These links on the origin of gobhi manchurian might help.

Thanks for the review. It sounds like a great read!

Palak also means eyelashes, as in palak jhapkna (and usually the meaning of the name for a girl), pronounced as pa-lak as opposed to paa-lak for spinach. It can also mean someone who nurtures (in this case it would be pronounced just like paa-lak, but with a slightly different emphasis on L), derived from the word paalna, meaning to nurture.

Hmm, I feel it really varies from person to person, Manish! There are all kinds of people out there, so I feel it is unfair to generalize. And I am not sure if this is a generational thing either. I know several people who moved to the US in the 60s and 70s and have actively worked for their local communities. Madhavi's comment beautifully describes the confusions/dilemmas/worries of a foreigner in a new country, so I won't judge people while they struggle with settling in a new place. Also, being politically lazy is not something immigrant specific. You'll be shocked, but there do exist a few second generation folks who do not vote. But again, you can not extrapolate it to the entire desi second generation population and judge them.

On a lighter note, it would have been way more fun if you had them post your "muchh" pikchur in the rediff article :-D. The Kadar Khan comment would then have packed extra punch ;).

She's one strong girl! Much love and best wishes for a speedy recovery to her!

Enjoy the stardom ;).

And please tell me that you were misquoted here ""In the first generation, the common reaction is keep your head down, make money," says Vij. "They don't feel they have a stake in the political system, they don't understand it. Why bother? This isn't my fight."??

Just a bit of nit-picking: what Persis is wearing in the picture is a "chudidar" and not a "salwar/shalwar" :).

Thanks for introducing us to Abhilasha's music, Jai!

Thanks, Jai!

Awesome review! Abhay Deol has made some sensible movie choices and is a fine actor. Another fun thing about this movie: the score by Sneha Khanwalkar.

One of the funniest movies, ever!

Thanks Jai, and Sudeshna!

Thanks, Jai! I'd really love to read both these books. The second book isn't available on Amazon yet (even the first book has only 5-6 copies available, out of which the new ones are too expensive). Any other sources that you can suggest?

I am glad you liked the poetry, Khoofia. It's really a bliss to hear Surjit ji's poetry in his own voice. Check out this clip.

And there are simply no words to describe Shiv Kumar Batalvi's poetry-who can forget "Ik kudi jida naa muhabbat, gum hai, gum hai, hum hai" and "Raat chanani main turaan, mera naal ture parchaavan", and the epic "Loona".

Punjabi is a beautiful language, just that the literary tradition hasn't gotten its due.

Thanks Khoofia!

Khoofia, is TO Globe sure that the author's name is Surjit Patel and not Sh. Surjit Patar, one of the most well known modern day Punjabi poets?

still have jet-black hair, no wrinkles and they dress more sexily than their daughters-in-law

Jai, this seems to be a trend these days! Every single TV drama that i happened to watch during my lil' trip home presented the same dilemma. Its like a funny, lil' guessing game :-D. And you are so right about the "woodposts", they are a common fixture too.

Jabberwock: "The great the great" or "The great: The great", take your pick ;). Not sure how it was in the TV series.

Manish: He he, one of my friends from Russia used to get confused all the time with the "Chai Tea" thing. Chai is also the name for tea in Russian, so he would always wonder what's the deal with this "double chai", as he put it :-D. On that note, i like this Chai quite a bit (goes well without milk and sugar too, has a decent bouquet of spices for my taste). You can find it in Whole Foods.

Yikes! its irritation of, not from :-D. I clearly need cofffee.......sorry for the multiple, incoherent comments ;).

Btw, this "The Fire, the fire" business reminds me of the irritation from some urdu speaking people who found the title "Akbar: The Great" serial equally repetitive and hence bizzare.

Sakshi: One could, for a moment, think that the title "Daag: the fire" might have had some "deep, psychological meaning", may be referring to some experiences that scarred ("Daag" also means scar) the mind?? But "The Aag: The Fire", now that's totally unacceptable :-D

That sounds pretty interesting! I'd rather read a book/watch a series with humanized characters than the usual black and white picture that is presented in most of the adaptations.

My reason for loving old B&W movies: Dev Anand looks waaaaaaay better in those than in his later color movies (with an exception of Guide).

Manish, "pyara" would mean dear or loved one and not beautiful, in this context (an endearing way of adressing the younger ones in Hindi/Punjabi).

However, when you say something like"Yeh cheez kitni pyari lag rahi hai (This thing looks so cute)", "pyari" would mean cute, adorable, lovely or pretty.

I am not too fond of Tanjore.....their dosa was not so great.

Talking about hole in the wall kind of places, Veena stores in Malleswaram, Bangalore is the best :). They have the fluffiest idlis possible. As for falafels, there is small place called "Bella Pita" in Westwood, they have really good falafels. They also make something called "Wowshi", a filling of either black beans or meat between two layers of pita dough, baked fresh! Cut it into half, stuff it with your favorite salads or pickles for a lil' trip to gastronomic heaven :).

He he, and what did the girls learn ;).

Manish, in Punjabi it IS Supna, not Sapna. Sapna is a Hindi word ! The matra they've (correctly) featured is called "lainkad" and for is "o", not "oo".

I agree Nina, yams are a league of their own :). Batter-coated and deep fried yam (Jimikand/suran) is out of this world! Wish you much luck in your gastronomic pursuits :-D.

Taro nest: The picture and the recipe :)

He he, food does get me started :-D.

