I had the bitter misfortune to watch the trailer of “The Love Guru” at the movies this weekend. It promises to be just as delightful as I expected. With sight gags and the inclusion of Verne Troyer in the cast- do you honestly believe that this movie will threaten Hinduism? ( See earlier posts 1,2, 3)

The main feature was the immensely watchable “Iron Man”. Without giving away too many spoilers , some points to ponder:

- Why would terrorists in Afghanistan speak Hindi and Hungarian ?

- Why is there a saffron flag in the background when said terrorists shoot a ransom video where they read out their statements of demand in “shudh Hindi” (”pure Hindi”)?

This leads me to suspect a big Hollywood plot against Hinduism- first “The Love Guru” , now this - irrefutable proof that they are intent on perverting everything that is good and holy.

If you ask me , instead of wasting time over the “Love Guru”, we should be protesting the “Iron Man”.That way we stand to get free tickets to a movie that is at least watchable!

A few days back a post showed up on my feedreader that raised some red flags for me. The post talks about this gentleman named Roy, who claims he voluntarily gave up everything to live in an eco-commune in Kerala, and I had a lot of issues with what Roy was preaching. I debated long on whether to voice them on here or not. Our panel of fellow bloggers even discussed this topic and I will share some opinions that came out of it, sort of a “best of”. I’ll probably get skewered for questioning a perceived martyr but nothing is too sacred for me, so here goes. [Original Post] [via DesiPundit]

Here’s a sampling of quotes that raised some red flags for me.

I was working as an IT consultant in corporate America for nearly five years. By most definitions I had ‘made it’ — good education, good job, nice car, pretty girlfriend, ‘success.’ Yet, I voluntarily chose to walk away from it all and search for a totally different way of life. Why? Let me share two reasons, one external and one internal, although both are deeply connected.

I had long since questioned the role of the US government and multinational corporations in dominating the world and recreating it in its own image.

But the wars in Afghanistan and then Iraq — though hardly new or different than what the US had long been doing — brought me to a point where I had to make a decision: was this a system I could support? For supporting it I was, through my tax dollars, job, and my way of life — despite going to protests to the contrary.

The post goes on to say he quit his job, sold his belongings and moved back to India. I sincerely hope he paid off his credit card debt because, if he did not, in some way I’m paying for his dues today with my tax dollars. I also hope, for the sake of his “pretty girlfriend”(who, I assume, was none too happy with this surprising turn of events) that he broke up with her in a proper manner and was able to explain his reasons. Of course, I suspect we’ll never know the nitty-gritty of what really went down.

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Be scared of the latest Bollywood movie, Bhootnath ….. real scared. Be scared because you have to pay real money for the ticket.

Regarding, Bhootnath. I watch desi movies in theaters because I get so few of them. Normally I don’t read reviews or hype, so I can form my own opinions. Ditto for Bhootnath, I went in with zero background on the movie. I decided to use this movie to experiment with some live blogging on my now almost defunct blog. The way this works is - I text (SMS, if you will) Utterz.com and they automatically post it to my wordpress blog.

Here’s a sampling of my text messages/live posts:
45 minutes into the movie:

bhootnath. good intro. annoying children 1st hour

About 1 hour 15 minutes into the movie:

bhootnath. 1st half extremely boring. movie 4 kids. couple of lol moments. kid falling down stairs highlight of 1st half.

After intermission:

bhoot’s son is 1 of us evil nris. wonderful.

End:

end of movie. bhoot has attained salvation and so have I. juhi is (politically incorrect term for hot)

There is really not much more to say about this movie. Bollywood has a special knack of taking cute kids and turning them into these really annoying entities, which for some inexplicable reason Bollywood finds “cute”. Don’t quote me on this but Bhootnath is most likely a kids movie. At least in the first half. And a NRI family drama/religious salvation experience in the second half. It’s a rehash of Casper the friendly ghost with you-know-who replacing Casper.

