On being Indian

Namaste friends! Oh, it's Sunday evening already? I had a really quiet weekend. My good friend lost her Dad on Friday evening. This is the third friend who lost their Dad this year. All the memories associated with that person stay with us and makes it so painful. At this point, I stop to think, what is life after all? A total of a few years. It is up to us the make the most of it. Amitabh, blogged of being unwell too. I hope he recovers fast! As, I was relaxing after dinner, I decided to listen to some online radio and guess what? It was the hour for Ghazals. What could be more perfect? They played the following Ghazal by Pankaj Udhas which I picked to be the Song of the day. I hope you enjoy it.

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The other day someone asked me, if I am happy being an Indian. It was not hard for me to answer that question. I am extremely happy and content to be an Indian. In fact, I cannot imagine being born in any other nationality. I have my very own strong reasoning. The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. India has produced so many heroes like Mahatma Ghandi, Rabindranath Tagore, Indira Ghandi and lately Anna Hazare. India is a land of  the villages and lush green fields. India boasts of one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal and the the beautiful tall Himalayas. The beautiful temples of South India, is a devotees delight. India, has so many religions and languages, yet we have the same spirit, the spirit of India, running through the country, binding us together. This is because, the adaptation to other religions comes easily to every Indian, as from childhood, we are taught not to demean other religions.  Our national language Hindi, sounds so sweet to the ears. Indians greet each other with Namaste, which is so unique. The different dance forms in India,and use the greeting as one of the "mudras" - hand guesture. 



 

The two palms are placed together in front of the chest and the head bows whilst saying the word Namaste. This greeting is for all - people younger than us, of our own age, those older than us, friends, even strangers. It simply means I bow to you. Indian music includes multiple forms, like folk, pop, classical etc. India is a very high population, yet we survive. India is the house to Bollywood. The movie Industry, with which I have a very deep relationship, an affair. I simply cannot do without this. Personally, I love my rich Indian culture. All the festivals and ceremonies, filled with people, variety of colorful ethnic wear, sumptuous food etc. Simply put, India is God's own country. I LOVE my India and I miss her every minute of every day.

On screen chemistry

Hegidhira ellaru? That's Kannada for "how are you all?". I have good news and bad news today folks. Good new is that, I received the x-ray results of my knee. There is nothing wrong with the knee. The bad news is that, the knee pain is intolerable now. A good friend told me to lift weights with the leg that has the knee problem. I went to the gym and did just that. When I cam home, I could not bend my knee. I blacked out when I tried to climb the stairs. I am sitting with my legs strected out as I type this post. Anyway, the knee saga continues. Sigh! So, Akshay and Twinkle are proud parents for the second time. This time a baby girl. Congrats to them. If rumors are to be believed, Kareena opted out of SLB's movie "Ram Leela" because of a pregnancy clause in the contract. Hmm, Bollywood is stepping up now after the Ash incident. Mark your calendar friends. Bigg Boss 6 is starting on Oct. 6th, 2012. I particularly enjoy the spice in this show. I can't wait.
I am in a mood for classical music today. Song of the day is based on Raag Ahir Bhairav from the movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. I am a big fan of Ismail Darbar's compositions. His songs from the movie Devdas were so good. Unfortunatley, he does not get the recognition that he deserves. In this song, Ash the brilliant dancer, so light on her feet, makes it look so easy. I love to hate this gorgeous woman of substance. Her chemistry with Salman was amazing! 

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Romance is celebrated everyday in Bollywood. On screen chemistry and scintillating love scenes are the foundation of Hindi films. Lead pairs have allured audiences and have inspired lovers since the inception of cinema. A handsome hero and a beautifully charming heroine and their immortal love story will always remain fresh in Bollywood. From the time I started watching Hindi movies, I have had my own list of couples who sizzled on screen. Here is my list:

1. Amithab - Rekha
2. SRK - Kajol
3. Govinda-Karishma
4. Askshay - Katrina
5. Raj Kapoor-Nargis
6. Shahid Kapoor - Kareena
7. Ranvir - Anushka
8. Dharmendra - Hemamalini
9. Dilip Kumar - Vaijayantimala
10. Dev Anand - Waheeda Rehman

There were some tried and failed couples who would have been good together in real life. Here is my list of those

1. Salman - Ashwariya
2. Hrithik - Kareena
3. Ranbir - Deepika
4. Akshay - Priyanka
5. John-Bipasha
6. Abhisheik - Rani
7. Jeetendra-Hemamalini
8. SRK-Priyanka
9. Shatrughna Sinha - Reena Roy
10. Dilip Kumar - Madhubala

Some relationships are meant to be and some are just not. Sab upar wale ki maya hai. Please let me know, if you have your own list. Good night folks!
 

Sharing milestones with kids

Namaskar friends! I had an emotional weekend. Friday, I finally performed the "Gauri" Pooja after 3 days from the actual date. It is so hard to find coconuts in Ashburn anymore. Clearly a result of an influx of Indians into the area. It is a tradition, that some ladies who do this pooja get together, with families and exchange the coconuts that were offered to god. Thanks to one dear friend, she keeps this tradition alive here in the US. So, after my pooja, we went to her house for a dinner get together and exchanged coconuts. Came home at around 1 AM, after which I could not fall asleep for a long time. So annoying. To add to that, I had committed to take an early morning walk with some friends on the trail. So, woke up at 6 AM and met them at 6:30 AM. We had a good time doing the walk. Enjoyed a fresh cup of piping hot coffee at home after the walk. Folks,coffee and I have a special relationship. I dream about my early morning cup of coffee. That is one BIG reason, I wake up every morning.  Dreamum, Wakeuppam Critical Conditionnam. he he. So folks, that is the Song of the day from the upcoming hot Rani Mukerjee  movie "Aiyyaa".

Watched the movie "Heroine" on Saturday evening. Bebo has acted very well. A typical Madhur B. movie. No surprises whatsoever. Slow moving, long movie. A girls flick altogether. We girls loved it. "Barfi" enter Oscars. Good luck India!
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 I had to hurry through my perfect cup of Joe on Saturday morning, as I had to take Sanil (who was now standing with one leg outside the house) to the DMV,  It was his BIG day folks. He was trying for his learners permit. After browsing for the location and direction to the DMV, I decided to go to the Sterling. It had 2 locations. The first one on Ridgetop circle was closed on Saturdays. Lost some time going there. It was 9:30 AM by now. Luckily, I had directions from a friend, who had given it to me, the previous night, for the second location on Sterling Blvd. I had memorised the directions. After driving for what seemed like forever, I realised that I had overshot the place, so decided to stop and ask. A friendly young man, directed me to the correct place. I was in shock to see a long winding line that had already formed which was curving around and into the parking lot of the dinky DMV. Used my presence of mind and asked Sanil to wait in line, while I went to park somewhere far away. When I joined the line, I was losing hopes of even making it inside the DMV. It was 10:45 AM now. I was told, that, if we did not reach the front by 11:30 AM, we might have to just come back another day. Luckily, a Chinese person standing behind us, kept our spirits high the whole time we were on line It is so important to speak and hear positive things in a desperate situation. Sanil, was slowly losing confidence and was asking the "what if" questions.  "What if I fail?", "What if we don't make it to the front of the line in time?". I had to put up a brave face, which I did. It was a nice day. The line was moving fast. We made it to the front at 11:20 AM. We were let inside. The doors closed promptly at Noon. We submitted all the required documents and waited for Sanil's name to be called. He was called at 11:45 AM. Got his picture taken, vision test done and waited to be called to take his written test. He started his test at Noon. Nervous me, was watching my son take his life's first practical test from a distance, praying that he passes the test. I saw another girl who came back crying after 5 minutes of starting the test, saying that she had failed. I felt so sorry for her. I could only imagine her day in school when her friends ask her about it. I wanted to give her a big hug and say, it's alright, you will not even remember this in a few years when you are comfortable driving on busy freeways. You will have a nice story to tell your kids about this moment. I saw her Mom was comforting her. They left, after being told that they could come back in 15 days to retake the test. I saw another girl using her cell phone to answer the questions on the test. I found that so weird. How is that allowed? I knew she was cheating. In the meantime, Sanil had finished his test. He was walking towards me, not looking very happy. My heart sank. He told me, he is not sure if he had passed. The computer showed a message saying "Congratulations you have completed your test". I did not know how to interpret that myself. Waited to be called again for the results, all the time keeping my fingers crossed. The stern looking, big man behind the counter finally called us. I heard "Congratulations Sanil! you have passed". Sanil and I exchanged high fives and breathed a sigh of relief!  The man gave us a temporary learners permit, (which is a piece of paper), promising that the real one will come in the mail in a week or so.  As we were leaving, a Police Officer, had caught the girl who was cheating and was asking her to leave the DMV. Honesty is the best policy folks. We celebrated eating lunch at McDonald's as we had skipped breakfast. I am glad I could be a part of this milestone for Sanil. It's a different story that he now does back seat driving and it is so annoying. Since yesterday we have logged in 2 hours of driving with a parent. 43 more hours to go, before he can take a driving class. I took him to a high school parking lot to practice. It's a new chapter in our lives. I am introducing my son to another new danger. I am sure I will have many more sleepless nights in the future! God bless all us Moms.

Om Ganeshaya Namaha!

Happy Gauri-Ganesh to all my blog friends. The tornado never came afterall. The dark skies did scare me. It was around the time the schools were closing too. I was afraid for the kids. Luckily, the storm passed. So, Saifeena are finally tying the knot. This marriage might work. This is my gut feeling. Bachchan's still hiding their baby from public. Paparazzi is not giving up. Saw some pictures of Ash leaving for Chicago with the baby to join Abhishek where he is shooting for Dhoom 3. Now, I aslo saw some pictures on Facebook. Not sure if this is the real Bachchan grandbaby. See below and you decide. Looks a little bit like Ash.

Looking forward for some productive days ahead. Actually, I was supposed to perform the Gauri pooja today. Unfortunately, did not get around to go shopping for the 5 coconuts that are absolutely required for this pooja. Plan to do so tomorrow. Missing the yummy home made modaks folks. It's during these times that I miss India a lot. Family coming together to celebrate different festivals was a devine experience. Nothing like that happening here in the US. Today's Song of the day is about my favorite deity. Lord Ganesha. Sung by Shankara Mahadevan.

Ekadantaya Vakratundaya Gauri tanahaya yadhi mahi
Gajeshanaya Bhalchandraya shree ganeshaya dhimahi

  The simple bharthanatyam steps in the choreography adds to the divinity of the song.  

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Ganesh is the ever-blissful, elephant-headed god who is lovingly worshipped by millions of people worldwide. I grew up in a house filled with different idols of Lord Ganesha. I think he is the cutest God. "Golu Molu" baby like. That's why he is adorable. My parents believed that Lord Ganesha in the house would bring luck and keep the family blessed. People in India are conscious of this and mostly give Ganesh Idols as gifts. Since my Dad was a teacher, most of his students would gift him the Lord Ganesha idol when they passed the subject. I have seen many forms of this idol. Even then, I come across a new one every year during this time. This year I was fascinated by the picture below.



What creativity! Love the message. Eco friendly Ganesha is the big thing this year. As far as Ganesha temples are concerned, the Mumbai Siddhi Vinayak temple is the most famous one. This one is on my "to go" list.  But for me, the one in Manipal is the most auspicious one. If you remember, I had made a note of this in my post about Manipal. The Ganesh temple is built on the same pond that I once fell and almost died when I was 6 years old.  Alright folks, plan a trip to Manipal soon! You will love it. You don't know what you are missing.Wishing you all a pious Ganesh Chaturthi.  May Lord Ganesh remove all the obstacles in your way and always shower his blessings upon you and your family. Shub Raatri.