Nina, i have had something similar in a Chinese restaurant (Chung-Wah)in Bangalore-it was called the Taro nest :). Taro bowl (deep fried) and stir-fry served in that bowl, really delish!

Arbi is the best! Sukki arbi in particular :-D. And then there is this really pendu recipe of "Arbi-bataun (taro and eggplants, made almost like the good old aloo-baingan), totally yummy!

Besides, who can resist the charm of patrode/patra/patauli :).

Did you check out the comments about Ben Kingsley playing "Ghandi" !! such as:

How about the British Ben Kingsley with brown make-up on playing Ghandi

Dari: not just the smile, Cho has that winsome twinkle in his eyes :)

Dari, what irritated me about that whole show was the manner in which they were interviewing John Cho and Neil Patrick Harris! I mean, the first question they asked John Cho was, "So, how was it working with Kal Penn"!!!!! I am not sure if this is the most courteous way of interviewing anyone. Rather than asking then question about their own work, you ask them about their co-star :). And the bollywood name thing totally put me off!

I don't think Kal penn has a problem with doing interviews when he's not the cover-he featured along with John Cho on Leno last week and seemes pretty cool about it.

Dari: No, they didn't interview Kal Penn.

Manish, you have to try this tea i just had-i am seeing things, leaves and all ;) Phenomenal Adoobie :-D

I meant the Westwood location was the first Red Mango store in the US.
and yes, i did spell yogurt as yougurt :-D

Oh, based on my sampling at the Westwood locations in Los Angeles, the Pinkberry yougurt being a bit more sour than Red Mango!! Hence my love for Red Mango :-D Another reason, i like the seating in Red Mango around here much better :). Apparently the Westwood location was the first in US! Though I prefer Pinkberry's mochi to Red Mango's.

Logo? What logo? :)

:-D (rubs her eyes)

And all this while i thought that all those comments were your buddies who were "in" on the April Fool's joke, just to keep to fun going :) Yup, the end of the email had it all :-D You tellin' me i am inefficient ;)

Did you get any permission from Adobe to use their logo for the photoshopped letter ;) Or that's for another cease and resist joke.

Is this a new eatery? Great dosai and they supply tiffins? Excellent! He he, and the 2-in-1 is cool!

And stop torturing everyone with descriptions like crispy, spicy etc :-D.

i totally adore Atif! His song "Tere Bin" from the movie with the same name is really amazing!

Just peanut butter and rice, by no means would that equal the Thai peanut rice!! What about the sweet, sour and spicy flavors :)

Dunno' about tea-bags with Splenda, but i recently found real good masala chai bags! Its just black tea and spices in the bag and you would need to add milk and sugar, but the spice blend is quite right. I found it in Whole Foods, its a brand called Allegro. Pretty good for use at work. Infact, its decent by itself, without any milk and sugar.

Ground peanuts in food are a very Indian thing-Maharashtrian cusine, for example, makes use of ground peanuts in several dishes. Peanuts in phodnicha bhath/Chitranna are great. As for peanut butter in rice, i'll pass, thank you :-D.

Manish, Yudhishthir (the eldest of the five Pandavas) was not blind! It was Dhritrashtra (the father of Kauravas), who was blind.

Shingaras are very popular in Bengal too, they are slightly flatter and have a flakier shell.

brown_dbd: you are spot on about "halwai ke samose" :). He he, and those airport samosas are so blah!

This time I asked a South Indian :)

That is a very unfair comment, Manish!

Hey , haldi in samosa is not too authentic! Never saw haldi in the samosas sold back home in Punjab! The aloo filling should have: jeera, dhania, ajwain, chopped red chillies, lil' cilantro-some even add a bit of ginger and garlic. Few places have matar and cashews (not seen in pendu recipes). The mixture is lightly tava fried sometimes for flavors to blend in before you stuff the samosas.

brown_dbd:

it was totally in the positive sense! He's (my Dad) an expert in quick one-pot meals!

Brown_dbd:

when you are super-tired and you don't want to wash the pressure cooker past 11:00 in the night, microwaving comes in handy :). Way faster if you cook for one person :). No catch there!

Also i don't like making my food in pressure cooker other than daals and rajma, i prefer slow simmering, gives better taste :-D. Go, figure! Your style of cooking is so much like my Dad's :).

Talking about forzen, i do recall having tried frozen rasmalai by Nanak, pretty good! The down side is that you have to have people who can finish the packet fast once opened.

The only packed dish i ever tried was the TJ's Palak-paneer. It was SPICY alright, but you'd get tired of it by the end of your meal!


On an aside, if anyone wants to make quick aloo-matar at home, please microwave the aloo (whole aloo/do not peel, washed. 5 mins/ aloo), peel, cube and then add it to the tadka+matar. Gets you decent aloo-matar in 10-15 minutes. Add more vegetables or paneer to create more variety.

Intolerable Cruelty was highly underrated. Zeta-Jones and Clooney — how could you go wrong?

How true!

But he’s doing eheesy Jay Leno-style one-liners.

That's kinda comforting (evil grin), that i am not missing out on much :-D

Jabberwock:

Thanks for the recommendations!

SP:

Regarding pearl and gold-encrusted saris: It certainly is an exaggeration :).

