wrapping it up

well, folks, i'm afraid this is it for the blog. my life at home is not interesting enough to warrent keeping this going, so this will be my last entry.

today is my final day in india and i couldn't ask for a better last dream. i dreamt that i met amitabh bacchan! i got to sit at a table and talk with and swoon over him. he was so special and gentle, he even let me hold his hand. it was so real, i woke up with tears in my eyes. and the 2 songs that are in my head this morning are "can't smile without you" and "don't fear the reaper."

probably what caused such a dream was the HELP bollywood telethon for tsunami victims that was on for hours last night. the finale was amitabh and his son for the first time in history performing together. this was the best going away present i could ever hope for. everyone who is anyone was on this show. for those who know about such things, i kept a list of the amazing stars that performed or appeared. the absolute highlight was adnan sami, the most amazing singer right now, and shah rukh khan doing a medley of his best. here is a list of the rest: amir khan/rani mukergee/lara dutt/bobby deol/anil kapoor/saif ali khan/uday chopra/fardeen khan/amisha patel/aishwarya rai/amitabah/abishek/srk/sanjay dutt/mallika sherawatt/sajid khan/rekha/yash chopra/rishi kapoor/akshay kumar/kareena kapoor(absolutely terrible with a million bucks worth of diamonds strung around her neck clad in crappy salwar)/strings/koena mitra/ramesh sippy/priety zinta/salman khan and zayeed khan(with a big pot leaf on his tank top-the 2 seemed completely strung out)/sonu nigam(in ripped jeans with a drum between his legs-completely self indulgent)/adnan sami/sameera reddy/vivek oberoi(with a heart wrenching speech about his experience first hand with the victims)/and the gorgeous priyanka chopra.

yesterday i couldn't cross the street to save my life cause the streets were chock full of hari krishnas! they were having their festival and a parade was taking up the streets of bombay. they are blissfully delightful. ahh india.

i roamed the streets behind the prince of whales museum yesterday searching for a thai restaurant. after an hour, i came upon a japaneese restaurant called joss with indonesian, thai and vietnamese influences. this place was very chic. sake, which costs 6 bucks in the states was going for 950rps (almost 20 bucks!) and 6 pieces of sushi for around 10. i guess i don't understand this cause we are so much closer to japan here. it was nice to have a change of food, though. the pre fix menu for 400 rocked-twas one of the best meals i've had here. giant bowl of coconut soup, thai salad, indonesian veggies on rice, and tenderloin or chicken, as well as choice of ice cream. it was a delightful change, since i have officially finally burned out of indian food after 14 weeks of eating it.(don't worry, mr sayed and miss bhabi-i will get the taste back in a few days of being home).

DHOOM-A REVIEW
this is a film that i have avoided since it's release on my last trip to india, but it's still playing after all this time, a rare feat with all the film turnover here. it's a huge huge hit with the young set. i avoided it cause the 2 main actors are pieces of wood-abishek bacchaan and john abraham. however, with enough action and special effects surrounding them, even 2 wooden sticks can produce a flame. the theatre was full of babies-the man in front of me had 5 boys (ching ching jackpot for an indian daddy). the kids absolutely love this one and all the songs, especially the theme song doom macha da are chart toppers and popular cell phone ring tones. tons of action and glitz, very fast motorcycles fueled by nitris oxyde, tons of fights in slow motion on top of speeding semi's, boats leaping, cycles leaping over moving trains, glamerous girlies (esha deol, who now goes by "esha" daughter of very famous bollywood actors hema malini and dharmendra) i think she is still a bit too young, but hey, brittney spears does it. my favorite one was uday chopra. he reminded me of a young dharmendra and i haven't seen him before. there's even a gambling heist in goa aka oceans 11. the movie isn't an art piece, nor does it claim to have any redeeming lessons, however, if action and pyrotechnics is what you are looking for and pure fun, or if you are a boy between the ages of 2 and 25, this film is for you. i'm a 39 year old western female and i liked it a lot. i give it 3 stars.

so that's gonna be it for this blog. i already know how it will all end. i get home after 30 hours of travel, i eat and drink all the things i couldn't get here, even though bombay is pretty diverse, i cuddle my dog for all the dogs i couldn't cuddle in the streets here, i spend days a week re-creating the food memory on devon, i give out indian presents to all the special people in my life like i'm santa clause, i go back to work, i cry every time i listen to rabbi shergill. and as time goes by, i long to come back to india. i put on my salwar kameez, my silver bell ankle bracelets, and i dance around my house to "mahi ve...that's the way..mahi ve......"

bindifry