Interview with Kirthica Chandrasekar, Indian-born immigrant to Carrollton, Texas, as part of the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. The interview includes Chandrasekar's personal experiences of childhood and education in India, her arranged marriage to a family friend living in New Jersey, and working in the insurance industry. Chandrasekar talks about her first impressions of the U.S., struggling to keep close ties with her family in India, and the contrast of life in India, New Jersey, and Texas.

Transcription of a retelling of Chaa paa tkhiiu ki paomin (the Story of Seven Sons), as told by Angtoi Sankhil. A man is killed by a tiger, and as his six sons go to avenge him, he kills them too one by one. The mother is pregnant with a seventh son, who is able to foretell events while still in the womb. After the child learns how his father died, he goes to confront the tiger and his wife. He avoids the tiger's attempt to kill him, takes back his father's head from the tiger's possession, and vanquishes the tiger.

This play is a translation of a play performed by artists of Roop Raag at Rupmahal Theater on February 20, 1966. In Crimson Rainclouds, a Manipuri play from the 1960s, an artist determined to uphold his freedom is torn between his two loves, both only too gentle in their demands, and yet deeply caring. A sensitive man, he chooses art, knowing full well that he lets them down. While Indu would like him to change his lifestyle just a little bit, for recognition and comfort, Keinatombi would be happy to give him the little care and comfort that she thinks he needs for his art. For the time being at least, Gautam would go with her. The play draws on the playwright’s interactions with Ramkinkar Baij (1906-80), the eminent sculptor, with whom she studied in Santiniketan, and who has left behind a whole suite of sculptures and paintings of Binodini. The English translation of the play appears for the first time, followed by the original, now out of print, in both the Bangla and Meitei Mayek scripts; along with stills from two productions of the play and a couple of paintings of Binodini by Ramkinkar Baij, and a self-portrait by …

Interview with W. A. (Bill) Henderson, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his time as a bombardier and navigator on a B-24 in the China-Burma-India Theater. His crew hit the bridge over River Kwai (Mae Klong) while making bombing runs along the Burma Railway and also flew runs to supply gasoline to various bases in China, India and Burma. He relates anecdotes about the food and living quarters on the bases and the time he saved his co-pilot's life. He helped his co-pilot land the plane after a bullet tore through the plane's nose wheel and injured the man's leg.

This inaugural volume of the CoRSAL Occasional Publications is a collection of traditional and personal texts in Thadou, Saihriem, Hrangkhol, and Ranglong, four languages of the Barak Valley region of Northeast India. The narratives were collected, transcribed, and translated by Dr. Pauthang Haokip, who is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India and a member of the Thadou community. This text collection includes grammatical analysis presented in the form of interlinear glossing and accompanied by audio recordings in the Languages of the Barak Valley collection in the Computational Resources of South Asian Languages archive. The collection will be of lasting interest to historical, comparative, and typological linguists, as well as speakers connecting or reconnecting with cultural and linguistic traditions.

Transcript for The Story of Sombeel by Sankhil Thampol Khularnu of Thamlakhuren Village Recorded by Daniel Tholung in 2000 as part of his collection on Lamkang culture and traditions.

Interview with Darwin "Mac" McMillan, a long-term employee of Caltex from California, discussing his background, employment with Texaco and Standard Oil, the history of Caltex and his work as an executive there, his various assignment experiences in China the Philippines, Germany, India, and South Africa, and the oil market.

Transcription of a retelling of Suumphaai le Raangleen paomin (the Story of Suumphaai and Raangleen), as narrated by Shangchrek Tholung. Ranglen's wife hates his sister Sumphai, and orders him to sell her. Sumphai asks that she sell him to be a slave in a rich village. Ranglen ends up selling her in exchange for a single shaft of a rice plant. Later, Ranglen invites his sister to a feast, and she invites him to eat from what she has grown. Anticipating that his sister will not come, he instructs messengers to tell her he has died. On her way to the anticipated funeral, she is surprised to hear the sound of the Living Drum being played (rather than the Death Drum). She surmises that Ranglen has deceived her, and leaves in a huff. The origins of "Sumphai's goat" (a kind of goat) and "Sumphai's wine" (water that has accumulated in the cleft of a tree) are connected to the final episode of this tale.

Interview with Navy veteran and survivor of the sinking of the USS Houston. The interview includes Feliz's personal experiences about being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, the sinking of the Houston, imprisonment at Serang, Java, the Changi Prison Camp, hell ship to Japan, prison camp at Ohasi, Honshu, and liberation.

Interview with Arhtur B. Clark, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Abilene, Texas, who was captured with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery. Clark discusses joining the National Guard, training and maneuvers, deployment to the Pacific, the fall of Java and surrender to the Japanese, experiences in internment at Tanjong Priok in Batavia, internment at Changi Camp in Singapore, labor on the Burma "Death" Railway, and liberation. The interview includes an appendix with a reference page and a written flight log by Col. Tom Sledge.

Interview with Thomas Whitehead, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Wichita Falls, Texas. Whitehead discusses his experiences as a member of 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, the "Lost Battalion" captured on Java in March 1942, including: joining the National Guard; participation in the Louisiana Maneuvers; departure for the Philippines and diversion to Brisbane; assignment to Sangosari Airfield near Malang; the surrender of American forces; internment at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia, Changi Prison in Singapore, several camps on the Burma Railway, and Non Pladuk and Ubon Airfield, Thailand; and liberation.