However, i do know that a lot of Punju families used to have this custom of passing on dupattas/shawls/silk-scarf kinda' stuff, embroidered in pure gold-thread(suchha tilla, as we call it in Punjabi), besides phulkari work shawls etc from generation to generation. I've heard stories about women who inherited suchha tilla lehngas and saris as well :-D.

Jabberwock:
This sounds really like a great read, will look for it in the library here. I find Karna to be one of the most intriguing characters in Mahabharata. Do you know of any renderings/retellings of the epic from Karna's point of view?

Sakshi:
Lucky you to find this book :). Did you get it from the library? Its out of stock on Amazon.

Sakshi:

Its pretty much the same in rural Punjab. "Compounders", RMPs (Registered Medical Practitioners, and no MBBS required for this one), Electropathy and Magnetopathy "doctors" etc etc. are very common. You just learn how to administer injections, saline drips and dispense pain-killers, and you set up a shop! Your post rings so true!

Slightly off-topic, but this reminds me of Babu Devakinandan Khatri's "Chandrakanta Santati", full of ayyari and tilism tales, which was apparently a popular read in the 50s and 60s. I've heard about Dastan-e-Amir Hamza too from my elders as a popular read in those days :).

Brookline Booksmith is the best bookstore ever! One thing i miss most about Boston! The one store where i've always found a book i wanted, and fantastic staff, who knows what they are doing!

I am envious :-D.

No way. They’d clash on bathroom time and fight over the blowdryer.

Did you ghost-direct this flick :-D

:)

Atleast in Boston and Manhattan, you can take a T/Subway and go to see a movie. In Boston, they used to play some movies in the Bombay Cinema on Comm Ave. (Allston) long ago , but apparently no longer! That was super-convenient as one could practically walk to that place from Brookline.

In Los Angeles, the only desi movies that ever played in West LA/Westwood area are "Provoked" and "Namesake".And public transport to Valley or Artesia is next to nothing.....so enjoy what you have :-D.

And he's one actor who totally shines in full-on masala stuff too. Remember the carrot munching Karamchand :-D.

This is way too scary.....but very real!

This is howlaroius!

Runa, how about some "curry" with this ;) and where's the ghoonghat :-D.

Khoofia: Kauvas (crows) are really smart birds! Oh, and did i tell ya that i was lucky enough to spot some peacocks too!

Don't forget the henna-ed/mehndi-ed hands and the paisley for the cover :-D.

But when i visit home, i do hear the koyals singing, during spring time! And yes, we do have peepal trees too :).

Not that I’m complaining, mind you, but if I had a daughter…

Parental control, daughter or son regardless :-D

This is soooooooooooooooooo cool!

"And we are also playing on the typical Indian mind-set that thinks if the white people are wearing our brand, then it must be good."

Shlok, you forgot this one!

West Coast– Berkeley

Self-promotion, eh ;) Where's ur bhangra vid :-D

Happy Republic Day, everyone :).

Manish, Chacha ji: That's called "Pairi paina" :-D and what's wrong with eating with fingers ;)

We love animals, you see! Why UPS, we use elephants :-D

After having a not-so-substantial lunch, i come here and see words like "poori-bhaji", "vada-paav"! God! that makes me so hungry! Good that you didn't post food pictures ;)

I totally love the bhajiwallahs-fresh produce delivered at your door-step, what more can you ask for :-D

Talking about Bajaj, they've also just launched a small car

Prakruti, the Madhuri song was "adapted" from the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Qawwali :)

The very first glance made me feel that you were talking about Kannada language :) and then i saw maple-leaves :)

I love how they describe the schedule for "doli" in the invitations: "taaron ki chhaon mein" (under the starlit skies) :-D. And brown_dbd, you are spot on about the tunes :). Add "hey jamalo" to the list, and you pretty much have everything.

"Yes, but it’s Boston Bengalis every time, with more of the focus on the 1st gen than the 2nd."

Hmm, may be she should write about Boston Punjabis ;)
And what is the problem with focus on 1st gen folks :-D

Masoor daal sambar, proves beyond doubt that you are a Punju :-D Moong-masoor combo would be even classier ;). Keep at it and don't be afraid of the culinary police :-D.

PS: I agree with Tamasha.

Ah, you meant urad daal in the tadka :-D.

Manish, sambar is amde from toor/tuvar/arhar daal and not urad :-D

This post is making me nostalgic about Boston......

But judging who-is-an-Indian culturally is just obnoxious.

Well said!

Not just restricted to NYC, i noticed the same in Westwood UCLA Starbucks. Looking forward to the movie!

Eagle has improved a lot recently, but once upon a time it was really unkempt! They have decent samosas though!

Oh, and its also called Shareefa.

Trollerboi, Sitaphal means different things in different dialects and languages. While in some cases, it refers to pumpkin/halwa kaddu kind of stuff and sometimes to Ash-gourd, it also refers to a fruit called Custard Apple.

I kinda' agree with AmreekanDesi. While i have seen stuff like "wanton" for "wonton" etc etc., this one really is stretching it a bit too far! and yes, its not unique to desi English!

Ooh, i didn't notice! where was i?

In respsonse to Salman Khan’s insistence that he “will do anything but not lock lips with Larter�, Carroll said Marigold has a no-shirt-removal clause.

Priceless :-D

I saw the trailer on TV (Namaste America) last week and it looked like some regular hyper melodramatic Hindi movie, but going by the synopsis you posted, it might end up being an unintentional comedy!! The program also had an interview with Ali Larter-she gushed how she was really good freinds with Sallu Bhai and how the latter is the most chivalarous guy on earth :).

