Tangled and days of the underdogs…

The underdogs are finally winning. Several good wins across the nation (India).

Rahat Taslim won Rs 1 cr. at Kaun Banega Crorepati. The first ever woman to do so. And an ordinary lower middle class housewife to boot!!! Yipeee.

She of course had some luck on her side but hey you do need luck to really strike big! No matter how well prepared you are. That one question can eat up all your lifelines and some.

I am not elated because she is a woman, I am elated because she is a simple housewife who runs a tailoring class from home. In India, with the advent of industrialisation, women have started working. But with that independence has come arrogance. Working women look down on the housewives, which is completely unfair. Its kind of similar to Indian women (especially from the smaller towns of India) here in the US who drive and have US licenses looking down upon those who don’t. Funny, isn’t it?

To work or not should be a choice based on economic and personal aspirations, not because it’s the in-thing to do. Wonder why we turn everything into a “status” thing.

Anyways, the point here is to congratulate this smart lady Rahat.

Also India has been doing well in the sports arena. Gold in shooting, weightlifting, boxing, swimming, kabaddi..Hmmm..Finally we are becoming a sporting nation. Not just naach gaana, religion and festivals.

Ok this is unrelated but I absolutely lovvvveeed Tangled. Definitely go watch it. Loved Flynn Ryder. His voice, face and expressions were to die for. The movie is very well made and the story tweakers have done an excellent job. Noteworthy is the duel between Maximus (the horse) and Flynn. Its the first time I have fallen for a movie in totality. I am going to buy the DVD too when it comes out!

It was a good idea to not make the evil woman a witch, just a normal woman who has an evil desire. More realistic! The movie does not feel dated or out of sync with 21st century. But its not a serious movie, so forget the analysis and simply WATCH IT!!!!!

Thank You, Mr Ratan Tata!

Ratan in Hindi means gem. Aptly named Mr Tata. You are truly a gem! Indeed I rue that you haven't passed on your gem of a gene to some worthy heir.

Why? Several reasons...

The reason that prompted me to write is the MSN headline: Rs 15 cr bribe? Ratan Tata says "No way". An unnamed minister asked him for a bribe to let him operate a joint venture airline in India.

Seriously??!! The minister asked THE IRON MAN for a bribe?!! Imagine being told by a so-called industrialist "You are idiot people. You should have paid the bribe".

Thank you Mr Tata from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for standing up to shitheads. Thank you for not bowing under pressure and doing what every nincompoop in India does. Pay the bribe!!!

For those who do not know; Mr Tata belongs to the illustrious family of the Tatas. JRD Tata is the Father of Indian Aviation. He started the first Airlines in India and held the Pilot License no 1. The Airlines was taken over by the Govt and is now an ailing Air India. :( JRD went on to lead his industrial group to stupendous success in every imaginable field, reaching Rs 1 Billion before he died in 1993.

The name Tata was stamped on almost every thing you could buy, soap, cars, chemicals, now IT & Telecom. In fact Tata Young, a Thai model, and actress was so named, because her father was reportedly astonished by the omnipresent name TATA.

The Tatas are also known for their philanthropy. Their hospitals, trust funds, student loan funds are well known in India.

Mr Ratan Tata however stands out in this long line of illustrious family of entrepreneurs. He is solely responsible for putting a car in the hands of an average middle-class family. His $2000 or Rs 1Lac car has sheltered lakhs of family from the elements, transferring them from a scooter to a small car. Atlast the poor could travel in comfort. He did this, whilst the entire motor industry was laughing at his idea and waiting for him to fall on his face. He succeeded.

I therefore call you, Mr Tata, the IRON MAN. For your guts, your vision, your strength and your spirit!

To this man, then, an unpadh gavar (uneducated) minister asks for a bribe just to start an airline operation. Heaven knows from where that idiot got the guts to open his fat mouth. He should have been counting himself lucky to even be in the presence of a legend. And he actually sullies it..Like Wow!

If just 10 more industrialists become 10% the man Mr Tata is, India will be a supernation that it wants to achieve. Just 10%. Got guts, Mr Minister??????

I am Cumberbatched!!!

