May, 2006 posts

Like a monkey needs a bicycle

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006

Unable to rid Delhi of aggressive rhesus monkeys, and unwilling to trap or kill animals some consider an incarnation of Hanuman, Delhi cops are getting creative. They’re buying statues of bigger monkeys called langurs (via India Uncut):

The department… plans to procure stone statues of langurs. “These dummies will look real. They will have wheels for [...]

The Indian maiden fantasy

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006

Even in a Hollywood movie directed by a desi, male desis whose names are not Kal Penn will be waiting a long time before they ever play romantic lead. But if you’re female, walk right in.
“Chris Tucker will be playing the main character in [Gangsta MD, a remake of Munnabhai MBBS],” said Nair, adding that [...]

‘The Namesake’ trailer

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006

The trailer for The Namesake looks fabulous, 35mm doused in regret, and not just for its greater 2nd gen focus than Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel. Director Mira Nair cast a bushel of eye candy: model Jacinda Barrett (Bridget Jones 2) plays the WASP girlfriend, Tabbu turns auntie into MILF, and part-desi actress Zuleikha Robinson plays Gogol’s [...]

Fight Club

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006

You may have heard of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group of medieval geeks who gather in cardboard armor every week to beat each other senseless about the head.
The AP now tells us about groups modeled on the movie Fight Club where the fighting is real:
Gints Klimanis, a 37-year-old software engineer and martial arts [...]

Quality of life

Monday, May 29th, 2006

All the delicious stuff I’m eating in Bombay, and you’re not Seriously, import this, stat.

Saffron pistachio cardamom soy milk, the nectar of gods

Peanut butter and mango kesar sandwiches

Masala paneer wraps. India requires veg-friendly labeling — green means go.

You thought you were being clever with your Indian food hacks. These noodles come pre-masalafied.

Kiss me, I’m vegetarian

Monday, May 29th, 2006

A flush of pleasure came over me when I heard that Bombay is becoming increasingly vegetarian-friendly. Yes, we brutish fruitivores are abusing the underprivileged meat-eaters of the world who just can’t find any meat any more:
House hunters in Bombay increasingly are being asked: “Do you eat meat?” … “Some people are very strict. They won’t [...]

Cinemarosa Paradiso

Monday, May 29th, 2006

Currylingus recently blogged about an activist with the coolest cross-cultural name this side of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Tristyn-Finn Cherian. The tongue-twisting Leah Lakshmi P-S makes an appearance at the Queens Art Museum (via 3rd I):
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a queer Sri Lankan high femme diva without the drama. Burgher/Tamil Sri Lankan by way of [...]

Mon deo!

Monday, May 29th, 2006

I had to report on the pungent case of pirate deo attracting rented dicks:
… big cosmetic manufacturers are hiring foreign detectives to hole out hawkers selling fake deo on the pavements of Churchgate… “We are also contacting international detective agencies to help us get rid of retailers using our labels to sell spurious goods…”
An [...]

The return of magical thinking

Monday, May 29th, 2006

A Calcutta university plans to offer a course on magick:
Well-known magician P C Sorcar’s company Indrajaal, has tied up with Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata to offer what is being regarded as the first-ever course on magic being delivered under an UGC-registered university…
“The aim behind institutionalising magic is to eliminate superstitions and make people think [...]

Shooting up in transit

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

You can now read Ultrabrown on your mobile phone. Point your browser here for posts and here for comments.

‘Rock Candy’ stories

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

My buddy Shaheen, a folk-pop singer from LA, just did a week-long record launch in Bombay. Here’s the coverage from Time Out and the ToI.

Racism by proxy (updated)

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

He’s like Evil Mr. Rogers

Trying to stave off an acquisition by the world’s third-richest man, French steelmaker Arcelor has decided to sell to a Russian steel baron. The CEO decided that Russians are preferable to Indians:
Mittal Steel, an empire spanning five continents, was a “company of Indians,” Mr. Dollé said at the time, and [...]

Sexual Healin’

Friday, May 26th, 2006

You’ll be happy to know that PETA has gone to bat so that animals can swing their batons. They’re making sure Indian zoo animals get laid at least once a year:
The Supreme Court, on a petition filed by NGO People for Ethical Treatment to Animals, have sought responses from various authorities on why over 500 [...]

Cowboys and Indians

Friday, May 26th, 2006

Still from Phir Hera Pheri

I could go for the Bollyback Mountain joke, but sublimated homoeroticism in Bollywood isn’t exactly news.