Biden's desi connection, and Indian pulp fiction | #33
Who was the first US Prez to visit India?
Towards the end of 2020 we saw one of the most important elections of all time take place. The United States with its long, complicated electoral procedure has given us a Netflix-worthy drama. Wonder who will play the role of Rudy Giuliani when the series is eventually made… probably Rudy Giuliani himself. On that sobering note, this week we look at a few interesting stories about US presidents.
Things we learnt this week:
The new President of the United States of America is Madrasi. In addition to the Veep Kamala Harris, Prez Joe Biden also has a Chennai connection - His ancestor Christopher Biden died in Madras in 1858. Christopher Biden is commemorated by a plaque in St George's Cathedral which is now, quite appropriately, a popular selfie spot.
The current tussle over transition from Trump to Biden looks ugly, but it doesn’t compare to the dispute between Herbert Hoover and Franklin D Roosevelt. There was name calling involved - Hoover called Roosevelt ‘a chameleon’ and Roosevelt responded by calling Hoover ‘fat, timid, capon’. Hoover, who did the Bhoomi Pooja and started construction for the dam on the Colorado river, was not invited for the opening of the dam. It was known as Boulder Dam until after Roosevelt’s death when Congress decided to call it the Hoover Dam. Good thing our politicians aren’t so petty.
Biden may have to visit India during his tenure and every US president on his visit to India does these basic things - visit the Raj Ghat, take a Patel shot in front of the Taj Mahal, address the Parliament, and then speak at the Ramlila grounds. All of this can be attributed to the first ever visit by a US president Dwight Eisenhower to India in 1955. The trip was considered a success and every US President has followed the same itinerary. Security might not have been the greatest of concerns during Eisenhower’s time, judging by this photo.
Bonus - Nikhil Kaundinya, gave us a fantastic thread on Indian pulp fiction. Check out the tweet in which we see the same book with a racy cover and a Sanskaari cover (mild NSFW)
Things we’re reading / watching / listening to:
Queen’s Gambit - A meticulously well researched, well acted show based on a book by Walter Tevis. It has become Netflix's most-watched scripted miniseries and it is very easy to see why.
Golazzo - A podcast on all things football and Italia. On every episode, the hosts pick up one key player/event from Italian football and discuss it in-depth. The addition of snippets of Italian commentary along with the era’s songs make it a delight to listen to.
SouthBay.Live
In case you missed the announcement, India Wants To Know is re-releasing Season 1 on SouthBay - Rana Daggubatti’s new YouTube channel. Here’s the first episode with episode two premiering this Sunday at 6PM
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