(not the music group) but chronicles of a shamelessly self-proclaimed writer through reading, reflection and experience. Passionate about India, the nonprofit sector and the tiny role I get to play in this so-called Philanthropic ecosystem. My journey is about 'doing good' and sometimes getting it right! Living in the DC-metropolitan area with dear husband and two sons.
It is a universally accepted phenomenon that being a Gujarati by blood is equivalent to Thepla, Dhokla, Undhiya and Mohanthaal! So the fact that Gujaratis love their food is an understatement. Not a big fan of any of the above, I thought I wasn’t a true Gujarati until my most recent relishes of all.
Before I come to that, it is important to understand the inherent relationship we Gujjus share with Food. It may be a simplest meal but the unique way of preparing and serving is what makes it special. One would know this when visiting a Gujarati family over meal or simply going into a Gujju restaurant. The THALI way with unlimited servings is simply exciting (for a non-foodie like me, so you can imagine how a foodie would take it). And it is extremely typical of Gujjus (in the Gujju parts of India, to be specific) to go for the morning ritual of jog and run and return home to feast to the sweet and savoury Jalebi-Ghatiya! It is this undying connection with food that separates the Gujju clan from several others. And it is this love that has made several corporations venture into special interest services. So there is a Pizza Hut in Ahmedabad that serves Jain Pizza and Kadai Paneer Pizza and a McDonald’s written in Gujarati on one of the expressways in Gujarat. Indian Cola tastes better when there is a mix of Coke with Indian spices to it! Chinese food has a much larger variation among Gujaratis than even the Chinese themselves. There’s is Chinese Dosa, Chinese Samosa, Chinese Bhel, Gobi Manchurian.
So while the Gujjus in India are certainly keeping themselves happy with varied culinary interests, they are equally united here in the US too. Without delving into varied Gujju restaurants in this country, I am thankful for especially one corporation that has made sure people like me remain grounded to their Gujju taste-buds. I did not even think I had those flavours in me when recently, Deep Foods proved me wrong. With Diwali celebrations ongoing, it reminds me of those delicacies cooked around this time of the year, back at home. Of special mention is what Gujjus prefer to call it – Chorafadi! Trust me, I have no clue what it means but who cares about that when what it tastes is simply amazing!
Again, I do not know much about how it is made (maybe Google it) but Deep Foods has ready frozen packets and all one has to do is thaw them, cut lines, (‘dip’) fry them, sprinkle some masala (included in the packet) and Voila! You’ve the Chorafadi to relish with some Desi Chai!
For someone least patient in preparing things from scratch, Deep Foods is the ideal ‘home-like’ option for me with its exotic choices and also, something it keeps reinventing. Some favourites are Guvar (cluster beans), Onion Uttappam (Rava Masala and Mysore Masala Dosas are Ashit’s favourites), Methi Malai Mutter, all kinds of Khakhras (methi in particular). Yet to taste several other delicacies but do thank Deep Foods, especially, Mrs. Bhagwati Amin for converting her hobby into a thriving business, and indirectly activating the Gujju DNA in this random blogger.
My itunes started playing this nostalgic song ‘Wear Sunscreen’ and it is somehow close to me simply because it was released at the time of my graduation! So for more reasons than one, it does bring back memories of moments that went by. The song was adapted from an article by Mary Schmich ‘Advice, like Youth, probably just Wasted on the Young’ (published in June 1997 in Chicago Tribune) which she introduced as her commencement address if she were asked to give one. The article was then used by Baz Luhrmann, remixed to the song ‘Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen’ which acclaimed kudos among several circles including academia and music to name a few.
As they say that there are always TWO SIDES to everything, predictably, this song has a humorous parody ‘Not the Sunscreen Song’ by John Safran, which was also released around the same time as the precursor. Some of the lyrics are nasty indeed but a total laugh especially when you just want to take a ‘Chill Pill’. So before I jump to the funny version, I would recommend you watch the original version as posted in the link below:
Lyrics to the original as follows:
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.
And here is John Safran’s version without the lyrics. So watch, listen and enjoy but do not remember ;-)
India, today, launched Chandrayaan – 1, its first rocket to the moon at 0622 hours (Indian Standard Time) from Sriharikota. A moment of pride? Indeed! Though I barely understand the ABCs of this exercise, it is a feat of technological knowledge for India considering that this entire project was handled using indigenous brain and technology and parts developed in India. Lasting about two years, this unmanned mission is slated to surface the moon for natural resources and also pave way to land a rover on the moon in 2011 and eventually a manned space program by 2020 (Reuters). While a lot of articles covered the race between India and China, somehow the launch in India was quite understated and low-key. Agreed that a lot of people would also negate such events by bringing out priority issues like poverty into the fore, nonetheless, it is not about prestige and rivalry for India but to truly reap the rewards of all that the country has developed over the years. Such events are truly symbolic and hope the project turns out successful. The rocket is supposed to reach the moon in 15 days.
