India is on a date with Oscar

The Indian presence at the 81st Academy Awards was unprecendeted. For once, India did not feature in only the foreign film category. Nor is Satyajit Ray, a great contributor to Indian cinema, the only Indian anymore to have one an award. AR Rahman joins him and does India proud.

As does Resul Pookutty, part of the sound mixing team which also won an award and the gorgeous kids from Mumbai who endeared a worldwide audience.

From the riot of hyper-pink-costumed dancers who performed a modern day jazz bharat natyam* to the dhol** players among the audience, the Indian actors who attended the event and the mindboggling number of awards Slumdog Millionaire won - the night truly belonged to bringing the world several steps closer to India.

Besides the entertainment factor, this movie and now these awards, will hopefully make the world more aware of a land which is home to more than a billion people and swelling community overseas. Make them appreciative of a culture of celebration and resilience, much of which languishes in indifference. No, not the politicians and geography majors whose job it is to know. But the next door neighbor in Sweden. The classmate in Australia. The fireman in Alabama. The everyday people around the world who will be curious to know more about a place like no other. And hopefully, just maybe, that curiousity will translate into opportunity for Indians to play host, to learn tolerance and embrace the process of opening of the mind. Because India needs more of an education. What better way than for an exchange of ideas? Only when this is successfully achieved can we claim to belong to a civilized society.



* A form of Indian dance
** An Indian drum-like instrument

The night belongs to Hollywood's Golden Boy

It's Oscar night baby!

Extensive menus and expensive movies

Yesterday, I volunteered at the Greater Boston Food Bank. No, I'm not looking for a pat on the back to say, "Look what a good girl are you." ( I already know that, thanks very much :) It was a fantastic experince I thought worth sharing.

We were approximately 30-50 volunteers from various organizations along with individuals who spent three hours in a cold cement warehouse sorting what I'm told was a little over 13,000 pounds of food. That's the equivalent of 10,000 odd meals with an average of 150+ pounds of food sorted per volunteer. Don't ask for an explanation of the math, these are the figures as I heard them.

The cold warehouse was not as miserable as it sounds. In fact, it was a lot like the movies, complete with conveyor belt, giant forklifts and orders being screamed across the room. On a cold winter day in snowy, icy northeast United States, I'll take the liberty of saying that it would have been impossible to find a happier bunch of people spending their Saturday afternoon in a grey building.

During the time, volunteers were allowed a 15-minute break where we were offered some of the delicious packaged food that we had seen while sorting. Total highlight.

It was a weekend spent like none other and a fabulous experience at that.

Upcoming events: The 81st Annual Academy Awards on February 22nd. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire are leading the nominations while The Dark Knight is trailing at a distance. Who will take home the gold statuettes this year? For now, your guess is as good as mine.

Because some stuff is just better said

Slumdog Millionaire won four Golden Globes. India is particularly overjoyed with the one AR Rahman won for original soundtrack. I join the world when I say. " Am I surprised?" Rahman has been great, not once, not twice, not a couple more times, but every single time. Dil Se, Rangeela, Jaane tu ya jaane na and now this. Jai ho!

The late edition of the news last night said that the latest fad in Goa is "silent parties." Yes, such a thing can exist, apparently. It involves giving people a pair of headphones before they hit the dance floor. They can tune into three available channels and dance the night away with blaring music between their ears but silence just outside that "dance zone." They're allowed to continue well into the next morning because they aren't even waking up the neighbours. Go figure!

I really hate goodbyes.

An evening at the movies

A big goofy grin. That's what you have on your face when you walk out of Slumdog Millionaire. Brilliant all the way to the last frame.

Danny Boyle's latest film featuring debutant Dev Patel is so good! There's just no other way to put it. When a friend mentioned a while ago that I should watch it, I didn't think much of it. How could a movie with a title like that be? Sounded too morbid. I was so wrong.

Based on the book Q&A by Vikas Swarup, Slumdog Millionaire is the story of call center tea boy who lands himself a place on the primetime Indian Television Show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, based on Who wants to be a Millionaire?

How can an ordinary chaiwala from a mobile phone company call center in Mumbai know anything about the world, least of all enough to win hom 20 million Indian rupees? The kind of money that his lot will never see in a lifetime, putting him in the same category as more than 80 percent of the working Indian population.

Slumdog Millionaire is true to all that it shows of India. My only criticism may be that nothing of "other" India had been shown. The "modern," "advanced," "new face," of India. It may have helped in showing to the world that India is more than chawls and outdoor bathrooms. But if the movie is showing at sold out shows across the city and country despite a limited release, a sixth sense says that they probably know about that part anyway.

It's a different experience watching an independent Indian movie with an American audience. Unlike Indian movies starring six-figure super stars, this one had faces no one had seen before but grew to like quite quickly. And the audience was almost all-American. In fact, I may have been the only exception.

The movie also refreshes reasons why you love India, as ironic as it may seem in context of the material. How do expanses of poverty, helplessness and sheer filth remind you of loyalty? Because it makes you reliaze you love India, warts and all. With its traffic jams. With its dysfunctional system of power. With its volatile tempers and unpredicatble days. We love India. For it's fun-factor. For it's strength. For it's spirit. We love you India.

A.R. Rahman's soundtrack is brilliant. The kind that sends a tingle down your spine, similar to the feelings of patriotism that his rendition of Vande Mataram invokes. The camerwork is flawless - fast paced and well edited, throwing you right in the middle of the action. Danny Boyle has made a meticulous movie that surpasses expectation. Two thumbs up to Dev Patel.

Go watch Slumdog Millionaire for its enthralling story. Go watch Slumdog Millionaire to support independent cinema. Go watch Slumdog Millionaire to join in the celebration called India. Or just go watch it for the sheer love of movie watching. It's worth more than the price of the ticket and the popcorn.

Jai Hind!