Ooh and she's a mega-star? I know her only from Heroes and i guess she featured in Legally Blonde too-am i missing out on some of her super-stardom :).

Manish, looks like your prayers were heard :-D. Aishwarya Rai didn't show up on Late Late Show last night ;).

Even though her role was underwritten in "Guru", i guess she was at her best in that movie-better than the other two you mentioned. She emoted rather well in a few scenes and she had good chemistry with her hubby-costar :). As for Raincoat, Me. Devgan didn't live up to the expectations :( i didn't much like Hum dil de chuke sanam, as a movie-though individually, the actors pitched in well.

I may be wrong, but i thinnk Aishwarya Rai is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer. But am not sure if that would help her action skills.

"Causing great shame across America"

Now thats too harsh, dear! I am not an Aishwarya fan, but i know, i felt embarrased by her, i won't watch her interview ;).

it wiped familial memories.

How true.....My Grandma, upon lots of caoxing, once reluctantly told me the story of the real crossing over.....but she summed it up with, "I was lucky and so was my family-we remained alive and found a shelter".....and that shelter, not very surprisingly was another abandoned home, assigned to them.....

“Oh ____, as in the ___’s of Gujranwala�......do a little digging

Trollerboi, i have similar thoughts too at times.....

My Dad tells me that many years after partition, one would notice bodies floating in the small streams ("rohi" as we call them in Pendu Punjabi).

Even though people of my generation haven't lived through it personally, but there is still a huge amount of personal connect that remains.....Once my Pakistani Punjabi friend and i were watching this movie "Pinjar", its a partition movie, based on a book by Amrita Pritam. That evening, a Diwali evening, was doused in tears.....

and i second Pooja.....in the countless I'day messages i read today this is the first that remembers those violent times of partition. Thanks!

You come up with these real wicked titles ;)

i kinda' echo Anil on this :-D

What a heartfelt critique of the cry-phone ;)

nit wjat yiu wsnt.

what a neat way to take revenge on mean friends, text/mail them such stuff and let them have fun decoding :-D

I thought the main premise of the movie Cheeni Kum was that a 30 something lady falls in love a 60 something Chef, and the lady's Dad is younger than her suitor. The Chef's character seems to be the only common factor between Mostly Martha and Cheeni Kum-and i guess the temprament of these two characters is quite different as well. Is there any other similarity, or does Cheeni Kum become a rip-off because its got a Chef. Just curious.

As for the surname Musharraf, its the Father's name that is used as the last name here . Pervez Musharraf's Father's name is Syed Musharrafuddin. This apparently is a common practice.

he he, good one Manish :-D

Raja means king and Raza means "God's will" and "Contentment" in different contexts.....

Manish, Raja and Raza are two different names and Raja is not too uncommon.....i personally have met one or two Rajas :) and as for the dressing, i can't comment on a student wearing kurta, but in a cpl. of Hospitals weher i've worked, i've seen quite a few women wear Salwar-kameez to work regularly, they were all Med School students.

The world just keeps getting stranger.....

Hey Manish, the ex-president's mainstay is Aeronautical and missiles engineering :) and yes, he'll be missed.....

Luckily, it’s largely a ceremonial position:

how true ;)

brown,

Parminder is British fo sure. But i was talking about the accent of the character Neela. She's British as well, so Parminder's natural accent suits her beautifully.

Rohin, from what i read in Sendhil's interview with Nirali magazine, Sendhil just mentioned that he was first told to do an Indian accent, but soon after the directors asked him to add a touch of British accent, to make him sound "educated"-he didn't indicate that it meant educated in Britain. If that were the case, i would have no issues with it. Even Erik Avari, who portrays his Dad didn't have a clear accent, neither British, nor Indian.....anyhow, i meant my arguement in favor of the following statement:

But there is no reason why someone born and raised outside India is more qualified to attempt an Indian accent simply due to the fact his skin is brown.

Thata's the whole point. Sendhil's being brown doesn't ensure that he'll do it right. I have no issues with Parminder Nagra doing British accent in ER, because her character Neela requires her to do so.

Also accent is not the most important issue with Apu.....and am sure you'll agree with me on that. so no, there's no pre-supposition that Apu would cease to be a negative character if his accent was accurate.

I am speechless after reading remarks by "Reena".....

oops, i meant no personal disagreement with the following statement!

I do not buy the argument that Americans are not familiar with Indians

Quite refreshing to see a healthy debate here-different opinions on the same blog.

Indian actors make fun of regional accents in Indian films, but it’s OK cos that’s brown-on-brown.

NO, its NOT ok! its quite disgusting actually! Atleast in my narrow view, it is. Its not fun to see a Punju doing "balle balle" and a Tamil doing "Ayyo Rama" etc. etc.....there are a million such subcultural caricatures in Hindi Cinema-and they are really not OK.

Americans not familiar with Indians

I have no personal disagreement with this statement. but then, i was born and brought up in India.....am not sure how things were 20-30 years ago in the US. May be the people who were born here did face some prejudice. The most common Indian stereotypes i have encountered are the doctor, good at Mathematics, software guy etc. It may be because i mostly interact with people in my own profession. But i am pretty sure that it hurts a lot when you are ridiculed in the school as a kid.

and on only brown skins doing desi accents:

Well, there's no guarantee that they won't mess up with it. Sendhil, for all his cuteness, didn't do it well.....it was a mix of British, American and desi accents.....there are plenty od desi English accents btw. Anyone can do desi accent or for that matter any accent.....they just have to do it right. asking for too much?

