If I’m to believe LivingSocial, I have to try out a new Indian restaurant in my neighborhood because the Beatles went to India in the 60s and shared some ganja with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Don’t believe me? Check out the email I got from LivingSocial.

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?

Dr.Susan Xiao -Ping “Su” was arrested last week at her home in Pleasanton, California bringing one chapter in the entire sordid Tri Valley University scam to a close. UD had covered this earlier here.

From the Pleasanton patch newspaper:

Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, of Pleasanton, founder of Tri-Valley University, was arrested Monday after being indicted by a federal grand jury on 33 counts relating to student visa fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, alien harboring and making false statements, among other violations   ( link)

If you visit the Tri Valley University website, it displays a final message from Dr.Su:

The final message from Ms. Su as TVU’s President is an ENCOURAGEMENT to you all to MOVE ON! Let me give the closure by reminding and ensuring you all that: after the darkest moment is the dawn— a new day with the sun rising and shining!

In His Service and Grace!

I paraphrase an old saying  “Religion: The last refuge of scoundrels!”

As for the students, an ICE spokesperson told India – West that several of the students have been placed in deportation proceedings.

Kice confirmed that several former TVU students have been placed in deportation proceedings, but could not confirm the exact number by press time  (link)

The Boulder Court office where the so -called University operated is now closed. Presumably, it will be seized by the government and auctioned off.

I passed by the other day and took a photograph to show you all. Its closed up and abandoned. A gentleman from the neighboring unit was smoking outside and as I took the photograph he gave me a wry smile.

A desi guy proposes to his girlfriend in San Fran (via @supremus). One of the more original ones we’ve seen in a while. If anything, the trends of flash mobs seems to be inspired by traditional song and dance sequences from Bollywood movies, so desis popping “the question” in this manner shouldn’t come as a surprise. Thoughts?

One of the “charms” of being an immigrant Indian in the USA is that you will inevitably be asked the “A-Question” as in : The Arranged Marriage question. This can range from the oblique “Do you believe in Arranged Marriages?” to the more frontal -assault ” Did you have an Arranged Marriage?”  (to which I am always tempted to respond ” No, it was quite chaotic really!”).  Its nice to remember that the Arranged Marriage phenomenon is not exclusively “desi”. I recently saw two really good movies that explore the insititution of arranged marriages in cultures other than South Asian.

In “Arranged”,  an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman strike up a friendship when they meet as teachers in a Brooklyn Public school. Each one faces the possibility of an  arranged marriage.  Zoe Lister Jones plays Rochel Meshenberg, an Orthodox Jew whose family enlsits a traditional matchmaker who produces one unsuitable groom after another. Frances Behnamoue plays Nasira Khalidi, a Muslim woman, who also is dealing with the possibility of an arranged marriage. This is a little gem of a movie where the insititution of arranged marriage is treated with dignity and respect. The story of  how these two forge a friendship and end up happily (and arrangedly) married makes for a charming tale, enlivened by some wonderful nuanced performances from both the leading ladies. Almost restores my faith in human nature to see how Jews and Muslims can be friends, regardless of how the world expects them to treat each other!

 The other movie I recommend is “Sabah -a Love Story”. This Canadian production is the story of Sabah, a 40 year old Syrian immigrant in Canada. She commits the cardinal sin of falling in love with Stephen ( played by the dishy Shawn Doyle- last seen in “Big Love” ) , a non -Muslim white ( amusingly referred to as “Ajnabee” by her Syrian family - that must be the equivalent of “firangi” ! ). She has to sneak around so that her brother does not find out. Meanwhile, her niece rebels against having an arranged marriage. Arsinee Khanjian plays the lead with luminous intensity. I found this movie to be absolutely charming and very romantic. Far better than the horrible crop of romcoms that Hollywood churns out today!

I think the common theme I liked in both these movies was that non-Western cultures were treated with respect, while making a muted plea for immigrants to open up a little to the freedoms that the Western world offers. I hope some of you enjoy watching my recommendations ( both are available on  Netflix). Do let me know via the comments if you agreed with them or not!

In India, it was not uncommon to come across a “Do not spit” sign in India splattered liberally with …. ummmm…. spit. Well, recently I was at a popular tourist destination in Southeastern United States, highly recommended at this time of the year, but I digress.

Among the tourists, you could spot the occasional desi or two, until I stumbled upon this family (pictured left top). Three generation of immigrant desis – grandparents visiting from India complete with the prototypical grandpa in “swatter” and grandma in sari, trenchcoat and tennis shoes, parents who probably immigrated to the US couple of decades back and teenage kids most likely born and brought up in the US.

Seems like an immigrant family living the Amrikan dream, happily picnicking away and spending time with each other during the holidays. So what’s wrong with this picture, you ask?

It just happens that this family was happily picnicking away a few feet from this “NO picnicking” sign (pictured left bottom). As is obvious (in some cases) the menu consisted of chips (visible), carafe of homemade chai (visible) and samosas (not visible) among other miscellaneous picnic items. The “NO picnicking” signs were posted all over the place and I even witnessed some family members point at the sign and giggle away.

Now I realize this is not a new phenomenon or newsworthy. But to me, the people picnicking under the “No picnikcing” sign are guilty of the same infractions as the ones who spit on “Do not spit” signs. In fact, some of these people who break rules in the US are probably the same ones who complain about the latter who spit on “Do not spit” signs in India and both sets of people annoy me. What do you think?