Shashi out, Mahi out, Rishta.com out and summer’s just starting!

Shashi is out of Indian Idol 5. Really sad! Especially considering a singer like Tia is still there.

Wonder on what basis people vote! That shouldn’t be too surprising really, one has to only look at our dear respected elected babus/behens.

Sadly for me, all the classiest Indian TV shows are now over. Mahi Way, Rishta.com and Seven have now ended. They all, of course belonged to YRF TV camp. My hearth felt congratulations to this TV network for producing shows with brilliant technicals, production values, and a logical storyline. For daring to consider its audience as an intelligent, modern audience rather than a dumb, ignorant and clueless audience.

Mahi does not run away from marrying one boy friend to simply fly into the waiting arms of the patient and more suitable second. She decides to not marry at all. Smartest thing a woman can do!

Seven I know has been criticised for being a copy of Heros running here in the US. However, the script writers completely Indianised it, and did a credible task of weaving facts of Emperor Ashok’s reign with fiction. And it was technically brilliant! Didn’t feel like a comedy show.

I liked the storyline and actors in Rishta.com. Although a little removed from reality (All the potential grooms were handsome and smart!), it had decent acting and was grounded in its approach.

It was sensible to end the shows with logical endings rather than stretch it beyond endurance. Congratulations for a job well done! Sorry the shows didn’t get as much support. It seems Mahi Way was the only one which garnered TRP. Indian audiences still love the stupid CID, Aahat and the like. YRF says some of these shows may come back in next season (similar to format followed by American TV show producers). Hope they all do.

How do I spend my summer now? Will have to stick to reruns of old British comedies..

Disclaimer: I only have Zee, Sony, TV Asia and ITV. So won’t know of other shows on other networks.

India stinks...

India stinks… I don’t mean literally, though it does stink to high heaven.

The news is what makes me say this..India stinks…Its culture, its ‘samaj’ stinks. What else does one say if innocent girls and boys are ‘murdered’ in the name of ‘honour’! 2 girls and 1 boy lost their lives in order to keep the flag of Indian honour flying high. I say India’s head is bent forever with shame.

What honour are they exactly talking about? OK so one whole village has men and women who are so-called brothers-sisters (gotra-factor). As if, this and similar villages have no local prostitutes, no rapes and definitely no extra-marital affairs. By that logic, dears no one in the world ought to marry anyone, after all haven’t we all evolved from one man and one woman (Adam n Eve, if you please).

This happened in Delhi, where everyone knows no woman is really safe…even if she is with her husband or family. Do those guys who kidnap, rape and murder have honour? Does the samaj then not lose any honour?

The kith and kin are justifying the murders. Of course, the culprit will not be caught unless he forgets to do a huge Rahu-Ketu puja and feed the whole village and some. What about the victims of this hypocrisy? If I go by myth and mythology, then won’t their bhatakti aatma harass these culprits. Really, how many of these idiots can the ghosts harass!! The whole village, nay the whole country is the culprit.

We didn’t let education or prosperity percolate to these dark caves. Someone somewhere dies. Who cares right? Wasn’t me or mine! We do not take discipline, system or rules seriously do we? Remember the time you paid a bribe so you get the Driver’s License without even going to the MV office. Chod na, chalta hai..apne ko kya karna hai…These are words I have heard once too often. What has really been the result of the assault on the hotels in Mumbai? What has the government done? Nothing. Why? Because it knows people don’t care.

We don’t even want to improve or change. All we want is money, honey!!! And the less work it needs the better!! The commonest refrain I have heard Indians in US say: Americans don’t ’work hard’ at all like us, life is just SOOO easy for them. They should come to India and see how hard we work.

My answer to these nincompoops: Darling, they MADE their lives easy by working hard where it counts. They may be about money honey, but at least they did the ground work first.

Which part of our Indianness can we be proud of? Our ‘strong’ education (it produces un-imaginative robots who follow the crowd), our culture (right!) or our heritage (sati, devdasis, child marriage)? Or our achievements in umm let me see sports? or technology? Which of these should I be proud of? Oh yes our age-old knowledge, yoga for instance!!! We wouldn’t have touched it with a bar-pole if it hadn’t been for the western fascination with yoga and yogis.

India needs a Hercules to clean the Augean stable. Who will be Hercules?

Learnt something new today!

I picked up something new today and felt it ought to be made popular. Origami..I made this beautiful paper shirt to be gifted to my dear husband (apart from other worldly gifts).

Here’s the how-to.

Folded paper shirt.

Use legal-size (8 1/2-by-14-inch) decorative paper.

1. Place paper facedown. Fold in half vertically; unfold. Line up left edge with centerline fold, and crease; repeat with right edge. Unfold, and lay flat.

2. Fold top-left corner in to line up with outermost crease, forming a triangle; repeat on top-right corner. Using index fingers and thumbs, pinch together outside points of each triangle so they meet, and crease.

3. While still pinching triangles, fold down top edge (this will make sleeves).

4. Turn paper upside down, and flip it over. Fold down top edge 3/4 inch.

5. Flip paper over. Fold top left and right corners so tips meet at centerline.

6. Tuck bottom edge under collar, and flatten by creasing. For the tie, cut out an 8-by-1/2-inch strip of decorative paper. Knot paper. Snip close to knot on one side; trim other to a point. Glue to shirt.

I tried adding pictures of how to but couldn’t so will go one step better. Here’s the how-to video.

World cup fever begins...

World cup fever begins..

Last time round I had wanted France to win mainly because of Zinadine Zidane..Wanted him to go out blazing..Worse luck he went butt out...

This time no favorites. Whoever plays well will become my favourite. Right now its UK vs US, Score: 1:1.

My predictions for Indian Idol 5

Here’s my prediction for the top 5 of Indian Idol 5.

Rakesh Maini

Shashi Suman

Naushad Ali Kawa

Sreeram M

Shivam Pathak

All of them are male unfortunately. They are good, really good. My favourite is Shashi Suman, although I believe Rakesh is the best singer of them all. But as trends prove the best singers almost always are eliminated at some time or the other. Sreeram is also an excellent singer but he does have experience as a playback singer for Telugu film industry so I do not feel he really should win Indian Idol. Shashi is very cute, the kind of guy I had like Aditi to bring home. Talking like a grandma, ain’t I?