"The youngest headmaster in the world" - BBC News

Just as my friend who recommended this article, I was speechless after reading this article on BBC News. My eyes were also getting full of tears... It was just beautiful, read it for yourselves.

Ju goes Bollywood

Yeah, my nickname here is "Ju", pronounced as [you], not [jew], as Jurate is way too complicated in a country with names like "Anantharaman Subbaraman", for example... It also gives plenty of opportunity for everyone to feel like they are funny when they crack the same old jokes interchanging "you" and "Ju". Everyone's favourite and the only real-life situation is:

R: "Hey, nice bag, who is this for?"
P: "I got this bag for [you]"
R: "Really? Oh, thank you!"
P: "I didn't mean you, I meant Ju...."
R: "Oops, so sorry..."
P: "No, I am sorry..."
A: "Hahahahahahaha!"

Now, really bad jokes are:

A: "[you] did it."
B: "No, I didn't do it." - knowing that A meant "Ju"
A: "Not you, Ju!"

Or

A: "[you] is....."
B: " Your grammar is so bad HAHAHA...."

Anyway, getting to the main theme of the post - Bollywood dancing. One of our dearest friends is getting married this fall and she is having a big fat Indian wedding, with Sangeet and all. Sangeet is a singing and dancing party that is held after Mehndi, where they draw ornaments with henna. Some say that the Sangeet is the merriest part of an Indian wedding. Usually, young girls and family members practice group dances and perform for everyone during the Sangeet. So far I was safe as no one ever thought - and rightfully so - of me being able to move to Bollywood tunes. That's until our dearest friend decided that she wanted all of us to dance. I still thought that "all of us" didn't include me - how could it? - and I was smart enough not to confirm it with her for the longest time feeling happier living with this illusion. No such luck, I am not getting away this time - I will have to perform on a stage in front of who knows how many hundreds and hundreds of strangers :o/

Then the day of the first practice came. I was happy to know that this was "girls only" practice. Our friend got a choreographer and promised me in an SMS that it would be lots of fun and I would get nice and uncomplicated steps. I tried to believe it, but my intuition was telling me otherwise :o) When I heard the song, Thoda Thoda Pyar (thoda = little, pyar = love) from a movie called Love Aaj Kal, I knew I was in a big trouble - it's damn fast, yaaaaar! Then the steps started. All the Bollywood moves I knew so far were limited to "playing the flute" to Hare Ram, "screwing the light bulb", "chopping the vegetables", "slapping a man on his face", "applying kohl"... That's right, this is Bollywood dancing for you! I mean, if the song says "kajra re, kajra re...", which means "kohl", you pretend to apply kohl under your eyes, not completely literally, euf course, but close enough. Unfortunately for me, none of these moves were included in this dance. Why? Well, as our frustrated salsa instructor liked to say, Bollywood dancing is all about dancing out the words of a song, no need to listen to the melody, improvising is a big NO-NO ;o) So, different words mean new moves.

Our teacher asked me if I could understand the words of the song and when the other girls said that they could not understand them either, she.... repeated the words a bit slower in the same language... whatever that was (Punjabi, perhaps?). That helped, NOT. I still need to find someone who will translate them for me, maybe then I will understand what the %$^#*@ I am supposed to be doing. "So you do like this, and turn and do like that and turn again, twist your arms, hold one finger with the other hand, hip out, got it? Do it!" -- "Eh, do like what...?" :o) It didn't help also that the teacher was "a lefty" as she kept saying and sometimes she did the steps our way, other times - the opposite way. Or that she was doing the same step differently every time.... Or that the other girls were doing something different at the same time as we were all struggling to remember the routine as well as do it along with the fast music.

I thought I would find the video and then I would be able to see the steps, but unfortunately, our choreographer was the creative type and had come up with her own steps rather than copying the movie. In the movie they seem to have more pauses than we do! :o/ We looked like we were after a tough workout while we managed to put together only 1 minute and 5 second of our dance: jumping like a rabbit, doing balle balle, bow and arrow, slap your bum, do the whip move, wave, heartbeat etc... After all that I didn't find it funny that the teacher could not remember even my nickname - seriously, how hard it is to remember "you"? - and I became Sue*, then Jew, after which I asked her to just call me Shruti. She kept saying that I looked terrified and the only look she gave me was "who is this loser?".... ;o) Anyway, I am sure it will get better, it's just so much fun complaining about it for now. Check out the song below:



Not sure if it's true, but I heard that the boys will be dancing to the Twist - now this looks really complicated! When watching it, keep in mind that the main guy, Saif Ali Khan, is 39. You gotta respect the man.



