From ibiblio.org

India-Burma
2 April 1942–28 January 1945
“We got a hell of a beating,” Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell told the crowd of reporters in the Indian capital of New Delhi. It was May 1942, and the American general, who had only recently arrived in the Far East to assume the position of chief of staff to Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, was chafing at failure in his first command in the field. Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the previous December, the Japanese had won victory after victory, extending their …

Raj Kumar Hirani is the bearer of a lost art, the art of story telling. The problem is sometimes, he overlaps his piece of art with another of his own, that is still fresh in your memory.
And I’ll try to keep the review clean of any spoilers.
3 idiots is a movie ‘loosely’ based on one of India’s ‘best-selling’ novels, “Five point Someone, what not to do at IIT“, by Chetan Bhagat. A book, that critics love to hate and take a jab at it’s ‘popularity’, while a particular section of …

One Halloween, a few summers ago, on an unusually balmy night, one decided to adopt the best spirit of Halloween that one could and dress up as a M.i.D (Man in Dhoti, if you are asking!) for the best Halloween street party in the world.
Sadly, no one understood! *sigh*
But surely a lot of you feel different, no? So, if you are desi and you had dressed up, either earlier today or in the past years, post your favorite Halloween photo in the comments (with faces blanked, if needed be). And …

Over the next few days, I will be featuring some random snaps I got on my cellphone camera while walking the streets of Mumbai.

The most eagerly awaited sequel of all time

I’m sharing some of these pictures on ÜberDesi over the next few weeks or so. Some of you may find them interesting and mildly amusing. Others probably experience (or experienced) this stuff on a daily basis and may not find it to be of any appeal. Vaat to do, we@ÜberDesi are like this vonly. Enjoy!!!
King Kong ki Waapsi (King Kong …

*dinchak = flamboyant (Bambaiya Hindi)
**Mandir = Hindu Temple
Born in a Hindu family and currently residing in the US and A, whenever I visit my relatives over here for any extended periods of time, I cannot escape the inevitable trip to the local “mandir”. Late last month, ATL had the (mis??)fortune of being graced with my (shady) presence. Of course, with that came the inevitable trip to the newest attraction for Hindu desis in Atlanta – the newly constructed BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, which among other things claims to be the …

When you’re a desi living in the US and A or elsewhere phoren, your eyes become automatically accustomed to seeking out anything and everything desi. Featured below is a motley collection of desi stuff, in the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta.

Below: TMBWITW wants you to drink Coca Cola. Featured in the ads in the gallery as soon as you enter the museum.

An image from the new book ‘Kite’s Eye View: India Between Earth and Sky’ by Nicholas Chorier. Image from Nicopix.com.
I have seen a lot of amazing pictures from India, but these by Nicolas Chorier stand out. What makes all this special is the fact that ariel photography is prohibited in India, well unless you get permission from the government and we all know how “easy” that is.
There is also the fact that there are angles and views that I have never seen, adding an entirely different perspective to all …

India’s response to the Hummer. Presenting the M&M Axe. Image from Militaryphotos.net
Mahindra and Mahindra recently tested the Mahindra Axe, a multipurpose vehicle developed to replace the againg “Windy 505″ for the Indian Army.
Raj Khalsa, over at Militaryphotos has a detailed article about the Axe.

Developed in a mere 36 months to fulfill the Indian Army “Light Specialist Vehicle” a la ‘mini-Humvee’ requirement, the rugged Mahindra Axe, unlike for example, the Arjun MBT, had Indian army involved in its design process from the get go.
Specs haven’t been made public yet, …

Seasick Christopher Columbus’ screw up some 500+ years ago is Annu Matthew’s inspiration for this photograph.
As an immigrant, I am often questioned about where I am “really from.” When I say that I am Indian, I often have to clarify that I am an Indian from India. Not an American-Indian, but rather an Indian-American, South-Asian Indian or even an Indian-Indian. It seems strange that all this confusion started because Christopher Columbus thought he had found India and called the native people of America collectively as Indians.
“Y’all actin like you never …