Regarding music/songs/dance, they are randomly inserted, as always. No culture police here but every single song, while neatly choreographed, blatantly apes the American way of life - American football, baseball, urban clothing - perhaps a reflection of current society. There is a way of integrating the good of both without blindly aping and that escapes most, but I digress.

This is strictly anecdotal from what I witnessed. If you have kids they may find this movie entertaining in the first half. But they will definitely find the second half boring, the few kids in the theater were either sleeping or begging their parents to take them home 15-20 minutes into the second half. If you are an adult you may find the movie boring in the 1st half and may find the second half interesting, if NRI family dramas about the umbilical cord syndrome (NRI kids abandoning parents in India) are your thing.

I often get annoying email forwards that among other things credit India with inventing the number “Zero”. This is just my personal opinion, there are exactly that many redeeming moments in Bhootnath, contrary to what you may read in other reviews. What movie critics define as redeeming moments is simply people trying hard to laugh or be charmed because they paid real money for the movie. A kid’s movie would’ve been cool, there is a serious dearth of those in Indian cinema. A family drama while commonplace would’ve at least been expected. They tried to make a movie for everyone, instead they made one for no one. If your kid wants to absolutely watch this movie, get a pirated DVD (not that I condone piracy but I condone money wastage even less) from your local Indian grocery store and excuse yourself while your kid tortures himself/herself. Again just my personal opinion, but, stay away from Bhootnath, its really scary - the prospect of sitting through this movie.

In reverse order, and yes, there is a shade of desi’ness to this: [link]

5. Ford Model T
“Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black” - Henry Ford referring to the Ford T.

4. VW Bug
Legend has it that the first shape was drawn by Adolf Hitler.

3. VW Golf
This was a surprise, at least to me.

2. Ford F Series
Perhaps the only vehicle in this list that has reached this figure from exclusively North American sales.

And no 1 is …..
1. Toyota Corolla
Affordable, extremely reliable and great gas mileage ensures this car is a perennial desi favorite, perhaps, but not solely, contributing to its rise to the top. 35 million sold to date.

Submitted by anonymous (whom we may refer to as “That Other guy from Wham”)

Name of Restaurant: Straits Cafe
Restaurant Address: Somewhere on ElCamino Real, Palo Alto
Restaurant Phone:

1. What kind of meal did you have?
A. Lunch

2. What kind of food is it?
A. South Asian influenced, Rice, Noodles, pad thai, Sambol and lots of sea food.

3. What did you eat and drink?
A. Garlic noodles

4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
A. Upscale, lots of South Asian posters. Staff is pretty friendly.

5. What can you get to drink?
A. Pretty much anything

6. What other dishes would you recommend? Any other selling point - music/dance?
A. Pad Thai

7. Is vegetarian friendly?
A. Yes, they have a lot of meatless options

8. Cost?
A. About 10-12 bucks a dish

9. Eat there again yourself?
A. Absolutely

10. Would you recommend to friends?
A. Yes

Other comments (if any):
I saw a lady changing her kids diapers in the parking lot, so I guess you could call it a kid friendly place. Might be too adventurous for parents. Good place to take a date there in the evening. They have an outdoor patio, which looked pretty nice.

Submit your own Jhatpat Restaurant Review - 10 simple questions in under 10 minutes now.

Read our previous post: Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Naan N’ Curry, Berkeley

Update:
Correction from original story: the name of the victim is Keanan not Kenan. Keanan, was the son of Little India editor, Anchal Mehra. This is either one of the weirdest suicides ever, or, one of the craziest stories a police investigation cooked up. [TOI Online]
If going by the official police theories, Keanan did indeed commit suicide, he stabbed himself with a knife in his chest, abdomen and neck, and left himself to bleed to death, without the hope of even his body being discovered in any hurry.

Keanan Mehra (21) was found with a knife lodged in his neck and another stab injury between his chest and abdomen. His decaying corpse suggested that he was probably lying dead for at least three days.

Also by official accounts, he had a backup plan in case the original suicide plan failed.