*Any guesses why Sue? :o) Because there was an English girl called Sue in Rang de Basanti or as the teacher explained herself "Someone WAS called Sue, noooo?" Hehehe

Navarathri Celebrations

I wanted to share another email that was forwarded to me today, which will be interesting to those who want to learn something about Hinduism. Navarathri celebrations will start on the 19th of August and end on the 28th with Dussehra this year.


"May be this can be seen by children and grand children to know as to why we celebrate Navarathri

Nine Goddess

Literal meaning – ‘nine nights’, this nine-day period from the new moon day to the ninth day of Ashvin is considered the most auspicious time of the Hindu Calendar and is hence the most celebrated time of the year. Although it has different names in different parts of India, it is celebrated by Hindus from all regions. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm as the conquest of good over evil. Every region has its own myths and reasons to explain this.

The nine different aspects of Devi are worshiped over the nine days. These are the most popular forms under which she is worshiped:

1. Durga: goddess beyond reach;
2. Bhadrakali: the auspicious power of time;
3. Amba or Jagdamba: mother of the world;
4. Annapurna: giver of food and plenty;
5. Sarvamangala: auspicious goddess;
6. Bhairavi: terrible, fearful, power of death;
7. Chandika or Chandi: violent, wrathful, furious;
8. Lalita: playful; and
9. Bhavani: giver of existence.

The festivities culminate on the tenth day, called variously Vijayadashmi, Dushehra when people in most parts of the country burn effigies of Ravana, Meghanatha and Kumbhakarna.

Some people fast on all nine days, eating only fruit and milk dishes. Some fast only on the eighth or ninth day. As the festival is dear to the mother goddess, on the eighth or ninth day many people invite over nine young girls from the neighborhood. These girls are treated as the goddess herself. People ceremonially wash their feet, worship them and then offer food to the "girl-goddesses" .

On the first day of the Navaratras, grains of barley are planted in the puja room of the house. A small bed of mud is prepared in which barley seeds are sown after a small puja has been performed. Every day some water is sprinkled on it. On the tenth day, the shoots are about 3 - 5 inches in length. After the puja, these seedlings are pulled out and given to devotees as a blessing from god. The seedlings are placed on their caps, behind their ears, and inside books to bring good luck. This custom suggests a link to harvesting. The sowing and reaping of barley is symbolic of the "first fruit". Soon after this festival, the sugarcane crop is harvested and the winter crops are sown.

The Legend

This festival commemorates the victory of Goddess Durga over a demon, Mahishasur. Endowed with power by the blessing of Lord Shiva, the demon started destroying innocent people. The gods then invoked Goddess Durga and asked for her help. The goddess, astride a lion, fought with the demon and cut off his head.

According to one hypothesis, in ancient times, this was a festival intended for the Kshatriyas. After the four-month long monsoon when military activity was not possible, this was considered a good time to start afresh on one's conquests. For nine days before starting on the war journey, kings prayed to the nine different aspects of Devi or Adishakti. They also prayed for their arms and ammunition. The tenth day was when the journey for the conquest began.

The origin of this custom can also be traced to the Ramayana. According to it, Rama had to pray to the nine different aspects of Devi to be able to kill Ravana. He then accumulated enough power to kill Ravana on the tenth day, which was called Vijayadashmi or Victory Day. Since then, the tradition of praying to Devi for nine days has continued and was especially pronounced amongst the Kshatriyas who believed that by doing so, they too would be able to defeat the most powerful enemy.

Celebrations in different parts of India

Today, it is celebrated more for its mythological significance and reaffirms the Hindu faith in the triumph of good. Even today, the nine different forms of the goddess are worshiped. Though several communities of Hindus are staunch vegetarians, Navaratri is one exception. On the eighth day, many communities, especially Gurkha and other hill tribes who are believers in the Devi cult sacrifice an animal. This blood sacrifice is a form of thanksgiving to the goddess for a wish that has been granted. People often sacrifice a buffalo symbolic of the killing of Mahishasura by Durga.

In Bengal, this period is celebrated as Durga Puja. Groups and residents’ associations in towns and cities erect beautiful marquees, where they install the idol of the Mother Goddess. In Calcutta, as also other places, there are competitions held and the most beautiful and creatively done marquee gets a prize. For all the nine days, the marquee becomes the center of all activity where cultural events and competitions are organized every day.

