So all you Buddhists who proudly threw Richard Gere in our Hindu faces. Move over!
We can now claim Julia Roberts – mega Hollywood Superstar and arguably one of the most powerful ( and rich!) women in Hollywood as one of our own
Per recent reports, including this one
In her September Elle magazine cover story, Roberts anounces that since her film-making sojourn in India, she and her family now worship as Hindus and go together to a temple to “chant and pray and celebrate. I’m definitely a practicing Hindu.
I …

In today’s news to be filed under *facepalm*:
Tara Fitzgerald, a woman in Sacramento, California had a harrowing experience with a Dell service representative in India. She called up to get help with ( and I am not making this up):
Nude photos of herself that she could not find on her computer. She had taken the pictures for her boyfriend. The Dell service rep from amchi Mumbai , Riyaz Shaikh evidently downloaded the photos that soon made their way to the internets and a site called “bitchtara”. Shaikh then …

SPOLIER ALERT: This review contains spoilers for “Raavan”. In case you plan to see it, don’t read it. I am going to do you a huge favor and tell you : Don’t see it !

I am and have been a die hard Mani Ratnam fan. From the day I saw “Mouna Raagam”, through “Agni Natchathiram”, ” Bombay” ,”Roja”,”Naayagan”, Iruvar” , “Guru”. I loved the recurring elements : the feisty heroines, naughty grandmas, the mature understanding of the man – woman relationship in all its forms, gorgeous vistas in the …

I started out writing a long rant about our resident , omnipresent,self appointed guardian of all things Hindu.
Instead it was just easier to present this visual.

A while ago , a fellow blogger on UD wrote this post on Nikki Haley – up and coming Republican representative of Indian origin,
However, we would like to withdraw any desi claim ( Uber or otherwise) to Ms.Haley.
Will Folks, the editor of what many consider the state’s most influential political news Web site, wrote Monday that he had an “an inappropriate physical relationship” with Haley, who is married with two children, several years ago( link)
Before anyone gets their chuddies into a twist over this.
“I have been 100 percent faithful to …

This post may well have been subtitled “Uberdesi hits new low in attempt to boost readership!”
So per that bastion of journalistic integrity,  “The NY Post” , Lindsay Lohan has a new “cougar” girlfriend. None other than Julia I. Pal-Chaudhari aka Indrani, one half of the “famous” lens duo of Markus Klinko and Indrani , who have shot album covers for the likes of David Bowie (link). With a name like that , we can only assume that Indrani Pal – Chaudhari has some desi connection but we can’t be bothered …

This post is a kind of 3 in one : a review of a book, a movie and random musings from me.
I just finished reading Orhan Pahmuk’s “The Museum of Innocence”.Pahmuk, the 2006 Nobel Prize winner has written a magnificent, wordy, illuminating and infuriating novel. The  book tells the tale of Kemal a rich young businessman from Istanbul and of his obsessive and destructive love for the beautiful (but poor and hence off-limits)  young Fusun. His obsession leads him to a passionate affair with her while he is still engaged …

I must admit – I have been sneering at the Winter Olympics a bit , because it seems to be a white-wash – if you get my (snow?) drift. Skiing , curling ,luges etc  do not seem to encourage diversity.
The US Figure skating team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White , defending US champs, placed second at the time of writing with this rollicking Bollywood routine and made me happy .I absolutely loved the costumes.
SeeBollywood routine via NBC.com

I watched “My name is Khan” last night. Without spoilers, here are my impressions.
This is a Karan Johar movie and yet it seems to be Karan Johar all grown up. No group dances, Manish Malhotra costumes and very little glamor. I’ll say this : though the movie is too long, it still manages to be watchable and interesting through out. The movie’s protagonist is superbly played by Sharukh Khan . He plays a man with an autistic  disorder, on a mission to convince the President of USA that his name …

There has been a suspected terrorist bomb blast in Pune ,Maharashtra. The Authorities have announced that they suspect that the Lashkar -e-Taiba in cahoots with the Indian Mujaheedin is behind the blast. The blast killed eight and injured several others.It happened at the German Bakery , a popular hangout at Koregaon Park , near the Osho Ashram. The Bakery is especially popular amongst foreigners and there is speculation that that is why it was selected as the venue. Mumbai has been placed at high alert. ( Link1, Link2)

