Deep-Fried WHAT?!!

Led Zappole, Manhattan
Interesting name of the place itself, will plan a visit here when I drop say, 20 kilos. (think: never)

What do you do when you are given an oreo cookie? You eat it.

What do you do when you are given a snickers bar? You feel a little guilty, and then eat it.

What do you do when you are given a slice of pizza? You ponder, feel guilty, and then eat it.

What does an American do when they are given any of the above? Deep-fry them!

This is it. I have concluded that Americans will eat anything. Anything that is fried and deep-fried and covered in oil-and-grease or sugar! Let me re-phrase. Not only will they eat anything that is fried, they will find a new thing each day that can possibly be fried and then deep-fry it till it doesn’t even resemble the original product.

Whoever thinks of frying Oreo cookies? Snickers? Pizza, for heaven’s sake?! 400 calories a slice ain’t good enough for you? Let’s dunk it in oil and make it a round 1000!

I think my arteries clogged up just by looking at the sign-board above. Now excuse me while I write to the Association of Diabetes Specialists or whatever organization it was that named India is the Diabetes Capital of the World. 

Be Safe - City of Djinns

A regiment rehearses outside Rashtrapati Bhavan for the upcoming Republic Day celebrations in Delhi
Picture taken in January 2008

Untill I enrolled for post-graduation in 2007, I had never been to Delhi. Yes, that's right. Never. I was almost always embarassed when in any conversation the name 'Delhi' popped up and I had to sheepishly admit, 'I do look forward to going there.' Of course, I've yet never been to Kerala or Assam or West Bengal (err..yes) either but having reached over the age of 20 without having visited the capital of my country somehow didn't feel right. At all.

So I guess as with most things, one always gets an opportunity to balance things out and when I did, I grabbed it with 3 hands. Or whatever. I made my first visit to Delhi in late 2007. And then again in early 2008. And again in mid-2008. And again...okay so you get the point. Over the last 4 years, I've been to Delhi innumerable times and I guess partly because so many of my closest friends from college belong from there. And I have to admit, each time I visit, I fall in love with the city again.

People from India will tell you of this strong Mumbai-Delhi divide where each one thinks they're superior to the other. But I can tell you this - I have lived most of my life in Bombay and completely love the city but Delhi has an unparalleled charm that's unique and should not be competed against. Okay, it has its share of perverts who think that they own a license to drink, to rape, to cause road rage, Delhi is blingy and flashy and superficial at a lot of levels; but if you're telling me Mumbai or New York or any other big city for that matter is perfect, you're obviously not in a position to have your opinion counted.

I love delhi winters, I love its street food, I love the historical vibe that the city sends out, its beautiful heritage structures, even its crassness! Oh yes, I love Delhi. And that's how I identify with the city. Not with blasts and earthquakes. I refrain from writing anything about it because obviously, 2 days after the incident, i'm not expecting people to be here to read the latest news update. I'm only paying my respects, my way of tribute to the city that has always been a great host to me, a city that I look forward to visiting again as soon as Im back in India, the City of Djinns. Take care Delhi!

Majestic Problems? No Problem!

The Cure to all Cures

This post actually breaks two of my own blog rules:
1) No post without a photograph
2) No photograph that is not taken by me

But when a picture tells a thousand tales...well, it tells a thousand tales. And this one was too good to pass up.

If you've been in India, or to India (if you know what i mean), you'll know that these kind of posters are pretty common all over. Yet it is no match for the actual number of 'sadhus' and 'tantrik's that exist- a breed that I am afraid will never fall under the endangered category.

What is striking about this particular 'Miyan's marketing is the unabashed use of a language that he obviously doesn't have a clue about. Most of us know about the  idiosyncrasies of the patois that is “Indian English”. But this particular piece of communication doesn't even fall into that. It's a language unto its own.

I don’t want to steal away from the real star of this post and so I let you go back and read the text on that poster one more time. And yes, Miyan Samrat, while you fail English, you definitely top the class in marketing! You got a bunch that will be talking about your services each time they want a good laugh.

Disclaimer: I solemly declare that the views declared on this blog have nothing to do with Anna Hazare or Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan Singh or Kapil Sibal and the opinions and views contained herein are not intended to be, and do not constitute humor to disintegrate the moral fabric of any nation, organization or any individual. Although I live in America, I am not acting as a foreign agent deployed by the Obama administration to deplore the East or its citizens.  

Twitterati for Anna

What's your side huh?
District Tumsar, Nagpur, India

In my last post I spoke of how everyone who is anyone has an opinion to express - be it about Anna Hazare, Tihar Jail, Jan Lokpal or Sonai & Co. The twitter citizenry, or tweeps, if you like is not only never behind, it is usually a few paces ahead in breaking news these days. Its also the most interesting. I came across a few tweets that I felt necessary to share in a post.