In Gujarat, this is the time for the joyous Garba and Dandia dances [that dance with sticks you might have seen on "Bride & Prejudice" ;o)] and people pour out at night to participate in this community festival. Women and girls in all their fineries dance around the garb a pot, clapping their hands in rhythmic movement. The pot is decorated with flowers, betel leaves, and has its mouth covered with a coconut.

In Tamil Nadu, the first three days of the festival are dedicated to Lakshmi, the next three to Durga and the last three to Sarasvati. The nine-day celebration is compartmentalized in certain parts of the country, dedicating three days each to a trinity of goddesses: to Durga the goddess of valor, to Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and to Saraswati the goddess of knowledge.

The one thing that remains constant in most parts of the country is that daytime is exclusively for prayers, fasting, and solemnity while the nights are spent in joy and revelry. Men, women, and children, who have fasted during the day, have a light repast of fruit or other non-cereals at night before going out to enjoy the festive season.

In Punjab, people organize Jagrans to sing devotional songs all night in praise of the Mother Goddess. Solemnity and piety mark these nine days as even those Punjabis who do not keep a fast, stop eating non-vegetarian and impure food items like onion and garlic.

Another part of the Navratri celebrations is the Ramlila. In places like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, almost every locality has its own group of actors re-enacting episodes from the life of Lord Rama. This is probably because, the day after Navratri, i.e. on the tenth day of Ashvin called the Vijaya Dashami, it is said that Lord Rama killed Ravana and other demons to rid the earth of evil.

Rituals

The tempo of life changes perceptibly in every family, in markets, in Mata’s temples, long before the festival commences. In homes, the corner or room reserved for puja becomes the scene of intense preparation. A coconut, saffron or sandalwood paste, a garba (perforated earthen pot), a kumbh (earthen pot), grains of wheat or barley, ghee (clarified butter) or mustard oil for a lamp that will burn incessantly all through the nine special nights, are placed in readiness for the ceremonial ritualistic initiation of the festival.

Housewives draw designs and emblems with rice flour, turmeric powder-and vermilion. Each of the motifs symbolizes abundance and represents hope for the future.

The eagerly awaited first day of the festival witnesses a flurry of ritualistic activity. On a small platform of fresh earth in front of the idol of the Mother Goddess, all the things collected for the puja are placed and the lamp is lit. As evening falls, people gather around the sacred flame that is constantly fed with ghee or oil, and soon, mellow voices singing bhajans can be heard from home after home.

On Lalita Panchami (the fifth day), children gather all the books in the house before a sacred lamp and invoke the blessings of Saraswati. It is also the occasion for all artisans to lay down their tools before the goddess and seek her benediction upon their trade.

On the eighth and ninth days of the festival, yagnas are performed as a final act of farewell that marks the termination of the ceremonies. Ghee or clarified butter, a sweet concoction of rice cooked in condensed milk (paayas or kheer) and sesame seeds are traditional items used in the yagna to the chanting of mantras conveying the theme – "This is my offering to God".

On the tenth day or Vijaya Dasami, more popularly known as Dussehra, enormous effigies of Ravana stuffed with firecrackers are torched with flaming arrows to the delight of throngs of revelers.

People read "The Devi Mahatmyam" (Glory of Divine Mother) having 700 Mantras on Shri Durga Mata."

Hindi movie time!

Quick Gun Murugun

There were three original Hindi movies that I saw recently and thought they were absolutely worth my time! Sadly, too often a Hindi movie I watch is nothing more than a complete rip-off of some English movie plus lots of masala-overacting-breaking-into-a-song action :o) While I liked Bheja Fry, I loved Le dîner de cons (The Dinner Game) when I saw it some years back... How do they get away with this is still a big mystery to me. While I found Death At A Funeral to be hilarious, there is no way I am going to see Daddy Cool -- not only it is a complete copy, but also seems to be quite a terrible one. Anyway...


Quick Gun Murugun [Murugan is another name of Karthikeya who was Ganesha's brother] - (I saw an English version) absolutely hilarious, leave your brains at home and enjoy it kind of movie. I was giggling and laughing from the start till the end. It's about a pure-vegetarian cowboy who fights a non-veg gang of villains with Rice Plate Reddy being the worst of them all. It's making fun of South-Indian, Bollywood and cowboy movies. I kind of fell for this obnoxiously dressed make-up wearing righteous "Mind it!" Tamil cowboy by the end of it. Worth seeing, I say!


