The Nanny Diaries. Manhattan DA Preet Bharara announced yesterday that Indian consular officer Devyani Khobragade had been arrested for visa fraud. Khobragade works as the Deputy Consul General for Political, Economic, Commercial and Women’s Affairs at the Consulate General of India in New York, New York. Authorities stated that the 39-year-old Khobragade falsified documents relating to her housekeeper and babysitter, claiming the domestic worker earned $10/hour, not the $3.31 she was actually paid. The worker reportedly watched over Khobragade’s two young daughters. Meanwhile, the consular officer earned over $100,000 a year in her position and held herself out as an activist for women. She was led away in handcuffs, but later let out on bail. [NYDailyNews]
In September of this year, Khobragade, a medical doctor, was asked to speak at the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin’s Women Physicians Symposium. According to the speaker who introduced her, Khobragade’s inspirational quote of choice was “When you educate a man, you educate the man. When you educate a woman, you educate a society.” Looks like she just educated all of us.
Watch the rest of the speech for even more *fun* quotes from the good deputy consul. (Re: The study of medicine. “It showed me…why we have to look at human suffering.”) It helps if you take a shot of something alcoholic every time the good doctor says “human suffering.” Oof. Bonus points if you can get to the part where she humble-brags about helping the needy in India without throwing up a little.
If you can watch this more than once without punching a wall, you’re a stronger person than I am.
Getting Exotic with The New York Times. On Wednesday, The New York Times profiled my favorite Gap ad model of all time and yours, Mr. Waris Ahluwalia. The feature elaborated on the prolific socialite’s numerous public appearances. It also revealed a number of surprising (to me) facts about the chic Sikh. For example, did you know that Ahluwalia’s mother was a day care center teacher? And that the fashionista attended a [*gasp] public school? As the Times puts it, “a solid middle-class background with little cachet.”
Added bonus? A quote from an imprudent publicist who reveals that he seeks Ahluwalia for attendance at parties because he’s “exotic and single.” What century are we living in again? I blame Priyanka Chopra for all of this. [NYT]
Here, wash the taste out of your mouth by watching this dreamy vid of Waris dressing himself, kinda, sorta.
Canadian Hate Crime? A man in Canada was recently caught on camera defacing a memorial created to honor the memory of South Asians who were denied Canadian citizenship in 1914. The freighter Komagata Maru arrived in Vancouver Harbour on May 23, 1914, carrying 376 Indians who were British subjects. They were turned away by hostile Canadian authorities and denied basic supplies. Many were later killed when the ship tried to disembark in India.
Stay classy, Canada. [Yahoo Canada]
Love Marriage. The Aerogram’s friend and contributor V.V. Ganeshananthan was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The novelist, journalist and University of Michigan professor received the prestigious Creative Writing Fellowship. Her critically-acclaimed novel, Love Marriage, was published in 2008. Go read everything she ever wrote right now. [MLive]
Kishwer Vikaas is a co-founder and editor of The Aerogram. Follow her on Twitter at @phillygrrl or email her at editors@theaerogram.com. Follow The Aerogram on Twitter at @theaerogram.
