Indian Samurai इंडियन सामुराई

I just read Delirious Delhi by Dave Prager who released this book after the success of his blog (ourdelhistruggle.com) about his adventures for 18 months in Delhi.

 

A urban tale that describes Delhi by combining personal experiences and research: the structure of the city, transportation, weather, tips about food (and man is he a foody!), hospitals, peons in offices, rickshaw and taxi drivers etc.

 

Delicious!

Very funny, very humble, very optimistic, very informative also.

It's very personal, but I could completely relate with my own adventure in Delhi.

 

Every year I go see Ganesh departure in the sea… (The idea here is that Ganesh, the God with an elephant head, comes in people’s homes every year and after a couple of days (up to 10) he leaves, carrying everbody’s sins with him in the purifying water.)

But for the first time I went at night on the main day of immersion…

Walking home took me two hours. Partly because it was overcrowded (especially Juhu Tara Road where all the processions happen) and partly because I was so busy filming!

 

It was amazing to see the joy, the fervour, the passion!

People also kept coming to my mini video camera and smiled and sang.

My ass got groped only twice which is a performance seeing the number of people gathered…

 

A truly energising and incredible experience!

 

Pictures of my previous Ganapati festivals are here. 

 

Here is the short version (10 min) of the 2 hours of shooting I did:

 

And here the long (30 minute) version!

 Tastes and colors are not to be argued... 

And since people always want what they don’t have, Asians have surgery to “un-slant” their eyes, Blacks straighten their hair, Whites burn their skin in the sun... 

Indians are no exception to the rule and skin-whitening cosmetics are as successful as they can be damaging for the skin. 

 

On this topic, I wrote on this blog five years ago: “Indian models are successful abroad and foreign models are successful in India: everything is balanced!” 

 

And 2013 Miss America turns out to be of Indian origin! 

 

Now compare the complexion of Miss America 2013 and the contestants to Miss India 2013. Funny isn’t it? Not sure Nina Davuluri, the American crowned model, would win a beauty pageant in India!