Happy B' Day Mom

Check out the video Urvashi made for her mom. Click on the title above.

My daughter's religion

We now have a 4 month (almost) old black Lab puppy (More later- an old  dream come true) and I am amazed at the difference a pet makes to the house. We have had to baby-proof (Puppy proof?) the house and block access to some of the parts through temp gates et al. Still, if he gets his  mouth to anything anywhere near being destructible, he will destroy it. No questions about it. From shredded newspaper to dry wall- anything is game.

The other difference makes the first worth the while- the difference in the kids. Our recently- turned- teen daughter returns from school and says "Hi" to the puppy in a shrill, high pitched voice, so full of love- and then the same voice turns more gruff and she say's "Hi Dad" to me. The difference in tone is so amazing! 

Our 8 year old son has mostly forgotten hindi (I will change that through classes in the near future) but when the Pup is being naughty, he says " Aye, Salman Khan nahin banega"!  Where did  he get that from?

The kids  do most of the puppy chores- and do them happily. 

A few days ago, my daughter and I took the puppy for a walk around  the community and we got talking about things. "Dad" she  said, "When I grow up, I am going to decide what religion I am going to be". 

Wow, I thought, this line of thinking  needs to be killed right away. So I explained how one is born into one's religion, and changing religions mid- way, is a bit like chickening out. Then we discussed how throughout history, people had been forced by another religion to convert through threat and violence.

I was relieved when she replied that actually, she was quite happy with her religion, but she would search for any major faults when she grew up. Also, "What if a prophet or God  comes down to Earth when I grow up and I  see Him right in front of me doing all  the things God does? Shouldn't I then follow Him?"

Touche! What are the chances of that  happening, I thought, and left it there. 

Or is there more to it as I am still thinking about it four days later?

Quick Gun Murugan

Remember "Quick Gun Murugan"? The Channel V advts.. "Mind it"..and "we are like  this only". It spawned a whole new generation of  MTV/ Channel V fans and was such an integral part of  the media revolution that we witnessed in the 90's in India. (Was this also the  genesis of  the takeoff by SRK in Om Shanti Om?) Well, I  found one video on youtube on one of  the ads and here is  the link.

Do you know of another video on the net on this series. If  so, do let me know.

Mind it!

Little India Garden

I know we are just about getting into winter right now but I find myself already thinking about spring and summer and flowers and gardens. Maybe it was the Banyan tree I saw in Key West a few weeks ago that triggered the desire to be around more Indian plants.

I want to create a little Indian Garden- filled with plants that I was familiar with in India, right here in New Jersey.  

A bit ambitious? Perhaps. 

Ridiculous, you say.

Take away the thought, you say. 

Remember the snow yesterday? Impossible!

Lets see.

I already have two Holy Basil (Tulsi) plants which I have now brought indoors and which seem  to  be doing well- so far- near a sunny window.  I also have a Jasmine plant similarly doing well (I thought it was Chameli when I bought it from a local farmers market and was delighted by my discovery at the time...turns out it is not Chameli- anyway, Jasmine also qualifies as a plant that is common in India).  

Modest begining, but a start, I say.

Last summer, we tried to grow Indian green chillies (Hari mirch) from seeds taken out of whole dried red chillies bought at an Indian store. By the time the plants grew a foot and a half, we experienced the first frost and alas, that ended any hope of getting home grown Indian chillies. (This year, I plan  to plant seedlings indoor in January so as to afford a greater time for the plant to fructify)

I am now in the process of acquiring a cutting or two for a Raat- ki- rani plant and was wondering if anyone has experience growing one in this clime. Will it survive the winter indoors or does it necessarily need a green house?

Anyone grown any other Indian plants here? Would love to get tips and suggestions.

What about an Indian plant Bonsai? What about Indian plants for an outdoor water body? Lotus?

Maybe, I should change my weblog name to Dilhaihindustani!

Boney M

This last week I really  tripped on the music of Boney M. 

While trying to make a list of  CDs to request from India, I remembered this  band that everyone was so crazy about in India in the late 1970s. On a whim I googled the name and the results included a link to a video on youtube. And there they were- dancing and singing "Daddy Cool"with the fantastic Bass music in the back ground. I was transported back. I was barely a teen (Or was I?). Grown-ups dancing. Lots of color and sunshine (Was it a party for Holi?) I could even smell the beer, the biryani and the Thums- Up (No, did'nt get to do  the beer till much later-ok, omit the much-  but the smell was all around).

And then there were other links from this link ("Hooray, Hooray. It's a holiday", "Sunny", "Still I am Sad", "Rasputin", "Brown Girl in the ring" and ofcourse "Rivers of Babylon"). Played them over them so many  times that my  eight year old was humming "Hooray Hooray" by day two!

I remember the immense popularity of these LPs and they were being played everywhere and everyday, being played so often that after a while we all became sick of  them and graduated to other bands (Dire Straights, Pink Floyd et al- or was there something else before them- Doobie Brothers?) and never heard this music again.  Anyone still listening to Boney  M was now considered ghati and uncool.

And this last week hearing the songs again was magical. The music still has the power to bring a smile  to one's lips, uplift the soul and break into dance after all these years.

"She's crazy like a fool...."