As per this report  in rediff.com, a recent memo dated January 8 from Donald Neufled ,Assistant Director Operations of USCIS specifies that the petitioner for the Visa should be present at the place of work. What one attorney terms as “overzealous interpretation” of the rule by immigration officials at Newark airport resulted in several Indian H1-B holders being deported.
Fifty to 80 percent of Indian H-1B visa holders come for a consulting company. Their companies will send them to client sites. The new rule stipulates that the petitioner of the visa should …

Don’t know if any of you even noticed – but I have been away – visiting the matrubhoomi for the last 3 -odd weeks. Some observations and impressions:
- Week 1 was spent visiting assorted relatives. I noticed that the decor in their houses can be divided into 2 categories Style A: Punjabi Barouque ( aka “The Tasselated ” because every freaking surface -sofa , antimacassar, lamp shades has tassels ) or Style B: Hindu Minimalist ( aka “The Venerated” because every available wall is covered with prints of various gods …

I watched HBO’s documentary “Terror in Mumbai” last week. ( link). the documentary is produced by Dan Reed ( who produced “Terror in Moscow” and directed “Closure”) and narrated by CNN anchor Mumbai – born Fareed Zakaria . Watching the documentary was not a very healthful experience for me – all the old feelings of anger came rushing back.
(image from :rediff.com)
The first shock was that the documentary features for the first time ever actual audio of conversations that happened between the handlers and the terrorists. That’s right – the …

So this lady goes to a dollar store and buys what she thinks is gift wrapping paper. Comes home and horrors! sees that the red and gold paper is covered with “swastikas”.The local press gets involved and the result is this.

(Image: from wesh.com)
Its pretty obvious that this was some cheap wrapping paper made in India or China and targeted to the Diwali gift market. Post -Diwali, the paper finds its way to the dollar store and creates a sensation. Not helping the situation is the Rabbi quoted in the article:
But …

Two articles I read this morning stayed with me the entire day.
The first was this uplifting ( sarcasm) headline “India at bottom in man-woman equality index: World Economic Forum” in the Times of India. India ranked a shameful 114 out of 134 developing countries , indexed in terms of man-woman equality. The gender gap is increasing – not the least because of an estimated 25 Million ” missing women ” in India.Missing because of female foeticide or abortion. On the list , India ranks behind Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri …

I am a horrible person. Evidently, all humanity has been leached from me. When I read this story from the “Times of India” all I could do is laugh until the tears came from my eyes.
According to defence spokesman Lt Col J S Brar, the two commanders dared to colonise a bear’s cave at Darwal Nar in Pir Panjal in Shopian and paid for it with their lives. For, late on Sunday night, as the two slept, the bear came calling.
“It attacked the armed militants and killed them on the …

Today’s San Francisco chronicle online pleasantly surprised me by posting this in their “Day in Pictures” feature! This is from the Mr.Singh International contest held in Amritsar, Punjab , India!

Happy Diwali to all our readers – whether you celebrate it or not!
Have a safe, prosperous and Happy new year!
May Goddess Lakshmi shower you with earthly wealth but not like these desis
Just in time for Diwali, comes the news of the busting of a high tech Insider trading ring. Alas, the ring-leaders seem to be exclusively Indian(h/t naveen) largely Indian.
Raj Rajaratnam, a hedge-fund manager whose net worth Forbes recently estimated at $1.3 billion, was accused of using inside information to make $25 million in illicit profits for Galleon Management, …

This is a post that I would rather not have written. It is one of those that is deeply uncomfortable and yet it must be written. Especially after the minor meltdown I had last week. Diepriye Kuku, an African American Phd Student at the Delhi School ofEconomics gives a searing and first hand account of the racism he faces daily in India in a piece entitled wincingly enough ” India is Racist, And Happy about it ” published in Outlook India. (link

Jon Stewart and Asif Mandvi hit this one out of the park! Please enjoy! (Click the “Read more” link to see the video)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Deep Space Naan

www.thedailyshow.com

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