Sunday, August 15, 2010

India at 63. Still an immature kid!

Sad but true. A lacklustre speech by an uninspiring Prime Minister did nothing to lift the nation's spirits. Gloom rules. The old euphoria has all but disappeared. Perhaps I am wrong, but this was the first year in recent memory when urchins selling the tricolour at street lights may have lost money. Nobody was buying. At a small lunch, mighty media men and women discussed the state of the nation in despairing tones. I'd packed off Arundhati to watch Peepli {Live}. Not the best plan. Now even she is depressed. In a way, the massive scale of the CWG corruption has served a purpose - people are asking how and why Kalmadi and gang are getting away with this . Simple my dear Watson - too many big shots are equally culpable. And somebody somewhere will squeal if the heat is turned up at this stage. The same story repeating itself - remember how effortlessly Lalit Modi and gang got away with the IPL scam, despite the uproar. Who is going to bell the cat? There are too many of them around! But at least, these days, the aam aadmi is aware of the massive cover up. For that alone, the badnaam media deserves a 'shabaash'. The day the middle class manoos decides 'enough is enough', those fat cats in Delhi will know the 63- year- old party is finally over. So far, public expressions of anger have been restricted to just the obviously oppressed - as one has seen in Kashmir ( by the way, isn't it shameful how ineptly Omar Abdullah is handling the volatile situation?). The Maoists have also sent out a strong and lethal message to Delhi. That leaves the long suffering and mainly silent middle class. Once that class takes to the streets, there will be no stopping the uprising. In its own rather naive way, 'Peepli' has galvanised this very segment - the blase multiplexwallas. Whether or not anything actually changes, remains to be seen. My guess is, we'll forget all our Independence Day angst by this time tomorrow, and maybe look at those unsold paper flags lying in a neglected heap, and wonder why India with all its formidable potential is still where it is despite extraordinary individuals showing us the way....the answer , my friend, is blowing in the wind.
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On a less depressing note, fine dining wise, this has been a pretty exciting week. Mind you, that is tougher than it sounds, given my strict Shraavan food restrictions. Chef Kittichai at the newly opened KOH, produced Thai vegetarian fare that tantalised my taste buds in a way that took me off guard ( in other words, I over ate). Clad in his trademark white jeans, his feet shod in bright red Crocs, this modest New York-based Chef , who belongs to an elite category of superchefs (he has been invited twice to the Belgian Hangar 7 , which is the mecca for chefs), has set up his first restaurant in India and seems delighted by the enthusiastic response of gourmets here. All I can say is I have yet to eat as delicious a meal outside Thailand. Even the standard green curry was elevated to a new level - subtle, creamy and fragrant. But it was Kittichai's Jasmine flavoured Pannacota that has me hooked! Wobbly and inviting, just one spoonful made me believe my senses had been trapped in a garden full of mogra blossoms. Combined with crisp puffed rice, this is an inspired culinary creation of the most evolved kind. No wonder Kittichai's restaurants across the world ( Barcelona, in particular ) are attracting so much attention. I can't wait to go back and sample some of his other signature dishes - the fish , in particular. Ah well.... for the next three weeks or so, I should keep my thoughts and food habits as 'satvik' as possible! Wish me luck, self restraint and immense will power!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is maybe easy to observe subjects And make movies And make money And then another movie And more money But maybe not that easy to jump into subjects to change subjects. Real And Reel - too different.

Latha said...

The underbelly has nothing to lose. They are pushed to the corner. Hence they would revolt - what the heck.
The middle class is the dreamer class. They want to become rich by crook, if not by hook. Hence they'll be too busy searching for ways to fulfil their aspirations. They will not jump into the fray in order to protest anything lest their apple cart of dreams be toppled. They'd rather put their hard earned money in every hand that stretches & 'co-operate' with the powers that be in order to get things moving for them.
I think there should be a generational change in politics in order to bring about some order.
Remember BoneyM...Belfast.
'It's a country that's changing..Oh it's a country that's changing...It's a country that's changing all eh..when people comes & people are leaving.'
Nothing's gonna happen in our generation. When the gennext comes, things might change.

ritesh said...

Another 15 august. Wish India burns. Only then she can rise like a Phoenix. Like US did after Civil War.

Radhika Gupta said...

Today the state of our country is too bad to feel proud...i hope on some day i'll actually feel proud to be an indian...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Though,A farmer kill himself ,govt gives 1 lakh for that sucide.
but when a super star makes a film on that case,he makes crores from that case.
its our india

Priya said...

Lazy spirits can't be lifed by tthe speech of another Lazy person(the PM). Buying a tricolor and trying to feel proud of being an Indian is not the way to show ur Patriotism and to whom? In a Nation where every single person knows that each one of us is corrupted in one way or the other, is moral upliftment can do anything?
Our film makers do make patriotic movies on a regular manner and the impact is momentary. Public expression of anger has changed nothing in the past and can only change when it turns to violence.
Just dreaming about a better India will not change the mindset of the dirty politicians and the AAM AADMI.
Peepli will win some awards and farmer sucides will continue. One day we will loose all our cultivating lands in the name of industialisation and will survive on the imported food materials or industrial wastes.
The country will change definitely...

चंद्रमौलेश्वर प्रसाद said...

"A lacklustre speech by an uninspiring Prime Minister did nothing to lift the nation's spirits. Gloom rules..."

When the Prime Minister of the country folds hands before stone pelters and the hands of army are tied ... what else ....:(

Theyoginme said...

Its my fifth day as an eggetarian, so thank you for the inspiration I am getting from your shravan vege only month.

I plan to last past the month...perhaps eternally and now I am being encouraged to become vegan by my yoga friends (no milk, no butter no cheese no eggs no nothing)... there are some naturally occuring half day fasts due to jet lag. Its all making sense now.

Theyoginme said...

ps. On the India turning 63..we live in a land of contradictions, denials, and noise...and if the traffic nightmare I faced trying to get to the new terminal 3 in Delhi from Noida, last wed eve is any evidence to the chaos that exists in large cities - good luck India... perhaps the country should consider the following anthem "na bibi na bachcha, na baap badda na bhaiya, and the whole thing is dat ke bhaiya subse badda rupaiya...."

Jai Hind...

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ROHAN KARKHANIS said...

jasmine pannacotta??? isnt panna cotta supposed to have gelatin?? ( more than likely made from the gel content of beef bones)

Anil Kumar said...

Sardar Manmohan Singh as PRIME MINISTER is a GADDAR for the country. His personal Loyality and honesty are USELESS because he is compromising with the goodness of COUNTRY and its poors.

If this PM remains silent and tries to coverup the CWG 2010 mess then he doesnt deserve the tag of an honest man. HE LOOKS LIKE AN OPPORTUNISTIC who cares about his own ASS at the cost of country.

Unknown said...

the indian rich get richer and the poor might as well suicide..and what does the rest of the junta do ?? create a ruckus for a while ...then forget!!

shame on us !

Unknown said...

India truly had an opportunity to show the world that it had integrity ..and we blew it guys and gals!

corruption on any levels is unacceptable ..but when the rich do it badwagiri ..thoo-thoo..maybe we should apply some boot-polish on kalamadi fat face..and make his fat arse suffer sitting on a donkey ..i stop here ..i feel the donkey will be embarrased ..let kalamadi walk bare feet and slog ..

how do we get these fat-politicians to respect us ..and our motherland ...

jago junta ...otherwise hum sab ka balatkar ..is nischit !!

Harish said...

our prime minister, is way too mum. his favourite sport would be "statue" .. remember how we played it in our jawaani and bachpan.

these CWG and IPL scamsters should be given BPL (Bum Pe Laath) But after all this locha, they will be back with their backs on the cozy makhmali hot seats.

people in kashmir actually love Omar. they have taken his name literally from patthar to chappal it is -- O MAAR...!!! all the way.

Buzzintown Blogger said...

Did you really need to mix the pathetic state of our country wid your yummy food party? Plz don't mix off the shelve topics

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Joseph said...

WHEN THE INTERNAL INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE IN POWER ARE BEING CASUALLY TAKEN WITH A BLIND FOLD ATTITUTE SUCH FUNNY THINGS HAPPENS. SAD ITS INDIA. THE MORE THEY EAT, STILL THEY STARTVE


Joseph
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