SAJA

Arjia Rinpoche, Director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana, is one of the most important religious leaders to escape Tibet since the Dalai Lama. His memoirs, "Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama's Account of 40 Years under Chinese Rule" published by Rodale Book Company, is in bookstores now - and the foreword is written by the Dalai Lama.

"Surviving the Dragon" is the story of Arjia Rinpoche's growing up as the reincarnated abbot in Kumbum, one of Tibet's major monasteries. As a child, he was treated like a living Buddha; as a young man he emptied latrines, but after the death of Mao Tse Tung, he rose to prominence within the Chinese Buddhist bureaucracy. When he was slated to become the tutor of the Chinese selected Panchen Lama, he fled Tibet rather than betray his Buddhist religion and his Tibetan and Mongolian heritage. Rinpoche's unique experience provides a rare vantage on this tumultuous period of Tibetan and Chinese History as well as a glimpse of life inside a Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

SAJA presents a conversation with bestselling author Daniyal Mueenuddin of Pakistan, whose short-story collection "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders," has been named a top 10 book of 2009 by Guardian, Economist, etc - and is a finalist of The Story Prize 2009 [ http://thestoryprize.org - announced March 3, 2010] He will be talking about his book as well as taking your questions. He will be interviewed by Vibhuti Patel of Newsweek.

SAJA & SAMMA present a conversation with Indian-American jazz musician Vijay Iyer. His Vijay Iyer Trio's "Historicity" album was the most honored jazz album of the year. Among the awards:

#1 Jazz/Pop Album of the Year - The New York Times

#1 Jazz Album of the Year - National Public Radio, U.S.A.

#1 Jazz Album of the Year - Los Angeles Times

#1 Innovative Jazz Release of 2009 - Chicago Tribune

#1 Best Jazz of 2009 - PopMatters.com

He'll discuss his love of jazz, his career and much more. Listen to his music at Vijay-Iyer.com and follow him on Twitter: @vijayiyer.

SAJA and SAMMA present a conversation with two of the biggest stars in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, who are starring in "My Name is Khan." In this conversation, they join about 30 minutes into the conversation about Bollywood. See video of their chat with Aseem Chhabra (with louder audio for SRK) at http://bit.ly/sajasrk * Follow sajaHQ on Twitter: @sajaHQ

SAJA presents a conversation with Salman Ahmad, author of "Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution." With 30 million record sales under his belt, and with fans including Bono and Al Gore, Pakistan-born Ahmad is renowned for being the first rock & roll star to destroy the wall that divides the West and the Muslim world. "Rock & Roll Jihad" is the story of his incredible journey. Call in with your questions and comments. For more on the book and the band, see http://bit.ly/sajarrj

SAMMA, South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment and SAJA, South Asian Journalists Association present the latest in their series of high-profile webcasts with some of the leading South Asian achievers in global media and entertainment...

Jay Sean, chart-topping singer/songwriter/producer and first artist of Indian origin to top the Billboard Top 100 at #1 with "Down" (featuring Lil Wayne). Followed by Jay Sean's management and partners, Jeremy Skaller and Anjula Acharia-Bath, CEO/Co-Founder, Desi Hits! We will discuss his career, the state of the music business, and much more. He'll be taking your questions, so call in or e-mail [email protected]

SAMMA, South Asians in Media and Marketing Association;

and SAJA, South Asian Journalists Association present the latest in their series of high-profile webcasts with some of the leading names in world media... Ram Gopal Varma, director of "Rann," a fast-paced drama set in the world of media in today's India; starring Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal and Riteish Deshmukh. Varma is a leading Indian film director, screenwriter and producer and a voice of the new Indian popular cinmena. Varma has directed, written and produced films across multiple genres— psychological thrillers, underworld gang warfare, politician-criminal nexus, and musicals —and in a number of languages, including Telugu and Hindi. His biggest movies include "Rangeela" (1995); "Company" (2002) and "Satya" (1998). Join us for what promises to be a lively discussion about Bollywood, cinema and the changes happening in the world of Indian arts and beyond. Follow him on Twitter: @RGVZoomin

SAJA presents a conversation with author and former UN Under Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor as he visits his former home, NYC, after becoming an elected member of India's parliament and Minister of State for External Affairs. Call and and ask questions as he discusses his work in the cabinet and India's place in the world. Learn more about him at http://bit.ly/sajatharoor

SAJA - in cooperation with AAJA, AMEJA and Columbia Journalism School - a special webcast with NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF & SHERYL WuDUNN, authors of the

widely-acclaimed "Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" (and as seen on the cover of the New York Times Magazine, "Colbert Report," "Oprah," the NYT Bestsellers list). More about them and their book at http://halftheskymovement.org

MODERATOR: Vibhuti Patel, contributing editor, Newsweek International and arts writer. Send your questions to [email protected]

SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, presents a conversation with winners of the 2009 SAJA Journalism Awards. Hosted by Jigar Mehta, SAJA Awards Chair and a video producer at the New York Times. SPEAKERS: Award winners Stewart Bell, Jonathan Foreman, Anand Giridharadhas, Kris Hundley, Sandip Roy. Learn how you, too, can produce outstanding journalism from some of the best reporters, editors and producers working today. See the results of the 2009 contest at http://saja.org