Writing a novel!

what is it about? when do we expect to see it in the bookstore?

Oye! not racist-suspicion being if the author was talking in a mild Indian accent (ofcourse its bad sound quality)-for an Indian born person that wouldn't sound too good, eh?

Peace!

Got it! checked out the original clip, way better sound quality! would be a good idea to switch to the original one :)

Wait a minute! is it just me or you are really sounding VERY different from the previous clips, i mean the accent?

Talking about dusky actresses in India, there are a lot of actresses like Kajol and Shilpa Shetty who began their career with a glowing, brown skin.....as time passed by, they went through a magical transformation!! Watch "Baazigar" first and then any of their recent movies, an you'll know. Rekha, Madhuri Dixit-you name it, they've all been there!

Am not too sure about Fair and Lovely, but a lot of high-end cosmetics brands like Lancome and Dior have "skin whitening" products in Asian market.....i noticed this on Singapore Airport this time!! and was quite shocked!

Lancome

Dior

Looks like Parwinder Paaji is enjoying the limelight!! Disgusting!

SF Chronicle coverage is as bad as the campaign!

i meant concerned too much, unnecassarily!

wow! i mean, i am speechless! only desi owners being asked to do this!!

though the last paragraph tells me that perhaps i am concerned too much, eh?

its the mark of a true desi

;)

Brimful, Manish:

Its true that sometimes these biopics are rather myopic in their coverage and that movies covering real life tragedies and incidents often don't do enough justice to the theme. I agree with the need to present these cinematically in a more truthful and respectful fashion. However, i must say that making documentaries on such themes featuring the real people can be pretty emotionally charged experience for them.....it takes a lot of courage to talk about very personal and tragic experiences to the public and it takes a lot of thinking, skill and craft for the film-maker to present these issues with poignancy and respect. It certainly would be very painful to see documentaries presented the way tele-media covered the Vtech tragedy.....the families of the victims being questioned "how do you feel" time and again, without sparing a thought on what they must be going through.....There is a real need for sensitive reporting and filiming! Be it movies made on real life issues and themes or documentaries on such themes featuring the actual people involved, it all needs to be done with a good measure of sensitivity.

Ah! i liked the midtown joint better, althought i completely agree that the downtown folks have a more spicylicious achaari paneer! and you should not be too displeased with the Hindi film scenario in Manhattan, atleast you have something! West LA has nothing except crazy store wallas offering DVD rentals, who want you to return the DVDs the same evening! you gotta' drive all the way to Artesia or Valley for a Hindi movie, no public transport either. Be good and enjoy the ferry ;).

I refuse to think of Tabla etc as Indian restaurants!

Been to most places on Lex, but just thought Curry in a Hurry would be just that.....didn't know they had good samosas.

IBC and Kati Roll get my vote though, besides the dosa places on Lex :)

Thanks for the NYC nostalgia.....

"Famous Manhattan Syline"

PRICELESS!

Hey, those are really beautiful pictures. Very nostalgic.....

Changing the setting from Boston to Manhattan doesn't help much ;).

Awesome! Thanks for the pics.

I like the use of "brilliant" :).

Fun post. Last time i went home (almost three years ago) Metro had just started off full-fledged.....i missed it. am glad its doing good.

Hmm, the six days workweek :). Well, officially Saturday is off! It was declared so during Rajiv Gandhi's time.....Colleges and Govt. offices are closed on Saturdays-but most private sector places and educational institutions (both private sector and higher education Public sector institutes like AIIMS, IITs, TIFR, NCBS, CCMB, IISc etc. atleast the academic community)-work on Saturdays. its actually good that way :). A way to enhance productivity.....

you don’t get tech startup martyrdom credit for working Saturdays

:).

Dilli.....and Dilli ki buses :). Have your tried taking the Blue Line and DTC ;). You should, if possible-its quite an experience. The crowd is diverse and the its quite a struggle to move from one end of the bus to the other. Delhi also has a culture of chartered-buses for regular commute to offices. There used to be (am not sure if it still exists) this silly practice of "staff-chalana"-so the students would board the bus and refuse to buy ticket saying "staff hai".....and there was a heirarchy as to which College/crowd could get away with it!! Very strange practice and at time scary too because it often led to fights between the conductor and students.....it used to be very common in the '90s when i attended College and University. Any idea if it still exists.

well thats what i remember from three years ago-the ones (Baristas as well as cafe' Coffee day) i have been to in Delhi and Bangalore were 'sit-down' cafe's. things might have changed since then. even if they do have take outs now, its not fair to label them just rip-offs.

I object to the term Starbucks ripoff! As far as i remember, Coffee days and Baristas (and many local cafe's) don't have take out service.

So went the conversation:

‘Meaning in which standard are you?’ the girl asked.....

"Meri tvacha se meri umr ka pata hi nahin chalta (Santoor ad, anyone)"-thought Manish :)).

Now, she paid you a huge compliment! Plan to start your own line of "Fountain of youth" ;).

Or may be you are planning to give AB senior some serious competition by a)starring in a Lolita rip-off and b) by singing your own songs ;)

Manish, its IISc Bangalore, not IIS.....

(its minor mistake, but not when it comes to my alma mater) :)).