According to police sources, the noose indicates that Keanan had made “alternate arrangements” to kill himself, lest he failed killing himself with a kitchen knife. He apparently jammed the knife in his neck with such force that it broke in two. “We found a noose made out of a bedsheet in a room near which Mehra was found dead. This pushes us into believing that he did perhaps kill himself. Why else would he have fashioned a noose and left it on his bed?” said an investigating officer.

Granted there are some strong clues to support the official theory.

What has deepened their suspicions is the fact that no fingerprints have been found — apart from that of Keanan — on the broken handle of the knife.
But as all windows were shut, and the only entrance to the flat was bolted from inside, the cops think it unlikely that some assailants entered the house and then escaped. The only window, which lay open, did not have any ledge or rainwater pipe close to it, which the killer(s) may have used to escape.

But here’s another twist, there was no suicide note, which while not unheard of, is extremely uncommon.

According to police sources, they are now investigating the motive. “We haven’t found a suicide note, not even a scribbling on his notebook, which can lead us to the motive.
Mehra’s aunt, Chetna Kapoor, has told the police that Keanan did not exhibit any signs of depression.

While I’m no chef, I can certainly tell when the food is bad. While the police have some strong evidence to support their theory of a suicide, which oh so coincidentally, is also the most convenient one …. for the police, something doesn’t quite add up. A suicide without any motive, warning signs or suicide note is very rare. Usually people find at least one, if not all three. On top of that the modus operandi this person used to kill himself is also very rare - people committing suicide take the quickest or the least painless way out. Multiply the chances of those two occurring together and the proverbial daal turns kaala. So like I mentioned earlier, this is one of the most bizzare suicides or the more fascinating tale the investigators have cooked up. If indeed, this was a murder, there is one clever killer on the loose, which is all the more reason, the police should not convince themselves that this was a suicide, and do a thorough investigation treating it as a suspected murder.

Our thoughts are with the father of the victim, Little India editor, Anchal Mehra, and his family.

Original Story:
Kenan Mehra, 21, a Califronia native, who was doing his M.A. at Delhi University was found dead with head injuries and stab wounds on the neck in apartment in north Delhi. [Sify News]

Despite, the injuries and stab wounds, police are also investigating a suicide angle. [Hindustan Times] (tip Runa)

The Hindustan Times article also alludes to the father of the victim being the editor of a popular Indian diaspora magazine, which most of our US readers might be familiar with.

Check out this desi kid who recites the capitals of most US States. Ok not all, he slips up once, on Kentucky, and gets some help from the guy holding the camera, presumably his father. Slightly amusing, when his father repeats a state, Alabama, and the kid innocently, and slightly miffed, corrects him. FYI, the conversation between the kid and his (presumed) father is in Tamil, if you could not tell from the accent. (tip Sai via email)

UPDATE 3: 4 people have been arrested in connection with the blasts .Preliminary reports indicate that the Bangladesh based Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami. is responsible (link)

UPDATE 2: CNN puts the death toll now at 60. There is still no attribution for these terrorist attacks, but officials have since said that an eighth bomb was defused. (link)

Elsewhere Sandil Srinivasan, who was in Jaipur, 20 feet away from of one of the blasts, has been twittering from the scene. (link via Desicritics)

UPDATE 1: Now police put the death toll at 30 (the Times of India is reporting that as many as 50 may have been killed). Authorities have put New Delhi, India’s capital, and Mumbai, the country’s financial center, on high alert along with airports, train stations. One of the bombs went off near a Hanuman temple which was crowded as it was Tuesday - the traditional day for worship of the monkey-god. (link)

Seven explosions rocked the pink city of Jaipur .The explosions which were around 12 minutes apart began at 7:30 pm IST (link)

India is on high alert after a series of near-simultaneous explosions killed at least 20 people and wounded 100 others in the northwestern city of Jaipur Tuesday night, government and local officials told CNN-IBN.

