links for 8th April 07

• Barbers are in demand in Punjab as Young Sikhs abandon long hair in favor of Bollywood type haircuts – "Alarmed by the trend, Sikhism's leading religious group, the SGPC, has declared the April 13 harvest festival of Baisakhi as International Sikh Turban Day. In addition, two turban-tying schools have been founded in Sikhism's holiest city of Amritsar, and a competition to select "Mr Singh International", is expected to attract widespread participation.

  Every region in Punjab has its own distinct style of tying a turban, with each claiming theirs to be the best, and Mr Singh contestants are to be judged on how stylishly their headgear is tied."

   

• Why Indian Entrpreneurs succeed in US? – Business Week profiles two Indian immigrants on why Indian Entrepreneurs ard doing really well in the US.

  "One-quarter of the U.S. publicly traded, venture capital-backed companies started in the past 15 years were founded by immigrant entrepreneurs, according to American Made: The Impact of Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Professionals on U.S. Competitiveness, a 2006 national survey commissioned by the National Venture Capital Assn. The current market capitalization of these firms exceeds $500 billion, and they employ more than 220,000 people in the U.S. and 400,000 internationally. Immigrants have had the greatest impact in the fields of IT, life sciences, and particularly in the high-tech manufacturing sector, where 40% of publicly traded, venture-backed firms operating in the U.S. today were founded by immigrants. "

   

• Killing female fetuses in the womb is becoming more of a problem in Punjab, India. "In the last one year in [Dhanduha village], against 12 boys only three girls were born, and in the last five years, 34 baby boys were born as against only 18 girls. A sex ratio of just 529:1000!" (via 3qd)

   

• The recent Abel prices goes to Srinivasa Varadhan US mathematician of Indian origin for his work on probabilities

   

• Made in India: Contemporary Art in India - John Elliot explores the rise of contemporary art in India driven by new wealth and talks to some key collectors. "Alka Pande, an art historian and curator of the Habitat Visual Arts Centre (HVAC) in New Delhi, says that domestic sales are being driven by younger members of big business families at the top end, followed by young company executives working for multi-national corporations who spend up to £24,000 on a single picture, and by others in India's booming software industry. Unlike earlier generations, these professionals have their own money to spare in their 30s, without having to rely on their parents' largesse."

   

• Banning sex education in Madhya Pradesh – "India Daily reports on children being denied sex education, because, well, apparently it's too graphic. "The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to ban the sex education provided under the adolescent education program in its present form in the schools."

   

• Grand Designs in Delhi – "Mughal tombs converted into palatial mansions, lighthouses built in city gardens and pavilions floating on water. William Dalrymple explores the eccentric architectural legacy of colonial Delhi"