THE LITTLE PRINCE Antoine De Saint Exupery,
ORYX AND CRAKE Margaret Atwood, Canada 2003
January 15, 2005
Book Reviews
January 01, 2005
Glossary
For readers unfamiliar with the regional words that find their way into my writing...
Food Housekeeping: The Analogue
Davara
Duh-vuh-RA (usually used in conjunction with 'tumbler')
Tamil. Steel saucerbowl set that is a prerequisite for serving freshly brewed South Indian coffee.
Chana-chole
Chu(as in 'chu'rch)-NA Cho-LAY
Hindi. Gravy dish made of Bengal gram/ Kabuli gram. (By the way, 'gram' is a kind of lentil. Also known by the general term dal.)
Moong parathas
MOO-ng puh-RA-Thas
Hindi. Moong dal refers to green gram, while paratha (anlicised to the plural 'parathas') is an slightly greased version of the chapatti.
Thokku
Tamil. A kind of pickle.
Thayir Saadam
Thu(as in 'Thu'rsday)-YIR SAA-thum(th as in 'though')
Curd rice. Staple part of the largely vegetarian Tamil Brahmin meal. Colloquially, a teasing reference to any member of the Tamil Brahmin community.
Veththa Kozhambu
Veth(rhymes with 'meth')-thu(as in 'Thu'rsday) KO-yambu (the y here has a roll of the tongue, as in a Frenchman were saying it.)
Smoked onion sambhar-like preparation. Again, a famous part of Tamil Brahmin cuisine.
Appalam
Tamil. Crisp fried biscuit (known as papad in North India and as poppadom to international lovers of Indian cuisine.)
Gajjar Halwa
GAA-jurr hul(as in 'hul'k)-WAH
Hindi. Popular sweet dish made of carrots (gajjar).
Sambhar
Saam(rhymes with 'palm')b-HAAR (rhymes with 'car')
Tamil originally, but also a familiar term in North India. A thicker version of the Mulligatawny soup, due to its base which is made of mashed dal.
Ladki Ka Baap
Luh-duh-KI KAA(rhymes with 'car') BAAP
Hindi colloquial. Father of the girl (ladki), derived from mainstream Hindi films where the girl's father almost always plays party pooper to the hero and heroine's romance.
Molagootal
MO-luh-GOO-Tull (rhymes with 'hull')
Tamil. A gravy dish made with mashed coconut base and an important part of the cuisine of the South Indian/ Tamil Brahmin community, especially the Iyer community.
Maami
Tamil, partly colloquial. Loosely used as a common substitute for the English 'aunt/ aunty' among the Tamil Brahmin community. Literally refers to the wife of one's Maama (mother's brother) and also used to address any married Tamil Brahmin lady, including mothers-in-law.
Aloo Gobi
Hindi/ Punjabi. Made famous by the Punjabi British family in Bend It Like Beckham, it refers to a popular dish made of aloo (potatoes) and gobi (cauliflower.)
Shahi Pulao
Urdu. A well-known rice preparation made from Basmati rice whose preparation by the Muslim community in India and Pakistan is unrivalled. Another famous rice dish: Hyderabadi biriyani, originally made for the Nizams of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, and also famous in Hyderabad, Pakistan.
Medhu vadai (also spelt as 'Methu vadai')
May-too(t as in 'though') Vuh-duy(rhymes with 'buy')
Tamil. Fried savoury doughnut without which South Indian cuisine is incomplete.
Jalebi
Juh-LAY-Bee
Tamil/ Hindi. Syrupy sweet pretzel-like preparation, usually ranging from yellow to orange.
Pachchadi
Putch(rhymes with 'Clutch')-ADI(rhymes with 'buddy')
Tamil. Gravy dish made from curd/ yoghurt and other ingredients. Somewhat similar to the north Indian raitha.
Upma
Oo(as in B'oo'k)-p-MA
Steamed semolina.
Puri (also spelt as 'Poori')
Fried, thin bread, similar to chapatti but much thinner and oilier.
Payasam
PAA-yuh-some
Tamil. Sweet dish, usually milk based, that is made for elaborate meals and special occasions.
All Smoke And No Fire?
"Tera Kya Hoga Kaaliya?"
Hindi. Loosely translates as 'Kaaliya, what will become of you?'
Arguably Hindi cinema's most famous line, uttered by Amjad Khan as the dacoit Gabbar Singh in the superhit film Sholay (1975).
Other famous lines ....
"Kitne Aadmi The?" ('How many men were there?')
"Arre O Samba!" ('Hey Samba!')
"Mujhe Haat Dede, Thakur." ('Give me thy hands, Thakur.')
Movie Reviews
The Year of the Greenhorn
Hits and misses of 2008
Welcome to Sajjanpur
Shyam Benegal, 2008
The Rocky Path To Morality
DOGVILLE Lars von Triers, 2004
Back2Back Reviews Part 2
SAAWARIYA Sanjay Leela Bhansali, India 2007
Back2Back Reviews Part 1
OM SHANTI OM Farah Khan, India 2007
All That Glitters Is The Barrel Of A Gun
BLOOD DIAMOND Edward Zwick, USA 2006
Love Across The Ice Desert
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS Luc Jacquet, France 2005
Viva La Jazz
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB Wim Wenders, Germany/Cuba/USA 1998
Now THIS Is What I Call Animation
KIWI
Integrity: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
KAL - YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW Ruchi Narain, India 2005
Bad Education? Not From This Little Teacher
NOT ONE LESS Zhang Yimou,
Missed It? You'll Be MIFFed
9th Mumbai International Film Festival 2006
...And Life Whimpers For Breath In This Barren Land
BLACKBOARDS Samira Makhmalbaf, Iran 2000
Welcome To Dystopia
NO MAN'S LAND Danis Tanovic, Bosnia & Herzegovina 2001
Truly Moving
GARDEN STATE Zach Braff, USA 2004
Not So Hot
GARAM MASALA Priyadarsan, India 2005
Ramblings
"Save Indian Family" - An Antifeminist Organisation? Thoughts on a horrible blog I saw
Food Houskeeping: The Analogue A Mother's Day Special
All Smoke And No Fire? An opinion on smoking in films
Act 1 Scene 1 My First Blog
Volatile Videos
Freaky Friday: Animated Music. Sorta.
"JOHN THE REVELATOR" Depeche Mode, Playing The Angel (2007) by Violatoroftheregime
"OK" Shitdisco (2007) by James Price
Now THIS Is What I Call Animation
KIWI
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