Most of the explosions were in the old city which is usually crowded with tourists. 20 people are feared dead. The explosions were caused by medium intensity bombs.

Rajasthan Director General of Police A S Gill said it was “obviously a terror attack”…Police sources said that cycles may have been used to trigger the blasts that occurred in the space of 12 minutes at the crowded areas (link)

This is the first time that Jaipur has been the target of terrorists . Our prayers are with the families of the victims and the wounded.

More updates as they are available….
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The popular term from the 90s appears to be making a comeback, albeit in a different incarnation, courtesy a team of four students at Carnegie Mellon, two of whom are, you guessed it, desis. [Pittsburgh Post Gazette] (tip Karthik via email)

Talking hand
img: via Post Gazette

It is a sensor-equipped glove, known as HandTalk , that can translate gestures into spoken words on a cell phone. It was developed by students at Carnegie Mellon University as part of a class research project.

Three of the four team members, senior computer engineering students Bhargav Bhat, Hemant Sikaria and Jorge L. Meza , demonstrated the prototype yesterday at Carnegie Mellon’s “Meeting of the Minds” expo of undergraduate research projects.

It’s all in a noble cause, to help the deaf communicate with people who are not familiar with the American Sign Language.

The technology is pretty simple (not really) and cheap - desi ishtyle (really).

Underneath the hood of this system are several relatively inexpensive pieces of technology.

Along each finger and the thumb of the glove are flexor strips, which change their electrical resistance, depending on how much the digits are curled. The positions of the fingers are read by a chip and transmitted wirelessly to a cell phone, which is loaded with a vocabulary that corresponds to the gestures.

The cell phone then types the words as text messages, and an off-the-shelf program translates them into speech.

The prototype currently can only recognize 15 of 26 American Sign Language alphabets and need major upgrades, but the team is optimistic of testing the gloves with hearing-impaired people in a few months. But wait, the desi connection doesn’t end with the team of students.

The HandTalk project is one of several created this year in Dr. Narasimhan’s Embedded System Design course, in which teams of four have to develop a product prototype in 15 weeks.

Among the other projects this term is a lighted jump rope that changes colors the faster someone skips and can deliver digital messages on how many calories are being burned, and a cell phone system that allows students sitting “in the nosebleed section” of a hockey game to tap into any video camera feed within the building and see it on their phone screens.

One project from last year’s class already has resulted in a local spin-off company, Dr. Narasimhan said. The students developed a bar code reader for blind people that gets product and price information from the Web and reads it back to the shopper.

All in a day’s work at this class in Carnegie Mellon.

Today is Mother’s day a holiday that started in 1914 when Anna Jarvis succeeded in her crusade to found a memorial day for women, in memory of her mother Ann Jarvis who had worked hard to improve sanitary conditions during the Civil War. ( Source : Wikipedia).In a sad foretelling of days to come, in a few years Anna Jarvis herself was horrified at the commercialization of the day and became an opponent of its celebration.

Meanwhile,in other parts of the world, The Times of India online edition keeps up its tireless efforts to out-tabloid the tabloids with the prominent display of obscure news items.While Mother’s day is not as a big deal in India as it is here in the USA, one of the lead items on the ” front page ” was this item on a study that showed (link):

According to a global survey that looked at where mothers fare best and where they face the greatest hardships, India is ranked a dismal 66th among 71 “less developed countries” …The State of the World’s Mothers report 2008, brought out by American humanitarian organization, ‘Save the Children’, says that in India, one in 70 women face a lifetime risk of dying during childbirth. In comparison, it is one in 1,300 women in China and one in 74 women in Pakistan.

