Jolie, Pitt to Have Next Baby in India

In a major coup for India, celebrity couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have announced that their next baby will be delivered in a remote village there. “India was an easy choice for us,” Jolie said. “Where better to give birth than the country where most births are occurring?”

The couple, who have two adopted children, went to Namibia for the birth of their third child, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, putting the African country in unprecedented limelight. Until their trip, few Americans had even heard of Namibia; now it’s the number one tourist destination in the southern hemisphere.

Some Americans are paying up to $5,000 to stay in the hotel room that Jolie and Pitt stayed in, while others are paying up to $20,000 to give birth in the same spot that Jolie did.

Ambika Soni, India’s Tourism and Culture Minister, expects India to benefit even more. “This is a very big deal,” she said. “China got the 2008 Olympic Games, but we got the 2008 Jolie-Pitt Delivery! Which event do you think will get more media coverage?”

The answer, of course, is the Jolie-Pitt delivery, if history is any indication. India can expect thousands of journalists and paparazzi to descend upon the country, dispatching countless stories and pictures for newspapers, tabloids and magazines. “If we plan this well,” Soni said, “India will become the number one destination for traditional tourism as well as medical tourism. We will be able to showcase our medical facilities to westerners who would rather not pay an arm and a leg for treatment, especially when they can fly here and pay only a finger and a toe.”

Soni denied rumors that India had outbid several countries for the right to host the Jolie-Pitt delivery. “They picked us,” Soni said. “We did, however, send them a promotional video and a case of gulab jamuns.”

Jolie said she has not decided exactly which village she will deliver the baby in, but it will probably be one with broadband cable, so people can watch on the Internet. She and Pitt are currently negotiating television rights for the delivery. “We are considering a proposal from NBC,” she said. “They want to produce a reality series with various celebrities giving birth in foreign countries. I hear that Jennifer Aniston wants to give birth in New Mexico.”

There is also a possibility that Jolie will star in a Bollywood movie. She is about to appear in “A Mighty Heart,” a movie about slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and will be in India just in time to appear in the Bollywood knockoff.

Indian-Americans Suffer Spell of Depression

Psychologists reported a sharp rise in the number of Indian-Americans suffering from depression during the month of June, attributing it to widespread disappointment over the results of the National Spelling Bee.

“Indian-American children have historically done well in the contest,” said Atlanta psychologist John Shrinkman, “so there are high expectations every year. When those expectations aren’t met, it’s natural for people to be disappointed. In this case, an entire community was affected.”

Rajiv Tarigopula, 13, finished fourth at the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee, the best performance among Indian-American contestants. Indian-Americans had won five of the previous seven contests.

The expectations were especially high this year because of last year’s sweep of the top four positions by Anurag Kashyap, Aliya Deri, Samir Patel and Tarigopula, all of Indian ancestry.

“It’s not enough for our kids to win the contest,” said spelling coach Kaavya Anand. “We want them to sweep it. We want people to say, ‘Wow, those Indian kids sure can spell.’”

She noted that Indian-Americans are not represented in popular American sports like football, baseball and basketball. “We aren’t gifted in those sports,” she said. “But we’re dominant in the spelling bee and that gives us immense pride.”

That pride is captured in two of the most popular bumper stickers among Indian-Americans: “My kid kicked your kid’s butt in spelling” and “Your kid can’t even spell my kid’s last name.”

Previous spelling bee winners such as Sai Gunturi (2003), Pratyush Buddiga (2002) and George Abraham Thampy (2000) are treated like rock stars within the community. Thampy decided to grow a mustache and beard as a disguise after he attended an Indian-American cultural show and was mobbed by autograph seekers. “It’s madness,” he said. “I’m an ordinary human being who just happens to be blessed with spelling talent.”

While celebrities often register at hotels under fake names, Buddiga said he can’t even do that, because many hotels are operated by Indians, who would immediately recognize him. “I don’t mind if they just ask for an autograph,” he said. “But they’ll want me to pose for pictures with their entire family. Frankly, I’m tired of all the aunties pinching my cheeks and saying, ‘Such a smart boy.’”

This year’s National Spelling Bee received primetime coverage on ABC, prompting many Indian-American families to organize parties around the event. “This was our Super Bowl,” said Koshy George of Philadelphia. “I had all my friends over for beer, chips and samosas. We cheered and exchanged high-fives whenever a desi got a word right or a non-desi didn’t.”

But George said he felt “really down” after the contest. And the next day, depression set in. “My friends said to me, ‘Snap out of it. It’s only spelling,” he said. “But that’s like saying to a Brazilian after the World Cup loss, ‘Get over it. It’s only soccer.’”