Some are witty, others hilarious, some regular and yet others that are downright dumb. Some display angst, some frustration, some motivation and others just poke fun. But all of them drive home a point. What that is – I leave for you to decipher and interpret yourself. Here's a compilation of some of the best tweets (by my personal measure) on the issue over the last 2 days.

@claudeveigas
15 Aug 1947:Whn the world slept, India rose to freedom; 15 Aug 2011:Now that India has risen, the govt.is trying to put it back to sleep

@hkollar
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - Mahatma Gandhi

@prachi_dhanuka
#annahazare the new age gandhi with more hair and less teeth!

@RohanDasgupta
#AnnaHazare is a mad man. Oh, he sure is. But India really needs some of his madness right now. #IndiaAgainstCorruption #iSupportAnnaHazare

@MTVIndia
Anna Hazare arrested. Our faith in demoNcracy is restored.

@IACMumbai
It took 9 months for the govt to arrest Kalmadi, 4 yrs to arrest Raja n Kanimozi but 3 mins to arrest Anna #FakeDemocracy

@jhunjhunwala
Arresting Anna Hazare for a Hunger Strike is like arresting AR Rahman just because you don't like his Songs

@jayvasavada
Government sending message that vandalizing is d only way of protest not fast because they never arrested Thakeray but arrested Anna!!

@sapnabhavnani
Got arrested, singing in the police van, never felt so alive!#annahazare aage bado, hum tumhare saath hai!

@anilthakraney
Soniaji & Co: Don't know how to say this in Italian, so here goes: Vinaash Kale, Viprit Budhhi.

@vikramchandra
They are sending Anna Hazare to Tihar jail?! Is no one in the UPA thinking at all of what they are doing?

@maya206
This is the theater of the absurd. Corrupt and anti-corrupt in cells side by side in Tihar & the most inept, out of control govt I've known

@kiranmanral
This has gone beyond being the theatre of the absurd. This has become sheer ridiculousness. This is what will now cause anarchy.

@chetan_bhagat
Corruption hurt UPA. Arrogance will kill it.

@greyoceanblues
Its not about #Anna anymore. Its about whether we want to be lorded over by a power hungry dynasty who doesnt feel answerable to the people

@RajeshAmarnath
#isupportannahazare when Gandhiji wanted congress to be dismantled after freedom, he must have been right!! We can see the british congress.

And the winning tweets:

@PetaIndia
If you’re with Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption, then also consider being vegetarian like him. #isupportannahazare

@adityamendonca
#AnnaHazare , You've spammed us .Good movement , WRONG COUNTRY

@ranvirshorey
It's almost like #AnnaHazare has just asked this Govt. "Who's your Daddy now..?" #janlokpal

@manish_moments
Dear Rahul Baba .. Ever heard of kalidas chopping th branch on which he sat..

Have you come across any others? Feel free to share them on a comment...

News on twitter? What's wrong with that?

The only form of communication I know
Naddi, Himachal Pradesh, India

There’s news coming in fast and quick about Anna Hazare…Anna Hazare’s fast, Anna Hazare’s jail, Anna Hazare’s bail. Sitting in my Manhattan apartment, I feel deprived of the circus usually put up by Indian news channels following a political tamasha, or any tamasha for that matter.

It is on occasions like these, that I appreciate even more the role of Twitter and Facebook in providing real-time updates on the situation back home. I know, there is enough of a case against calling twitter a reliable source for news, but there are just as many who will make a case for it. I add my count to the latter. Atleast, its news with a sense of humour. On a rare occasion, wit too. Provided you’re following the right mix of people. I ensure that my timeline reflects the regular and the ‘reliable’ but also the im-too-cool-for-my-pants dude who picks up the breaking news, adds his own hilarity to it and jolts out his own version of the original serious intonation. What’s wrong with that? There’s enough serious news to go around the internet if you’d rather look that way.

As I look at my twitter stream today, I see a common mass of young India, shocked (some amused) at the events conducted by its own government, I see chants of a ‘second freedom movement’, I see support and encouragement for a man they don’t know – for a man that they might not necessarily agree with but agree to his right to democracy, the right to speak up and the right to protest. More importantly, I see less cynicism about the outcome of the protest and much less ignorance than would have existed without Twitter. :)

Armchair activism? Maybe but again, what’s wrong with that too?

Happy Birthday India

The Indian tri-color represented by colorful balloons
Ahmedabad, Gujarat

What is to be said of a nation that in its 65th year of Independence witnesses a fresh wave of unrest? A  movement for independence from its own people? A nation in which one man leads the country in a manner reminiscent of the freedom struggle fought 65 years ago? When its youth, to whom 'social' had otherwise come to mean a social profile on a website, now drive out in hordes to support a man they know little about. A man who 65 years on, follows the same principles as his idol to free his nation from the clutches of those who abuse its sanctity? There are more questions in my mind than opinions, more excitement than doubt, more patriotism than cynicism.

It reminds me of the one great speech made on the occasion of India's Independence, that I know still gives most Indians goosebumps.

I quote,

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance."

~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Happy Birthday India!