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Last year, Indian-American members of a group named “Forum for Saving Gandhi’s Heritage”, published a full page $65,000 ad in the New York Times targeting Sonia Gandhi. [NDTV story] [the picture of the ad]

The ad was also followed by protests when Sonia and Rahul Gandhi visited the UN to participate in the International Non-Violence Day. Last month, the Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) served legal notices for defamation and libel on 3 members of the outfit demanding $100 million dollars in damages plus miscellaneous costs. [ExpressIndia.com]

To me, the ad seemed like a huge waste of money. To those who knew Sonia Gandhi, they probably already made up their mind to like her or hate her and the ad was not going to change that. To those who were not familiar with Sonia Gandhi (layman on the streets of America), the ad basically conveyed to them that Sonia was not related to Mohandas Gandhi. Other than that, Americans are used to seeing attack ads in mass media on a regular basis and are probably inured to them by now. So in essence, they spent $65,000 to take out a full page ad saying someone is not related to someone. Think of it this way, an American in India takes out a full page ad in the Times Of India saying George Washington is not related to Denzel Washington (totally random choice of two people with similar last names). Americans in India know that and Indians in India probably know that and even if they don’t, they could care less. The entire effort seems like a massive waste of money and resources, not counting the lawsuit which is breathing down their necks.

Having seen the ad, what are your thoughts on the entire saga?

Nargis in Urdu means “flower”. In Burmese, it probably means something that cannot be repeated in front of your family. Cyclone Nargis has an official death toll of 23,000 but estimates say it could be anywhere as high as 100,000 making it one of the deadliest tropical systems in recorded history. The junta in Myanmar has been extremely inept in handling the situation before and after the storms but efficient when it comes to holding back information. Under such circumstances, Burmese blogs have become major sources of communication with the outside world. [BBC link on Burmese blogs]

Other resources:
How you can help [BBC]
Other international websites/blogs:
American University Student Campaign for Burma [AUBurma]
Cyclone Nargis [nargis-myanmar.org]

The Delhi High court rejected all cases of obscenity registered against MF Husain by Hindu fundamentalists. [BBC] (tip Runa via email)

A court in the India has dropped legal proceedings in three cases against one of the country’s best-known and controversial artists.
MF Husain has been accused of obscenity in at least seven cases filed against him in a number of Indian states. He is alleged to have offended Hindus with a painting in which he represented India as a nude goddess. In dropping criminal proceedings against the painter, the Delhi court said the painting was not obscene. Under Indian laws, obscenity is a criminal offence.

Now if we can get rid of the extremely vague and outdated obscenity law itself, we’re all set. By the way, one of the “obscene” paintings that caused this outcry:
img: via BBC

Just to prove how stupid, pointless and futile this entire exercise was, in the first place.

Or SMSing, as they call it in India. BBC News has this neat story on how Indian farmers are using a text messaging service from Reuters to better their lives, and their crops.

The farmers use text messages to get the daily weather reports to decide optimal plant nutrition, ….

It’s a new service called Reuters Market Light, and he was one of the first to sign up in this area.
The first message every morning is a daily weather forecast for his area.
“By getting the weather reports we can see exactly how much water our banana plants need,” he says, “I keep my cost down, and get the best crop I can.”

to decide on product pricing, ….

In the wholesale market in the city of Pune bananas and melons are piled up as traders haggle. Knowing the right price to ask for makes a huge difference to the farmers selling here. Text messages let farmers know what prices different buyers are offering
It’s always been the buyers who’ve had the upper hand. Now that’s changing.
Scribbling the day’s prices in his notepad is Nadeem Gaikwad, Chief Market reporter for the area for the Reuters financial news service.

and save their crops.

In his banana field Kapil Jachak points to a withered brown banana plant. Last week his trees started dying. A text message alerted him that this is the season when banana stem weevils attack crops.
The text recommended a pesticide. Kapil was able to save his plants.

People complain about the folks in rural and backward areas of India getting left out of the information gold rush. That is a pretty myopic view because you don’t have to sit in front of a computer with keyboard and mouse for “information”. That is so 90s. Pretty much anyone in India, who earns some amount of money, can afford a mobile phone these days, and that is not hyperbole. And guess what the easiest and most convenient way to access information is? An entire set of people numbering greater than the population of the USA are bypassing computers altogether, but still getting information. Hope some entrepreneur minded person is listening.

