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Four Writers And Some Chaya

Arthur J Pais

Of the four Indian American writers who are spending a day at the Town Hall in Seattle on Saturday, three have books to promote. The fourth one is not yet ready with his new book.

But the writers aren't strictly there to promote their new books. They are in Seattle to help raise funds for Chaya, the only South Asian empowerment group for women, which, in its fifth year, has organized a two-day event that includes showing of such films as Chutney Popcorn and a literary event.

The writers are Pico Iyer, celebrated for his travelogues. The paperback version of his The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home was published last month.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Unknown Errors of Our Lives, about two weeks old, has been getting raves on both coasts.

And Pramila Jayapal, whose poignant Pilgrimage: One Woman's Return to Changing India, was hailed for its compassionate but critical look at contemporary India will soon be traveling to promote its paperback edition.

Abraham Verghese, the author of My Own Country and The Tennis Partner, is known for his work that examines anguished souls - and the effort to salvage them.

The literary event is called Crossing Borders: An Inquiry into Self, Place and Identity.

"In today's world of globalization, there are arguably few people who do not feel the influences of at least two cultures," says Jayapal, explaining the theme.

"Increasing amounts of multicultural literature, web sites, and informal conversations make it clear that we remain engaged in the essential and appropriately consuming human conversation."

She says the two-day event is going to be a lot of fun, too. "You mention women's group and domestic violence, and many people feel intimidated," she says. "Some think they will hear nothing but sob stories."

"Well, come to our events and change your minds."

Verghese, Divakaruni and Iyer have known Jayapal for about two years. "She is a fine writer but more important, she is deeply interested in the community," Divakaruni said referring to Chaya which was co-founded by Jayapal.

Jayapal, who gave up her career in a financial world to be a full-time writer and activist, says she chose the name Chaya for a special reason.

"It conjures up an image of safety," she said. "And that is what we offer at the organization -- a holistic approach to help women heal their emotional and physical abuse."

Chaya, which functioned under the Washington Asian Council for nearly a year, became independent after it received $ 48,000 from the federal Justice Department in July 1999.

Apart from offering psychological counseling to abused women, Chaya volunteers also guide them in finding lawyers and refer them to various city and state-run agencies.

"We truly believe in the holistic approach," Jayapal said. "You do not have a woman who is physically abused only. We know she is an emotional wreck too." The organization also helps them to feel safer through classes that help them to fend off more abuses.

When Chaya was founded, she thought the first year would be slow and it will hear from a small group of women. "But in the first 18 months we saw 28 clients," she said, twice more than the numbers we expected. There are about 25,000 South Asians in and around Seattle. In the last 20 months, 48 people have sought Chaya.

"And as the volunteers in similar organizations -- Maitri, Narika and Saki -- point out some of the women come with high educational and professional qualifications," she continued. "And for long, they did not know where to go."

For more information on Chaya, visit www.chayaseattle.org

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