Yeah I know, you don't think that's a word..."Cumberbatched". Its a name! Benedict Cumberbatch and he has taken the British television by storm. So UK has been "cumberbatched". :)

He plays the latest Sherlock Holmes, (very difficult shoes to fill) in the 21st century. Earlier, Basil Rathbone (whom I am not a fan of) and Jeremy Brett (who for me IS THE MAN) have taken on the challenge!

Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes to such perfection that even after repeatedly watching his episodes, I can honestly say I have never liked another man with that name!

Thanks to PBS Masterpiece Mystery series, I can watch all my beloved British mystery drama. They are so much better than the American tech obsessed teams. And please don't any of you start on the Indian series CID.

So I start watching the new Sherlock Holmes with some small resentment and a critical heart. LO! Benedict has a fantastic voice, great screen presence and is dressed sharp. He has managed to win the new generation Sherlock fans and I am sure a lot of the older generation too.

So far only 3 episodes have aired: A study in pink, The blind banker, The great Game.

Good stories but mostly carried through by Benedict. His sidekick, the very ordinary Dr Watson (Martin Freeman) looks credulous as the slightly idiotic, action man.

The action is very fast and energetic. Rightly so. The producers have remained faithful to the original character. Rightly so! The stories are a bit of a let down. Not the best scripts. Nor does it make sense that Sherlock can guess about Watson's drunkard brother by an inscription and scratches on the mobile. I have scratches on each of my electronic possessions!

To match Jeremy's energy, Benedict tries to deliver his dialogues very fast. His problem: unclear diction! That my dear, was Jeremy's strongest point! His precision honed diction. You can clearly understand what he says irrespective of a fast pace or a low tone. Benedict has his work cut out there.

Overall Me likes!!! Watch it if you can..

Weekend wasn't a weak end!!

This weekend we finally managed to act on our long planned desire to go out of town to view the fall colors. I suspect the motivating factor was my husband's new DSLR and his budding desire to become a landscape photographer. :)

The deciding factor came from the beautiful tree lined state highway leading to the CT Hindu temple. The trees are adorned with flaming reds, oranges, and yellows. I am surprised people can actually drive through that road without being distracted. I was!

So this weekend, we went hiking through the 1600 acre Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden. Of course we trekked only 3.2 miles and that was the shortest and the easiest route! Aditi was a great sport and actually had fun gathering loads of acorn to feed squirrels back home.

As the name goes, the top of the hills look like a giant sleeping. The legend goes that Sleeping Giant is the story of Hobbomock, a giant who contained the spirit of the souls of the dead. Once in his temper tantrums, he diverted the Connecticut river far east, causing some devastation.

Keihtan, the creator God cast a spell on the giant so that he would never awaken again. Soon the earth and trees covered the slumbering Hobbomock, peace returned, and all is well. :)

This is per the native Quinnipec Americans, who lived here before the Europeans decided to make it their home.

Anyways the trek was beautiful, as the park is maintained with minimum interference from humans. The trees were shimmering with colorful foliage. The entrance brings back memories of kodaikanal. A picture can say thousand words so I will let the pics tell the rest of the story.

What will we change in the next decade?

This is going to be a rather long one! So read at your own peril…

I was thinking about the parallel between society and movies. How closely the two are related and have influenced each other throughout the decades!

My consciousness starts from the 80s. 80s India was conservative, and closed, socially, economically. Agriculture was the dominant industry and manufacturing in its teens. The movies are said to be a reflection of society. So in the 80s a lot of movies were a social commentary. For ex, some dealt with selfish children throwing out their parents for money. Some dealt with dowry, and others dealt with worker exploitations. The policy makers had put a thrust on rural development and education.

The change that 80s brought in was an awareness on various types of exploitations and to some extent an eradication of social evils like dowry.

The 90s brings to mind the various love stories involving inter-castes/class, inter-religion marriages. Remember QSQT, Dil. The biggest change was marginal freedom for lovers belonging to different castes and religion. Marginal because change seems to avoid India’s hinterlands.

However the 90s will be better remembered for the sweeping policy changes in India’s economy brought in by Dr Manmohan Singh. It opened up the economy, brought in MNCs, therefore foreign capital and a trickle of development in real estate. Manufacturing/services gained ground over agriculture as the rural development programs took effect. Rural youth migrated to the cities in search of better life and better salary. The impact was the expansion of the middle class and the birth of a powerful industry, IT / BPO. It put money in the hands of thousands and sent millions of people all over the world.