Just another theory

Vanakkam folks! I had a pretty good weekend. I was eager to come back home after a long day of work on Friday. We had to go to a friend's house for dinner that day. It was a long drive there, but  well worth it. She is such a good cook. Enjoyed some delicacies, chatted and came back home. Spent most of the day time on Saturday, driving kids around for their activities. Met 2 other families for dinner at Olive Garden in the evening. After an engaging conversation and a full stomach, came back home and watched a movie called "Dharm" on Netflix. This movie was shot in Varanasi, India. I had it all planned to visit this place when I was in India recently. Unforunately, because of foggy conditions, our train was cancelled. Hopefully my dream will get fulfilled sometime soon! Went to the art show in Leesburg, with a friend on Sunday afternoon, just to do something different. I was surprised at the different ideas that were peresented. There is so much to learn! It's 9:11 PM here now. For some reason, I always look at the time when it's 9:11 whether it is AM or PM. Even when I am at work. It's more than a coincidence. This has been happening for more than a year now. There is nothing wrong with that, however it reminds me of the bad times. Alright friends, it's Sunday evening and that means Ghazal time. I am in love with this one. Sung by Mehdi Hassan. He is the pride of the music lovers, the romanticists and the humanist.  His voice and depth of singing and rendition will forever stir the hearts of generations to come. No wonder then, people call him the King of Ghazal. Highest Salutations from me. RIP.

ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhane ke liye aa
akhir se mujhe chor ke jane ke liye aa

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Theories! I never understood them in college and I don't get them now. As if people did not have enough opinions to share, now everyone comes up with their own theories. I recently heard this - "six degrees of separation" theory -- the idea that everyone in the world is separated from everyone else by six links. For example, if I want to meet President Obama, I would request my first contact to connect me to his contact who might know someone, who he might be working for who might know some Congressman, who knows Obama. One of my 6 contacts would definitely get some information for me. Yeah, hard to follow and in my opinion mostly Blah! I have noticed that people, to make their conversation interesting or beleivable throw in some buzz words like "process", "theories", etc. that are unproven. They often start a conversation with, "have you heard of such and such theory?", or "according to a theory". Then I know to tune myself off, as what follows is mostly uninteresting to me. Most magazines talk about theories, agencies start sending officers to classes in the hopes of using them. I’ve attended classes to where everything the presenter said made sense while he was saying it, but on the drive back you realize that you really have no clue how you are supposed to implement it. I’d trade days worth of classes for a couple of hours of someone telling me “try THIS and see if you notice improvement”. So, my favorite people, I will leave you tonight with this quote "Some theories are good for nothing except to be argued about." Lichtenberg, Georg C. on theory Discussion ·

Around doctor's offices in 30 days

Namaskar Doston, Noticed a search button on the blog? I just added this. You will love this feature. You can now search my blog for anything that you want to re-read. I also updated the comments section per a certain "Anonymous" request. You don't need to use the code ever again! I took that part out. Let me know if it works. Anything that makes it easy for me to hear from you. The much awaited Priyanka Chopra's song video released today. Thumbs up from my side. It's growing on me. I can't even tell that it's her voice. It's too synthesised. You can judge for yourself. Listen to it here. As I was driving to work at noon today (read on to find out why I was going so late) I saw an old lady running for exercise. Not a very uncommon sight, I know. What I found amusing was that, this grandma had on full makeup on her face and was so trendy for her age. Kudos to her enthusiasm for life. It really brought a smile to my face. My car was showing the yellow warning light asking me to check the air pressure for quiet sometime now. Had me so worried. I finally took it to the shop yesterday, only to find out that the sensors in the car these days are so sensitive, that even a slight bit of difference in pressure activates them. They filled the air back and told me to come back in a month to replace the tyres of the cars as they are balding. Damn these cars! Very high maintenance. As I was waiting for the car to be fixed, there were at least 5 other customers who came in to get their car serviced. I noticed that they all had one thing in common in their hands. Can anyone guess what that was? Hint: The time was 8:00 AM. Yes, a cup of Starbucks coffee. I really wonder how these people afford to drink one everyday at $4.00 a piece. They were all the "Grande" size. Hmm, I guess "live for today" is their motto in life. So, today's Song of the day is from the movie Ghayal: Sochna kya jo bhi hoga dekha jaayega.