Manish, i really wonder why nobody told you this.....kinda' unfair to you (but like you said everybody knows it-BTW, is it your first time in Delhi?). but what you describe, and what JayV refers to is really scary. No jokes, these things ahev ebcome a rule of life. Its not too uncommon to get chills if you spot an unattended bag. JayV, i agree its really depressing.

Just a friendly note, please be more careful in future.....because you can imagine the consequences of what could have happened.....

Mukhopadhyay is a very common Bengali surname.

i like that bit of self-promotion, Manish ;)

Great pictures. But is it must that you include pictures of paav-bhaji and gola carts :). makes me long for all the great chaat-pakori stuff.....

Its a splash of colors.....

Thanks for the post.

Manish, such stuff indeed is repulsive many a time or excruciatingly boring and disgusting. Mostly such crap is a result of laziness more than anything else, laziness on the part of the so called performers or those who give such performers a chance. Indian accent or rather accents (because there is a great variety) are as distinct as any other, and hence need just as much effort to master. And yes, French people (the few i happen to know) do find Pink Panther crap irritating.

While its true that Simpsons and other great examples you mentioned, are gulity of holding forth a bad stereotype of desi English, sometimes fellow brownz also contribute significantly to the scene. I am not sure if i agree that the YouTube clip posted here is good desi accent, its an OK attempt at the best. What about Sendhil Ramamurthy passing off an amalgamation of Brit and Amreekan accents as desi accent. May not be his fault though, as he mentioned that it was the directors wish that he uses a Brit accent to pass off like a well educated Indian. Gimme a break. I know several well educated people from Chennai, and none of them talks in a British accent! (I can understand very elderly people having British infulence in their language).

Hindi movies take the cake when it comes to racial and linguistic stereotyping. Even desis mock each others accents! What about all the South Indians saying Ayyo Rama, all the Bengalis saying Uri baba, all the Punjus saying Balle Balle, all the Sindhis saying Vadi Saayin-all bad stereotypes, all perpetuated by us, the desis. and thats the most painful situation when we start hating each other.....

Rahul, I agree with you on mysticism stereotype.

Peace, and a happy new year to everyone.

i still have those ek paisa, do paisa, paanch paisa (panji-in Punjabi) and dus paisa (Dassi-in Punjabi) with me and lots of other coins from my GrandDad's times :). There was a teen paisa coin also (hexagonal). sweetest thing is that people still use the terms chavanni (25 paise) and athanni (50 paise). I also remember there used to be a copper 20 paise coin with a picture of lotus.....

Pure nostalgia.....

rkay123, Sh. Bhupen Hazarika represented Assam.

I checked the video.....One of the best patriotic invocations i ever heard in my life.....it reflects the true meaning of an anthem-from the heart.....many thanks for posting this.
apologies again.

i stand corrected-i cudn't check the videos, apologies.

but one version of the Indian anthem always stands out

Manish, i guess you meant the National Song "Vande Mataram"- Indian National Anthem is "Jana Gana Mana".

OMG Manish, i was planning to post the Center shock ad as well y'day! Cool you posted it :).

Sir ji, i can walk ingleesh, i can talk ingleesh!
OMG, howlarious-its a wonder indeed that's he's teaching English!

Why even call it The Nutcracker?

Land of Rasgulla Fairy

:)).

or the ‘roids

i hope not.....

but I want to noodle on them for awhile before posting.

I hope the reason for mulling over your experiences is to bring forth a richer and more interesting analysis (and not to make your story politically correct).

Bains says something interesting about identity, which I find to be true:

Any posts about your own experiences in Bombay as an Indian-American, or do we have a book in the offing?

Manish, whats with the new spellings "Maanish"?

When is your movie releasing!

Amardeep previewed an excerpt and its predecessor, White Mughals.

The link "White Mughals" lead to the review for City of Djinns.

As at most Bombay book launches, instead of bookish readers, you got glam actors, models and expats.

So true!
Which section did you represent ;).

White Mughals and City of Djinns were both interesting reads. Dalrymple has been constantly bashed up for exocitcising stuff as an outsider. This piece by Amardeep presents a very balanced viewpoint on the same.

but not when they’re shameless rips and careless retreads

i try to avoid those.
But there is a certain audience (a huge one at that) who doesn't have much clue about the origins of what they are seeing, and they are the target audience for many Hindi movies. The fault lies with the makers of such movies for being shameless enough to copy an entire movie and sell it as an original product, without even acknowledging the source (e. g. Zinda, a recent rip-off). Ram Gopal Varma acknowledged "The Godfather" as an inspiration for Sarkar, but he counts as an exception.

Though i know some people who get kicks out of "counting the lifts"-thats their motive behind watching such movies :)

Amardeep:

because the industry simply doesn’t make enough intelligent films to support a serious, formalist critic.

but many of them are entertaining, nevertheless. and i find it alright enough to watch a no-brainer. but thats just me-and i understand and very much appreciate that Hindi films (i find the word Bollywood pretty offensive) are not everybody's cup of tea.

On an aside, i would prefer a well-made entertaining movie, rather than a wannabe, pseudo-intellectual flick (which Hindi film industry churns out with reasonable frequency). Watch Yun hota to kya hota, for instance. It pretends to be a serious movie with a message-but it deals with a very sensitive and painful incident in the most casual manner. Thats one thing we have to learn from other school of film-making. A serious movie shouldn't lose track-period. I don't mind songs in Bunty aur Bubly, but i would hate if one breaks into a dance number (item numbers) in a movie on some serious topic. Music is Ok, but it has to go with the movie.