Transcription of a retelling of Svang nao le sraa nao paomin (the Story of the Rich Boy and the Poor Boy), as told by Bunghon Suungnem. The parents of five sons used up all their wealth purchasing brides and so have nothing to bequeath to them. The father tells them to obey the eldest son and work together to dig up 500 rupees he had buried and distribute it equally. After a few months of digging they are unable to find it, so they ask the eldest son what to do. He has them level the field, draw new boundaries and cultivate it. He assigns the highest plot to the youngest brother, then the next to the next-youngest, and so on. Their neighbors include two lazy men who never work, but live off their wives. One wife tells her husband (the less lazy of the two) to go fishing. Instead of fish, he brings back some gold he finds in the water, and threatens to beat his wife if she does not cook it. She exchanges gold for food and clothing. The other neighbor and his wife do not prosper, as the husband refuses to work.

Transcript of Samik Bandyopadhyaya's Lecture on Indian Regional Cinema and Binodini at the 1st M. K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture in Imphal, Manipur, India.

Biography of M. K. Binodini Devi.

In this insightful discussion, Gyafo (King) Phuntsok Dawa, the King of Padum, answers the questions raised on Zangskar and its history by Dr. Tadeusz Slupski, a regular visitor to Zangskar since 1977. Gyafo Dawa delves into the rich heritage of his lineage and the Zangskari royal family. He recounts the pivotal moment in June 1948 when Zangskar faced invasion from Pakistani forces, prompting his father and the entire family, accompanied by Kushok Bakula Rimpoche, to seek refuge in Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Slupski further inquires about the demographics of Zangskar, leading the discussion towards the significant societal and cultural changes Zangskar has experienced over the past four and a half decades, since he first visited. Recorded in Old Padum village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

Swamy Tholung (Ksen) reviews a carefully constructed list of minimal pairs contrasting [tl] and [tlh].

Interview with Army Air Forces veteran Leslie W. Bray, Jr. The interview includes Bray's personal experiences about the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, youth during the Great Depression, flight training, being designated as the commander of the 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, stationing at Sylhet, India as part of his assignment to the CBI Theater, supplying the British 14th Army in Burma, flying difficulties due to weather conditions, various transfers, and flying "The Hump." Bray also talks about his early aspirations to become an aviator, initial failures to pass the Air Forces physical examination, his assignment to Troop Carrier Command, flying C-47s with the 1st Troop Carrier Group, his appointment as assistant group operations officer for the 10th Troop Carrier Group, Air Force School of Applied Tactics, the training of replacement units at various Air Force installations, the deactivation of the 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, and his postwar Air Force career and retirement as a general officer.

A published critique to the mythology of the Lamkang tribe.

Tales of My Cities is a poetic observation of life in the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, India. The documentary is an intimate first-person exploration of the culture in these cities. The viewer should find a surreal peace in the life and atmosphere of the cities where life extends from centuries old traditions to the current hi-tech pace of life.

Interview with John Reas, a Navy WWII veteran and POW from New Albany, Indiana, who survived the sinking of the USS Houston (CA-30). Reas discusses his assignment to the Houston and prewar operations in the Pacific, the start of the war and convoy duty, being bombed by 54 Japanese planes, the Battle of Sunda Strait, the sinking, capture by the Japanese, experiences in internment at Bicycle Camp in Batavia, transfer to Thanbyuzayat, work on the Burma Railway, the USS Houston Survivors List, liberation, and life after the war. In appendix is the USS Houston Survivors list, letters of his regarding the list, brief accounts written by Reas of different experiences in the war, a letter by Lanson H. Harris confirming how the list was given to OSS officers, and a photo of Reas' wallet that he carried through the war.

Vinod Kumar Negi and Narayan Bhagat discuss the fire incident that took place in Rakchham in 2002 which resulted in a number of houses and part of the temple being burned down. The recording was made at Rupin River View Hotel (inside the restaurant), located at the entrance of Rakchham village.

The transgender community in India, commonly known as hijras, consists of people who were born as males but address themselves as females. They have been considered as the third gender in India for millennia and have had specific religious and sociocultural values and roles, but are forced to live in shadows in this day and age. Isolation of this community is also reflected in the way transgender characters are represented in Indian entertainment media. The study analyses two transgender themed films semiotically and the audience reception of those representations by 20 members of the transgender community. Semiotics is a helpful tool to understand the ways signs communicate ideas to viewers. This study applies syntagmatic and paradigmatic analyses to understand how images are used to represent and relay information to the audience. Reception theory along with double colonization has been incorporated in this study to analyse the ways in which the transgender community interprets the representations in entertainment media.

Interview with M. T. Harrelson, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Wichita Falls, Texas, who was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery (the "Lost Battalion"). Harrelson discusses National Guard training and operations before the war, deployment to the Pacific and diversion to Java, the Japanese invasion, surrender and initial confinement, internment at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia, transfer to Changi Camp in Singapore, and the end of the war.

Interview with Robert Kirchhofer, an executive at Caltex Petroleum Corporation, concerning his experiences and reminiscences of his long-time career with the Caltex Corporation.