“Space is the frontier for mankind in the future. If we want to go beyond the moon, we have to go there first”
– Spokesperson for the Indian Space Research Organization.
Wikipedia offers useful information on Chandrayaan:
Marriage in the air? It sure is, the wedding season approaching in India and proposals galore!! While matrimonial can be a totally different ball game, and sparing you of reading my views on that right now, here's a cool 'alliance-seeking' video by Australian-based Indian Band 'Boymongoose'. They present a hilarious video to their 2006 album 'Christmas in Asia Minor'. This song 'Single Girls' is sure to roll the parties, especially among the desi community here in pardes:
Ever had a fantasy of being pulled into one of those books you are so hooked onto? I remember wanting to be part of Tintin and Archie and even Superman strips for a while..then came Alice in Wonderland which was bizarrely exciting and in most recent times to turn time around that would take me into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. OMG, that would be simply brilliant [dad, we can have a discussion on this when you are willing to listen :))]!!!
The video below reminded me of these fantasies and purely describes the fun of seeing songs being 'sung' just the way it is happening in the music video. I am sure considering the reputation of Bollywood songs, it'd be hilarious to see something similar in one of its music videos too. Good song, romantic story, happy ending - perfect for Bollywood!
One of the popular songs I grew up listening to, especially in my teens, am sure you'd have a laugh:
Presenting 'literal' version of Take on Me by Aha:
I recently came across an article in DNA on a list of questions that the writer - Dean Williams - has posed to its readers. Mundane? Not quite...these questions educe the very spirit of Mumbai and that of being a typical Mumbaiite: Why is Dadar station always so crowded? Why do Mumbaikars constantly berate the world's most efficient railway system…ours? Why are city policemen obese? Why do human rights groups never organise protests against skin-whitening ads? Why are Mumbaikars so prejudiced? What exactly does 'Indian Culture' entail? If we hate the West's values, why do our kids want to be like Westerners? Why do Indian parents mollycoddle their adult children? Why do grown Indians allow themselves to be mollycoddled by their parents? Why don't Indian kids move out of their parents' homes at 18? Why isn't cannabis legal, but cigarettes, alcohol, paan, and gutkha are? Are all these expensive new schools really going to churn out smarter students, or just richer idiots? Why do we claim not to trust the media, yet buy more newspapers than any other country in the world? Why do journalists consider all readers to be stupid? Why do we wait eagerly for the rains, and then complain about them when they arrive? Why are so many vegetarians cruel to animals? Should we treat people who defecate on our streets any better than stray dogs? Why are all our politicians so ugly? Why do most of out Bollywood actors look like booze-sodden, unwashed pill-heads? Why do we call our house-maids, servants? Why do Mumbaikars naturally assume that any good-looking, successful woman is a slut? Why are there so few good-looking, successful women in Mumbai? Why do we claim that Marathi theatre is the best in the city, yet do so little to promote it? Why do our entertainment stars give so little to charity? Why is Ash married to Abhi? Why do we keep buying cars and then complain about the traffic? Why do activists want slum-dwellers rehabilitated, just not on their street? Why is it that Mumbaikars deride any place beyond Borivali as being a village, without actually having been there? Why do Mumbai men constantly fondle their genitals in public? Why do Mumbai women scream at being touched, yet always seem to walk straight into you? Why do Mumbaikars 'spit'? Is it a 'cultural' thing? Why do Mumbai men claim to hate 'loose' foreign women, yet want to sleep with every one of them? Why do we still feel inferior to the white man? Why do most good rock bands in the city comprise musicians from the North East of the country? Why has a Bollywood film never won an Oscar? Why do the civic authorities demolish roadside shanties knowing fully well that they will be up again the next day? Why do we always moan about taxis and rickshaws, yet are always waiting for one? Why do taxi drivers never actually want to go anywhere? Why do Mumbai men find fondling a woman against her will a 'manly' thing to do? Why do Mumbaikars vent their anger against a traffic fatality by stoning the vehicle? If you have the answers, email them to Mr. Williams at: w_dean@dnaindia.net
And while you do that, I too would attempt the same.