Kaminey [means rascal or scoundrel] - an action movie, not bad at all. Interesting story, good music (did I just say that about a Bollywood movie????), decent acting, overall - entertaining. I heard Indians complaining that it was too short, only 135 minutes. I must say the concept of "time is money" is understood differently in India. When it comes to movies, the crowd wants a full day's entertainment for the rupees they spent on a ticket (Full Paisa Vasool! ;o)). There is this probably the longest running Bollywood movie called Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (190 minutes). It was released in 1995 and was still playing in a theatre in Mumbai as of 2008. Maybe it is still playing on its 14th year? I hope so as I would love to put myself through more than 3 hours of Bollywood movie crying and laughing, singing-dancing with Shahrukh Khan himself :o) But back to Kaminey. I put two new song from this movie for you to listen to on my MP3 player (left sidebar). Should I even start on a popular Bollywood cost cutting trick of coming up with a story with twins or a hero who gets killed and then comes back in his next life? This way they have to hire only one star for both roles!


Khosla Ka Ghosla [means Khosla's nest]- on a DVD. This is the movie I should have seen before moving to India! A very educational story, a "slice-of-life comedy", as someone said it. In a few words, a government employee and a father of a middle-class family in Delhi puts all his life savings into purchasing a plot where he plans to build his first house. He dreams of this big house where everyone will live happily together, but nothing goes as planned. There is family drama, love story, local mafia... A very charming action packed movie.

Recycling in India

This is from an email I received some time back and I wanted to share it with you. Here are some words you will need to know :o) "kachra walla" = man who comes to your house and collects trash every morning; "paperwalla" = man who buys newspapers from you; "doodhwalla" = milkman; "bhaji walla" = vegetable seller; "machi walla" = fishmonger; BMC = Bombay Municipal Corporation; "aloo paratha" = flat Indian bread stuffed with potatoes.

"In the CHS we live in, there’s a kachra walla. We also have a paperwallah, a doodhwalla, a bhaji walla, a jaripurana walla, a machi walli, and so on and so forth... And CHS for the unenlightened is Co-operative Housing Society. Which means we spend three hours debating about whether the water pump should be switched on at 7.00 am every morning or 7.01.

Our kachra walla's name is Sonu. His is a hereditary profession. His parents are in the same line of work. Between them they have the neighbourhood covered. Every morning he shows up at our door lugging a big plastic drum, gathering everything we don’t want from yesterday's banana peels to empty Old Monk bottles. He finishes his rounds and then hands over the day's collection to his wife who does the sorting of all the dry goods, old plastic bags in one pile, paper in another, bottles, wire, old shoes, the dead gold fish... just kidding! The dead goldfish’s fate is inextricably linked to yesterday's banana peels and the sucked empty bones of the paya curry.

There’s a market for everything: cassettes, odd socks, the cardboard carton the new fridge came in, dead batteries, chipped glasses, both drinking and ocular.
Sonu is way ahead of the BMC with it’s Clean Mumbai campaign. He was segregating from when segregation was what Martin Luther King was fighting against. The actual collection pays him little. The recycling is what brings home the bacon or the aloo paratha. He now has a mobile phone. He gave me the number in case of 'Emergency'. It is an emergency when Sonu doesn't show up. And the goldfish’s mate has also died out of loneliness.

Sonu is green in the truest sense of the word with a rating the Exxons and the Union Carbides will never achieve even in their dreams."

To break my blogger's block....

There were a few things I wanted to write about, but then I was worried about offending some one's feelings... So instead I am posting some current pictures :o)

Our long festival season is about to start again - Hindu, Muslim, Catholic - it's almost a nonstop marathon that lasts from August till December (or later?) Here are some Ganesha's statues being made for Ganesh Chaturthi. There are actually huge rooms full of these beautiful statues, but I've been having really bad luck with something blocking my view while passing them these last couple of days...



Just some balconies I liked :o)


I love looking at these colourful baby clothes on the way to the office every day. Something to keep my mind off the traffic noise.


Morning chai.


A few of the causes for the bad traffic? :o) Hello, sidewalk is on your right...




There air was so clear after a short rain that washed away all the dust. You rarely can see the skyline and our Sea Link bridge, which is open now, so clearly.