Funny but true story about the word: SMS, and mild reverse culture shock. When I visited India in 2003, after a gap of 3 years, cell phones were starting to bloom all over the place.
Buddy: Send me a SMS and I’ll come pick you up. We can go grab some drinks ….. blah blah blah ….
Me: Yea sure. Sounds good. We should also invite …..blah blah…. Btw, what is a “SMS”?
Buddy: (amused, slightly annoyed, but patiently explains to me what a “SMS” is)
Me: Oh you mean a text message?

YouTube, has launched an Indianized version of its website, http://www.youtube.co.in/, that among other things features an Indianized homepage with desi videos and Indianized search features. [Hindu] (tip Videsh via email)

Needless to say, there will be an exponential spike in number of “sexy” videos featuring Hindi, Tamil and Telugu heroines uploaded to this website.
Get ready for an over abundance of videos with descriptions like the following one:

…… com actress adult aishwarya amateur arjun artist asia asian babe babes bathing beautiful Bedroom bikini bipasha black blonde bollywood boy bra brazil actress adult aishwarya amateur arjun artist asia asian …..

YouTube India will serve its purpose, the day a citizen in India uploads a video that exposes a corrupt politician, not the anatomy of a movie starlet.

Submit your own Jhatpat Restaurant Review - 10 simple questions in under 10 minutes now.

The What?
Jhatpat = Hindi slang for “instant”.
UberDesi.com is introducing a new feature: Jhatpat Restaurant Reviews. This section will feature restaurant reviews submitted by our bloggers and most importantly, you, our readers. Staying true to the theme of our blog, we will cover only desi restaurants. However, we may choose to include some quirky non-desi places, world famous restaurants or ones by celebrity chefs. No Applebees or Olive Garden.

The Why?
Because, we all love to travel, socialize and above all, eat! Lets say you had dinner at this small local desi restaurant and you loved it. You want to share it with your friends and the world. But you don’t like to write a long winded review and neither do you have the time or patience to do so.

Use our Jhatpat Restaurant Review form and write one by answering 10 simple questions in under 10 minutes. We have even provided sample answers you can copy-paste. Everything is fast and free - 100% desi ishtyle.

How will it benefit me/others?
1. Get to know the restaurants in your area from contributions of other readers.
2. We will feature all desi restaurants irrespective of size, menu and/or location.
3. Get recognition for your contributions.
4. Find out what food and drinks others recommend.
5. Find a cheap but good restaurant for lunch.
6. Discover reasonably priced restaurants to take your date/significant other to.
7. Use as travel guide when you travel to other cities/countries.
8. Know which restaurants to avoid.

And above all, in case we forgot to mention this, it’s all fast and free - 100% desi ishtyle.

Inspired by Rapid Restaurant Reviews on San Francisco Metblogs, tailored to suit our readers.

Submit your own Jhatpat Restaurant Review - 10 simple questions in under 10 minutes now.

Read our preview post: Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Naan N’ Curry, Berkeley

Continuing with the ongoing trend, Barack Obama won with some room to spare in North Carolina and the Ganesh idol brought enough luck for Hillary Clinton to win Indiana by a narrow margin. [CNN]

The bylines to this story:
- Obama leads in delegate count and will most likely win the popular primary vote at this stage.
- Largely, Obama has proved to be popular in the smaller states and the heartland, whereas Hillary, the bigger states and the coasts. Seems like a George Bush-Al Gore redux from 2000. Either one has failed to make inroads in other areas, making it a less than ideal situation when they go up against McCain in the general elections.
- Hillary has enough clout with the superdelegates which may help her win the nomination despite Obama winning the popular vote. If that happens, and Hillary wins the general elections, it will lead to a very unique situation where a candidate did not win the popular vote of his/her party but won the Presidency. I’m unsure if there is a similar precedent in modern US history.
- Obama must be wondering if the recent Wright controversy affected his performance in Indiana.
- People are predicting that this drawn out process will ultimately create a split in the Democrats and drain money from both Hillary and Obama, helping McCain in the general elections. While this could very well happen, looking at the larger picture, it is still fascinating to see this facet of democracy where someone has to fight so hard to win the nomination within their own party.

Submitted by Runa.

Name of Restaurant: Naan n Curry
Restaurant Address: 2366 Telegraph Avenue(between Channing Way & Durant Ave)Berkeley, CA 94704
Restaurant Phone: (510) 841-6226

1. What kind of meal did you have?
A. Ala carte Lunch/Dinner. San Francisco locations open 24 hrs a day
2. What kind of food is it?
A. Pakistani/North Indian fare.
3. What did you eat and drink?
A. Butter chicken, karela sabji (bitter gourd vegetable),Naan. Complimentary chutney bar and complimentary chai
4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
A. Decor: Minimalist and dhaba-like. Service: Self service.
5. What can you get to drink?
A. Soft drinks, sweet tea, beer, lassi, chai
6. What other dishes would you recommend? Any other selling point - music/dance?
A. Palak Paneer
7. Is vegetarian friendly?
A. Not really. However, the karela is a standout. Menu heavily non-vegetarian.
8. Cost?
A. Excellent. Still one of the cheapest desi meals you can find.
9. Eat there again yourself?
A. Yes
10. Would you recommend to friends?
A. Absolutely.

Other comments (if any):
Parking is a pain. Wouldn’t take parents there, kids maybe. Crowd is mostly Berkeley students.

Next week: My Jhatpat Restaurant Review of a lunch thali at Memories of India - part 2, Lake Mary, FL.

Joe DiStefano of the Gothamist, a New York City based blog, reviews a desi snack, Kurkure. [Gothamist reviews Kurkure]

“Crunchy Cheetos”, he calls them
img: via Gothamist

The word “Kurkure” means “crunchy” in Hindi, and not surprisingly the author compares kurkure to something Americans are more familiar with, (yuck) Cheetos. He proceeds to describe the various flavors, namely, Masala Munch, Green Chutney Rajasthani , Red Chilli Chatka (does Chatka really mean “burn” in Marathi?) and Tamatar Hyderabadi. Most desi snacks, of course, are served with Chai. But Joe suggests something else, we here @ Über Desi, also approve of, beer, and hence won’t prosecute him for blasphemy.

Check out the comments where someone answers Joe’s question of what the word “mast” means.

I’ve never tried the Tamatar Hyderabadi and Chutney Rajasthani flavors. Anyone of you try all 4 flavors? Anyone try to make the recipe for the “Mexican Bean Burrito,” created by the Fab Four, a “trendy Punjabi family”, which claims “Even real Mexicans couldn’t have made something this mast!”? Please share your thoughts with us.

I appreciate many things about life in the USA. Amongst these are great sanitation and wedding registries. I am one of those crackpots who cannot use the “facilities” unless they are up to par.(Remember George Costanza’s trip to India on Seinfeld? He simply didn’t go).

Wishing the couple a happy married life and plenty of bowel movements

I can (and do) hold it in on road trips, groaning in agony, till my long- suffering partner finds a rest stop that meets with my exacting standards.This has been much easier in the USA (where the restrooms are usually clean and plentiful ) than in India, where road trips require careful planning so that one is not stuck in the boondocks with nature calling and no hope of a decent loo for miles.

As for wedding registries , what a genius idea ! It takes all the pain of of gift-giving and one is at least assured of giving the happy couple something that they need and will use. It has the simplicity of Marxism with none of the drawbacks: from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs. I deeply regret that registries were not in back in the des before I got married many years ago. Aforementioned partner and self were the unhappy recipients of (amongst other,better gifts) : Twelve (12) Eagle thermos flasks, one aluminum statue of a semi-naked woman holding a torch (!), plastic coasters, three plastic casseroles, unusable antimacassars etc.

So this story out of India and my hometown Pune struck a chord with me:

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