Summary of Conversation Between Manmohan and Japan's PM Shinzo Abe


MS: Why is everything Japanese cool. Are you really from the future as they say? Please advise?
SA: Our two countries share a historic bond since the pre-Indepence INA days.
MS: Yeah good times. Getting back to....
SA: Beyond our historic ties, our economies ties have increased significantly in recent years.
MS: Yeah, yeah. Bilateral trade blah blah - but tell me more about robots?

I don't eat very much fast food but when I do there are a few chain places that stick out. Among the bigger ones is Wendy's. I really appreciate their 99 cent menu and that they've had a spicy chicken sandwich that's actually quite good for years now. I saw an ad recently for something at Wendy's called the 4-Alarm Chicken sandwich. It must be said - it looked pretty awesome.

Turns out every guy desi I know is excited about it too. And what's not to like? The sandwich features several ingredients key to the desi diet:
-Spicy sauce
-Spicy cheese (pepper jack)
-Peppers (In this case jalapenos)
-Something fried and spicy(in this case, chicken)

I feel like a bit of a tool writing about a sandwich but clearly they must be targeting the Hindu population of North America.

A big congratulations to Dr. P Jayaraman. He was one of a handful of receipients of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. The awards are presented to overseas Indians for their contributions to raising the level of awareness of India and Indian culture abroad.

P. Jayaraman is the founder director of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan USA and has promoted Indian culture and education in the US. He has been teaching Hindi and Sanskrit and has authored several books on Indian languages and literature.Times of India article

I like thousands of others, took a Hindi class taught by Dr. Jayaraman at the Indian Institute of Culture (in the Indian Consulate). His enthusiasm and patience were amazing. Learning a new language is never easy, but through his easy-going nature he makes it pleasurable and fun.

Indian Institute of Culture
http://www.bhavanus.com/courses_schedule.php

Shah Rukhji,

You are a phenomenally successful Bollywood star. No question that you're respected in the industry. Your ongoing feud with Big B however, concerns me deeply. First, you don't attend the IIFA at Amitabh's behest in Dubai. Secondly, you started to endorse the very same products as Big B. You've even started to host Big B's old show, KBC and you recently starred in the remake of Don.
And now you are having a wax figure of yourself made in Madame Tussaud's after Big B (and Ash for that matter)?




Are you trying to replace Big B or have your star shine above his? Dance all you want King Khan but there can be no replacing of Big B.

Don't be upset that he didn't attend your New Year's function. Maybe it's a little needed humbling. Mr. Colbert was wrong, Big B has won this feud.


Your Friend,

Raj

Here are the minutes for the First Bollywood Fest Hosted at my apartment

5:30 Panic Hits. I need to get the pav bhaji and bhel puri made
6:30 Pav Bhaji veggies are cooked enough to mash up
6:31 Pav cooking interrupted with realization that the livingroom wasn't clean yet.
6:45 Back to mashing Bhaji
6:46 Pav cooking interrupted with realization that bathroom was still a little diry
7:15 Bhaji is mashed and consolidated with other ingredients

7:30 Goonda arrives, he helps to make the Bhel Puri

8:15 Other guests arrive
8:30 We begin watching Don. Guests conclude it has the best intro music ever. And one of the best dance sequences ever:


8:45 More guests arrive. We switch over to Company
9:30 Movie paused. More guests arrive, pre-drunk from baby shower. Turns out through a desi-connection all the guests are connected
10:00 By this time, we're all pretty drunk

Conclusions:
-While no movie was finished, we did see a little bit of two classic movies.
-Next time, we'll start earlier in the evening to pre-chat.
-Pre-select movie via evite vote.
-Punjabis are mandatory.

Happy 2007!


This will be your best year ever.


(And mine too).

Christmas this year stressed me out because for once I had very few ideas for presents. With the helpful gift-giving advice of friends and family I'm almost totally done now thankfully. After a myriad of trips to stores in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and here in Atlanta (where my MaBab live) I feel like I've paid enough respect to the retail Gods until next year.

Despite being Hindu, (or some would argue, because we're Hindu) we've always celebrated Christmas at home - not the religious version mind you, but the commercial one. That said, I can't find fault in trying to find something special a few times a year for those near and dear to your heart.

I saw a movie recently which showed the Mumbai Laughing Clubs. I'm now inspired to start one here. Check out how happy these folks are.

I'm 130 pages into the book and this guy is listing out the obstacles (many) India will face in becoming a Superpower from a middlepower. Review to follow.

Growing up in Tennesse we didn't have much by way of Bengali population so we always opted to drive down to nearby (about 2 hours) Atlanta which boasted a much bigger Bengali population.

Ta-ra Hoora!
Baba was always in a big rush to head out though the fact that he was always last to get ready wasn't lost on Ma. I don't know why we were in such a big rush - we were always late in true IST style. Morning ashanti aside, it always felt good when we hit the road. I loved hearing MaBab's classical music and the Rabindo Sangeet in our car - though I wouldn't admit it at the time.

Kabar Dow!
Baba always made sure we fasted till it was time for Prasad in the afternoon. Needless to say we were quit hungry by then, and brats that we were, i'm sure we let our poor parents know ad nauseum. Really it mostly bugged us because none of our peers fasted which is also, something we probably told our parents. In retrospect, it's such a small sacrifice that I'm glad we did it.