In one-day cricket, fielding restrictions apply in placing fielders such that the game begins with a thrill in the first 15 overs and then slows down, picking up again in the last 15 overs to score runs. The period in between is moreof a lull where crucial is to protect the wickets and for the fielders to preserve the bowlers at the last leg. Sotypically, BBC Sports has provided a sample statistics proving that:
23.9% runs scored in first 15 overs
29.5% of runs scored in the last 10 overs of an innings
Why, pray tell, would I mention this? To be honest, even I am not sure except for the fact that I would like to use this as a metaphor to elucidate that nearing 30 is indeed the time to celebrate the score that you are yet to achieve! So as I turn 30 (a significant metric), I reflect with apprehension (and a mild sense of anticipation too) of whats to come in the years ahead. Of course, it is evident that turning 30 is a milestone in aging but then I am atleast smarter than what I was when I turned 20 (a lot would disagree esp. my brother!)…I do not see this as the end of seeing myself as young. Of course, I do wish I had done more by now, but I am happy the way I have lived my life.
With no big ambitions in life, but to aspire to be what I have been made prepared for.
While I do not feel the need to justify my actions now, there is a sense of responsibility for the same.
I am infact more confident about who I am and what I want to be rather than having to live by someone else’s definition of what I should be or do.
I am capable of taking decisions that may/may not have consequences and do not care a hoot of what people say or think I ought to do.
I still see myself going shopping with my roller-blade shoes.
I have come to realize that family means the world to me.
I have made more mistakes than in my 20s and I feel like I am bouncing back.
I can cook and to the extent capable of not starving anyone. But the same would not hold true when in my 20s!
I have no impulse in wanting to be 18 or 21 or 25 or even 29 for that matter. However, I truly wish (and probably understand the feeling that) I could turn back the clock to undo and edit certain parts of my life.
So aside from having less tolerance to hmm…a lot of things and the ‘need’ to lose excess fat (ahem!!!), it feels the same so far!
Overall, the past three (barring the fact that I do not remember the first) decades have been memorable and truly an affair to remember.
An interesting birthday card that Ashit gave me and somehow felt it sums up this day and more than that, whats to come:
Front:
Inside: "In a Year of Change, Here's Hoping your Birthday is the Best Ever!"
Such news are glimpses of everyday life in India. They go unheard and/or are viewed with indifference. Classic example of unity in diversity, it is indeed a paradigm towards mutual respect for each others' beliefs and practices. Indeed, a way of understanding your own religion and beliefs is to respect and value that of another. A bunch of simple people from a small town in UP prove to be the source of pride, inspiration and benevolence. I only wonder what our Netas have to say about this!
Masood Ahmad recalls the hush that fell when he went onstage to announce an unscheduled break during the raging battle between Lord Rama and Ravana, last dussehra. The huge audience assembled at the Bakshi Ka Talaab ground was not amused. A few even began to boo, till the reason for the interruption was explained. The Ramlila cast — including Rama, Ravana and Lakshman — Ahmad explained, needed to offer namaz and break roza . Not a single protest was heard thereafter. The show resumed only after the actors rolled up their prayer mats post-namaz and shared the iftari snacks — right on stage.
Masood Ahmad took over as manager of the BKT Ramlila Samiti from his father Muzaffar Hussain, who floated the outfit and also the concept of a mixed cast along with a Hindu friend in 1972. The move generated much curiosity and even a whisper campaign initially. But things have gradually settled down. The casting coup of the year, says Ahmad, is the new Lord Rama — gawky 15-year-old Mohammad Sher Khan from BKTHigherSecondary School.
Khan, who’d been playing Bharat and Shatrughan for three years, is exultant about his elevation to lead status. ‘‘I have read Ramcharitmanas several times and particularly liked the ‘kirdar’ of Rama,” he declaims grandly. An unimpressed director, Sadiq Khan, exhorts the youngster, just back from school, to go over the script once more.
The stage props are garish, the make-up is loud and the costumes even louder at the dress rehearsal on B K T Gram Sabha land, 20 km from Lucknow. But they nevertheless serve as a soothing balm for nerves shredded by the Delhi, Gujarat and Malegaon blasts, and for the reverberations in nearby Azamgarh.
“All that blood and gore and the mutilated bodies shown on TV seem like part of a different world,’’ says 75-yearold Maqbool Ahmad, a carpenter from Nishatganj. Ahmad is still to get over the death of nine-year-old Santosh Yadav in the Mehrauli blast. He says, with a shudder, that the child could well have been his own grandson.
