Anniversaries and Kerala

Time has sped up again, come in from its cosmic cigarette break. Back to business. I have been in India for two months today. And hey...wait a minute...this blog is a year old this month! **clapping** It all began with fancy broccoli burgers. Never fear, I have plenty more nonsensical, irrelevant chatter I want to share with the anonymous cyber public...

Diwali just came and went in our part of the world. I went to Kerala for a long weekend, and it was lovely. That lushness that sweeps the horizon, dipping and dancing. Air that breathes. For a few days, she stopped raining, kept the electricity generators running, and tried hard not to smother me in her sticky, moist embrace.

Kerala always manages to rearrange me in some way that I can never fully define. As if she has grabbed my soul and firmed it up for me. She stays with me even when I forget her.

Also I must give major props to Sanju, my cousin, who was wonderful and helped me navigate terrain that is more strange than familiar. Thanks, da':) My Malayalam has dramatically improved, I can now string together entire sentences. Entire sentences! The only catch is you can slip away from marriage questions far more easily if you can pretend not to understand anything. Or become suddenly fascinated by the smirking family goat, chewing on his lunch, looking distinctly smart-alecky.

Comment on our times

...when early this morning I mistook a shard of sunlight on the dance floor of my Bharatnatyam class for the blinging of my cellular phone...


Yes, I am taking Bharatnatyam. It's cool and stuff.

Side-effects of Homesickness

I was in a bookstore last week, and they were blasting 70s American music--stuff I normally can't stand. But I found myself lingering to listen, wandering the Business Management stacks, and tapping my feet to ABBA.

Sharmi Dairy

Funny Ad that I saw when waiting for my food at a cafe.

"Sharam bolke bhi ek cheese hoti hai" Amitabh Bachan or wanna-be Bachan's voice-over booms. [Translates to: There's a thing called shame--a very recognizable filmi dialogue.]

And then you have a pound of cheese labeled, "Sharam Cheese"..hahaha...and the Bachan voice, goes, "Sharam Cheese better than Swiss Cheese."

I almost choked on my samosa, I was laughing so hard.

Monkeys in Bangalore

I saw them last week, duelin' on our balcony. Two pale-furred monkeys squabbling viciously. Clawing. Angry. Apparently they visit once a month from Banaras. Or so I've been told. Anyone know different? Seriously, how cool is this? For those who might not know, monkeys are not common at all in Southern India. Our monkeys hang around Delhi, and don't mess with the dosa-eaters.

Speaking of dosa, something's missing from my diet. And that something is dairy--I am 89 percent sure. Gotta get on that curd. I don't normally drink milk--a habit which will have to come a swift end. I never fully appreciated how cheese-laden an American diet is.

When I gave up meat three years ago, I would have vivid dreams of juicy steak, chicken legs, and lamb. In India, I obssessively dream about food. Doesn't matter what's happening, at some point I will take a break to devour some rice and sambhar. Which is strange, since there is no shortage of rice-and-sambhar in my life right now.

Last night I dreamt I was eating chocolate ice-cream and banana-split sundae served to me by a white woman wearing a red uniform. In my dream, I am embarrased that the woman will know that they are both for me. To avoid this, I pretend I am waiting for someone to join me.

Update: Acha baba, monkeys live all over India not just the north. *sigh*

That Bike's a Chick-magnet