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I tried drinking milk, I took calcium tables, it did not go away. My knee pain was bothering me so much that I finally listened to all my dear friends and made an appointment with my family practitioner a month ago. I was seen by a lady doctor. After asking me about my history, she decided to do a number of tests on me. The typical ones. Check for diabetes, cholesterol, white blood cell count, ECG, eye test, Urine, Stool etc. They took 6 test tubes of blood from my left hand. I almost fainted. ECG came back slightly abnormal. I was a little surprised at the ECG results, but took it in my stride. She gave me a referral to check my heart, and a referral to get the Xrays of my knee.  She also told me get my eyes tested as I was having focus issues. So far so good. 2 weeks go by, I haven't gone to any of the specialists yet. I receive a report from the doctor in the mail. I open it to find out that I am at high risk for diabetes and have to make a follow up appointment with her immediately. The report also said that I have to repeat all my tests as they were not clear. Sigh! Now, all of a sudden I am calling all her referrals and making appointments. I went to her again today for the follow up appointment (that's why I was late to work). I went through the grind all over again. As I was waiting in the lobby of the office, I noticed another grandma. The nurse addressed her as "Sweetie". Now, to me this is an insult more than a friendly gesture. It clearly shows that the nurse was sympathising with her for being old. This American "thing" I do not understand. Anyway, after verifying my insurance for the millionth time, I was called in. Again 6 test tubes of blood. This time I looked directly at the needle going through my vein. I wanted to get over my fear. I survived. I thought to myself, I could have become a doctor. Maybe in another life. he he. Gave my urine and stool sample and left. I visited the Xray office too. A chirpy receptionist asked me all the mundane questions and I was called inside by the technician. As luck would have it, I had a desi technician. Now, she started asking me all the questions over again. I was distracted by her "Oh, so beautiful face and thick hair'. She was a young gorgeous gal, impeccably dressed. In my mind I was thinking, I might have to repeat this test too. This "desi" gal is all about looks and she is going to screw it up for me. I underestimated her. Bless her soul. She did a phenomenal job! I am never going to judge anyone anymore. Definitely not a "desi". (Who's the "bestest" gal in the world. A "desi" gal, a "desi" gal). I will be going for my eye test on Monday. Awaiting the results of these tests folks. Keeping my fingers crossed. Will keep you posted. Till then "Shub Ratri".

Do rules rule?

Hello my dear cyber buddies. What started off to be a bad weekend, turned to be a good one by the time Sat. afternoon came along. Who says we can't get things for free in the US? All it takes is a tornado and some good people. Sanil and I were stuck in the tornado on Sat. afternoon. So, we decided to spend the time in a Subway close by. When I was about to pay for our sandwiches, the lady at the counter realised that her credit card machine was broken and decided to give the sandwiches for free. To add to that, a bubbly and chatty Indian lady who was also stuck with us, kept us company. We had fun talking about my favorite country India. Spent some candid moments with some friends on Saturday evening. Although, big parties, with many people are fun, the impromptu, smaller get togethers work well most of the times. Everyone is heard and we leave feeling good that we connected with a few people, on a one on one level. The key thing lacking in this country. So, Bips came out with her side of the story. She seemed genuine in her explanation. Some relationships are just not meant to be. After 9 long years, the recovery process must be so painful. She has her support system in tact. So, that's good. Luckily god has made it possible for human beings to forget deep wounds with time. And what's with Mary Kom doing a fashion show? The crossover to Bollywood is happening too fast for her. I think she should stick to boxing. What say? The friend I met on Sat. is a good singer and is big fan of Kishore Kumar. He sang this song, from the movie Jhumroo which I was hearing for the first time.  So that, my friends, is today's Song of the day.

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I sometimes wonder, if there were no rules in society would the world be a better place? So, I decided to ask this question to the friends I met on Sat. It led to a wonderful one hour discussion. Yes, certain frustrations do occur because of rules. But for the most part, rules are necessary. My argument was, if indeed there is freedom of speech, then there is no harm in having freedom for everything else, as a person can do what he/she wants to do in life without being judged. After all there is only one life to live. I think these rules in society are making people frustrated and as as result we are seeing terrorism in the world. All these different religions that man has created is causing pain and confusion in otherwise free thinking minds. Animals don't have rules. Yet they are living in harmony. I spoke too fast. My friend then correctly pointed out that, every human being has 2 sides to them. A good side and an evil side. The evil side is going to take over at some point in a human being's lifetime and it is for those times that we have to have rules in place. And who said animals don't have rules? Look at ants. They travel in lines. Bees have their queen bee, for whom the worker bees are collecting honey. Monkeys have territories. My argument was falling flat already. One other friend said there is what is called the macro view and the micro view. I was mixing the two views. That made sense to me. Macro view involves the big world. Micro view is the smaller world. Yes, we need rules. The society we live in today is too full of them and some of the rules we have to live by are plain dumb and interfere with personal choice. For example, if I want to color my house, Pink, from the outside, I should be allowed to. The rules should be such that they allow everyone to live as they see fit without harm or trouble coming to others, I think. There needs to be a balance.

