GURU - Bollywood movie comes to Michigan

GURU meaning TEACHER - a bollywood Hindi movie comes to SR Movies, Novi, MI in January 2007. For showtimes in Michigan visit mimantra.

Starring in GURU are Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Vidya Balan


Abhishek Bachchan as Gurukant Desai: (Source wikipedia)

Idhar village, Gujarat. Don't dream. Dreams never come true, my father, the headmaster of our village school often told me when I was a young boy. But I did dream. As I grew, so did my dreams. Bigger than my outstreatched arms, bigger than my small house, bigger than my village. I loved Idhar. It was quiet, peaceful, lazy and green. But I knew that my destiny was beyond this village. I knew that my destiny had to be made by me. When I came to Bombay I had two shirts, a wife, a brother-in-law and Rs.15,000 in a small suitcase to start a business. But all doors were shut for a newcomer. Indian business and trade were run by a handful of the rich and the privileged. Only they were given the licenses, they had the quotas and they controlled all the government and trade. It was an exclusive club where it was imposible for an ordinary middle class newcomer to enter, leave alone succeed. You had to kick the doors open or cajole them open. I did both. I did not take no for an answer. And that's because I can never hear the word no. 40 years later. We started Shakti Trading in a 350 sq feet room, with one telephone, one table and three chairs. Today Shakti Corporation is the first Indian company to enter the Forbes top 500 list. People ask me how this happened. I said to them, "Think Big, Think Ahead and Think Fast".

Aishwarya Rai as Sujatha (source - wikipedia)

I hated my father for forcing me to marry Guru. But I was sent away to Bombay to live with my unwanted husband and my anger in a one-room chawl. I don’t know when I stopped thinking of him as a stranger and started calling him Guru. I was too shy to say things like I love you, but love was perfume I wore everyday. Some people call him God, some say he is evil, but for me he is the man who has to just enter the room and I can feel that perfume waft its way across and settle on me... that perfume called love.

Saddam Hussein on his way to...

Heaven!! Well according to Indian Shastras there could not have been a more auspicious day for Saddam Hussein to die than December 30th,2006.

Quoting Times of India

December 30 the day former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed was one such date under the Hindu calendar, as it fell on Vaikunta Ekadasi.

In Saddam's case though, the date was a double whammy of sorts as the day was equally special under the Islamic calendar. For millions of Muslims across the world, December 30 was a day to mark God's omnipotence.

Every year, lakhs of Haj pilgrims assemble at Mina on this day, two days after the Haj began, to drive away Jamrah symbol of Satan by casting stones at him.

But what made Saddam's end really special was the significance of the date under the Hindu calendar. For under Hindu death rites, he could not have found though inadvertently a better day to meet his maker.

As Vaikunta Ekadasi, according to Hindu Shastras, is the most auspicious occasion for a person's death, particularly for one seeking martyrdom irrespective of religion.

"Dying on Ekadasi day itself is very auspicious. It more auspicious to die on Vaikunta Ekadasi day. Very few souls get such an opportunity," said Padur Subramania Sasthrigal, a Vedic scholar and director (Yagnopathi and Medical Astrology) Coimbatore Arya Vaidya.

"Starting at 3.19 am on Saturday, Vaikunta Ekadasi will continue till Sunday morning. Then, comes the Dwadasi" he said.

Aishwarya Rai in trouble with authorities in Rajasthan?

Indian Beauty Aishwarya Rai finds herself in trouble with authorities in Rajasthan, India.

During a visit to a Hindu Holy Temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan, one of Aishwarya Rai's bodyguards is accused of entering the temple drunk and roughing up the worshippers who tried to approach Aishwarya Rai. (Google Maps view of Pushkar, Rajasthan)

Hindustan Times reports:

"We are contemplating action against the star as she is responsible for her guards," Ladoo Ram, the head of the local priests association told the Hindustan Times newspaper. Ram said the priests would discuss filing charges with the police.