For all the CAT lovers

I am in love with this!



To visit CATcerto website and read more about this project follow this link.

If you are in Lithuania, visit Curonian Spit

Unless you prefer this kind of beach like in Palanga, which is a resort by the Baltic Sea up North...

...spend some peaceful time in Neringa on the Curonian Spit.

The Curonian Spit is a 100 km long, out of which ~50 km belong to Lithuania, thin sand dune spit separating the Baltic Sea from the Curonian Lagoon. It was formed about 5000 years ago. The legend says that the Curonian Spit was formed by a giantess Neringa who was playing on the seashore. These are the highest drifting dunes in Europe with average height of 35 m, but reaching 60 m at some points. Since 2000, the Curonian Spit has been on the UNESCO's World Heritage List. There are many overview points with lovely views of the dunes and both the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea. There are endless walking paths in the Nature Reserve or you can rent a bike and go from one small resort to another on the path along the Curonian Spit.


How to get there: take a short ferry ride from Klaipeda. There will be a small entrance fee to the National Park.

The views from the Dune of Parnidis (in Nida)


The view of the the Baltic Sea above and Curonian Lagoon below


A peaceful beach at Pervalka on the Baltic Sea side - white soft sand and blue sea....

Walking up on to the highest point of Nagliu Dune in Nagliu Natural Reserve

...and the views from the top of it




For a change of the scenery, go to the Hill of the Witches in Juodkrante. It's a small hill in a nice forest with many cheerful wooden statues telling stories from different legends and fairy tales.



What else to do there? You can rent a boat, a canoe or go on a group boat ride between the resorts or in the Curonian Lagoon. You can reach the Curonian Spit on a rented boat from a few small towns (around Vente) on a mainland. Take a stroll along the cost at cute small resorts with authentic wooden houses, art galleries, amber jewellery, souvenir shops, a few small museums. And don't forget all the fresh smoked fish and cold beer!

If you have only one beautiful and sunny weekend day free, you might consider a cruise in Curonian Spit leaving from Klaipeda in the morning, going all the way to Nida with a stop at Juodkrante and coming back to Klaipeda in the evening. You can spend a couple of hours in Nida and go back to Klaipeda or get off in Juodkrante and catch the same ship on the way back. To read more about it, click on this link or this link.

Time to take a ferry back to Klaipeda

My Trip Home - Vilnius roofs

City views from Gediminas Castle in Vilnius:

TV tower


Neris river



Vilnius Cathedral


St. Ann's Church


St. George


Vilnius University


Office of the President of Lithuania

Donut Perfect in Mumbai!

I remember a Friday morning when I was introduced to donuts/bagels/muffins at my first job in the U.S. It was my first week there and on a Friday morning my new co-workers stopped at my cubicle on the way to the office canteen. One of them said to me with a lot of excitement: "There are bagels, donuts and muffins for everyone on Fridays!!!!" I said: "Oh ok, thanks for telling me that...." As they moved on and noticed that I was not following them, one of them came back to see what was up with me. He gave me a confused look and I admitted: "I don't even know what those things are... besides, I had my breakfasts already, don't wait for me...." (btw, I was really slim then and isn't it obvious why ;o)) The expression on his face turned into: "Are you mad?! It's FREE DONUTS!" :o) Getting a little bit impatient, my colleague insisted on me coming along to at least learn what a bagel was. Then I knew.

I didn't become a big fan of all these guilty American treats right away, I started from having only a half of something from time to time. But a few years and several kilos later, I was having one or two of them every Friday morning -- just like all of my American and Americanized colleagues. I discovered chocolate chip cookies, fell for freshly made blueberry muffins, learnt what an old fashioned donut was.

But I better get to the important part of my post. Recently I read on Burrp.com about a new branch of M.O.D. (Mad Over Donuts) opening on Carter road in Bandra. Their first store was in Goregaon - way way waaaay too far for us. So I made a mental note to myself to stop at that shop sometime on my way when I am in Bandra. Yesterday, Ranjit's cousin brought a huge box of these donuts while coming over for dinner. My Friends, they were EXCELLENT! So light and melting in my mouth, not a bit greasy, so fresh and soft, it was like biting into a cloud (I don't know about you, but I always imagine clouds being some kind of sweets when I am looking outside an airplane window :o)). The first bite into M.O.D. donut did to me what 6 yrs in the U.S. failed to do -- I became Mad Over Donuts :o)