One has to spend two thirds of one’s time talking about industry gossip…

No body usually reads NYT for Hindi film industry gossip :).

True, there is a very bad tendency in desi papers to publicise a news item as a "rave" if its not too negative! A mere mention is enough. There is some craving for acceptance from Western media to judge if we are good. Its downright silly when desi reviewers end up quoting crappy reviews from someone who has no clue about Hindi movies.

OMG, i so hate such suggesters/unsuggesters-completely ridiculous-This and the Netflix recommendations!

nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!

Great post.

Its always fun eating on pattals (banana leaves)!

JB, Cheluvi indeed was a very moving story/movie.

You bring a cute little sapling into the world, water it, call it your own.

Manish, even though you posted this in humor category, the last lines of this piece are very touching.....

Terminator paaji in Punjabi-OMG, its howlarious!! ikdum Khalis pendu Punjabi. suit, boot te motorcycle, wow! te naal ainak vi :)).
have been rolling in laughter:))
where and how do you find such things!! amazing.

Great pictures. Mumbai skyline looks awesome.....
My favorite set is the candles in the before and after sunset duo (pics 3 and 9)

and the necklace.....

Meri aankhon mein saabun chala gaya..........boo-hooooooo.

Anj Leena Jholi, Couch Jumper, Uncle Chest.....Wow! Manish, you should put together a book of star "names", its sure to be a best-seller.

Once my friend and i had a bet while watching an Uncle Chest movie-about whether the shirt would be off before intermission-needless to say i won the bet! two scenes before intermission, the dude went "Sapnaaaaaaaaaa, kahan ho tum", doing the honors!!

I have heard countless painful tales from one of my friend whose Dad was in Jalalabad.....like many of the Sikhs in Afghanistan, he was ia cloth merchant.

The painful stories are there aplenty.....apparently there are only 1200-1500 Sikh families remaining in Afghanistan.....

Hope things would change soon.

The bunny and paintings following that are certainly not humorous.....atleast not to me. and the stuff featured in the SM post linked here is certainly offensive. Beads of paradise.....(sigh!), i always found it silly.

recently i and a desi friend got invited over by an american family and their teenager son had this Jimi Hendrix poster on his door-and the family claims to be in love with Hinduism and even follows numerous babas in India.

another bit of kitschy crap.....

Talking of Mac vs. PC ads, here's the one that really is in bad taste.

the reason why one would hate an ad featuring the affable Mr. Hodgman.

Manish, do Jagjit Singh and Sukhwinder feature on Zune. Jagjit Singh is there on VCast and iPod, though the collection featured on the latter is not as impressive. if he's featured on Zune with more ghazals and songs, then many like me are sure to go for it. hmm, and Daler Mehndi already exists on iPod :). any clue on how Zune and iPod compare on that?

though, i happen to know someone who got Zune purely as a mark of his "protest" against ipod "snobbery" :)) and i found it silly and cute at the same time, because i so hate the anti-PC ads by Mac. (and i use them both).

Here's one more for this list:

It happens only in India

i caught today's episode of Heroes. Kavi's look was very authentic. however, the look of Mohinder's Mom was completely messed up. OMG, her hair. oh, and there was a desi child artist too. but somehow, i don't find Sendhil's accent very Indian-its strange.....he mentioned in an interview that the makers wanted him to bring in British accent, since he was playing a highly educated guy-whatever! and Sendhil even dons what looked like, (but may not be) Iyengar Nama on his forehead.

So true, Manish.
"women's magazines" display very obvious and shameless form of hypocrisy. these magazines sell stereotypes to women, while pretending to be intelligent. the scenario is worse for magazines in Hindi and regional languages. not only they have special issues on knitting and cookery, they also run articles like "Pati ko khush kaise rakhen"(how to keep your husband happy)-this, instead of focussing on issues that real need attention. they publish "literature" which are stories on how a woman should be the one to compromise and sacrifice. Indian women surely deserve a better deal.

Four letter word(s): Crap (and then) Slap ;).

Manish, very timely afterthought to the Macacagate. the point is not if we are going to be reckoned with as a political force or not becuase of this incident, but the fact (as you said) that people in power would now think twice before slurring desis. and Webb's dosa session was clearly an attempt to court the desi junta. not that it means anything more than last minute dramatics that politicians indulge in.

but yes, blogs like yours have contributed towards making more desis aware about this issue. You won't believe, but even though the elections are over, there still are desis in US who haven't heard of Macacagate (very well educated, well-placed desis at that). if nothing else, then some of these folks atleast have gotten to know that "once upon a time there was a macaca" :).

Ultrabrown (and SM) did a great job in highlighting this issue and we should thank them for the same.

its upto us how we choose to deal with insults like this (or the FM 99 stuff last year). if its Siddharth today it can be someone else tomorrow. sometimes people may just brush these things off saying "just get over it and stop making a mountain out of a molehill". but Macacagate (and the vote swing subsequently) shows that its all worth the effort to speak out.

Juice, it doesn't matter how large the voting readership here is. even if you can't vote, you can share information with those who do. i got the macacagate clip (that was posted here as well) from few other friends too, some of them being non-desi. and hold me gulity of mailing the clip to many friends who vote. and most would agree the it wouldn't have been the same without that clip.

as a child succintly put it "no one can stop the Vaanar-sena" :).

