar. Siphon, aeropress, pour over, chemex…in Tijuana…I asked if I could take photos but was told I would have to go through administration for permission. So you wont see any photos of the bar, but it was a cool set up. They are definitely bringing something new to Baja, so I guess they want to keep their methods in house.

Having been to the best coffee bars in LA, Portland, and Vancouver, and after attending SCAA, and most recently Coffee Fest in SD, none of these methods were new to me, but I can see how they are new to Tijuana. The young man working was very passionate and educated about coffee and told me all about the different methods. I didn’t want to interrupt him and tell him I kinda know coffee culture and my blog is like 75% coffee shops…so I let him tell me. It was super neat to hear this all explained to me in Spanish though.

Sospeso is owned by Alberto Song Trujillo who is incredibly passionate about coffee and has all sorts of baller certifications. He roasts his own coffee, which is available for sale at the shop. The baristas are all trained and definitely know their stuff.

I convinced my aunt to get a siphon…which she had never heard of. The barista recommended their Guatemalan coffee, and my aunt loved seeing the process and declared her coffee to be amazing. I think I’ve turned yet another person into a coffee snob. Excellent!

RE and I ordered a couple of drinks. Everything was so smooth.

As we left Sospeso we were all really happy. Third Wave in Tijuana was now a reality!

Black communications and learning to read, building on children's linguistic and cultural strengths

Haydn's dictionary of dates relating to all ages and nations, for universal reference

Language in Canada

The Indo-Aryans of ancient South Asia, Language, material culture and ethnicity

Dictionary of Languages, The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages