What is the black patch on the leather skin of either side of the Mrdidangam.

Paint? No.

From wikipedia -

“The bass aperture is known as the “thoppi” or “eda bhaaga” and the smaller aperture is known as the “valanthalai” or “bala bhaaga”. The smaller membrane, when struck, produces higher pitched sounds with a metallic timbre. The wider aperture produces lower pitched sounds. The goat skin covering the smaller aperture is anointed in the center with a black disk made of rice flour, ferric oxide powder and starch. This black tuning paste is known as the “sAtham” or “karanai” and gives the mridangam its distinct metallic timbre.” Link

Fascinating little entry.

Interesting video below via a friend’s Facebook update.

Anant Pai, the creator of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle died at the age of 81. [BBC]

Anant Pai, widely known as Uncle Pai, to kids who grew up in 1980s India, was a chemical engineer, who followed his passion of story telling. He went to work with Indrajal comics, and was instrumental in introducing The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician to Indian audiences and also in the creation of another comic character, Bahadur. In 1967, he had an “eureka” moment when contestants in an Indian quiz show could not answer simple questions like “Who is the mother of Lord Rama?”. So instead of creating a website dealing with Hindu denigration, he created the comic book Amar Chitra Katha (ACK). Vivid illustrations, simple language and compelling story telling, led to a series of highly popular books among millions of children in India. His ACK comics mostly covered, Indian history and Hindu mythology, but I distinctly remember reading an ACK issue on Jesus. My personal favorites were the epics like Ramayana and Mahabhartha (this one spanned around 18 consecutive comic books). Pai through ACK took us on magical journeys through palaces of kings and queens and magical castles to more historically significant locations like Jallianwala Bagh, the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. In mythological stories, the message was simple: good always triumphs over evil. We were regaled with tales of wise emperors like Akbar the Great and his smartass minister, Birbal. Kids would eagerly await for the next issue to come out in stores or be delivered to their house.

In 1980, Anant Pai created another comic book, Tinkle, replete with simple humorous tales and characters like Kalia the crow, Suppandi, Shikari Shambu, Tantri the Mantri and Nassurdin Hodja to name a few. Tinkle, is where Anant Pai became Uncle Pai to millions of children. In every issue of Tinkle, he answered letters from numerous children.

It must be pointed out yours truly was not among the fortunate few who got their letter answered by Uncle Pai. However, I had the fortune of meeting him in real life, when he gave a speech at my school. Few attended because the powers that be at my pathetic school did not deem it necessary to publicize his visit. My first and only impression of him is a rather slight unassuming gentleman with an infectious smile and sharp wit. Details of that day are hazy and this is what I recollect: Uncle Pai had each student walk to the front of the room and tell everyone what they planned to be when they grew up and the answer always was engineer, doctor, ***enter standard white collar profession*** or take over father’s business. My answer was “engineer”, when Pai asked why, my answer was “because my father is one”. Pai’s retort was “But what do YOU want to be?”. Deep words, the meaning of which I did not understand until, ironically, after I became an engineer. But this interaction is one I’ll always cherish.

In his personal life, Pai and his wife did not have any children, but between Indrajal, Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle, Pai’s works reached millions of Indian children across multiple generations, and it must be pointed out multiple continents. This tweet, summarizes Anant Pai’s impact on the Indian psyche.

Thank you, Uncle Pai.

Warning: If talk of non-traditional Indian foods, offends you, please take your outrage to Twitter

Nothing says Main Street America like strip malls and chain restaurants (see: Applebees, Chilis, Subway, Burger King, McDonalds and so on. During my pre-FOB days (mid to late 90s), McDonalds was the new “in thing” in India. Heck, one of my farewell parties was at the Mickey D’s on Linking Road in Bandra, Mumbai.My next brush with American chain restaurants in Mumbai was in ‘06, a Subway and a *bleeping* Ruby Tuesday in Mumbai. Apparently, this was just the beginning of a trend. [WaPo]

The picture (left top) was taken during my October 2010 trip to India, and if you click on it, it opens up in a larger image that shows the menu pricing in Indian Rupees. Have fun converting.

NEW DELHI – A group of hungry college students crowded around the newest food stall in an upscale market here: the American Hotdog Factory. Its sign proudly announced, “real American hotdogs for the first time in India.” But these “hawdawgs” – the Indian pronunciation – aren’t exactly what they would find on the streets of New York or at ballpark concession stands across America. Where’s the beef? The only concession here is to Indian tastes. Cows are considered holy by many Hindus, India’s majority religion. So the top-selling item at this stand is the “American Desi,” a mushy, green log of spicy potatoes, soy beans, peas, garlic, chillies and onions held together by a fat hot-dog bun and topped with raw onions and thick mayo chutney.

My first reaction is to drool, masala bhaji in a hoy dog bun with mayo chutney, brilliant! Like I mentioned earlier, if non-traditional desi food is not your thing, outrage on Twitter.

So, what other American chain restaurants have crossed over to the good side and what else is on their menu?

Subway’s six-inch Veg Shammi, a kebab made of lentils, garlic and onion.
Cinnabon, offers an eggless Indian sticky bun,
Starbucks said its offerings would include many local and American treats, such as samosas next to muffins and spicy chai alongside skinny cappuccino.

But not all restaurants have switched their menus to exclusive Indian versions, TGI Friday’s, for instance.

“They have to buy into the culture before they will buy the food,” Rohan Jetley, vice president for marketing for TGI Friday’s, said from a plush booth at his flagship restaurant. The room was filled with decorative Americana: a bust of Elvis, a “Charlie’s Angels” movie poster, a surfboard, a disco ball and a statue of a U.S. astronaut.
Jetley’s insistence on keeping the food authentically American has made him a maverick in India. He even flies in official tasters from the TGI Friday’s Dallas headquarters to make sure its signature Jack Daniel’s barbecue sauce tastes the same in Bangalore as it does in Baltimore.

So next time you’re in India and, for some weird reason, have the yearning for American food, try TGI Friday’s.

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?