March 2013
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New Orleans raised African-American-Bengali whose... →
“There is no written African American history for specific reasons, all the way through the Civil War… All the stories were oral or through gospel singing. It was always an underground thing… Bengali immigrants couldn’t integrate with the White community either; they had the same restrictions as the Blacks because of their appearance. Consequently, stories about Bengalis or Mexicans or...
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February 2013
6 posts
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B'lore stray dog ears
Most dogs, throughout Bangalore city, have a little bite missing off either one or two of their ears.
An auntie who lives near by enlightened me on the clipping of street dogs’ ears under the Bruhat Bangalore/Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Commonly known as BBMP), the government, for an animal birth control (ABC) intitiative, in which different animal welfare organizations/societies (AWO/S)...
People watching: Hair
The Koramangala Sony Signal intersection in Bangalore is known for it’s lengthy waiting time, nearly nine minutes during certain times of the day. Once, I’d walked into Gangothri, a sagar at the intersection, finished my idli and sambar meal and walked out with the traffic having not moved at all. The other day, I was waiting along the main road’s divider, completely entertained...
January 2013
1 post
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December 2012
6 posts
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WatchBabu Bagan, pandal making in the neighborhood my father grew up in.
Durga Puja, Kolkata 2012
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Entered my first online giveaway, ever, today!
myndbloc:
Vitamix’s blender. Fingers crossed! = )
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Custard apple season is over.
One of my favorite smoothie fruits! A sweet fruit, perfect with the addition of milk. No processed sugar necessary. Til next season,
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November 2012
26 posts
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"Being Human in a Networked Society" →
myndbloc:
Takeaways from Bangalore’s recent Thinkathon, on habits of present-day, technology influenced living: goo.gl/hUQQn ”These so-called habits have direct implications on how young people learn and engage with conditions of knowledge production. That which we think of as a natural response within the networked worlds is often a habit that disguises the complex mechanics of control,...
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An ugly side of Diwali celebration →
myndbloc:
Trafficking / Purchasing women is considered auspicious during Diwali season. Disturbing.
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“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy,...”
– Brené Brown (via Maria Popova’s Literary Jukebox)
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Butter fruit smoothies
What I know as ‘avocado’ is called ‘butter fruit’ here in Bangalore.
My neighborhood is filled with fresh fruit/veggie shops and I discovered the availability of butter fruit milkshakes about a month ago now. Of course, a recent fix. A nutritious one in twice a week doses, with the adding of very little sugar. High in fiber, potassium, folate, the good cholesterol, protein...
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Finally (almost) used to bus life in Bangalore
I’ve learnt I shouldn’t ever think a bus will come to a full stop even when standing right in front of or getting off at a bus stop. There’s the ticket wallah who hangs out of the bus sometimes. He clearly also gets paid to be a hype man. A few times, I’ve yelled where I’m trying to go, I get a confident ‘ha (yes)’ from ticket/hype man, then have to hop...
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Animal watching, on the go
Two Saturdays ago, it started raining while on the 201 bus to Madivalla. Lots of animals strategically roam this bus stand area, given it’s on one of the longest stretches of fresh veggies/fruits markets in Bangalore. As soon as I hopped off the bus, I was looking for shelter. The roofed bus stand was of course packed and in the mix of the dry people stood a cow. Dry, no rush to leave and...
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The Obama Era
Shoutout to The States’ Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Federal Voting Assistance Program, the privilege of online voting, the very considerate pre-election mailing period for overseas citizens voting and local government reps who ensured all I’d air/e-mailed was good to go with no prolonged waiting! Obama is the locally global role model, the believer in bettering the...
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People watching's serendipity
Before stepping out of B’lore for a bit, I was wrapping up loose ends at the Tata Docomo HQ, once again, in an inefficient service cycle of customers who also needed clarification and help on why their product wasn’t working as guaranteed. The toll-free call center was spared some multiple calls and transferring this evening. The entertaining part of in-store customer servicing,...
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Sandy takes the West, Nilam takes the East
Alerting week of weather patterns. Bothered by media STILL doubting the fact of global climate change’s effects in the severity of both storms.
Reality that shouldn’t be debatable at this point (And should have surely been a more weighted presidential debate topic):
“Meteorologists have called [Hurricane Sandy] ‘the biggest storm ever to hit the U.S. mainland,’...
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October 2012
19 posts
Durga Puja in Kolkata = 3,500+ photos, 300+ video...
= Lots of colorful editing!
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People watching, while in Kolkata traffic:
Our big yellow Ambassador taxi came to a heavy traffic light stop, as another, with a young couple and their two (or so) year old daughter, joined us to my near left. As expected, both drivers turned off their roaring engines to save fuel and save any more heat from joining the tropical air. All of our windows down, enjoying a week of beautiful weather in the city. Lots of beggars made their...
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A Bengali custom now comes with more meaning
Durga Puja, the Indian festival celebrating good triumphing evil, has wrapped up til next year! No exaggeration, imagine a massive, creativity filled carnival, going on in all of one of the most populated cities (Kolkata) of the world, for a week. Hopping in and out of the possible 4,500+ (99% handmade) pandals (huge, intricate shrines) to see various renditions of a mythological Goddess. Visual...
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More wandering, less sitting
This stay, time usually spent visiting LOTS of family (= 2-3hr hosting filled with heaps of rice, sweets, chai and storytelling that shouldn’t be rushed) was minimal and more of lots of walking, street food grubbing and public people watching during the most festive time of the year in Kolkata. And in the mix of, enjoying a breeze and view from my family’s rooftops/verandas, eating in...
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Hanging with Baba
Here, in Kolkata, celebrating Durga Puja for the first time and spending lots of quality time with my father this week, seeing him in his complete ‘local city boy’ essence: Cracking jokes with his childhood friends who still live in the neighborhood, hopping on the bus like he’s a kid again, knowing all the street dogs names named by his block, showing me the fields he used to...
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Kolkata tomorrow!
Durga Puja festivities, the biggest of where my family is from! First time. Ready for the beauty and the madness. Bucket list check.
