Explorer of Experiences

This post is written as an entry to the #MoreIndianThanYouThink contest by Lufthansa India.  It was a contest I found out through Indiblogger:  http://bit.ly/MITYTIndiblogger  Good ads are rare to see these days. But this Lufthansa India TVC was really touching. Here we have an international airline that has tapped into the EQ of Indians so beautifully. We witness a conversation between a grandfather and his grandson where the former discusses his preconceptions about travelling to Germany by a German airline. But Lufthansa breaks these notions with the airlines being so clued in to India and its culture! This topic 'How the world is more Indian than you think' is an interesting one. While our country with her burgeoning young population is aping the West, the rest of the world is watching India closer than we think. Decade after decade, NRIs have been leading the way in being India's culture ambassadors in foreign countries. Until five years ago, I was an NRI too. So...

A simple, small town girl on her path to self discovery after her fiancée dumps her.  We've heard that story before so w hat, you may wonder, is different about this movie? I find out....by mistake! One movie in recent weeks that really has got me excited is Gulab Gang. Not because it stars Madhuri Dixit, but because watching Juhi Chawla as a villain seemed promising from the trailers. I went to Victory Cinema (Pune) which by the way is a very charming heritage building (the balcony seat cost me Rs. 80...seriously)! The opening credits begin with a song showing Kangana Ranaut dancing...okay wow, I thought, Victory shows trailers! But then two minutes in and I realize wait a minute, they are playing Queen the movie! Darn, what a bummer. We put together the pieces of the puzzle and concluded that Gulab Gang was banned from playing and hence Victory decided to screen Queen. With no major star cast and having not read any prior reviews, I decided to give this movie a fa...

Following 'An African Myth - Part 1', I wrote part deux in July 2010, so keep that in mind while you're reading and if you think some details are outdated. Enjoy :) To get out and about in Nigeria, it was never safe for us non-locals to walk on roads or hail a taxi or ride pillion on the 'okada' (local two-wheelers), so we had to depend on our tall and frail driver, An okada rider Mr.Emmanuel, one of the few Nigerians with a heard-before name. Otherwise, Nigerians have the most amusing names. Take for instance, old Tunday who drove the school bus and Mr. Saturday who taught me 'la langue du francais' and Peace (or was it Happiness?) the cook, and Mr.Yellow, one of dad's brawny customers. Want to hear more names? Chew on these – Messy, Blessing, Gift, Monday, Tuesday, Godfried, Ejyoma, Tolulope...(Oh btw, Tolulope is the mega star creator of the Youtube video series 'Don't Jealous Me'. Watch this webisode below called 'Pronounce M...