Choto Chele
I attended the Puja in Atlanta from age probably 10-16 or so. In those years, we never paid much attention to the goings on at the Puja. Or when we did it was to make light of the ceremonies. The true fun was hanging out with friends who also came to the Atlanta puja from Charlotte, Augusta, Huntsville etc.

Thel-alla
Many of the Bengali families stayed at the Knights Inn at Marietta. We loved the tradition and that our friends were staying only a few doors down. Most importantly, after the puja was said and done, we would head over to the Waffle House for some delicious hashbrowns. If I could do it over I would still hang out with my friends but this time take in a little more of the proceedings.

This past saturday, I went to my first Durga Puja since moving to New York City. You would think that after moving from Tennessee I would be chomping at the bit to attend a Durga Puja in NYC. Honestly though, I'm not a very religious person so it was easy to put off. This year though, maybe because I'm getting older, and because of recent life events I felt compelled to attend this year.

In keeping with tradition, I was:
-Last to get ready
-First to make a fuss about
-Late
Actually, two out of three are true. We weren't late because the actual start of the Puja was 2 but we arrived at 11:30. In proving that I am a bad Brahmin: I got quite hungry as we waited at a nearby diner and gave in to temptation at 1pm but man that egg on a roll was tasty.

Also, in keeping with Bengali tradition I would like to focus on several points about the Puja in New York:
1) The lack of organization
2) The manner of the people
3) The food

1) The lack of organization
Actually, the Puja was decently organized. I only have one issue - we had been told that the start of the Puja was 11. Upon arrival we came to find out it started at 2 instead. But because the of the large gap of time I was afforded the opportunity to eat the aforementioned egg on a roll, so all is forgiven.

2) Manner of the people
In all honesty, I've stayed away from religious functions because of the social issues that go with it. Truth be told being around so many Bengalis made me nervous mostly because I felt aware of how little I know about Durga Puja. (That and the fact that my Bangla is quite rusty). The people were great. The Kaku's and Mashi's were all very warm.

All those familiar feelings from past Pujas were all there: the blowing of the Shak, the combination of the smell of fruits and incense - I'm glad they haven't packaged that.

3) The food
The food was very good. We had some veg and non-veg chops. While nothing compares with Ma's chops these were quite decent. I also really liked the Coogni. I haven't had coogni since the last time I was home so it brought me back. Around here we're more accustomed to Punjabi style chana. The prasad was wonderful. The kichori is highly recommended next time you want to feel close to God.


Overall, I really enjoyed the puja experience. The hypnotic sounds of the Purohit's voice. The importance of repetition. I definitely felt a great stress relieved that day. You'll notice how little I commented on the meaning of Durga Puja - that's because I know very little about it. This Puja though has inspired me to pickup some more books on philosophy and to take stock of the religion I grew up with.

Happy Durga Puja All.

While Indian food is extremely popular, Pakistani cuisine is also quite big at least in New York. However, like anything Pakistani, it needs its image cleaned up (right or wrong).

When many people think of Pakistan, they think of a country that is ruled by Militarism, al-Qaeda, AQ Khan and his ilk. What if they created an ad campaign that simultaneously played off this violent reputation while promoting its cuisine?

Something like this:
Guy#1: Dude, I'm having a Pak Attack!
Guy#2: You mean a panic attack?
Guy#1: No, even worse - I have a craving for some delicious Pakistani food.
Guy#2: Now that you mention it, I could go for a kebab.
Guy#1: Lets make it a six Pak!

I can't believe no one has created this ad campaign. Truly I am awesome.

Ingredients
Two 8oz. cans of chick peas; cut the can and drain the water.

One big onion chopped, two twigs of cilantro chopped, ¼ cup of ginger and garlic paste.

Turmeric, coriander, cumin and garam masala, each one table spoon full (seasoning).

Instructions
Take a medium size pot. Put 4 tablespoon full of canola oil.

Put onion in the pot and fry it to little brown, then add ginger and garlic paste, plus the two chopped tomatoes; fry for five minutes.

Pour the chick peas, green chili and the seasoning above.

Let it cook for ten minutes; when it thickens, add salt, a pinch of sugar and chopped cilantro.

Garnish with chopped onion and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Good for four servings.

Shout Out to Indophile.net
I wanted to take a moment to say: Indophile.net - you're the best!


No Rajbot, Rajbot.blogspot.com is truly the best!

It's very cliche to complain about how useful SUVs are for the average suburban driver. In effect, it's the socially acceptable family station wagon of today - though more monstrous and certainly a more gas guzzling. I thought this might be of interest though: I recently read that a company based out of Canada is manufacturing something more obnoxious than a Hummer - audaciously called Gurkha.

Do you remember that song 'one of these things is not like the other?' Yeah, that's stuck in my head too.
=


One of these things is small, but bad-ass and very efficient.
One is a useless armored station wagon. You guess which.

In military combat sure, but in the 'burbs?

A few suggested add-ons to live up to its name:
-Rather than a standard lame honk, why not have the horn say 'Ayo Gorkhali?'

-As a cross between Bond and the Gurkhas, why not have Kukri's come out of the owner's rims to slash opposing vehicles?

-Perhaps the owner receives a complimentary Gurkha hat?