Manoj Kumar with his patriotic movies, forever changed the face of Bollywood, while keeping his own face covered.

How Facebook used gupshup and dance to overcome Orkut!

Like the exile periods of kings in the days of yore, it takes anywhere from 12-28 years for legal immigrants to become US citizens

Hello! My name is Joel Swine and I write for Schtime magazine in Switzerland. Recently I traveled back home and I experienced some reverse culture shock – the takeover of the Swiss Alps by star struck Bollywood tourists.

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 …

Desi ishtyle [link] (tip maisnon via email)
No thanks to Anurag Mathur’s The Inscrutable Americans, it has been every desi guy’s dream to join the mile high club. Murali Nookella achieved it in typical desi ishtyle and probably landed himself on the FBI no-fly list.
Say you’re a 34 year old horny male computer programmer from the subcontinent stuck on a boring cross country flight. What do you do for fun? If your name is Murali Nookella, the answer would be: pull out the male organ and start pleasuring one’s self.
A Delaware …

60 years ago, when the constitution of India was adopted, our freedom fighters hardly expected the unity to remain fragile 60 years later. We stand united in our love for ‘miley sur mera tumara’ for it’s star value and…wait! Before I can finish my latest news on our unity, there were a few interruptions, mostly controversies this video generated. But, watch the video first…

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Now back to the latest news, (only 10 or 20 min old) depending on whether you watched the second part of the video or not.
Raj Thackeray condemned …

Rediff reports:
Obama’s Diwali celebration upsets Indian-American community.
Here’s the back story – ex-president Bush started the practice of hosting a Diwali event since 2003, courtesy request of the Indian-American community and it’s been a practice ever since. Some of the events have been full fledged and upto two hours long, while some, like last year’s,  have been less flashy.
While the article about the first Obama-era Diwali, quoted above, points out reasons why Indian Americans are upset (mostly elderly immigrant Indians), the rest of the article quotes two second generation desis – …

It is a truth universally acknowledged in India that a politician bereft of an issue to express his indignation over, would concoct one out of thin air. The moment such a concoction is introduced to the mango citizens (aam janta if you are wondering), the Indian news-media congregates to take a swig out of the barrel and proceeds to get high.

This familiar scene is playing out currently in India. In what has to be the most WTF evoking “It happens only in India” type occurrences that I have seen since moving back home, an innocuous exchange on Twitter (see image below) between a journalist and the most famous Indian recipient of the Colbert Bump in dominating newsprint and airwaves. It has politicians jostling among themselves to express their displeasure and the media, not one to be left behind, has been fanning the flames mentioning twits and twats every minute of the day for the past 24 hours and counting.

Spiderman plays the sitar on the sidewalk in Key West, FL.

Quick Gun Murugan, a Tamil speaking cowboy dressed in bright clothes and leotard jackets, seems to be attempting a comeback of sorts after capturing the imagination of millions in the 90s. Being in tune with the times, he picked a Bhangra number with popstar Mika and also learned to speak Hindi. While we’re all for QGM appearing in bhangra (and even, rap) videos, his new found knowledge of Hindi is likely to earn him the label of “Sellout” from hardcore fans who drew immense enjoyment from his Tamil-English punchlines. Mind …

In his new documentary “Good Hair”, Chris Rock does his own unique irreverent take on the African-American hair culture. His quest for good hair takes him to India, the largest exporter of human hair. Check out the video between 1:40 and 2:00 for the Indian segment. (@desinole RT @Naunihal on #uberdesi)

BBC has a photo feature on political leaders and their love of statutes, of themselves. [BBC]
Leading the group is U.P. Chief Minister Mayawati and her parade of statutes of herself and her mentors. Curiously, one of them (immediate right of Mayawati) seems to resemble Mr. Miyagi, complete with a pose that appears to be a karate punch to the gut.

The latest tempest-in-a-teapot appears to over Burger King putting the picture of Hindu goddess Laxmi on a burger wrapper with the slogan (translated from Spanish) – ‘The Sacred Snack’. (Karthik+Prathima+Sidhu+Runa via email) [TOI]
Publicity hound, Rajan Zed, of course, could not stay away from the action. [Scoop]
Burger King has since withdrawn the ad with an apology. From my point of view, growing up in a Hindu household, I could see how something like this may draw a few “aiyo”s from some elderly family members. But then again they would never actively …

Another Bollywood version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, this time courtesy the Ramsay brothers.
This one is so bad, it’s not half as funny as the Chiranjeevi version of Thriller.

Superheroes, pets, little kids, desis and people of all skin hues and nationalities getting their groove on to bhangra beats in broad daylight in Central Park, NY. Have any of our NY area readers ever come across this ritual?

He Man comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress – Bollywood ishtyle. Bollywood created a musical rendition of the cheesy cartoon show complete with junior artistes in florescent skeleton clothes and a Skeletor idol with flashing eyes. He Man is played by a random white dude, yelling “He Man, He Man, I’m He Man”.
The movie is a generic 80s action movie. In case you were wondering, the music is by, who else, Bappi Lahiri. Which brings us to the next important question: what would a Yash Raj-Karan Johar …

I always warn my mother not to bring pickles when visiting here from the des. [Here's why] (tip Runa via email)

A suspicious piece of luggage that the Columbus Bomb Squad detonated Tuesday night at Port Columbus International Airport turned out to be a canister filled with pickled mangoes.
You see Indians are much more conscientious about recycling. So when we are done with a jar of baby food, instead of tossing into the garbage, we recycle. We use it as a container for pickles. Apparently, TSA authorities find such recycling …

Adam Mamawala is a 22 year old budding comedian from new Jersey. Having just finished college he plans to make his mark in the entertainment industry as a stand up comedian. We liked his youtube videos (Caution – audio may not be safe for work), and were of the opinion that he is going to be a big star. So we decided to shoot some quick questions to him, and his responses are below – unfiltered and unedited. It’s pretty impressive to see some insightful replies from a young …