As part of India’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Outlook magazine published a list of villians in post-Independence history.
The controversial Thackeray cartoonimg: via Outlook
Among the listed elite were Bhindranwale, Sanjay Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Dawood Ibrahim and Bal Thackeray.
The blurb on Bal Thackeray is on page 2 of the article.
Among other things it critcizes his demoguguery, his open disdain for minorities in Mumbai namely South Indians and Muslims, his hand in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and above all, his fascination with Adolf Hitler. Outlook goes on to draw a caricature of Thackeray complete …

Amit Varma of India Uncut has this hilarious post on sex crazed Indian males looking for nude girlie photos online.
The top 15 searches from the IU post:
Here are the top 15:
5615 reddit
2466 sexycollegegirl
653 nude bollywood
536 nude bollywood actress
388 bollywood nude
358 nude actress
252 nude indian actress
247 sexy
205 reddit.com
200 redditt
…

Outgoing President Abdul Kalam:
“The 21st Century Parliamentary Vision for India needs to have a global and long term perspective for transforming India into a developed country by 2020 with National Prosperity Index as a measure and acquire energy independence before 2030,”
Incoming President Prathiba Patil:
“Dadiji ke shareer mein baba aye (Baba’s spirit entered Grandma’s body)”

The Giant Bouquet. Image from Times of India.
How do you send a subtle yet strong message that you do not agree with the decisions your President has made?
Why, present the “suspended” with a giant freaking bouquet. That is what these Pakistani lawyers decided to do. And poor Mr. Chaudhry (Third from the left) does not seem to have enough strength to hold the thing.
What haunts me is that indirectly this person was the cause of all this carnage. We have covered the related story here and so had …

Source: The Hindu (contribution: Sai via email)Elephants need a drink tooProof “Kaliyug” is upon us:
In the seventh year after Y2K, in an ancient temple in an equally ancient country, pachyderms will partake of refreshments, hitherto, available only to humans.
-UberDesi, 2007

I took this picture on 28th May 2007, Memorial Day, in St. Augustine, Florida. The reason I took this picture was because there was something in this picture that bothered me. At this stage I’m opening up the comments section and my email for our readers to spot what’s wrong with this picture. Please feel free to comment or email me and give me your thoughts and opinions if any. I will post a follow-up on this picture tomorrow. You can click on the image to get a full sized …

Anantha sent us an email on the apparent evolution and proof that this person got some slicing and dicing done over the years.
It took a couple of seconds for me to get who this was.
So here is the question, Can you identify this person?
If you are still struggling, here are some clues:
1) Bollywood actress
2) Poppadum…
3) Need another clue?
Just click here and get it over with.

Source: May 15 2007 TOI Online
Taking hero worship to a whole new level:
This fan worships Madhuri Dixit on her birthday. Apparently unlike godesses of yore, this one actually grows old with each passing year and may come with an expiration date.

Nestor of Marlinspike Hall, (classic Tintin references) points us to this online video.
UberDesi tip -100% free desi ishtyle: Using a cobra as a babysitter may not be such a good idea.
In a coming-of-age ritual, a one year old child, is laid on a mat with a cobra. As the child reaches out to grab the cobra, the angry serpent strikes repeatedly at the child, with the parents standing in the background (refer to image). At the end frustrated by the baby, the cobra traps the toddler in its coils …

Image from Celeb World.
Jr. Poppadum Aka. Shilpa Shetty’s sister Shamita Shetty turned up at a Bollywood awards function sans her knickers.
And I am waiting for the effigy burning to begin some time now.
Now?
Maybe now?
Ahh never mind all those crazy lunatics are probably drooling over the picture and have forgotten to bring the effigies.

Source: May6 2007 TOI Online
Attack of the Laughing Aunties
Laughing aunties (and uncles) take over Priyadarshani Park in Mumbai to celebrate World Laughter Day. Wonder what the joke was?