[mobilePic] First meal at home: mom-made mutton curry

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[mobilePic] First meal on Indian soil. sambar vada at Delhi airport

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[mobilePic] Guess what this Finnish ad is for!

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Wedding Plans

OK, so all those who are reading this expecting to hear about plans for _my_ wedding -- sorry, consider yourself and unintended April Fool [or an April Fish, if in France :)]. (although, the last part of this post has something about my own arranged marriage :). )

This post is regarding my upcoming India trip, and the wedding of my dear elder brother!

The wedding is in Chennai [his fiancée is from Chennai, they both work in Atlanta] on April 11th, and the reception is in Patna [my hometown] on April 15th.

I am flying out this Sunday afternoon, and am looking forward to a 2-week break off the grid! Well, almost. I will still be carrying my HTC Magic with Google Android, and a BSNL 3G SIM card, but don't expect quick replies to email :).

So, any tips for attending a Tam Brahm wedding?
-A

P.S. As promised, here is an arranged-marriage themed video I played a short role in recently. It is a short film by Swati, and was shot near Paris. Thanks to the lovely Nishtha for not slapping me :P.

Wonderful Low-Budget Docu on Banaras/Varanasi

@varungrover pointed me to this wonderful documentary. Have a look at the awesomeness that is the city where I spent 4 very formative years of my life :).

Die in Varanasi (Holy Shit) from isaac niemand on Vimeo.

What is impressive is that this was shot on a super low budget. Very nice.
The filmmaker's page is here.

P.S. I am flying to India for two weeks this Sunday. Wish I could also visit Varanasi :-\.

[mobilePic] Alu Paratha, Raita, and Mango Pickle. Yummy Sunday lunch

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[mobilePic] Ethipian chicken curry in Paris. yum. :-)

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Birthday and Other Updates

So yesterday, March 3, 2010, I turned 29. [yes, n was = 28, and now n = 29].

The birthday was fun, including a ton of wishes, online (on Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, Buzz, etc), on the phone, and in person. I got a gift from E, which was pretty and useful [reminded me of the cute-and-useless bunny from the Vidushaks in 2008 :)], and Leesa is going to bake a cake this Saturday :).

After work, a bunch of us work buddies went for drinks in Paris, with @jasminf and @lafauxvaisienne joining us. This was followed by some yummy take-home lebanese food and desserts. Good times overall :).

Previously, on March 1st, we celebrated Holi at work. Here are some pics [embedded below for your convenience]:



And tomorrow morning, I am going for my 3rd and final eye injection [those who do not know why I am getting these injections, please click here]. Will tweet about it as it happens.

That's it for now. Back to paper writing!

Holi Hai!

Super busy with writing and reviewing papers, but still missing Holi :-(. Some quick links

1. Wonderful NPR post on Holi. Give a Listen

2. Wikipedia on Holi.

3. My Holi Bollwood Song playlist


4. A Special and Wonderful Holi Video. Must watch.


Happy Holi y'all! And know that I am very envious of all of you who are able to play with colors today. :-(

On the bright side, I did buy some desi sweets last evening, and S and I will be sharing them with our non-desi officemates this afternoon [like last year]. And yes, there will be color :).

[previous Holi posts]

[mobilePic] mmm. Falafel chez Hannah

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[mobilePic] Visiting Sacré Cœur

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[mobilePic] Ready to start work now

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Love. What is it Good for?

Happy buy-someone-gifts-or-feel-miserable day folks!

This Valentine's day, instead of my usual round up of the right-wing paranoia du jour [see this one from 2009, for example], I give you all something light, and ask a question.

First, the very apt song, from the movie Trishool



For those who do not understand Hindi, the song is a debate between two points of view, that Love is useless, and that Love is a wonderful, useful thing.

So, which side are you on? [Amitabh, or Shashi Kapoor?]

[I, personally, am currently on George Clooney's side from "Up In the Air" :). Saw it yesterday, must watch.]

Oh, Your Eyes

As I was listening to this NPR segment, where they interviewed Shah Rukh Khan for his upcoming movie, I heard the following song.



I must say that Kajol, and especially her eyes, looks very pretty in this clip. And why not? After all, the song is about "Tere Naina - your eyes" :)

Here is the full song. Alas, the video is not there yet, since the movie released only yesterday.



For those who are interested in knowing what the song means, here are the first few lines:

Tere naina tere naina tere naina re -- 4
(Oh,) Your eyes [this is the main 'hook' or chorus]

nainon ki chaal hai, makhmali haal hai
by some trick of your eyes, I feel like velvet
neechi palkon se badle samaa
and when you lower your eyelids, the ambience changes

naina sharmayein jo, ya ke bhar aayein jo
When your eyes are shy, or when they well up
tham ke ruk jaaye dono jahaan
the two worlds (heaven and earth) come to a standstill

rab ki nemat hain teri nigaahein
Your eyes are a blessing from God
jismein basti hain uski duayein
and his good wishes are contained in them

aise nainon ki baaton mein... koi kyun na aaye?
Why wouldn't someone be convinced by these eyes?

I love it!

And for those interested in a translation of this beautiful song, a (nearly accurate) version can be read at this page.

And those of you in Europe who want to hear more of this, check out the spotify links for the song, and the album.

I am definitely thinking of making this my first online music purchase.

How do _you_ like the song?

[mobilePic] Yup. it's Snowing.

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Correction. I am Steve Taylor

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps?

I am Ted Mosby

Yes I am.

'nuf said :-)

[mobilePic] and Finally, at Uncle Gustav's Engineering Marvel

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[mobilePic] Futuristic Toyota personal pod whose info-computer is Crashed. Ironic Much? :-)

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[mobilePic] Enjoying an Evening in Paris

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