In the decade 2000-2010 I believe the biggest change was in Bollywood. Like competition in manufacturing in the 90s, competition arrived in Bollywood. The music industry was no longer the kingdom of a Lata Mangeshkar or Udit Narayan. Nor was it the domain of 3 or 4 music directors. Now every song was sung / directed by a different singer and a director. It has given an opportunity to countless singers from common background to rise to stardom. Although to a lesser extent, movie actors and actresses also came from simple & non-filmy backgrounds and smaller towns. Like SRK, Akshay Kumar or Mallika Sherawat, Priyanka Chopra.

As we are soon entering the next decade, I wonder where will the change be? What will be the impact? Already new age blood is making its presence felt in politics. To make the impact stronger, someone has to take charge. Dr Manmohan Singh is now at the helm, but do his colleagues have the vision to support him?

My wish list: Education. Education in India is old-form, archaic, and desperately needs change. The teachers are almost useless and the system crippling. Already a couple of Bollywood movies have depicted the useless education system. I hope it brings in the change that we desperately need. To create a new thrust for the economy, a new direction for the youth and perhaps a new industry. I wish!

Disclaimer -All my observations here relate to my knowledge and readings about India. I cannot presume to comment on any other country.

hmmm..the sweet smell of festivities….

Autumn is here…And the air is chilly, crisp and very sweet. It is that special time of year that makes its presence felt even in a warm place like Mumbai.

It is sweet because it carries the promise of festivities.. In India, the period of festivals begin! Navratri is here, and Bengali Durgo Pujo is right behind!!!! Laxmi Puja and Indian Christmas Diwali!!! Here's how we celebrated Ganesh Puja at home!

Have missed Durga Puja now for the past 2 years. It is celebrated here in the US but not on “tithi” days (days designated as per Hindu calendar), rather when the community hall is free. :) Not much fun driving for hours knowing that Pujo is actually already over.

I have never witnessed Pujo in Calcutta, something my husband assures me, is one of the things to do before you die. :) I can imagine its splendour based on what I have experienced, Ganpati festival in Mumbai. Absolutely love it…Still remember feeling goosebumps when you witness Lord Ganesh in all His glory leaving for heavenly abode. It used to bring tears in my eyes.

Now I miss those tears too…People are just as emotional in Bengal when Maa Durga returns home. There are several festivities within Pujo like sidoor khela (married women applying vermilion to Maa Durga and each other). Most memorable and perhaps the most important are Ashtami and Navami. (Bongs correct me if I am wrong). I write here from my childhood memories of trooping from Andheri E, to Santa Cruz pandal to Khar Ramkrishna Mission and finally ending at Shivaji Park, the largest pandal in Mumbai.

We used to leave home around 7 pm and come back home by the last train, in those days the 2 pm train from Churchgate. The whole night we would troop from one pandal to another, meeting up with our Bengali friends and relatives. Was super super fun!! The food too was a great incentive for us kids. Dad would jump on the chance of catching up with Bengali music and magazines….

The one in Malad (w) was started by my dad’s friends. I don’t know if it has continued still. Its been a decade since I have witnessed it. Aah nostalgia.

My heart burn: Aditi doesn’t know either of the two festivals. While she remembers Diwali, she hasn’t had the pleasure of witnessing either Ganesh or Durga Puja. Don’t know when I can make it happen. But want to…

Great site for Indian recipes…

I have to declare I have found a great site for recipes, even for routine cooking. I used to depend on Mr Sanjeev Kapoor for parties and pot lucks. I am on of those who never present the same food to the same guests ever! It’s not for them, It’s for me! I get bored of eating the same standard paneer butter masala, or daal makhanis that people generally bring to potlucks.

Ok the site is www.vahrevah.com. The chef is Mr Sanjay Thumma.

It is a very popular site among the South Indians here in the US. But I think the chef is too good a treasure to be restricted to one set of people. His USP is that his recipes turn out exactly the way he says it will. Somehow he makes the cooking method very very easy and his ingredients are always there at home. Nothing out of the world for which you have to go hunting through the supermarkets. That was one of the problems I found when I used to try Mr Kapoor’s recipes.

My recommended recipes: Chicken Tikka, Chicken Butter Masala, Veg Biryani…try it!