Bharati Kapadia
bharatikapadia@yahoo.com
INDIA

“In Bharati’s oeuvre, where concealing and unveiling are put into play in uncanny proportions, the feminist vision is pulled out of archaic bindings and a tradition of ‘states of being,’ that which concerns the performing arts here, is renewed.” —from catalog essay by Roshan Jagatrai, Nov. 2000

See web site

COASTER DESCRIPTION
BASMATI is a superior quality rice grain cultivated over centuries in the Indian subcontinent. In 1997, Rice Tec, Inc., a Texas based corporation acquired patent for the name BASMATI from USPTO (United States Patents and Trademarks Office) for a line of ‘novel’ rice grain developed by them. They claimed this rice grain to be similar and superior to the original Basmati grain. The Govt. of India appealed to USPTO, contesting the Basmati patent. The susequent ruling by USPTO disallows the US based corporation from marketing their product under the name Basmati while allowing them the use of brand names like Texmati, Vexmati, etc. They have also been allowed to retain the code word BAS 867 on their packaging. This could mislead the consumers into believing the contents to be Basmati rice originating from the foothills of the Himalayan region. —based on the article Basmati Battle by P.K.Vasudeva, Science Reporter magazine, Oct. 2001.