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 …

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.

India’s top chefs have warned Scottish MPs to keep their hands off the rights to chicken tikka masala.
Link
So here’s the story, Scottish MPs made an attempt to ‘patent’ the name Chicken Tikka Masala, claiming the dish was made in Glasgow, in 1970’s. They got a spicy reply back from Indian food historians who trashed the claim and suggested that the dish has been around for decades (some others claim centuries).
Wikipedia suggests, this (without a reference, though)
The literal meaning of tikka in Panjabi is “bits, pieces” (fron Sanskrit ṭikka, m., “Cake.” …

Karhik (via email) points us to this spoof of a Microsoft ad by Sarcastic Gamer (via Engadget). The spoof features a desi kid and subtitles in Hindi. To be noted: the girl shows the drawing of a dog while proclaiming “mere paas billi hai” (I have a cat). Is this was an oversight on part of the spoofers or a deliberate dig at the bugs and easter eggs in MS software?

The latest in the “foot in mouth” chronicles starring  Texas Rep Betty Brown:
Rep. Betty Brown suggested that Asian Americans might want to adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with” when they want to vote so their names will match what is on registration rolls (link: via angryasianman.com)
To be fair, the hon. representative was definitely *not* addressing Indian names because as every school kid in America knows – Indians are not Asian ! ( ASIDE: This was one of the biggest culture shocks for me when I moved …

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas
I know its from The Onion, but I don’t see why it could not become a real thing. Srsly.

Movie starts.
Scene: Young man hanging from ceiling being tortured by Mumbai police.
Review: I’m offended. This is showing Mumbai police in bad light especially in the light of the heroism they displayed during the recent terror attacks. So this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Mumbai police call young man “slumdog”.
Review: I’m offended. How dare they compare a slum dweller to a dog? So this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Boy performs his daily habits through hole in the ground in a shed overlooking a cliff.
Review: I’m offended. Thinking to …

In all her infinite wisdom proclaims Rakhi Sawant: [link]
Had they airdropped me from a helicopter in their rescue operation, I would have danced in skimpy clothes and seduced all the terrorist inside and would have killed them one-by-one. I know, eventually they will also kill me, but I do not mind dying for my country.
She doesn’t mind dying for her country? How noble of her. I say, we should take her up on her offer next time around.

Halloween – Desi ishtlye, what costume do you like from our uber shop? This post brought to you by our team of uber bloggers –
8. Rajan Zed – Don the saffron. Declare yourself de-facto leader of all Hindus. Recite Hindu shlokas in the White House, Senate, House of Commons, the Diet, the local mall, your neighbour’s backyard, etc. Watch crappy movies at length, looking out for perceived slights to Hinduism and organize protests. If crappy movie flops, attribute it to the wrath of gods.
7. Lou Dobbs -Blame global warming, Toyota …

Dear Government,
We have not connected for some time now. I have been quite faithful in my communication with you. I even send you a yearly update via my tax forms, and always, always enclose a hefty check. You don’t call, don’t write – except to send me cold, form letters telling me what I owe you. I give, and I give and I give and get nothing in return. This will not do. It has to be a two-way street else this relationship can’t last. However, …

Of course, we’re speaking about John Edwards, the disgraced politician not John Edward, the pysch who communicates with your dead great-grandmother for a family recipe.
She saw a Gandhi in Edwardsimg: via Hollywood Gossip
Newsweek’s Johnathan Darman, who covered the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004, recounts his encounters with John Edwards’ other woman Reille Hunter. [NewsWeek]
When Edwards finally confessed to the affair, he gave the timeline as 2006. [Wiki article]
Recounts Darman: [Newsweek]
It was July 7, 2006. I’d been sent to Iowa to write a piece on John Edwards. We were on our …

Over the years, we’ve watched with great interest the evolution, or rather the lack of it, of desi literature based in the U.S. The following is based on some common trends/threads in desi lit novels – bright covers with saris and bindis and the choice of “serious” South Asian specific topics like dowry, arranged marriages, bride burning – that we’ve noticed. This post should be viewed as nothing more than a gentle attempt at sarcasm from some jaded readers.
An excerpt from the new desi lit novel “A Custom Lungi” by …

After calling for Hindu suicide bombers, Thackeray’s people now want to anoint the Taj Mahal a Hindu temple. [TOI]
Taj Mahal is really Tejo Mahal per Shiv Senaimg: via NYT
In an attempt to reclaim the Taj Mahal as a Hindu temple, a few Sainiks entered the Taj premises disguised as tourists and started a ritual or parikrama with folded hands. When asked to stop by the authorities, they got into a scuffle which ended with them being shipped to the nearest police station.
There is no mention if the Sena activists, a.k.a …

Apparently the US military has been playing David Gray’s Babylon nonstop to torture Guantanamo prisoners. [Guardian via Freakonomics Blog]
May I suggest a medley of Himesh Reshammiya, Bappi Lahiri and Anu Malik?

Here’s a review of an “exotic” Indian grocery store in the small township of Temecula, CA, that I found floating online. [Press Enterprise]
Apparently, Indian stores are as exotic as beachfront property in this inland town.
In the shopping center there’s the dental office, the tax service, the escrow business and Hooters. And does it get any more American than that joint?
Yet, amid the slice of suburbia is something different: Indian Grocery & More.
Indian groceries? In Temecula? Next you’ll tell me there’s beachfront property here too. (OK, let’s not get carried away.)
Mutter …

I had the bitter misfortune to watch the trailer of “The Love Guru” at the movies this weekend. It promises to be just as delightful as I expected. With sight gags and the inclusion of Verne Troyer in the cast- do you honestly believe that this movie will threaten Hinduism? ( See earlier posts 1,2, 3)
The main feature was the immensely watchable “Iron Man”. Without giving away too many spoilers , some points to ponder:
- Why would terrorists in Afghanistan speak Hindi and Hungarian ?
- Why …

A top Indian hockey official quit because he was paid good money to include a player in the national team, an event recorded on national television by reporters of Aaj Tak. [link] Considering the state of hockey in India, shouldn’t it be the hockey officials paying the few people who actually play the sport?
Update:
Amit Varma of India Uncut argues that perhaps the accused official was in a no-win situation the way the sting operation was conducted by Aaj Tak. [link] Fair enough, no one wants to see an innocent man …

Is it me, or does this banner on her website read, “0 Credentials, Trust, Resluts”?

Regular readers of the Desi blogosphere will have caught this article on SM about Doc 420 or as Abhi put it, the anti-Sanjay Gupta of the Indian American community. When Abhi wrote the post, the doc’s website was down.
The very alert Chick Pea, alerted us to the fact that the website in now up. Redesigned, it sports new treatments like Weight loss, Smoking cessation, Botox and Dermal fillers, making Doc420 an all rounder.

You aunt could be packing Image from Gun Moll.

Beta, Remember that British Aunt of yours, left home a few decades ago, she never fails to show up for weddings, combines work with her visits and occasionally sips a shaken martini?
Well, the next time you talk to her, we want you to remember that she might be more adept than she let’s off. She could be the closest thing to James Bond you will ever see. It’s not her chapati, rather the chapati roller that could kill a man. Her long …

Socialite and paparazzi darling Paris Hilton wants to help the drunk elephants of India. Hilton was quoted as saying [Via]

The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them
Could we get a brain transplant in Aisle 4 please. Thank you.