Parisista

Just saw this story coming across from Digg & Slashdot (thanks for the link, Vicente). Kalyan Verma took this picture of a bus which has a Firefox logo painted all over it
The naysayers on slashdot are calling foul — probably they don’t know the photoshop too well. Here is the link

Main Course
Tandoori fish, Mutton kebabs, Mutton korma, Dal bukhara and curried vegetables to be relished with rice and a choice of rotis. The fish has been “fished” and flown from the Western India for the banquet.
Starter
Pineapple with French dressing and Broccoli soup
On the side
Red cabbage and peach melba
Served on the backdrop of beautiful Mughal Gardens.
Tandoori Kebabs, Dal, Rice and still working lunch? Yea, working my mouth

The press is speculating whether President Bush will snub the Indian-American community again by avoding the Diwali celebrations at the White House. Last year, he was at the White House but did not attend the festival. Looks like it will be the same this year. In a White House press briefing on Oct. 25th (among other pressing issues like Scooter Libbey, Karl Rove, and an ABC reporter’s scathing remarks against the reputation of the White House PR podium), somebody asked about whether the President is going to attend the Diwali celebrations:

Q Second question is on the — now again, most of Indian-American community thankful to the President for initiating — or did initiate the Diwali Festival of Lights at the White House. Now it will be next Wednesday, November 1st, when millions across India and America will — Indians will be celebrating the festival around the globe, including at the White House here. What they are saying in the Indian American community, really, just like President initiates prayers with other groups here in the White House, like Muslims and Jews, and all that, that they are requesting him, please, to the President, this time, that if he can take a few moments and be there at part of the White House Festival of Lights on Wednesday, November 1st.
MR. McCLELLAN: On Wednesday, November 1st? Well, we’ll update you on the President’s schedule later this week.

Obviously, Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary was not aware. Looks like it will be a miss again. President Bush initiated the first ever Diwali in the White House in 2003. He did not attend in person, but Karl Rove lighted the lamp and sought blessings from Goddess Laxmi.
Wanna know more about Diwali, check out the Wikipedia entry.
Diwali at the Golden temple in Amritsar, India

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s new book, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity explains the inner working of India, and brings that ideology to the Western world. In his book Sen smashes the sterotypes and myths around India, and places the idea of India and it’s Indianess in its righteous and well-deserved context.
Zoo Station quotes from The Guardian, in their review titled, Beyond the call centre:

This is a book that needed to have been written. The perception of India in the West and, indeed, among Indians themselves has never been more amorphous as it is now. The Argumentative Indian will provide a new dimension and perspective to that perception. It would be no surprise if it were to become as defining and as influential a work as Edward Said’s Orientalism.
In this superb collection of essays, Sen smashes quite a few stereotypes and places the idea of India and Indianness in its rightful, deserved context. Central to his notion of India, as the title suggests, is the long tradition of argument and public debate, of intellectual pluralism and generosity that informs India’s history.

A quick byte of trivia: Sen still possesses the blue colored Indian passport, even after living abroad for more than 5 decades.

The City of Fremont, California celebrated India’s 58th Independence day. I was just in time to catch a glimpse of Bollywood actress, Urmila Matondkar, the grand marshal for the parade. Unfortunately, I could not get a vantage point for a nice picture of her. Here are couple of other pictures.
I think this one is Fremont mayor, Gus Morrison. Not 100% sure though.

The Orissa float

For Urmila’s pics, go to Google image gallery (if you really need to see some of her pictures)

Found this unique coffee name, Garuda Blend, while shopping (no, not for me, I drink the instant kind). Garuda Blend is by Peet’s Coffee. As per Hindu mythology, Garuda, the eagle bird, is the mount of the Hindu god, Vishnu.
Reads Peet’s Coffee’s website, “…Anyone who likes Indonesian coffees will appreciate Garuda Blend’s well-balanced flavor. It is named for the great bird that carries the Hindu god Vishnu, guardian of the world.”

A gentle satirical imitation of the Bollywood movie, Bunty Aur Babli

via an e-mail from “DJ”.

Bundeep Singh Rangar of Ariadne Capital quotes Sunil Mittal of Bharti Televentures,”I want us to be 12-18 months behind the rest of the world mobile phone market.”
Why? India works differently. The Indian market is about not being innovative or having the best solution in town; it’s about old-fashioned notion of price-point. It’s about deploying technology where the low enough price-point makes it to mass market. People in India need a mobile phone that works; a mobile phone for an average Indian consumer is essentially an uncorded landline phone. And like the landline phone it does not need to have voice mail, 3-way calling, color display, or a WAP browser (The caller-id is necessary though).
Reliance Infocomm, understands it well, and this made the Mobile Phone Revolution happen. Other companies like Bharti have followed suit and have now captured 20% of the Indian Mobile market.
The formula seems to be working, the calls are cheap — 2 cents/minute anywhere, anytime. Bells and whistles are cheaper too; a ringtone is only 15 cents to 20 cents compared to at least 99 cents in US.
As a result, investors are flocking to the market. Bharti Tele-Ventures gave its investor Warburg Pincus a near 6X return on its $300 million investment.
Top up it up with a huge demand for content; it is “hip” to open your day with an SMS containing a Shloka¹ (link to original scripture in Sanskrit, may not work in all browsers) from Bhagavad Gita, followed by read/forward of the latest Santa & Banta or Ajit jokes.
¹ Sankhya Yog or “the Doctrines”, is the most read chapter of Bhagavad Gita. This chapter talks about work and how the focus of oneself should be on work and not about reaping the fruits of it. The English translation of chapter 2 can be read here.