Über Desi | Santosh

Bhootnath: Really scary

By Santosh ⋅ May 15, 2008 ⋅ 3 comments

Looks like you are new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!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. […]

Automobiles:Top 5 of all time

By Santosh ⋅ May 15, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 […]

Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Straits Cafe, Palo Alto

By Santosh ⋅ May 15, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 […]

ABD student found dead in Delhi under mysterious circumstances (Update)

By Santosh ⋅ May 14, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 […]

Uber Malarial Video: Desi kid recites all US capitals

By Santosh ⋅ May 14, 2008 ⋅ 2 comments

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 […]

Talk to the hand

By Santosh ⋅ May 13, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 handimg: via Post Gazette
It is a sensor-equipped glove, known as HandTalk , that can […]

Playing cricket can be hazardous to your health..

By Santosh ⋅ May 13, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

…. if you are a drug dealer. We’ve heard of pick up hoops (basketball). Now we have pick up cricket. A major Sri Lankan drug lord was literally picked up by cops in the middle of a cricket game. [link] (tip Karthik via email)
One of Sri Lanka’s biggest drug lords has been finally arrested in […]

Elderly Delhi Couple accidentally sealed inside home

By Santosh ⋅ May 11, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

New Delhi local government zoning officials sealed an elderly couple inside their home as they were enjoying an afternoon nap. [AP] (tip Jennie via email)
City employees mistook the residence of Madhusudan Wadhwa, 76, and his wife for a commercial business in violation of local zoning laws when they locked their gate Monday, officials said.
The couple […]

Indian-American group sued for Sonia Gandhi ad

By Santosh ⋅ May 9, 2008 ⋅ 4 comments

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. […]

Burmese blogs cover cyclone news

By Santosh ⋅ May 9, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 […]

Artistic Freedom: 1, Religious Fundamentalists: 0

By Santosh ⋅ May 9, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 […]

Indian farmers texting their way to prosperity

By Santosh ⋅ May 9, 2008 ⋅ 2 comments

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 […]

YouTube launches in India

By Santosh ⋅ May 8, 2008 ⋅ 11 comments

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 […]

Announcing new weekly feature: Jhatpat Restaurant Reviews

By Santosh ⋅ May 8, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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 […]

Obama and Hillary split North Carolina and Indiana

By Santosh ⋅ May 7, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

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.
- […]

Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Naan N’ Curry, Berkeley

By Santosh ⋅ May 7, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments

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 […]

The Gothamist discovers Kurkure

By Santosh ⋅ May 6, 2008 ⋅ One comment

Joe DiStefano of the Gothamist, a New York City based blog, reviews a desi snack, Kurkure. [Gothamist reviews Kurkure]
“Crunchy Cheetos”, he calls themimg: 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, […]

H1B rejected? H3 maybe?

By Santosh ⋅ May 5, 2008 ⋅ 2 comments

At their wits end, faced with the fiasco that is the H1B visa quota and the subsequent random lottery, employers and immigration attorneys are trying to come up with creative alternatives. One of these includes the H3 visa, which has a separate quota and will allow the applicant enter the US as a trainee instead […]

Jindal: Not running for VP

By Santosh ⋅ May 3, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Jindal, at a National Press Club conference, has proclaimed point blank that he would turn down the offer for running for VP as McCain’s running mate, if and when it came. He said he would be concentrating on his job as Governor of Louisiana and cleaning up the political system there. [link]

Million Dollar Baba: 19 year old in India wins baseball pitching competition, to train in US

By Santosh ⋅ May 3, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments

Rinku Singh, 19 year old son of an Indian truck driver, in India, has won the ‘Million Dollar Arm Hunt’, a talent event to find the fastest baseball pitcher in India, and a trip to train in the US. [TOI Sports] (tip Runa via email)
Roger Clemens who?Make room for winner Rinku Bhramdeen Singh, left, and […]

Harold and Kumar: A tale of two movies

By Santosh ⋅ May 3, 2008 ⋅ 2 comments

After the Harold and Kumar (henceforth referred to as H&K) poll on our front page, you knew it was just a matter of time before a review of the second installment in the H&K series was posted on here. You see, I’m a big fan of the Whitecastle movie. I distinctly remember watching it in […]

Condoleeza: Y’all eat too much Rice

By Santosh ⋅ May 2, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has sparked controversy by blaming the current worldwide food crisis on the “improved appetites of Indians and Chinese” and “promising to have a look at it”. [1]
Meanwhile, Indian politicians and the Managing Director of Asian Development Bank, Rajat Nag, have blamed the food crisis on the increase in production of […]

Mission Accomplished, not!

By Santosh ⋅ May 1, 2008 ⋅ One comment

Remember the huge PR campaign that “Mission Accomplished” was? 5 years later, depending on your perspective and political leanings, it is either the biggest lie or biggest “no big deal” in the brief history of the 21st century. I prefer a desi word, “KLPD“. Following the aftermath of 9/11, the goodwill it generated for the […]

Mukesh Ambani’s $2 billion home world’s most expensive

By Santosh ⋅ May 1, 2008 ⋅ 10 comments

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person and 5th richest man in the world can soon boast of the world’s most expensive home, according to Forbes. [Forbes] (tip Ahmed via email)
Mukesh Ambani’s loo: Toilet for some, palace for everyone elseimg: via Forbes
Some quick cliffnotes for our time starved readers:
- Name: Antilla
- 27 storey skyscraper in Mumbai
- designed […]

PSA: Phishing scam now targets non-residents in the US

By Santosh ⋅ April 30, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Of interest to our NRI readers in the US:
A bogus IRS letter and Form W-8BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding) asked non-residents to provide personal information such as account numbers, PINs, mother’s maiden name and passport number. The legitimate IRS Form W-8BEN, which is used by financial institutions […]

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