It’s *NOT* about the fact that no one would dare don a blackface today. (If you said Robert Downey Jr, please take your discussions to this forum – link via @sepiamutiny). In 2012, to don brownface and mock a foreign accent is just plain unacceptable.

As an Indian man with brown skin and an Indian accent, who gets ribbed on it every now and then, it does sting a little to view these mock portrayals on TV. I don’t have a choice on how I look or talk, Ashton does when he signs up for these ad campaigns.

Re-purposing an immortal quote from a great leader, I have a dream that my yet-to-be-conceived children will one day live in a nation where they will not be mocked for the color of their skin or the accents of their parents.

Also read MetroPCS’ unfunny commercials

Also, feel free to tweet Ashton Kutcher @aplusk and tell him what you think about this topic.

© Santosh for Über Desi, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: indians, kutcher, mocking, popchips

T’was not too long ago, between 05-09, blogs were thriving: Sepia Mutiny, Desi Pundit, Ultra Brown, and if I may say so, Über Desi, were bustling with activity in the niche market of Indian sub-continental culture and pop-culture. Quality content was being generated by the hard working bloggers, at least in the first 3 instances. Then life happened, Twitter happened. Most bloggers found it easier and more convenient to microblog on Twitter, and so did their followers. Slowly but surely, the quality content dried up and previously bustling blogs became desolate arenas. Trolls and spammers took over in the comments sections of long dead posts. You get the idea.

The bloggers at Sepia Mutiny did an amazing job of building a thriving South Asian online community, and for this, they will be remembered and the blog will be missed.

© Santosh for Über Desi, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blogs, sepia mutiny, south asian blogosphere

The song “Jaan Pehchan Ho” from the movie Gumnaam (1965) is, of course, instantly recognizable to any self-respecting Bollywood fan (if you haven’t watched Gumnaam, you’re not a true Bollywood fan, you SRK jock sniffer). Again, for your enjoyment below:

What many don’t know, however, is the fact that “Jaan Pehchan Ho” was “inspired” by a song 6 years earlier from a Dev Anand flick “Love Marriage”. Crazy dance moves, old school rock-n-roll music. Watch and enjoy.

© Santosh for Über Desi, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: jaan pehchan ho

For an India Day celebration in Edison on Aug. 10, 2009, the group placed an order for vegetarian samosas. The restaurant assured them it didn’t make the pastries with meat. Indeed, there was no meat-filled samosa on the restaurant’s appetizer menu, and the court’s decision said the tray of pastries given to the group was labeled vegetarian.
But soon after eating a few samosas, some in the group grew concerned the pastries might contain meat. According to the decision, the restaurant eventually acknowledged it had confused the order with one for meat-filled samosas and gave the group the non-vegetarian pastries.

The family proceeded to sue the restaurant “alleging negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, consumer fraud, products liability and breach of express warranty”. This part also caught my eye. [link]

In their complaint, the plaintiffs outlined their injuries and damages in the following manner: “‘Hindu vegetarians believe that if they eat meat, they become involved in the sinful cycle of inflicting pain, injury and death on God’s creatures, and that it affects the karma and dharma, or purity of the soul. Hindu scriptures teach that the souls of those who eat meat can never go to God after death, which is the ultimate goal for Hindus. The Hindu religion does not excuse accidental consumption of meat products. One who commits the religious violation of eating meat, knowingly or unknowingly, is required to participate in a religious ceremony at a site located along the Ganges River in Haridwar, Uttranchal, India, to purify himself. The damages sought by plaintiffs included compensation for the emotional distress they suffered, as well as economic damages they would incur by virtue of having to participate in the required religious cleansing ceremony in India.’”

This story has me torn. Being raised in a Hindu vegetarian family myself, I’m can envision members of my family, particularly the elderly reacting in a similar manner (but we TamBrams are too pacifist to get involved in court cases). I’ve not read the doctrine for consuming meat and don’t know what the diktats for “Accidental Consumption of Meat” are. On one hand, I feel this family’s reaction (suing for money) is disproportionate to the incident.

On the other hand, longtime readers of this blog know my disdain for “exotic” Indian restaurants particularly their marketing, food and above all, service. This one fits in the last two. The restaurant certainly was wrong on the following counts:
- Serving food not on the menu
- Getting the food order wrong
- Serving food specifically the client demanded they did not want
- Not cross checking the order with the kitchen, despite repeated questions from the clients

And this kind of service is unfortunately not uncommon in “exotic” Indian restaurants. It’s disappointing to see the NJ Ledger, Huffington Post and other news outlets play up the “he he dumb Hindoos won’t eat meat” angle. Customers often ask for customized orders at restaurant, not just for religious reasons, but also for health reasons – food allergies, digestive issues. It is the duty of the restaurant to get it right, failing which they open up themselves to the consequences. Although, none of the customers were affected health-wise, I’m with them on suing, at least on principle.

What do you think?

© Santosh for Über Desi, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: family, hindu, indian restaurant, meat, NJ

In 1968, The Beatles and their entourage journeyed to India to study transcendental mediation under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Out of this trip came a healthy dose of spiritual enrichment, most of the classic White Album… and lots of infighting. For a taste of India without all that messy drama, enlist a little help from your friends, and head to *redacted*, where you’ll get $30 worth of food and drinks for just $15. Load up on authentic Indian cuisine at the lunch buffet (only $6.95 on weekdays), or order up a dinner full of meaty and veggie options like tandoori chicken and a potato-and-onion-stuffed rava masala dosa. Just don’t meditate too long on this deal, ’cause it’s splitting faster than the post-Yoko Fab Four.

Let me preface this rant by saying that, obviously, being from India, I love Indian food. In fact, I <3 most regional Indian cuisines. But then again, so do I <3 most popular world cuisines. Indian restaurants in the US with their lack of variety and imagination (tandoori chicken, tikka masala, dosa) frustrate me to no end. Tack on their marketing jargon, combining Indian food and exoticism, and I actively start to root against them.

Maybe it’s just cynical ole me, but does anyone really believe in this *pardon my Hindi* holycowshit marketing? Why would eating greasy overpriced tandoori chicken and rava dosa in an eating establishment in suburban America give people an experience similar to that of the Beatles’ ‘68 stoner trip? Why does everything coming out of India have to be advertised as spiritual/transcendental/enlightening? I think this kind of marketing is disingenuous, almost insulting to it’s target audience.

What do you think?

© Santosh for Über Desi, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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