Do weird words make a hit song?

Namaskar friends. Happy teachers day! People who know my Dad (who is going to turn 83 in December) will agree that he was a fine teacher of Chemistry.
                                                                           The house feels a little empty after my SIL left this morning. People come and go at different times in our lives, gotta keep moving forward. And that's exactly what I am trying to do. For those of you who missed seeing the "blue moon", I have pictures for you. I did not find much of a difference from a regular full moon, except that it had a bright circle around it. "Chandni raat hai tu mere saath hai kuch hava sardh hai dil mein bhi dard hai". No, not the song of the day.

My SIL is not a Bollywood fan. However, she had just watched Ishaqzaade and had liked it. So after contemplating for about 2 days, she finally agreed to watch Ek Tha Tiger with me. She later told me, that all through the movie she was hoping, that they won't kill the hero and heroine in the end, for she found the storyline to be similar to Ishaqzaade. As for me, for once, I thoroughly enjoyed a Salman Khan movie. I now have a new found respect for him. This movie, proved, that the man can act, dance and entertain. Kudos to him, for that matter all the Khans of Bollywood. If they can draw crowds to the theater at this age, they truly deserve to rule Bollywood. They are the Industry. And even tough Katrina Kaif, has no acting skills, she has the dancing skills. Her creamy complexion, perfect curvy body, and sex appeal leaves the audience drooling for more every time she sways to the Bollywood tunes. She just ignites the screen, with her presence. I declare her the most beautiful living woman in the world. Yes, the world! I thought the touching scene where Salman and Katrina talk about their parents being stars after their death was over done in Hindi movies. Nevertheless, it brought tears to my eyes. The movie had some slick action, fit very well into the movie. The songs were unnecessary and forgettable. Overall a Sunday evening well spent.

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So, you see them everywhere, and if you don't, your music taste is boring, lol. They make you stop and think. They make you wonder. They make you go WTF! Weird, weird song lyrics. Over its 100 years of history, Bollywood has experimented with fun, comedy and weirdness in a way that may be unique in the entire global film industry, because of the unique popularity of songs and music in Bollywood movies. The results are some extremely unconventional songs, with more than comedy that are almost weird and sometimes border on being plainly outrageous. Here are some weird songs of Bollywood. Their greatness lies as much in their weirdness as in their music and choreography. It also brings to fore the adventurous spirit that tried to break all shackles, and succeeded, when backed by some of the great actors like (Kishore Kumar and Govinda) musicians and singers.

Ena mena dika

Muttu kodi kawari hada

Aao sikhaaun tumhe ande ka funda

Ye nahi pyaare koi maamuli

mein tou raste se jaa raha tha
Bhelpuri kha raha tha
raste se jaa raha tha, bhelpuri Kha raha tha
Ladki ghuma raha tha
tujhe Mirchi lagi tou mein kya karoon

Hum tumpe itna 'dying'

jitna 'sea' mein paani 'lying'
aakaash mein panchhi 'flying'
bhanvra bagiyan mein gaa-ing...

Excuse me

Kya re
Mera dil tere pe fidaa re Excuse me

You are my chicken fry

You are my fish fry
Kabhi na kehna kudiye bye bye bye

You are my samosa

You are my masala dosa
Main na kahungi mundeya bye bye bye

Its a song cum cookbook!!!

Jhumma Chumma de de

Just chill, chill, just chill

Meri pant bhi sexy meri shirt bhi sexy

Pappu can't dance sala

Zara zara touch me touch me touch me

Singh is King, Singh is King

Crazy Kiya Re

Ooh la la, ooh la la

Chikni Chameli

Jalebi Bai

Munni Badnaam hui

 Halkat Jawani. - the latest from the much awaited movie Heroine - This crosses all boundaries. Yet all these songs are HUGE hits, played at every happy occasion. Goes to show that people, love the craziness and want to let loose once in way. So today's Song of the day is once such song from the movie Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. I have been listening to this song for the past 2 days and that's why this post.