I echo what sakumar and RC say. my friends and i have been reading the reports on your blog since beginning. great coverage, Manish.

Macaca power even made Webb bhai learn making dosas :).

there was another crappy campaign in Illinois, which am sure most people read about on SM. that sounded like stretching things to the limit.

How true, DesiDancer-you are so right about " Stock Desi Bookcovers".....i am fine with a "henna and flowers" cover if the book revolves around around a "beauty parlour". but i just wonder what kind of a book cover we'll have if the book is about a desi woman physicist's work or some such thing.....my bets are on images of a guava or a mango falling on her head (as a lovely metaphor), as she just wonders in her lehnga/sari, not to mention the henna on her hands-a dash of saffron and hey, we have a heady cocktail of a desi book cover!!!!

Manish, the title of this post rocks :). sari on this book cover is indeed a silly idea and even salwar-kameez would be. saris and manoges have become omnipresent in desi-lit. i am just thinking if the authors contribute to the selection of such covers, am almost sure they do. so much for their concern for "culture and heritage".

Manish, "wince" would be a rather polite expression for enduring such tripe.....(g)utterly painful stuff.

Sounds good :)

but for the old-fashioned souls like me, the touch and smell of paper and the very joy of walking into a book-store is a big enough reason to stick to paper books. Not to mention, if one has to read a book to the nephwes and nieces at home :)).

though its a good idea when one has to move and also a bit environment friendly.

Item numbers :)) God, i'm rolling in laughter.

Manish, brimful is so right in suggesting you to put these funnies together :).

I am completely with you on this one, king emma, when you say "I say this because, in fact, when my niece asks for a story, quite often she wants to hear about what life was like when I was a child". As i child, i too loved to hear 'stories', about how my Grandparents and parents used to be when they were younger. By placing "their times" and "my times" side by side, a child learns a lot-about growing up, about the dynamics of life, about history and a lot more. This subtle form of learning is very enjoyable-compared to the the fact-filled 'in your face' kind of information:). It also encourages children to ask questions. So, definitely there is a need for literature on childhood experiences and growing up. However, this calls for complete honesty from the authors-because sometimes, some people just to propagate their view of whats "right" can color the experiences to suit such ends. And i am sure, there is no dearth of honest authors in this world.

Thanks for the great pictures. you are creating an army of jealous people here :).

chakkar reminds me of my bro and co. dancing on the chakkar/chakri!!

and why no pictures of the snakes.....

OH, OK-no problem. just got worried then.

Hi, this to notify you that someone has posted a story in my name and even linked in to my blog-the latest post about radiation etc. Good post, but its not me. and so i guess i need to see who's done this. Any suggestions on how i deal with this, cuz' this seems serious if someone posts crap in my name. I don't share my account with anyone. i am worried.

Cool Anaar :) am jealous!!
thanks for allowing to link stories.

Kahani's efforts need to be lauded. Literature by the kids, for the kids is a great concept. There is a special need for such initiatives in US, for as Pooja points out in her response, there isn't much of such literature here. Because there are certain experiences unique to children of desi descent living in another country. However, care must be taken to avoid cliches and stereotypes. and that, as has been said before, would require more effort and greater visibility from the desi community.

I still remember a magazine from childhood days by the name "Tinkle"-very fun and informative-it had lil' stories from across the world and many small and interesting articles on tons of things and then there is the evergreen Amar Chitra Katha (both in India). Such magazines could be promoted here as well.

I also feel that the art of story telling also needs to be revived. It was so much fun to listen to the stories told by the Grandma at bedtime (Cliche'-no, its not). Those stories were passed from generation to generation just by narration. Am not sure how much we remember of such stories now. Its not just about such literature from India, but folk-tales from all over the world. Some may dismiss the importance of such literature by saying that they anyway talk only about fairies and fantasies-but i believe fantasies are a wonderful part of growing up. We need both contemporary literature and works from the dreamland for completing the picture.

Apologies for posting this as a comment here, but the 'contact us' tab hasn't been working for me-i use both Mac and PC. i wanted to post my review of Darshan movie, as there are certain things in the movie which are hard to digest. A Western film-maker has made this movie and has tried to show India in the same way as most of them do, instead of focussing on Amma and her work/principles. Some seriously objectionable content. Is it OK if i post something on my page and link it in stories. Apologies again for this is not the right place for this query, but ur news post reminds me that i have to talk about it.

Good one, Saheli :)

The link Manish posted in his comment has some real enraging stuff. The language of the so called song is downright disgusting. GRRRRRRRRRRR!
Sorry to sound cliched but this is carrying freedom of expression a bit too far. who the hell is this songwriter-any clues, Manish.

on a lighter note this sounds funny : Hindi Bendy with a Bindi.

anyway, do we see another Kaavyagate here (Hindi Bendy thingy features in Manish's link too) Chuckle, chuckle :))

Peace :)

True, everyone seems to be having a cell-phone (thats how mobiles are referred toback in Des )in India - even the bai and chaiwalla and why not. i actually feel good thinking about that :). atleast mobile communication is affordable for everyone. and Govt. decides to make good use of this. sounds like a good development, if the Govt. uses it properly. Though i wonder if people would rant about invasion of privacy!!

"From an American perspective, it’s odd to get electronic communication from the government." how true!!

Like ur comment on TOI article :)

cheers.

completely agree with Filmiholic :)

and there is an old saying "Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam"