I was muddied and dirtied I couldn't tell
from which street
Why do these lips of mine taste just like feet
I saw my reflection in sasha's mirror I didn't know my own face
Oh helmet are you gonna leave me with bad hair
On the streets of Pune, Maharashtra
I walked on DP Road, till my whites turned brown
I heard a shopkeeper who wouldn't keep his voice down
At night I could hear them shout some more
the couple who wouldn't close their front door
on the streets of Pune, Maharashtra
Ain't no protein to nourish me,
It's just rice and chapati my friend.
my clothes don't fit me no more
I tried a thousand restaurants
just to get some fibre
The night has fallen, I can't fall asleep
I can feel the oily curry burning deep
so pray for me brother so there's no power cut
as I waste away here, bored to death
on the streets of Pune, Maharashtra
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
My "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" bit was entirely different from your "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" bit.
It's amazing watching English (Hollywood) movies on TV here. For one there's more cussing. I know what you're thinking, how is there more cussing on an Indian channel than there would be if the movie were shown on TV in the US (where presumably everyone is morally corrupt). I guess culturally certain words have different levels of offensiveness.
For example I keep hearing the word "bullsh**" and for that matter "sh**" on TV here. And then they bleep out "a**" and "bit**". (I'm bleeping them all out to avoid any controversy.) I stared at the TV the first few times I heard it and now I'm just used to it.
Almost all English movies get automatic subtitles here. It's like they figured the average Indian can't understand the dialogue which is spoken in these movies. That's fine, because it's mostly true. But yeah, what confuses me is when I'm watching the movie and hear a certain word by see a less offensive version of the word on screen. "Less offensive" is relative of course because it depends on what is considered offensive in India. Hilarious.
Last night as I was watching "The Mummy", I noticed the runtime was much shorter than I expected. As the movie was playing I started noticing that they cut out a bunch of scenes. Now you're probably thinking "There's nothing offensive in The Mummy." Well they took out almost all the scenes with the Mummy. The regeneration as Evelyn reads the words from the Book of the Dead. The absorbing of the organs from the grave robbers. Even the scene where his jaw opens really wide to swallow up Conners' plane. It's almost like the Indian airing of the movie didn't get the rights to the CGI scenes in the movie and so they just showed the scenes with real actors in them.
For example I keep hearing the word "bullsh**" and for that matter "sh**" on TV here. And then they bleep out "a**" and "bit**". (I'm bleeping them all out to avoid any controversy.) I stared at the TV the first few times I heard it and now I'm just used to it.
Almost all English movies get automatic subtitles here. It's like they figured the average Indian can't understand the dialogue which is spoken in these movies. That's fine, because it's mostly true. But yeah, what confuses me is when I'm watching the movie and hear a certain word by see a less offensive version of the word on screen. "Less offensive" is relative of course because it depends on what is considered offensive in India. Hilarious.
Last night as I was watching "The Mummy", I noticed the runtime was much shorter than I expected. As the movie was playing I started noticing that they cut out a bunch of scenes. Now you're probably thinking "There's nothing offensive in The Mummy." Well they took out almost all the scenes with the Mummy. The regeneration as Evelyn reads the words from the Book of the Dead. The absorbing of the organs from the grave robbers. Even the scene where his jaw opens really wide to swallow up Conners' plane. It's almost like the Indian airing of the movie didn't get the rights to the CGI scenes in the movie and so they just showed the scenes with real actors in them.
MTV India
Get this, Cyrus Broacha and Nikhil Chinappa are still on MTV!! These two have been on MTV for about a decade now. I'm not a person who believes that a couple of years in a hot field (modelling, VJing, etc) ages you by 10 years but come on. Cyrus is fat and looks like a creepy 30-year old who still hangs out with the undergrads at a college. And Nikhil looks scrawny. You're telling me MTV couldn't find decent talent to replace these guys? That's just sad.
Celebrating the "Indian Halloween"
Actually Diwali is more like Halloween and Christmas come together. I'd forgotten how much fun it gets to be. Starts with all the new clothes everyone wears. Our office was open so people showed up for work, including me. I had my new khadi kurta on, very stylish, if I may say so myself. Couldn't wait to go home and when my cousin rang me to let me know he was in the neighbourhood, I shot out of the office. After hitting up a few touristy places before sunset, we went home and I changed into something more diwali-comfortable. And the fun started.
I had a few sweets I'd bought which I shared with him. He brought a few firecrackers he shared with me. We lit up the non-explosive stuff on the rooftop and went out into the street for the exploding stuff. It's amazing how much I'd forgotten about the Diwali fireworks. Like for example taking a bit off the fuse for bombs before lighting them up because you don't want the bomb going off too soon after you're lit it. And there's the wide variety of things you can buy. The magnesium pencils, the "vishnu chakras", the "wires", the color matches etc. Looking from the outside, it's amusing to note the names of the various bombs that come into play. Like the Lakshmi bomb (wrapped in tons of paper with a picture of Lakshmi on the outside), the Hydrogen Bomb (green), the chain bombs of course.
We didn't have rockets to fire off but after watching something near my apt, I'm glad I didn't. There was this apt complex that is under construction. As we were looking around I saw a rocket take off and go right into the unfinished balcony of that building. Now it's pretty safe since no one was in it (I think) and it's all just concrete anyway. But made me realize that if something I set off went into someone's house, I'd kick myself.
I'd have liked to have eaten before getting my hands dirty with the fireworks but my cousin was eager to kick off the fireworks so we went out eating after the fireworks. It's crazy to drive during Diwali since at every few feet someone is setting off some explosion or the other. Most of these can't harm you, but you do get startled and that can be bad if you're driving.
Pune was quite disciplined in that the fireworks ended at a very decent hour. By the time we'd finished dinner at around 9:30pm, the streets had emptied and the last few fireworks died out in another hour at most. Except for some jackass who exploded a few in my building at midnight and woke me up - I hope he suffered some permanent damage from the explosion.
Happy Diwali everyone!
I had a few sweets I'd bought which I shared with him. He brought a few firecrackers he shared with me. We lit up the non-explosive stuff on the rooftop and went out into the street for the exploding stuff. It's amazing how much I'd forgotten about the Diwali fireworks. Like for example taking a bit off the fuse for bombs before lighting them up because you don't want the bomb going off too soon after you're lit it. And there's the wide variety of things you can buy. The magnesium pencils, the "vishnu chakras", the "wires", the color matches etc. Looking from the outside, it's amusing to note the names of the various bombs that come into play. Like the Lakshmi bomb (wrapped in tons of paper with a picture of Lakshmi on the outside), the Hydrogen Bomb (green), the chain bombs of course.
We didn't have rockets to fire off but after watching something near my apt, I'm glad I didn't. There was this apt complex that is under construction. As we were looking around I saw a rocket take off and go right into the unfinished balcony of that building. Now it's pretty safe since no one was in it (I think) and it's all just concrete anyway. But made me realize that if something I set off went into someone's house, I'd kick myself.
I'd have liked to have eaten before getting my hands dirty with the fireworks but my cousin was eager to kick off the fireworks so we went out eating after the fireworks. It's crazy to drive during Diwali since at every few feet someone is setting off some explosion or the other. Most of these can't harm you, but you do get startled and that can be bad if you're driving.
Pune was quite disciplined in that the fireworks ended at a very decent hour. By the time we'd finished dinner at around 9:30pm, the streets had emptied and the last few fireworks died out in another hour at most. Except for some jackass who exploded a few in my building at midnight and woke me up - I hope he suffered some permanent damage from the explosion.
Happy Diwali everyone!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Another one McBites the McDust
It's a big week for the franchise restaurants. After Domino's, it was the turn of McDonald's. It me quite some time after McD came to India but I finally did it.
There's this big multiplex near my place and that's a very "happening" place. Young people hang out there. There's a pool table and a bunch of restaurants. This is the same multiplex that had the Subway too.
This multiplex is becoming a regular coffee shop-esque place for me. I take a book and chill there for a few hours while watching people.
At the McD's I ordered the "McVeggie". The patty looked so much like a breaded-chicken patty that I had to ask them if they were sure this was a veggie sandwich. It was basically a vegetable cutlet in a sandwich. Honestly, I prefer the Burger King Veggie Whopper that doesn't even have a patty in it but this wasn't terrible. This McC also had a value menu, with Rs. 10 ice cream cones etc. They don't give you the cup for soda and ask you to fill it yourself, obviously that can lead to misuse in India. At the same time they didn't fill up the cup with ice either. That would have brought some furious complaints from the customers.
There's this big multiplex near my place and that's a very "happening" place. Young people hang out there. There's a pool table and a bunch of restaurants. This is the same multiplex that had the Subway too.
This multiplex is becoming a regular coffee shop-esque place for me. I take a book and chill there for a few hours while watching people.
At the McD's I ordered the "McVeggie". The patty looked so much like a breaded-chicken patty that I had to ask them if they were sure this was a veggie sandwich. It was basically a vegetable cutlet in a sandwich. Honestly, I prefer the Burger King Veggie Whopper that doesn't even have a patty in it but this wasn't terrible. This McC also had a value menu, with Rs. 10 ice cream cones etc. They don't give you the cup for soda and ask you to fill it yourself, obviously that can lead to misuse in India. At the same time they didn't fill up the cup with ice either. That would have brought some furious complaints from the customers.
Daily thoughts
- Winter is here. I wore a jacket today since my shirt is a nice shirt and I didn't want it to get dirty. But it ended up being more than cosmetic. Mom always used to say that Diwali was the trigger for winter and bang on target it's here. Diwali should also be the trigger for good seetaphals, so yeah, I'm excited about that.
- As I listen to my radio each day, I realize that I have gotten addicted to Akshay Kumar's songs. Every morning I listen to the title tracks from either "Singh is King" or "Bhool Bhulaiya" and it totally pumps me up. You can't fight the Kumar man!
- The highway leading to my home is being upgraded. The road is being repaired at a rapid pace. At first I thought I wouldn't be there by the time it's done, but at this rate I should be enjoying this smooth road as early as December. Very exciting.
- As I washed my coloreds during the weekend, the water that I pre-soaked them in was so muddy it scared me. Is this what I'm subjecting my dear clothes to?
- The water heater in my apt has been fixed but the power cuts make it useless. And the power situation is this bad during winter, I hate to think what would happen during the summer. Atleast we've been guaranteed power during Diwali, so that's a nice silver lining.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Happy Diwali to everyone!
Diwali's here. The bottlerockets have started appearing in the skies. Random firecrackers going off in small streets. Even a few sparklers here and there. Technically Diwali's not till Tuesday but you can taste the excitement in the air. It's either that or magnesium.
Earlier this week our boss got sweets and samosas for the whole office with his own money. It was a nice gesture but I would have preferred the chocolate boxes they apparently got last year.
As of now my diwali purchases include a cap gun and two packs of caps! I haven't been this excited for Diwali since I was a kid. The cap gun is an automatic eight shooter. It's so very cool and I'm such a dork.
Earlier this week our boss got sweets and samosas for the whole office with his own money. It was a nice gesture but I would have preferred the chocolate boxes they apparently got last year.
As of now my diwali purchases include a cap gun and two packs of caps! I haven't been this excited for Diwali since I was a kid. The cap gun is an automatic eight shooter. It's so very cool and I'm such a dork.
The honest shopkeepers
I was in a daze for a good amount of time today evening. I met another honest shopkeeper!!
It wasn't the first time it happened during my stay here, but it hit me the hardest. I'd purchased a screw driver set to fix my bathroom door at this roadside "Big Store". Basically a giant tent under which they sold pretty much everything from mops to sneakers. I got mine for Rs. 35 and even got a bill for that. When I went home, the teeth at the base connecting the stem to the grip of the screwdriver came loose and when I checked it, the teeth had broken. I was pissed off at this. I knew that when I purchased something from a store that doesn't have walls, I should just be happy that it didn't decapitate me as soon as I touched it. But I was pissed nevertheless and I wanted to atleast go yell at the shopkeeper. I found the bill - normally I just throw away these bills since I don't expect these stores to honor any returns anyway.
I got to the "store" and almost right off the bat I am being hostile. I show the guy the damaged screwdriver and angrily ask why it's damaged. I have a whole speech memorized about how this is unethical and so on. The guy smiles and says, "Sir, I can replace that for you." Just like that. No questions asked, no bill asked for. Since they were out of the type of box I purchased, he showed me a bigger box which I liked. He fixed up the new screwdriver and just like that my confidence in mankind was restored.
Like I said, this was the first time it happened. On atleast two other occasions earlier where I expected the seller to deny he sold me a product or just in general push some limits to see what he could get away with, they came through and gave me what I wanted. It was quite remarkable.
It wasn't the first time it happened during my stay here, but it hit me the hardest. I'd purchased a screw driver set to fix my bathroom door at this roadside "Big Store". Basically a giant tent under which they sold pretty much everything from mops to sneakers. I got mine for Rs. 35 and even got a bill for that. When I went home, the teeth at the base connecting the stem to the grip of the screwdriver came loose and when I checked it, the teeth had broken. I was pissed off at this. I knew that when I purchased something from a store that doesn't have walls, I should just be happy that it didn't decapitate me as soon as I touched it. But I was pissed nevertheless and I wanted to atleast go yell at the shopkeeper. I found the bill - normally I just throw away these bills since I don't expect these stores to honor any returns anyway.
I got to the "store" and almost right off the bat I am being hostile. I show the guy the damaged screwdriver and angrily ask why it's damaged. I have a whole speech memorized about how this is unethical and so on. The guy smiles and says, "Sir, I can replace that for you." Just like that. No questions asked, no bill asked for. Since they were out of the type of box I purchased, he showed me a bigger box which I liked. He fixed up the new screwdriver and just like that my confidence in mankind was restored.
Like I said, this was the first time it happened. On atleast two other occasions earlier where I expected the seller to deny he sold me a product or just in general push some limits to see what he could get away with, they came through and gave me what I wanted. It was quite remarkable.
A different Chaat
There are many days when I just have chaat for dinner. The meals plate is too much rice for the nighttime and I have to drive out for a kilometer and a half to get to the decent restaurants. And even there I have to pay more for relatively unhealthy food. So I just go to the local chaat place and have one or two items. I even tried out the mobile chaat place. I reasoned that my immune system must be pretty strong now. But as much as my body can handle the unhygenic conditions there, my brain and eyes couldn't take it and I just had to stop eating there.
Chaat here is different in subtle ways from the way it was in Hyderabad. I haven't had good Pav Bhaji here. One place smashed the hell out of the veggies and the result was a goo that had more spices the vegetables. Then there's Dabeli. I haven't tried this yet, but will do so pretty soon. Imagine pav bhaji in which the bhaji is sandwiched into the bread and then served like a burger, that's pretty much Dabeli. The bhaji is supposed to be sweeter with pomegranate seeds or grape halves sprinkled over the stuff. I'm very curious to try it out.
There was exactly one place where Pani Puri was served in the traditional style - with the guy cracking opn the shells, filling them with peas and added the juices to the shells before serving each one in your place. Instead, even the mobile places serve them all them once - lay out the puris on the plate and then fill them all at once with the fillings. Maybe it's more hygenic (less dipping of the arm into the pot of juices) or maybe it avoids the confusion over how many puris you've had. After a plate of pani puri it seems routine to ask for (and sometimes be served even without asking for) a "masala puri". This is perhaps to cleanse your palate (ha!!) after the pani puri. It's just a single shell with the boiled peas but topped off with some combo of chaat masala, sev and some optional other spices. It's basically dry. If you get two plates of pani puri you get two masala puris!
At the chaat shop near my place I asked for Sev Puri once. What I got looked a whole lot like Dahi Puri. (In Hyd, Sev Puri consisted of veggies stacked on top of a flat chip.) I asked the guy what the difference between this and Dahi Puri was. He said "More Dahi"!
Bhel puri is different too. It's tastier (more flavorful), which isn't always a good thing. Actually in general a lot of the chaat items tasted sweeter than what I'm used to. Of course, this is an ongoing experiment and my data currently is confined mostly to local places. Once I explore the other parts of Pune and try the goods there, I'll get a better idea of Pune chaat in general.
Chaat here is different in subtle ways from the way it was in Hyderabad. I haven't had good Pav Bhaji here. One place smashed the hell out of the veggies and the result was a goo that had more spices the vegetables. Then there's Dabeli. I haven't tried this yet, but will do so pretty soon. Imagine pav bhaji in which the bhaji is sandwiched into the bread and then served like a burger, that's pretty much Dabeli. The bhaji is supposed to be sweeter with pomegranate seeds or grape halves sprinkled over the stuff. I'm very curious to try it out.
There was exactly one place where Pani Puri was served in the traditional style - with the guy cracking opn the shells, filling them with peas and added the juices to the shells before serving each one in your place. Instead, even the mobile places serve them all them once - lay out the puris on the plate and then fill them all at once with the fillings. Maybe it's more hygenic (less dipping of the arm into the pot of juices) or maybe it avoids the confusion over how many puris you've had. After a plate of pani puri it seems routine to ask for (and sometimes be served even without asking for) a "masala puri". This is perhaps to cleanse your palate (ha!!) after the pani puri. It's just a single shell with the boiled peas but topped off with some combo of chaat masala, sev and some optional other spices. It's basically dry. If you get two plates of pani puri you get two masala puris!
At the chaat shop near my place I asked for Sev Puri once. What I got looked a whole lot like Dahi Puri. (In Hyd, Sev Puri consisted of veggies stacked on top of a flat chip.) I asked the guy what the difference between this and Dahi Puri was. He said "More Dahi"!
Bhel puri is different too. It's tastier (more flavorful), which isn't always a good thing. Actually in general a lot of the chaat items tasted sweeter than what I'm used to. Of course, this is an ongoing experiment and my data currently is confined mostly to local places. Once I explore the other parts of Pune and try the goods there, I'll get a better idea of Pune chaat in general.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Domino dancing
Had lunch at Domino's Pizza today. For some reason I'd been really craving Subway's today (for that matter I'd been craving eating all American food) but the closest Subway to my office was still quite far away. So I settled for Domino's which was within walking distance.
I'd been expecting to pay a ton based on my first lunch in Pune. But the prices were reasonable. I got myself a "one person veggie combo" - a two-topping personal pizza with a Coke (my first Coke since I got to India I think). The toppings were seasoned panneer and onions. I thought it would be too little but it was filling enough. A little too hot for my liking but not too bad.
The best part of the whole experience was when the lady behind the counter asked me for my name. I was thrilled beyond words could describe when I could just say my real name instead of one of the many Americanized names I used to use in the US. Of course, the correct spelling of my name on my bill and the correct pronunciation with which my name was announced when my order was ready were just icing on the cake.
What was kinda unsettling to see was a box which said, "Drop your unused flakes here", referring to the pepper flakes they provide in small packets. I examined the box and either the waiters or the other customers had dropped off unopened packets of pepper flakes in there. What exactly were they doing with these? Reusing them?? I know it's unopened, but it's still gross to think that these unopened packets were in someone else's plate.
Another thing that bugged me was when after I placed my order and gave the person behind the counter a Rs. 100 note (my bill was Rs. 85) she asked me for Rs. 5 in change. And then said, "I don't have a Rs. 20 to give you back. I'll get it for you later." That pissed me off. It's one to expect that in a local restaurant. This is supposed to be a big chain and if they can't keep a good amount of change with them, that is annoying. What was worse was that after my meal I had to go to the counter myself to ask for my change and she still didn't have it! I had half a mind to yell at her.
Domino's pizza, if you're reading this, you gotta shape up.
I'd been expecting to pay a ton based on my first lunch in Pune. But the prices were reasonable. I got myself a "one person veggie combo" - a two-topping personal pizza with a Coke (my first Coke since I got to India I think). The toppings were seasoned panneer and onions. I thought it would be too little but it was filling enough. A little too hot for my liking but not too bad.
The best part of the whole experience was when the lady behind the counter asked me for my name. I was thrilled beyond words could describe when I could just say my real name instead of one of the many Americanized names I used to use in the US. Of course, the correct spelling of my name on my bill and the correct pronunciation with which my name was announced when my order was ready were just icing on the cake.
What was kinda unsettling to see was a box which said, "Drop your unused flakes here", referring to the pepper flakes they provide in small packets. I examined the box and either the waiters or the other customers had dropped off unopened packets of pepper flakes in there. What exactly were they doing with these? Reusing them?? I know it's unopened, but it's still gross to think that these unopened packets were in someone else's plate.
Another thing that bugged me was when after I placed my order and gave the person behind the counter a Rs. 100 note (my bill was Rs. 85) she asked me for Rs. 5 in change. And then said, "I don't have a Rs. 20 to give you back. I'll get it for you later." That pissed me off. It's one to expect that in a local restaurant. This is supposed to be a big chain and if they can't keep a good amount of change with them, that is annoying. What was worse was that after my meal I had to go to the counter myself to ask for my change and she still didn't have it! I had half a mind to yell at her.
Domino's pizza, if you're reading this, you gotta shape up.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
A small pictorial update
 | This is a part of a new route I'm taking to get back home. The sunset is just fantastic. I took this with my cell while driving on Sasha and I bet I got a better shot than the wannabe photographers standing there. |
 | I would have loved to have lived here but my agent wasn't dealing with this place. Still, the only thing cooler than living here would have been to find someone else living in that apartment complex who got the reference. |
 | The burst tire on the bus that delayed by journey back to Pune from Hyderabad by 6 hours! |
 | Just a few straws I think I'll be using exclusively from now on. |
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
An emergency meeting at work: The devils and an angel
There's a two-day training program going on for a few folks at work. It's primarily about tubing and nuts and can be taught in a couple of hours but I guess for the certification, they need to make a big dog and pony show out of the whole thing. No worries, a little bonding time with a few colleagues and made a few friends.
Midway through the day we all got called for an emergency meeting. Everyone from work had gathered and were waiting for someone to talk. After a few minutes the property manager tells everyone about the arrest of Raj Thackeray, the leader of the MNS. His words, "A certain political personality was arrested, I don't want to call him a leader but yeah ..." Hilarious! Anyway, this arrest had led to violence in many parts of Mumbai by his supporters. Nasik was the next most affected and then Pune. About three different parts of Pune had violent incidents, mostly away from my area. Regardless, for the sake of safety, after work no one shall go home unescorted. Preferably take a Marathi-speaking person with you. Those who came by bus would have car transport arranged for them. Again, "I don't care what part of the country you're from, you're going to help each other out today." Felt kinda embarrassing that it needed to be said out loud.
Thing is, the affected areas were away from my route back home. But with all the people talking about this stuff, I started wondering if it was safe for me to go home by myself. Around close of work, DB, this girl who's been really friendly with me since I joined, came to my desk and invited me to her place. This was supposed to be just coffee and maybe dinner but it ended up becoming an overnight stay. DB lives with her husband and 9-year-old daughter and normally I'd be very apprehensive about visiting someone that fast let alone staying overnight, not to mention the fact that I had zero overnight belongings on me. I guess it speaks to how good of a friend DB has become that I didn't think too much of the whole thing.
DB's kid AB was awesome. She's this awesome bundle of energy and after a little while she became my friend. She loves to MC on her karaoke system. She taught me a few games which I loved playing with her. What was fascinating was that the kid grew up in Pune all her life. So she speaks primarily in Hindi, and a little English. So while her mom asks her questions in Telugu she responds in Hindi. It's another of those fascinating bilingual conversations that I got to witness. I'd been wondering if I could still interact well with kids around that age. I used to be good at it when I was much younger, but after last night, I can confidently say I'm still good :)
Midway through the day we all got called for an emergency meeting. Everyone from work had gathered and were waiting for someone to talk. After a few minutes the property manager tells everyone about the arrest of Raj Thackeray, the leader of the MNS. His words, "A certain political personality was arrested, I don't want to call him a leader but yeah ..." Hilarious! Anyway, this arrest had led to violence in many parts of Mumbai by his supporters. Nasik was the next most affected and then Pune. About three different parts of Pune had violent incidents, mostly away from my area. Regardless, for the sake of safety, after work no one shall go home unescorted. Preferably take a Marathi-speaking person with you. Those who came by bus would have car transport arranged for them. Again, "I don't care what part of the country you're from, you're going to help each other out today." Felt kinda embarrassing that it needed to be said out loud.
Thing is, the affected areas were away from my route back home. But with all the people talking about this stuff, I started wondering if it was safe for me to go home by myself. Around close of work, DB, this girl who's been really friendly with me since I joined, came to my desk and invited me to her place. This was supposed to be just coffee and maybe dinner but it ended up becoming an overnight stay. DB lives with her husband and 9-year-old daughter and normally I'd be very apprehensive about visiting someone that fast let alone staying overnight, not to mention the fact that I had zero overnight belongings on me. I guess it speaks to how good of a friend DB has become that I didn't think too much of the whole thing.
DB's kid AB was awesome. She's this awesome bundle of energy and after a little while she became my friend. She loves to MC on her karaoke system. She taught me a few games which I loved playing with her. What was fascinating was that the kid grew up in Pune all her life. So she speaks primarily in Hindi, and a little English. So while her mom asks her questions in Telugu she responds in Hindi. It's another of those fascinating bilingual conversations that I got to witness. I'd been wondering if I could still interact well with kids around that age. I used to be good at it when I was much younger, but after last night, I can confidently say I'm still good :)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Some ads like I like
There's the annoying digital TV ad that I can't stand anymore. But
there are some ads that I love.
there are some ads that I love.
There's one that clearly has to be my favorite. There's a bunch of
families from a set of flats that are getting ready for diwali by
decorating the fronts of their flats, as a group. There is one flat
whose sole occupant is a bachelor and they all stay away from the
flat. The guy comes out and everyone looks at him strangely and it
makes him sad. He gets new clothes from "Big Bazaar" (I think) and
then lights a lamp outside his flat. The others see that and feel bad
and decorate the front of his flat as well and then knock on his door
and wish him a Happy Diwali. You can imagine why I love this ad being
an unloved, unwanted bachelor living among families.
Then there's this one where it's raining outside and there's guy in a
house who hears a knock on his door. He opens it and there's thsi
incredibly cute girl standing there shivering. She explains that it's
raining quite heavily and asks if she can spend the night at his
place. The guy excuses himself for a second and closes the door behind
him. There's a voiceover that comments on the idea brewing in the
guy's mind. He opens the door and tells the girl that unfortunately
there's only one room in the house. The girl looks inside and sees the
sole bed in the room and shyly accepts with a smile. The guy closes
the door again and the voiceover congratulates. What's hilarious about
this ad is the voiceover. It's done in a voice resembling Om Prakash,
the old actor from the 80's who in particular played the character of
"Daddu" (grandfather) to Amitabh Bachchan in Namak Halal. It's an
amazing voice style and it totally cracks me up. Of course the girl is
really cute too, like a much cuter version of Meghna Naidu.
There's an ad for Sprite that I've only heard in Telugu (I'm sure the
original ad was in Hindi.) It shows a couple on a date and the girl is
eating some really expensive stuff. Two street musicians arrive and
start singing about how girlfriends don't eat grass, it's horses who
eat grass, girlfriends eat expensive stuff, and so ask us to donate
money to the poor boyfriend. All this while the girlfriend is busy
emptying the poor guy's pocket! What I love in this ad in Telugu is
that they use the word "guggillu" which I think is Telugu for Oats.
It's just paints a very funny picture in my head.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
There's no faster way to get a big group of people to gather around than to have two people fight in public.
As I was walking home after dinner, I saw a small crowd standing in the distance. But unlike usual crowds, this crowd wasn't gathered around a central point. Instead they all were watching something going on in an alley. That was where the big crowd was. Apparently there was some sort of collision between a pedestrian and someone on a two-wheeler. And as they were "resolving" the issue, a big crowd had gathered around them and a smaller crowd had gathered to watch the big crowd. I would have stayed and asked what the matter was and get more details, except I didn't speak the language.
As I was walking by that area, a motorcycle ran into another one that had slowed down due to the overall rubbernecking going on in that area. (No one was hurt since everyone was driving at really small speeds anyway.) A small part of the smaller crowd turned their heads toward this new collision anticipating another juicy fight. But in a superb display of irony the guy on the second motorcycle smiled at the one that ran into him acknowledging that it was a minor issue. The guy smiled back and they just drove on. The whole thing was something right out of a Saki story.
At one point during my stay in India I want to stage a fight with a friend and use a stopwatch to see how fast I can have 100 people gather.
As I was walking home after dinner, I saw a small crowd standing in the distance. But unlike usual crowds, this crowd wasn't gathered around a central point. Instead they all were watching something going on in an alley. That was where the big crowd was. Apparently there was some sort of collision between a pedestrian and someone on a two-wheeler. And as they were "resolving" the issue, a big crowd had gathered around them and a smaller crowd had gathered to watch the big crowd. I would have stayed and asked what the matter was and get more details, except I didn't speak the language.
As I was walking by that area, a motorcycle ran into another one that had slowed down due to the overall rubbernecking going on in that area. (No one was hurt since everyone was driving at really small speeds anyway.) A small part of the smaller crowd turned their heads toward this new collision anticipating another juicy fight. But in a superb display of irony the guy on the second motorcycle smiled at the one that ran into him acknowledging that it was a minor issue. The guy smiled back and they just drove on. The whole thing was something right out of a Saki story.
At one point during my stay in India I want to stage a fight with a friend and use a stopwatch to see how fast I can have 100 people gather.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The hooker?
After the cricket match today, on the post-game show, one of the commentators said, "If Dhoni wants to continue to be a hooker, then he should do it." I laughed so hard I had milk coming out of my nose (in a manner of speaking)! And then I see this headline for an article on Cricinfo.com
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/374506.html
Oh well. Dhoni is considered to be one of the most eligible bachelors in India. Add to that being a hooker and it's probably not a bad career move.
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/374506.html
Oh well. Dhoni is considered to be one of the most eligible bachelors in India. Add to that being a hooker and it's probably not a bad career move.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Perspective: Not always your friend.
Jenny Finch (careful, links show some pictures in bikinis) is a very attractive softball pitcher. Danica Patrick is a very attractive racecar driver. But what do you get when you put them next to each other? Results aren't great. One looks like a freakish beast and the other looks like a mouse.
There's an ad on TV for Airtel Digital TV - I think this link should work. This ad is on TV all the time, in every single commercial break and is really getting on my nerves. But yeah, it's a decent ad, it does the job. But what always cracks me up is the part when the guy actually reaches home and a very sexy-looking Kareena Kapoor opens the door. He is stunned! His wife (played by Richa Pallod) peeks from behind the door and invites him in. At that point, where you see both the women in the same frame, you're immediately struck by the contrast in their frames. Atleast in this case Richa doesn't look quite so bad, but Kareena looks like a monster next to her! That's really sad because Kareena is actually a very beautiful woman, but I actually do get scared of her each time I look at that scene.
There's an ad on TV for Airtel Digital TV - I think this link should work. This ad is on TV all the time, in every single commercial break and is really getting on my nerves. But yeah, it's a decent ad, it does the job. But what always cracks me up is the part when the guy actually reaches home and a very sexy-looking Kareena Kapoor opens the door. He is stunned! His wife (played by Richa Pallod) peeks from behind the door and invites him in. At that point, where you see both the women in the same frame, you're immediately struck by the contrast in their frames. Atleast in this case Richa doesn't look quite so bad, but Kareena looks like a monster next to her! That's really sad because Kareena is actually a very beautiful woman, but I actually do get scared of her each time I look at that scene.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Million Dollar Arm: Baseball meets India
It's interesting that I read about this on an American sports blog. And for a moment I forgot I was in India and thought to myself, "Man, I wish I was in India right now so I could follow this program." And Boom! Wake up call.
Anyway, turns out there is a program to find the next big arm for baseball. They're going to try out kids aged 16-21 in various cities and the winner gets $100,000 and a chance to win a million dollars if selected to a baseball team. I think. The first season was on TV last year and the next one starts in November 2008.
Last year's winners are currently in CA in training camp. They even have a blog -
http://www.themilliondollararm.com/blog/?page_id=2
(Click on the green button labled "Home" to actually read the blog)
Anyway, turns out there is a program to find the next big arm for baseball. They're going to try out kids aged 16-21 in various cities and the winner gets $100,000 and a chance to win a million dollars if selected to a baseball team. I think. The first season was on TV last year and the next one starts in November 2008.
Last year's winners are currently in CA in training camp. They even have a blog -
http://www.themilliondollararm.com/blog/?page_id=2
(Click on the green button labled "Home" to actually read the blog)
India the Beautiful
There is a hilarious scene in "Munnabhai MBBS" where Munna needs a corpse for dissection in his anatomy class. So he calls his lieutenant Circuit to arrange for a body. Circuit spies this Asian (looked Chinese to me) tourist who is taking pictures of a "dhobhi ghaat". Before knocking him unconscious and taking him to the medical college, Circuit has a quick exchange with the tourist. He basically offers to take the tourist to show him photogenic areas. The tourist dismissively replies that he wants to take pictures of the "real India" instead. Circuit makes a remark about how India has the Taj Mahal but tourists like this insist on taking pictures of poor people and decay. It's a unique take on these tourists who think they're capturing "real India" through one photograph, and not a good one at that!
For the fourth time, an Indian-born author won the Booker prize. Arvind Adiga won for his debut novel "The White Tiger". I haven't read the book yet but I plan to do so as soon as I can. But in reviews I've read of the book, I'm given to understand that the book is about "India's underbelly" and "the dark side of India". Apparently this perspective of a "dark side of India" was big factor in Adiga winning the prize. Another author who won a Booker for her debut (and so far, only) novel is Arundhathi Roy. Her work, "The God of Small Things" uses the prevalant caste system as a backdrop to write a stunning story of actions and consequences and victims.
What bothers me is not so much that these works of literature were written - "The God of Small Things" is still my favorite work of fiction - but that it seems like these works won awards only because they are such dark portrayals of India and the Booker committee prefers this perspective.
Now, and this is where I am severely handicapped, I haven't read enough Indian fiction (let alone fiction from all the Booker-eligible countries) to suggest an alternate. But there have to be positive uplifting books right? Books about success against all odds? Books about achievement, greatness or even humility. Am I being overly naive in this matter? I refuse to believe that good literature has to be dark.
If you're a reader, I ask you to post your comments on this topic. I am curious to know if I am over-reacting.
For the fourth time, an Indian-born author won the Booker prize. Arvind Adiga won for his debut novel "The White Tiger". I haven't read the book yet but I plan to do so as soon as I can. But in reviews I've read of the book, I'm given to understand that the book is about "India's underbelly" and "the dark side of India". Apparently this perspective of a "dark side of India" was big factor in Adiga winning the prize. Another author who won a Booker for her debut (and so far, only) novel is Arundhathi Roy. Her work, "The God of Small Things" uses the prevalant caste system as a backdrop to write a stunning story of actions and consequences and victims.
What bothers me is not so much that these works of literature were written - "The God of Small Things" is still my favorite work of fiction - but that it seems like these works won awards only because they are such dark portrayals of India and the Booker committee prefers this perspective.
Now, and this is where I am severely handicapped, I haven't read enough Indian fiction (let alone fiction from all the Booker-eligible countries) to suggest an alternate. But there have to be positive uplifting books right? Books about success against all odds? Books about achievement, greatness or even humility. Am I being overly naive in this matter? I refuse to believe that good literature has to be dark.
If you're a reader, I ask you to post your comments on this topic. I am curious to know if I am over-reacting.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's the books, they're everywhere! YES!!!
Yesterday a colleague told me about this roadside bookstore in Pune. Now these are very common in Hyderabad. You get pirated copies of all sorts of books here (and before anyone judges, the only reason I patronize these stores, other than my cheapness is that I can get easy access to pulp fiction here). You also get lots of management-type books that management wannabes eat up. And of course, banned books that you probably can't get in legitimate stores. More about that in a short while.
Anyway, I was going to hit up this place during the weekend but I realized that I still don't have any friends in town and so am free tonight, so what the hell, let's do this tonight! I found the place easily. The area is called MG Road (which is like the MLK Blvd of India). A nice decently "posh" area. Lots and lots of couples. Lots of shopping. There was a mall, which was the first American-style mall I've seen, with an actual food court and two tiers of shopping and lots of opportunity for window shopping.
Basically the reason I came here was because my colleague told me about this book "The Polyester Prince" which is about the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani that he got at this store. This book is banned in India. (Apparently enough wealth can buy you immunity from the close inspection.) At the store I made the big mistake of asking for the book by name instead of looking around for it, or atleast referring to it as the "Ambani Book". The guy immediately sensed I needed the book and jacked up the price (compared to what my friend got it at) by quite a bit. He made a big deal about how it was a banned book and that he could sell it at Rs. 500 if he wanted to, and that the original used to sell at Rs. 18,000. I had to admire his moxie. Still it was worth it and I picked it up, along with a couple of other books.
As I continued to walk down the street I ran into a legitimate book store. This was a big store. And it was awesome! They had all sorts of books from various time periods. Not just brand new, "in vogue" books. They had historical books about colonial India. They had engineering textbooks. They even had a discount section. Now, there are quite a few book stores in Pune where I can get books. But these are the "vogue" stores where you get the flavors of the day. And they're good, but they're also expensive. This store however was right up my alley in terms of a store where I could spend some time browsing through their selection.
People, I am not exaggerating when I say I started hyperventilating from the excitement. I'm not as big a reader as I'd like to be, but being in a bookstore is like smoking crack for me. I particularly love to pick up old books and open them and smell them! It's intoxicating. And when I found this awesome bookstore in Pune I just got way too excited. My head started hurting and so did my chest. I had to calm myself down and promise myself I would come back.
Anyway, I was going to hit up this place during the weekend but I realized that I still don't have any friends in town and so am free tonight, so what the hell, let's do this tonight! I found the place easily. The area is called MG Road (which is like the MLK Blvd of India). A nice decently "posh" area. Lots and lots of couples. Lots of shopping. There was a mall, which was the first American-style mall I've seen, with an actual food court and two tiers of shopping and lots of opportunity for window shopping.
Basically the reason I came here was because my colleague told me about this book "The Polyester Prince" which is about the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani that he got at this store. This book is banned in India. (Apparently enough wealth can buy you immunity from the close inspection.) At the store I made the big mistake of asking for the book by name instead of looking around for it, or atleast referring to it as the "Ambani Book". The guy immediately sensed I needed the book and jacked up the price (compared to what my friend got it at) by quite a bit. He made a big deal about how it was a banned book and that he could sell it at Rs. 500 if he wanted to, and that the original used to sell at Rs. 18,000. I had to admire his moxie. Still it was worth it and I picked it up, along with a couple of other books.
As I continued to walk down the street I ran into a legitimate book store. This was a big store. And it was awesome! They had all sorts of books from various time periods. Not just brand new, "in vogue" books. They had historical books about colonial India. They had engineering textbooks. They even had a discount section. Now, there are quite a few book stores in Pune where I can get books. But these are the "vogue" stores where you get the flavors of the day. And they're good, but they're also expensive. This store however was right up my alley in terms of a store where I could spend some time browsing through their selection.
People, I am not exaggerating when I say I started hyperventilating from the excitement. I'm not as big a reader as I'd like to be, but being in a bookstore is like smoking crack for me. I particularly love to pick up old books and open them and smell them! It's intoxicating. And when I found this awesome bookstore in Pune I just got way too excited. My head started hurting and so did my chest. I had to calm myself down and promise myself I would come back.
My biggest fear come true
At the multiplex last night I saw a clothing store called "Nun". I stared at it for a while. I wondered if it was to be read as "Nune" (like Dune) or like "Noon". But the Hindi sign next to it confirmed it, it was Nun, like "None". A fashion store selling modern clothing that is called Nun. What the hell!!!
The only explanation was that it was meant to be ironic. Like a pizza buffet called Ethiopia. So yeah, my biggest fear has just come true - Indians have discovered irony!
The only explanation was that it was meant to be ironic. Like a pizza buffet called Ethiopia. So yeah, my biggest fear has just come true - Indians have discovered irony!
The Smoking Ban
Hurray! The hardcore libertarians can complain all they want but I favor smoking bans.
Starting Oct 2nd this year, there would be no more public smoking in India. There a lot of details about how and when you can smoke, particularly in restaurants but bottom line is that I don't need to be sitting in a coffee shop worried if there's a going to be a fag next to me. A cigarette that is.
Apparently there are 120 million smokers in India. That seems like a very large number. And I thought maybe there were a lot of smokers in the villages but the problem is actually more in my neck of the woods. Turns out the percentages for smokers in the upper class and upper middle class stand around 40. Again, seems very large, but what do I know.
I just have clean air to breathe and that's all I care about. The next step is to just destroy all the autos that pollute excessively. If we catch a few auto drivers (Chennai auto drivers in particular) sitting in those autos ... well, a man can dream.
Starting Oct 2nd this year, there would be no more public smoking in India. There a lot of details about how and when you can smoke, particularly in restaurants but bottom line is that I don't need to be sitting in a coffee shop worried if there's a going to be a fag next to me. A cigarette that is.
Apparently there are 120 million smokers in India. That seems like a very large number. And I thought maybe there were a lot of smokers in the villages but the problem is actually more in my neck of the woods. Turns out the percentages for smokers in the upper class and upper middle class stand around 40. Again, seems very large, but what do I know.
I just have clean air to breathe and that's all I care about. The next step is to just destroy all the autos that pollute excessively. If we catch a few auto drivers (Chennai auto drivers in particular) sitting in those autos ... well, a man can dream.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Subway in India: Main sauce
The original plan was to eat with my dad at Subway. Except, the last two times I was in Hyderabad, something or the other kept coming up and I kept missing it. So it was going to do this in Pune.
I had to pay Rs. 10 to park my scooter in the first place to get into this place! What struck me as I looked at the menu was the all the sandwiches were 6" ones. They do have footlongs but they're hidden somewhere in the menu, I had to search for them.
I ordered a Panner Tikka sandwich. It's made similar to the chicken sandwich, where they have seasoned pieces of Panner in small cups and they microwave them and put them in the sandwich. Another thing I learned is that most people just add all the fixins on their sandwiches. Makes sense, Indian being cheap would ask, "What can I get for no extra charge?" and go ahead and add everything they can.
After added the veggies, the guy asked me, "What sauce sir?" So I asked him if he had any Chipotle sauce. He said he didn't. So I was looking at the sauces and he says, "Would you like to have some main sauce sir?" I looked at him, "Main sauce, what's in the main sauce?"
"It's main sauce sir. It comes with the sandwich."
"Yeah I know, but what's in the main sauce."
Now it was his turn to stare at me.
"Sir, with the Paneer sandwich the regular sauce is the main sauce."
This was rapidly turning into an Abbot and Costello routine. Finally I looked at the sauce and it was green in color. "Do you mean MINT sauce?" I asked him.
"Yes sir."
"OK! I'll have some of that."
"OK sir, any more sauces?"
"What do you have?"
"We have Southwest sauce."
"What?? I just asked you if you had Chipotle sauce."
"Yes sir, this is like Chipotle sauce."
I didn't want to argue anymore about how the name of the sauce is "Southwest Chipotle". So I just asked him to pack it up. Interestingly he packed the two halves of the footlong in seperate packages. Like it was inconceivable to him that any one person would eat the whole footlong.
Hmm, maybe that's a sign.
I had to pay Rs. 10 to park my scooter in the first place to get into this place! What struck me as I looked at the menu was the all the sandwiches were 6" ones. They do have footlongs but they're hidden somewhere in the menu, I had to search for them.
I ordered a Panner Tikka sandwich. It's made similar to the chicken sandwich, where they have seasoned pieces of Panner in small cups and they microwave them and put them in the sandwich. Another thing I learned is that most people just add all the fixins on their sandwiches. Makes sense, Indian being cheap would ask, "What can I get for no extra charge?" and go ahead and add everything they can.
After added the veggies, the guy asked me, "What sauce sir?" So I asked him if he had any Chipotle sauce. He said he didn't. So I was looking at the sauces and he says, "Would you like to have some main sauce sir?" I looked at him, "Main sauce, what's in the main sauce?"
"It's main sauce sir. It comes with the sandwich."
"Yeah I know, but what's in the main sauce."
Now it was his turn to stare at me.
"Sir, with the Paneer sandwich the regular sauce is the main sauce."
This was rapidly turning into an Abbot and Costello routine. Finally I looked at the sauce and it was green in color. "Do you mean MINT sauce?" I asked him.
"Yes sir."
"OK! I'll have some of that."
"OK sir, any more sauces?"
"What do you have?"
"We have Southwest sauce."
"What?? I just asked you if you had Chipotle sauce."
"Yes sir, this is like Chipotle sauce."
I didn't want to argue anymore about how the name of the sauce is "Southwest Chipotle". So I just asked him to pack it up. Interestingly he packed the two halves of the footlong in seperate packages. Like it was inconceivable to him that any one person would eat the whole footlong.
Hmm, maybe that's a sign.
Just avoided getting a ticket
It was partly my fault. Well entirely my fault.
I went to check out an electronics store on my way back from work. I wanted to see if they had an electric stove so I could start cooking. They didn't. The store was on the other side of the highway and while I used a car as a cover while crossing over to the other side, I didn't have that luxury while driving back. So I decided to just drive on the wrong side of the road. This is relatively common and there were a couple of drivers who were doing the same. The plan was to switch to the correct side after I got to the big intersection ahead.
As I reached the intersection, my side of the road (shoulder in particular) had a bunch of lorries parked there. So I kept weaving in and out of them. Suddenly through gaps between the lorries I saw a bunch of motorist talking to cops!! They were getting pulled over for jumping the red light or going the wrong way or something. Basically the police presence has increased because of the Commonwealth Youth Games in the city. So they were cracking down on bad driving. I was saved because of the lorries! So I immediately got off my scooter, turned off the engine and started pushing my scooter as I got out of the lorry maze! The cops didn't bother me. I gave the other drivers my best sympathetic gaze as I crossed the intersection, got on my bike and drove off.
I hope my luck has turned with respect to getting tickets!
I went to check out an electronics store on my way back from work. I wanted to see if they had an electric stove so I could start cooking. They didn't. The store was on the other side of the highway and while I used a car as a cover while crossing over to the other side, I didn't have that luxury while driving back. So I decided to just drive on the wrong side of the road. This is relatively common and there were a couple of drivers who were doing the same. The plan was to switch to the correct side after I got to the big intersection ahead.
As I reached the intersection, my side of the road (shoulder in particular) had a bunch of lorries parked there. So I kept weaving in and out of them. Suddenly through gaps between the lorries I saw a bunch of motorist talking to cops!! They were getting pulled over for jumping the red light or going the wrong way or something. Basically the police presence has increased because of the Commonwealth Youth Games in the city. So they were cracking down on bad driving. I was saved because of the lorries! So I immediately got off my scooter, turned off the engine and started pushing my scooter as I got out of the lorry maze! The cops didn't bother me. I gave the other drivers my best sympathetic gaze as I crossed the intersection, got on my bike and drove off.
I hope my luck has turned with respect to getting tickets!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Screw you Emran Hashimi! I hope you disappear from my world
(This is in response to my brother's comment.)
I hate Emran Hashimi. I loathe him. I think he's symptomatic of everything that's wrong with this world, and Bollywood in particular. Emran, just go away.
Who is Emran Hashimi? He's a nobody. He's a 5-foot nothing of an ugly man who should by all rights be a name I shouldn't have heard till now. How did he become famous? For making out with Mallika Sherawat for a whole 3 hours in a "Murder", a remake of "Unfaithful". Really? We're rewarding people for being the foil for probably the biggest attention whore in Bollywood? It takes talent to make out with a woman who's such a big whore that she's only got her clothes on screen because of censor laws? After "Murder", I rightly assumed that Mallika's career would take off with plenty of silicony cleavage to satisfy everyone. I did not realize that there were people who thought, "Hey, this is the stud who seduced this whore who's pretending to be a housewife into a life of debauchery, maybe he's got a hidden sex appeal we didn't realize."
And bang! He started getting offers left and right. I can't turn on the TV now without looking at his ugly mug. Emran, you bloody midget, please go away. Take Mallika with you.
I hate Emran Hashimi. I loathe him. I think he's symptomatic of everything that's wrong with this world, and Bollywood in particular. Emran, just go away.
Who is Emran Hashimi? He's a nobody. He's a 5-foot nothing of an ugly man who should by all rights be a name I shouldn't have heard till now. How did he become famous? For making out with Mallika Sherawat for a whole 3 hours in a "Murder", a remake of "Unfaithful". Really? We're rewarding people for being the foil for probably the biggest attention whore in Bollywood? It takes talent to make out with a woman who's such a big whore that she's only got her clothes on screen because of censor laws? After "Murder", I rightly assumed that Mallika's career would take off with plenty of silicony cleavage to satisfy everyone. I did not realize that there were people who thought, "Hey, this is the stud who seduced this whore who's pretending to be a housewife into a life of debauchery, maybe he's got a hidden sex appeal we didn't realize."
And bang! He started getting offers left and right. I can't turn on the TV now without looking at his ugly mug. Emran, you bloody midget, please go away. Take Mallika with you.
Aamir Khan can't sing, saala!
Aamir Khan has clearly transformed into the Kamal Hasan of Bollywood, to quote a friend of mine. He was a great actor, the pride of the industry. But now he's become very aware of his unique position and takes himself too seriously.
My problem with him is much more personal - I can't stand his ads. He does one for Tata Sky (my satellite dish provider) where he's dressed on the left side a man and on the right side a woman and he argues back and forth as both characters. Then there's one where's advertising a cellphone that has a karaoke feature (which he pronounces just as it looks, car+a+oke). He's singing to himself in this ad and then shows us that he's reading the lyrics from his cellphone. Except, he can't carry a tune. Chiranjeevi sang in a movie too, and it was a little painful, but that was more of an experiment. This is just inexcusable. In the end of the ad he says, "Stop talking. Start singing." How about you stop singing as well Aamir?
The Saturday Palace on Saturday: Pune's biggest romantic spot
What a difference a day makes! I am watching cricket at my apt, typing up this email on gmail on my laptop, sitting on my fantastic reclining chair and just finished a long call to Preethi. Life is good.
Yesterday as I went out in search of the chair, I saw the beautiful palace fort of Shaniwar Wada. This wasn't wholly unexpected, I knew it was on the way. I just wasn't sure if I wanted to check it out then. Then I remembered that I had nothing to do for the rest of the day and went right in. Shaniwar Wada was a palace built by the during the 1700's, a relatively recent construction, but still older than independent USA!
As with most Indian tourist attractions, the place had a much higher price for foreigners. This is one place where it sucks to be White or Asian I suppose. Someone from the middle east, or any other country from South Asia, or even say Latin America could walk in without much comment. There were a lot of school children on the outside, I imagine this is a big favorite for excursions in the city. The palace itself was acceptably impressive, but doesn't compare to the magnificent Mughal palaces or the ones in Rajasthan or even the Golconda fort in Hyderabad. It was primarily meant for recreation by the looks of the gardens, but it's hard to be sure because most of it was burned down in a great fire.
The best part of the visit was seeing all the young couples in the palace gardens. Clearly this place is a big meeting spot for college kids since there aren't enough parks to hang out. They were there all over the place, everytime I turned a corner to explore a slightly hidden part of the palace, there was a couple there. Talking, sitting next to each other, sometimes sitting so close they were touching and (gasp!) holding hands! One couple was being even more enthusiastic, I was surprised the policewomen nearby didn't stop them.
To be fair there was a decent number of college kids who were there to study. They brought their books and notes and were pouring over them. I guess for either set of people, at Rs. 5 per person, this was a nice cheap alternative to Domino's pizza or Coffee day as a gathering spot.
It made me really appreciate Austin as a nice place for young people. With all its parks and river banks, coffee shops where you can sit for cheap, Mount Bonnell and "the Cliff", there are plenty of places for couples to hang out in private without running into people they know. It also gave me a glimpse of what my life would have been like if I was in Pune in college, with a girlfriend :)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
God! That felt good!
Chandu, you were right. I should gone for the full treatment at the barbershop ages ago!
I finally managed to clean up my apt. I also found a reclining chair for my apt that I'm really excited about. I'm getting pretty close to the dream configuration of my apt. Anyway, after setting up everything, I went to the closest barbershop to my apt. I've never really asked for any extras with my haircut. Even now I didn't. In the middle of the haircut, the guy did a dusting motion through my hair. I thought that was a nice touch. And then he went to town on my hair and scalp!! He did a rapid scratching type motion with the balls of his fingers through my scalp. And then he started massaging my scalp. He was so rough I was worried I'd lose all my hair, but it felt so good I didn't care. I didn't quite get why he did it. Perhaps it's part of the standard package over there. Or maybe most of it was to just dust the clipped hair from my head. Whatever the reason, I just didn't want him to stop as I felt all the stress of the day melt away. I'm really jealous of the Indians who get to enjoy this service gratis, or atleast for really cheap.
I'm going back for more. The next time I'll be getting a "tel malish" - an oil (scalp) massage. Now if I can add a TV playing the game and some scintillating conversation, I'll be in heaven.
God, beer me some strength!
Minor glitches but totally ruined my weekend.
I had it all planned out. A haircut, cleaning my apt, setting up my Internet, applying for a "wireless landline", all centered around watching cricket at home. Well, apparently I don't get cricket on the channel I thought I'd get, I suddenly have a payment I have to make for my cable TV and the phone office is closed! Oh and I am getting a small electric shock when I try to turn on my tap during certain times of the day. Aargh. I lost all motivation to do the rest. So I just came home to watch a few episodes of TV shows - Office, Heroes etc.
On the bright side I do have Internet at home, although it's slower than I'd imagined. (My educated guess is that it's because I'm using Vista instead of XP) No worries, I can check my email and read the news in the morning, so that's good. I did get Skype, so if you are already on Skype, please add me. There's always Google Talk as well.
Ok, time to finish watching "TV" and then head out to shop for an armchair and a more solid bed than the one I have right now. What the hell, we're down four wickets, no point watching anyway.
I had it all planned out. A haircut, cleaning my apt, setting up my Internet, applying for a "wireless landline", all centered around watching cricket at home. Well, apparently I don't get cricket on the channel I thought I'd get, I suddenly have a payment I have to make for my cable TV and the phone office is closed! Oh and I am getting a small electric shock when I try to turn on my tap during certain times of the day. Aargh. I lost all motivation to do the rest. So I just came home to watch a few episodes of TV shows - Office, Heroes etc.
On the bright side I do have Internet at home, although it's slower than I'd imagined. (My educated guess is that it's because I'm using Vista instead of XP) No worries, I can check my email and read the news in the morning, so that's good. I did get Skype, so if you are already on Skype, please add me. There's always Google Talk as well.
Ok, time to finish watching "TV" and then head out to shop for an armchair and a more solid bed than the one I have right now. What the hell, we're down four wickets, no point watching anyway.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Traditional wear day at work
It was announced yesterday that today (Friday) would be Traditional Wear day at work. There was going to be a prize for the best dressed person. I would have loved to have worn my lungi with a transparent shirt with a "baniyan" on the inside. All I had was a silk kurta and pajama. Even that could have been jazzed up with a small string of flowers wrapped around my wrist and a gold necklace and shades, but I couldn't find a gold necklace at the last minute.
I did feel a little ridiculous coming to work in a kurta even if I was in India. 20 years ago or so, when I went to visit my dad at his work, there was plenty of evidence that were we in India - the agarbatti, garlanded picture frames of Gods and even the occasional lungis. But now in this company, being a big international one, it felt very much out of place to come to work in slippers. (I brought a pair of shoes just in case they made a fuss about lab safety.)
As I stepped into the office I was worried I was going to be the only one dressed up but my team lead wore a lungi and more than half the women came all dressed up. The office looks really nice and colorful.
(For some reason, all day long, my mind kept going to "Diversity Day" episode of The Office.)
After lunch, the judging team walked around the office asking everyone where they were from and what their dress was supposed to represent. Apparently (and I think this they were making up as they went) you don't necessarily have to represent your region/tradition, but whichever tradition you claim to be representing, you have to present it properly. I staked my claim to the prize by stating that the silk kurta/pajama represents the clothes worn by the wealthy Andhra villagers. (It is indeed a sort of "pimp" gear!)
Finally there was a giant gathering of everyone in the office at 3:30pm and the judges announced the three finalists and winners - one each from the men and women. The best costume among men was our Engineering team leader, Sriram, for his traditional Tamil dress consisting of a silk veshti and shirt. From women, it a lady from admin who wore a Kerala silk sari. (Lots of silk at work today!) The winners won coupons for Rs. 501 each.
(Apparently I wasn't the only one who wondered if the whole thing was a prank. That was cited as the biggest reason why a lot of people didn't dress up.)
I did feel a little ridiculous coming to work in a kurta even if I was in India. 20 years ago or so, when I went to visit my dad at his work, there was plenty of evidence that were we in India - the agarbatti, garlanded picture frames of Gods and even the occasional lungis. But now in this company, being a big international one, it felt very much out of place to come to work in slippers. (I brought a pair of shoes just in case they made a fuss about lab safety.)
As I stepped into the office I was worried I was going to be the only one dressed up but my team lead wore a lungi and more than half the women came all dressed up. The office looks really nice and colorful.
(For some reason, all day long, my mind kept going to "Diversity Day" episode of The Office.)
After lunch, the judging team walked around the office asking everyone where they were from and what their dress was supposed to represent. Apparently (and I think this they were making up as they went) you don't necessarily have to represent your region/tradition, but whichever tradition you claim to be representing, you have to present it properly. I staked my claim to the prize by stating that the silk kurta/pajama represents the clothes worn by the wealthy Andhra villagers. (It is indeed a sort of "pimp" gear!)
Finally there was a giant gathering of everyone in the office at 3:30pm and the judges announced the three finalists and winners - one each from the men and women. The best costume among men was our Engineering team leader, Sriram, for his traditional Tamil dress consisting of a silk veshti and shirt. From women, it a lady from admin who wore a Kerala silk sari. (Lots of silk at work today!) The winners won coupons for Rs. 501 each.
(Apparently I wasn't the only one who wondered if the whole thing was a prank. That was cited as the biggest reason why a lot of people didn't dress up.)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Vertical vs. horizontal
In the US, we drive in lanes. You "own" the lane space in front of you and behind you in the sense that anyone shifting over to your lane in your vicinity has to (in theory) defer to you. If he is ahead of you, he has to check for your speed and position before he can shift over. If you don't "give way", then he has to wait (I'm going to assume a male driver) till you move back or ahead. In that sense, driving is a "vertical" system here, you dictate the traffic depending on which lane you occupy.
In India however, I am realizing that it's a "horizontal" system. You dictate the traffic based on how much ahead you are. Once you're ahead, you can cut left and right with impunity. Especially if you're on a two-wheeler. Did a gap just open up in front of me? Doesn't matter, because the guy to my left but a few inches ahead of me feels entitled to that spot and will take it. You don't really have a choice. So as a response I now try to position myself a little ahead of the guy driving next to me, particularly in traffic jams. It feels very barbaric to my American sensibilities but worse, I am worried about driving like that when it's time to drive in the US again.
In India however, I am realizing that it's a "horizontal" system. You dictate the traffic based on how much ahead you are. Once you're ahead, you can cut left and right with impunity. Especially if you're on a two-wheeler. Did a gap just open up in front of me? Doesn't matter, because the guy to my left but a few inches ahead of me feels entitled to that spot and will take it. You don't really have a choice. So as a response I now try to position myself a little ahead of the guy driving next to me, particularly in traffic jams. It feels very barbaric to my American sensibilities but worse, I am worried about driving like that when it's time to drive in the US again.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Super Bowl of Cricket
If you go by hype and expectations, the India-Australia series is clearly the Super Bowl of Cricket. The two teams bring out the best in each other and there is a lot of bad blood to go with it. The best comparison is the Red River Rivalry. Texas and A&M is passe, just like India-Pak. Texas-OU is the new big thing, just like India-Aus.
Unless I screwed up really bad in setting up my satellite dish selections, I should be able to watch the two full days of the match on Saturday and Sunday. And if I get really lucky, get a viewing of Texas beating up OU Sat night.
I've found it really ironic that when in 2007 I was finally in India during the World Cup, the World Cup itself was being held in West Indies - so we had to stay up late to watch the matches anyway. Similarly, now that the Ind-Aus matches are happening in my time zone, I will be at work and not able to watch as much action as I'd like. But I do suppose I'll atleast get to watch the score live. My prediction, India wins the series 4-1.
Unless I screwed up really bad in setting up my satellite dish selections, I should be able to watch the two full days of the match on Saturday and Sunday. And if I get really lucky, get a viewing of Texas beating up OU Sat night.
I've found it really ironic that when in 2007 I was finally in India during the World Cup, the World Cup itself was being held in West Indies - so we had to stay up late to watch the matches anyway. Similarly, now that the Ind-Aus matches are happening in my time zone, I will be at work and not able to watch as much action as I'd like. But I do suppose I'll atleast get to watch the score live. My prediction, India wins the series 4-1.
The dust, it's everywhere
So I'm now driving with a helmet on, so my face/head is well-protected from the dust. At first I used to arrive at work tasting a lot of Pune's soil on my lips and finding dust falling from my face if I tried to pass my hand over it. Now it's much better. Now I notice my hands. I can't even step out (meaning drive 1 kilometer) for lunch without finding my hands covered in dust and soot. I have to wash my hands each time I step outside since I am usually munching on something at work. (I'm eating almost nothing for breakfast and dinner, so it's OK.)
It's particularly hard in restaurants, especially the smaller ones. You see, most of them do have washbasins, but not all of them have liquid soaps. Some put out a bar of soap, but when you go to wash your hands, these pieces of soap look so dirty that I wonder if the soap is cleaning me or if I'm actually cleaning the soap. So I have to make do with scrubbing on my own. It's more noticable on my nails. They look really dirty sometimes. So I figured I'd keep my nails really short.
Next it's the apt itself. I was in Hyd for the weekend and when I came back the apt was dusty already. I initially figured I'd get a maid, or atleast sweep on my own every weekend. But even that might not be enough. I am accumulating cleaning supplies slowly. I might need a second broom.
But the overall apt is getting into a decent shape and I'm glad about that.
It's particularly hard in restaurants, especially the smaller ones. You see, most of them do have washbasins, but not all of them have liquid soaps. Some put out a bar of soap, but when you go to wash your hands, these pieces of soap look so dirty that I wonder if the soap is cleaning me or if I'm actually cleaning the soap. So I have to make do with scrubbing on my own. It's more noticable on my nails. They look really dirty sometimes. So I figured I'd keep my nails really short.
Next it's the apt itself. I was in Hyd for the weekend and when I came back the apt was dusty already. I initially figured I'd get a maid, or atleast sweep on my own every weekend. But even that might not be enough. I am accumulating cleaning supplies slowly. I might need a second broom.
But the overall apt is getting into a decent shape and I'm glad about that.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Aamsutra
Ahem. Katrina Kaif promoting Slice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ka64f41AKk
I think Ross said it best in the Pilot of "Friends" - "I honestly don't know if ..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ka64f41AKk
I think Ross said it best in the Pilot of "Friends" - "I honestly don't know if ..."
Random stuff
After five posts yesterday (but written over four days) I'm a little drained. So some random musings -
- I'm making a conscious effort to "correctly mispronounce" certain words and sounds. It's back to "zed" instead of "zee" - Z. It's "Lee Meridian" and not "Le Meridian". It's still "xerox", not "photocopy", even at work.
- I'm getting pretty good at bargaining. It's not really to save money which, honestly, won't be much anyway. It's more like a sport or atleast to avoid getting conned by the shopkeepers. I purchased a set of plastic boxes and saved about Rs. 22 off a total of Rs. 172. A good accomplishment for me.
- Have to make a decision about drinking water. 1-liter bottles are running at around Rs. 12, 2-liter at Rs. 20, 5-liter at Rs. 45 and 20-liter at Rs. 170. With the 20-liter, there is a decent system where you pay a deposit of about Rs. 140 and get the water (20 liters) for Rs. 35 or Rs. 50 if delivered. They'll bring you a full bottle everytime you run out of water and charge you the Rs. 50 till you return the bottle. I think I'll try it out atleast for a little while. My only concern is if I can finish the 20-liters before the water goes bad.
- This is the first time I'll be paying my bills. These will primarily be rent, electricity, community fees (sort of a maintenance fee). Cable TV was a lump sum amount. Cell phone is pay as you go. (Land line hasn't been installed yet.) When I tried to pay the electricity bill with a photocopy of the bill (long story) the guy didn't take the payment. This is one of the many ways in India where the paper trail is too confining.
- Fruits!!! The Seetaphals (Custard apples) are in season and boy am I glad!! I'm planning to do a couple of dinners of eating nothing but those. I'm almost certain to get a stomachache but it'll be worth it.
- As I was coming home from Hyderabad on Monday, I got into an auto after I got off the bus. I had one pretty big suitcase with me since I was taking the rest of my clothes etc from Hyderabad. The auto driver took me home and the meter showed a value of "91". This, depending on the time of the day and the driver himself, translates to something between Rs. 80 and Rs. 91. As I waiting for the decision to be pronounced, the guy hit me me "Give me Rs. 100". "How does that translate to Rs. 100?" I asked him. "Luggage extra, Sir," came the reply. I tried to reason, "How does that make sense, if I had two guys in the auto instead of the suitcase, the weight would have been the same. So why should I pay extra?" "Look sir, I don't care if there are four other guys in the auto, luggage is always extra. If you show me an auto driver who won't charge you extra for luggage, I'll forgo my fare amount." I couldn't argue anymore.
Charging extra for luggage has always been in existence. I just wanted to get a good reason from the driver why that was so. I guess it's the "You need me more than I need you" tax, or the "You're very likely from out of town" tax. - I'm hoping this week I'll be done running around for set up stuff like cable TV, phone, bank, electricity bill etc. Starting this weekend I'll hopefully get to explore the city more thoroughly. When my college classmate returns from his sister's wedding, I'll tag along with him to participate in adventure sports that, as he puts it, have atleast a moderate chance you'll get killed.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Hyderabad is the greatest city in the world
For a long time I tried to change my vote to Austin and it was in fact my default vote since I hadn't lived in Hyderabad (India) for a long time. But now that I'm not in India as a tourist, and am in fact living in Pune, I am seeing Hyderabad as a place where I could see myself living. And it's amazing.
Let me start with the FM radio. The constant Telugu songs - old, recent and brand new. The banter of the RJs who speak decent Telugu for a change. (The early days of cable TV and FM radio were filled with people whose best quality was their upbeat nature rather than a grasp of fluent Telugu. Now we get both skills.) The ads for programs which play sound bytes of actors - or rather some random voice actor imitating the voices of the stars.
Then there's the food. I would love to be able to just walk over (or drive to) to any of the restaurants and try out their food. For the most part they are the same, but Hyderabad, which is now an A1 city, has a rich variety of restaurants.
Then of course there are the movies that I'd love to watch without reading reviews, or about a billion days after they are released. In case I haven't said it before, I'm a proud Telugu, and would rather watch a bad Telugu movie than a good Hindi movie any day. (Of course, I'll make exceptions for exceptional Hindi movies like Lagaan or Munnabhai MBBS.)
Lastly, there's the tourist spots. Birla Mandir, Tank Bund, Charminar, shopping in Koti/Abids and the numerous malls and multiplexes.
If ony I was born 20 years late, and went to college in Hyderabad and then went on work there. Aah ...
Let me start with the FM radio. The constant Telugu songs - old, recent and brand new. The banter of the RJs who speak decent Telugu for a change. (The early days of cable TV and FM radio were filled with people whose best quality was their upbeat nature rather than a grasp of fluent Telugu. Now we get both skills.) The ads for programs which play sound bytes of actors - or rather some random voice actor imitating the voices of the stars.
Then there's the food. I would love to be able to just walk over (or drive to) to any of the restaurants and try out their food. For the most part they are the same, but Hyderabad, which is now an A1 city, has a rich variety of restaurants.
Then of course there are the movies that I'd love to watch without reading reviews, or about a billion days after they are released. In case I haven't said it before, I'm a proud Telugu, and would rather watch a bad Telugu movie than a good Hindi movie any day. (Of course, I'll make exceptions for exceptional Hindi movies like Lagaan or Munnabhai MBBS.)
Lastly, there's the tourist spots. Birla Mandir, Tank Bund, Charminar, shopping in Koti/Abids and the numerous malls and multiplexes.
If ony I was born 20 years late, and went to college in Hyderabad and then went on work there. Aah ...
I'm on the Highway to Hell
Aaargh!!! I dunno what's more frustrating, being four hours late for work because the bus from Hyderabad was four hours late, or coming to work and realizing that they still haven't got anything substantial for you to do.
The journey back from Hyderabad (which I keep typing as Hyderabad - hmm, maybe I should copyright that) was on an APSRTC bus (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation). The price was almost the same and except for the bottle of water (that was present on my way to Hyd and missing on the APSRTC bus) the experience was similar - a Telugu movie, blanket and cold a/c.
The differences were subtle at first. We left the city much later than promised. The bus also made much longer stops for bathroom breaks. During the first of these stops, the a/c in the bus was shut off, leaving the passengers suffocating after 10 minutes (the windows were sealed and there was zero air circulation) - luckily the driver came to his senses and turned the a/c back on at full blast.
And then we had the first tire blow out at 1am. I don't remember much about this since I fell asleep immediately after the blowout. And then at 5am we had another blowout. I tried to go back to sleep after this but couldn't. For a few hours I watched from my window as they tried to fix the tire. I couldn't see what the problem was but I could hear a lot of banging and hammering and about 10 passengers crowded around the driver who was trying to work on the tire. Normally changing a tire shouldn't take that long. Finally at 6:30am I got curious and got down from the bus.
Turned out the tire in blowing up had ripped apart the steel mud guard surrounding it. This meant that the steel segments would eventually tear apart the spare tire as well. So the driver, with help from the cleaner and some other passengers, was trying to tear out the damaged mud guard. This he was doing with crude tools like a hammer and the rod for the jack.
Meanwhile a bunch of passengers took their bags and decided to hitchhike. I assumed we were pretty close to Pune since it was already 7am. I found out that were still 236 kms from Pune, and just six kms out of Solapur. Basically were only halfway through our journey from Hyderabad!! I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to the 9:30am joint meeting at work. I made a few calls and got the word out to my family and work that I was in the middle of nowhere (I'm glad there were cellphone coverage there!)
Turned out the guys weren't hitchhiking all the way to Pune, they were just trying to get the next village to pick up some cigarettes! They came back in time and we finally managed to get going at 7:30 am and after reaching Pune, going home and showering etc, I didn't get to work till 2pm!
As with all mishaps in my life, I looked at the silver lining. Normally I'd eat a very light meal before a bus journey because of the lack of clean toilet facilities on the way. This time on a impulse I made an exception and had a decent meal. This of course helped me from getting too hungry and either eating with an unclean mouth or having to use some really dirty water to brush my teeth. And thankfully I didn't need to use the toilet till I reached home. My guardian angel is still watching over me!
The journey back from Hyderabad (which I keep typing as Hyderabad - hmm, maybe I should copyright that) was on an APSRTC bus (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation). The price was almost the same and except for the bottle of water (that was present on my way to Hyd and missing on the APSRTC bus) the experience was similar - a Telugu movie, blanket and cold a/c.
The differences were subtle at first. We left the city much later than promised. The bus also made much longer stops for bathroom breaks. During the first of these stops, the a/c in the bus was shut off, leaving the passengers suffocating after 10 minutes (the windows were sealed and there was zero air circulation) - luckily the driver came to his senses and turned the a/c back on at full blast.
And then we had the first tire blow out at 1am. I don't remember much about this since I fell asleep immediately after the blowout. And then at 5am we had another blowout. I tried to go back to sleep after this but couldn't. For a few hours I watched from my window as they tried to fix the tire. I couldn't see what the problem was but I could hear a lot of banging and hammering and about 10 passengers crowded around the driver who was trying to work on the tire. Normally changing a tire shouldn't take that long. Finally at 6:30am I got curious and got down from the bus.
Turned out the tire in blowing up had ripped apart the steel mud guard surrounding it. This meant that the steel segments would eventually tear apart the spare tire as well. So the driver, with help from the cleaner and some other passengers, was trying to tear out the damaged mud guard. This he was doing with crude tools like a hammer and the rod for the jack.
Meanwhile a bunch of passengers took their bags and decided to hitchhike. I assumed we were pretty close to Pune since it was already 7am. I found out that were still 236 kms from Pune, and just six kms out of Solapur. Basically were only halfway through our journey from Hyderabad!! I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to the 9:30am joint meeting at work. I made a few calls and got the word out to my family and work that I was in the middle of nowhere (I'm glad there were cellphone coverage there!)
Turned out the guys weren't hitchhiking all the way to Pune, they were just trying to get the next village to pick up some cigarettes! They came back in time and we finally managed to get going at 7:30 am and after reaching Pune, going home and showering etc, I didn't get to work till 2pm!
As with all mishaps in my life, I looked at the silver lining. Normally I'd eat a very light meal before a bus journey because of the lack of clean toilet facilities on the way. This time on a impulse I made an exception and had a decent meal. This of course helped me from getting too hungry and either eating with an unclean mouth or having to use some really dirty water to brush my teeth. And thankfully I didn't need to use the toilet till I reached home. My guardian angel is still watching over me!
Deus ex Mahesh Babu
I took my parents out to watch a movie. It was their first movie in a theatre since Yamadonga, so more than an year ago. We went to watch "Ashta Chemma" (name of a Ludo-like game native to Andhra Pradesh). It was a safe bet to be family-safe, so no awkward moments as I watch it with my family. The movie is about a girl who is obsessed with Mahesh Babu (the actor) and when he gets married, decides to settle for any cute boy as long as his name is Mahesh. It's supposed to be based on "The Importance of Being Earnest". The movie had a very weak script and relied largely on the acting talents of the actors to carry the plot. Honestly I think the director just walked into the producer's office and said, "In this movie, Swati will pout and look cute." "OK, make the movie". The ending was astonishingly contrived (for a movie that seemed to be doing well till then). Let's just say Deus ex Mahesh Babu.
What I found interesting was the movie theatre. The best seats in the place cost us only Rs. 35. So for the three of us to watch the movie, and for me to get my cold drink (Thums Up) and the parking charge for the car cost us less than it cost me the previous weekend to watch a Telugu movie in a multiplex in Pune. I asked my dad why there was so much discrepancy and how the smaller theatre managed to make any profit while selling tickets for a fraction of the price the multiplexes were charting. Apparently it's to do with the overhead costs for the multiplex that the smaller theatres don't have. And the fact that they make up in volume what they don't make up in price. The theatre of course came with its own flavor - the smell of urine, sweat and sticky floors - that was missing from the multiplex.
What I found interesting was the movie theatre. The best seats in the place cost us only Rs. 35. So for the three of us to watch the movie, and for me to get my cold drink (Thums Up) and the parking charge for the car cost us less than it cost me the previous weekend to watch a Telugu movie in a multiplex in Pune. I asked my dad why there was so much discrepancy and how the smaller theatre managed to make any profit while selling tickets for a fraction of the price the multiplexes were charting. Apparently it's to do with the overhead costs for the multiplex that the smaller theatres don't have. And the fact that they make up in volume what they don't make up in price. The theatre of course came with its own flavor - the smell of urine, sweat and sticky floors - that was missing from the multiplex.
A fun day out with my mom
On Friday, seeing as dad was going to be at work, mom wanted me to come shopping with her. Normally I would wince at the thought of going shopping for things like curtains and bedsheets but this was a handicrafts exhibition and I was really curious. It turned out to be a lot of fun. So much fun that our plan to get out of the place in an hour went out of the window and we ended up spending a great deal of time and money at the place.
The exhibition was mainly meant to showcase the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) project, which was incidentally started by N. Chandrababu Naidu (suck on that YSR!). I was given to understand by the stall managers they got the stalls and space for free and so they in turn were selling their merchandise for significant discounts.
The merchandise was significantly diverse. They were selling made from cloth (bedsheets, towels, lungis, kerchiefs, clothes for men and women and children), wood (furniture, toys, puppets), fibre (supension chairs, more toys) and an assortments of other material like animal horns, leather and clay. The DWCRA project was started in a bunch of places but it was successful only in AP. As a result, while there were stalls from all over India - Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan etc. - the stalls from AP were a lot more in number and hence, represented a lot of parts of AP that even I didn't now. It was nice to see a lot of Telugu being spoken and I loved the sales banter that went on in the stores.
In one store, the saleslady started adding food items to our bag without asking and when we tried to stop her we got a dose of one of the most efficient sales pitch I'd ever heard - just a simple, "Oh come on, these are good, just try them." One guy sold his incense sticks by telling us, "If you don't like the smell of the sticks, bring them back and I'll refund your Rs. 20 and pay you Rs. 50 for the auto charges." Another guy sold us honey by insisting that the higher price was worth it since they made honey only 2 month of the year. (This guy has honey from the flowers of Aloe Vera!!)
Poor mom, she walked around even with her hurt knee. And what's more, we brought dad to the same place the next day and made him walk around for about an hour.
The exhibition was mainly meant to showcase the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) project, which was incidentally started by N. Chandrababu Naidu (suck on that YSR!). I was given to understand by the stall managers they got the stalls and space for free and so they in turn were selling their merchandise for significant discounts.
The merchandise was significantly diverse. They were selling made from cloth (bedsheets, towels, lungis, kerchiefs, clothes for men and women and children), wood (furniture, toys, puppets), fibre (supension chairs, more toys) and an assortments of other material like animal horns, leather and clay. The DWCRA project was started in a bunch of places but it was successful only in AP. As a result, while there were stalls from all over India - Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan etc. - the stalls from AP were a lot more in number and hence, represented a lot of parts of AP that even I didn't now. It was nice to see a lot of Telugu being spoken and I loved the sales banter that went on in the stores.
In one store, the saleslady started adding food items to our bag without asking and when we tried to stop her we got a dose of one of the most efficient sales pitch I'd ever heard - just a simple, "Oh come on, these are good, just try them." One guy sold his incense sticks by telling us, "If you don't like the smell of the sticks, bring them back and I'll refund your Rs. 20 and pay you Rs. 50 for the auto charges." Another guy sold us honey by insisting that the higher price was worth it since they made honey only 2 month of the year. (This guy has honey from the flowers of Aloe Vera!!)
Poor mom, she walked around even with her hurt knee. And what's more, we brought dad to the same place the next day and made him walk around for about an hour.
My friend opines on stuff
Thursday was all about me. I spent time with a few of my oldest friends, people I've known since 1993. It was a great reunion. Of the five of us (who formed a group) three are married(JBR, Arun and Chandu), one of those has a kid (Arun), another was getting engaged on Thursday (that was Satish's enagement where the reunion happened) and I, being the youngest, am currently the only single one. Rarely do the five of us get to meet, probably happened just once, but four of us is rare too. We reminisced about common friends, teachers, updated each other on our work etc.
After the engagement I got together with my friend JBR and went to his apt. JBR is an ultra-Right wing conservative. He makes my American conservative friends seem like radicals by comparison. (Only Arun is arguably more conservative) When JBR and I start talking, time just flies. He had to push me out of his apt in the end, and even that was because he is now a married man. Or else God knows we'd still be talking about stuff.
A few things I learned -
After the engagement I got together with my friend JBR and went to his apt. JBR is an ultra-Right wing conservative. He makes my American conservative friends seem like radicals by comparison. (Only Arun is arguably more conservative) When JBR and I start talking, time just flies. He had to push me out of his apt in the end, and even that was because he is now a married man. Or else God knows we'd still be talking about stuff.
A few things I learned -
- Maybe it's just him but his primary complaint to me about Obama was "How in the world are you guys electing a Muslim candidate?" I had to explain to him that Obama was in fact Christian, his Muslim-sounding middle name not withstanding. And then explain to him that the bigger deal in this election was that a Black man was going to get elected President of the US, which is a big deal since the US had segregation as recently as a few decades ago.
- On a related note, there is a good chance the country might have its first lower caste Prime Minister - Mayawati - after this election.
- There is no true Right-Left division in India. The BJP is Right on social issues, but Congress is more Right on Economic issues. However Congress on social issues blows whichever way the wind blows. The Left in India - the communist parties - ironically have a lot of deals with some Right wing parties like TDP. In West Bengal, it's the Trinamool Congress that opposing the deal to give land (purchased from the farmers) to Tata for the Nano plant. The CM, who is from a Communist party supports the land deal.
- Whenever Pakistan supports the "oppressed" Muslims in Kashmir, it's not the people they care for. It's the land. So here's his deal - we will provide safe passage to all the Muslims in Kashmir (who feel oppressed) to Pakistan, in turn, shut the hell up and stop killing Indians in India. Sounds like a fair deal to me.
- (This point my dad brought up independently.) The formation of a separate Telangana state from AP is not a bad thing - as long as Hyderbad is not part of the new state. The Telangana movement is nothing but a political move by politicians who fancy themselves leaders and want to steal the crown jewel of the state for themselves. So let Hyderabad be a centrally-governed province and let's split up the rest. Of course, the Telangana folk will cry bloody murder at this because other than Hyderabad, the rest of Telangana is just barren land.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A different kind of colonization
Whenever I watch Gandhi, or for that matter when I read about pre-Independence India, I was always surprised by the fact that there were a lot of Indian soldiers and policemen who were employed by the British. "How can Indians not just stand by while people of a different nation were subjugating their countrymen, and not just stand by but actually help beat up the Indians, or fire at them etc?" I wondered.
When I landed in Pune three weeks ago, my boss and another co-worker (both White Americans) came to pick me up. It was day of the immersion of Ganesh statues that day and the roads were pretty clogged up. They managed to get to the airport well, but apparently got stuck earlier in the day. Even as they were driving me to my guesthouse, we almost got trapped in a small street, but luckily our destination was behind us and we managed to get to the guesthouse.
As they were giving me direction to get to work the next day, the co-worker said, "It shouldn't be too hard I imagine, we should be done with this Ganesh crap by then."
That stung me. And a part of me wanted to lecture him on respecting the local customs, and at the very least, not to express such sentiments out loud. But I chickened out since my boss was right there and I didn't want to create an issue even before my first day at work. So I let it pass. And I felt like crap for doing that. No matter how much of an inconvenience it is, Ganesh Chathurti is a big festival in India. It was popularized during the Independence struggle and played a big role in creating a feeling of community in the country. Not to mention the religious sanctity of the festival. And I let an outsider pass a negative comment on the festival without reprimanding him because I wanted to keep my job.
Of course, this brought on a big internal discussion about foreign investments and the way we are ignoring the cultural erosion that's a consequence of this. At what cost are we creating jobs and improving the economy? After seeing myself stay silent, it's not hard to imagine Indian soldiers and policemen wearing British uniforms and beating up their countrymen. The bottomline is money and everyone has a selling point.
Happy Birthday Gandhiji
It's Oct 2nd, a national holiday. I took advantage of the fact that it's on a Thursday and took Friday off to get a four-day weekend. I'm writing from Hyderabad. An annual tradition in India is to watch the movie "Gandhi". Today I'm watching it in Telugu.
I took a bus to come here since the train gets booked pretty fast. Even the bus cost me a decent amount since it is sort of peak season. What was worse that the bus was late. Which in itself is not a big deal here but being as I am new, I was panicking pretty fast. At first I thought the travel agency runs a scam. Then I thought it was a mini scamby one of the employees of the agency. Eventually the bus did show up and I managed to get on it. The bus was comfortable too. The seats recline almost all the way back. They gave out blankets and water bottles. I managed to pass out pretty quickly and didn't wake up till we entered the city limits of Hyderabad.
Today's a big day. One of my friends is getting engaged today. I haven't seen him in over five years. And one of my best friends who got married last year invited me to his place. It's a big occasion, meeting the spouse and eating at his place.
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