New Year (2007) celebration at Sri Balaji Vedic Center

Sri Balaji Vedic Center located at 2567 Metro Parkway, Sterling Heights, MI 48310 - invites all to New Year Celebration on 1/1/2007. For Program Schedule visit the Sri Balaji Vedic Center Website

Related:
wikipedia
balaji.net

Google Maps Satellite view of Sri Balaji Vedic Center, Sterling Heights, MI.

Mohammad Rafi - Tribute to an Indian Legend

Mohammad Rafi the greatest Indian playback singer would have had his 82nd birth anniversary this Sunday December 24th, 2006.

Here are couple of Mohommad Rafi classics from YouTube.

Babul Ki Duayen Leti Ja...


Pathar Ke Sanam....

Indian American from Northville High School excels in National Writing Competition

Shruti Agarwal a Northville High School Senior has written a award winning essay which earned her top honors in the 2006 National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing competition.

From HomeTownLife

The Northville High School senior said her award-winning essay described her changing perspective of India after visiting as a child and then again as a young adult. Agrawal said she also touched on accepting other cultures.

"It is important to keep an open mind and be tolerant of others," she said.

For more on this read HomeTownLife

Street Level mapping for India on Google Maps

Just found out from GoogleMapsMania that Google Maps now covers street level mapping for India.

Here are some examples:

Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, India


Golden Temple, Amritsar


Howrah Bridge, Kolkata, India

Christmas Eve and New Year festivities at Michigan Indian Restaurants

India Spice restaurant located at 30701 West 12 mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 (Phone - 248-381-5449) is having a ALL DAY Buffet on Saturday December 30 from 12 Noon to 9 PM.

India Spice is serving up a whopping 50+ Delicious Authentic Indian dishes featuring Seafood, Poultry, Meat and Indo-Chinese. Cost to you is:
Adults $11.95
Kids (5 to 10 years old) $5.95
Kids under 5 years FREE

Bombay Grille has a new year eve party which features: (via MIMANTRA)
Dinner with over 20 entrees, DJ and Dance and they also have a midnight Champagne toast.
The cost:
Adults: $24.95
Kids (5 to 10 years old) $14.95 (Hmmm!)
Kids under 5 years FREE

I have looked at other Detroit Area Indian Restaurants' websites. I could not find any info related to Christmas eve or New Year Buffet. Here are some of the websites which I checked out.

House of India
Chennai Vilas
Haandi Cuisine of India

India's Detroit - Pune

Rediff reports

Pune -- beat 17 locations and 6 states, including Andhra Pradesh to win over Volkswagen and consolidate its position as India's Detroit.

CFO, Volkswagen, Hans Dieter Poetsch when asked about this deal had this to say

We did our best to try to settle with Andhra Pradesh. At the end of the day, we embarked on a very deep analysis and we were analyzing our business in 17 different locations and six states. We were running around, but in the end Pune was our decision, which we took for a couple of reasons. One being logistics, the other being infrastructure. They also have a lot of skilled people and importantly, the market is just in front of the factory.

Kabul Express rolls into Novi, Michigan

Kabul Express a Bollywood Hindi Movie starring John Abraham, Arshad Warsi rolls into SR Movies, Novi, MI on December 15th, 2006. For show timings visit MIMANTRA.

Synopsis (source wikipedia)

Jai and Suhel – TV journalists from India in search of the ultimate news scoop: meeting the Taliban.

Imran Khan Afridi – a soldier of the hated Taliban who needs to escape the wrath of the Afghans and run to his country, Pakistan.

Khyber - a proud Afghan who has seen the destruction of his country over the decades. Jessica Beckham – An American photojournalist ready to risk her life to photograph the Taliban.

Five people from different worlds, their paths are destined to cross in a ruthless country devastated by war – Afghanistan.

This is a story, spanning 48 hours, of five individuals linked by hate and fear, but brought together by fate to finally recognize each other. Against this turbulent backdrop, Jai and Suhel – two Indian Television reporters have entered Afghanistan and their aim is to somehow get a rare interview with a Talibani. Helping them in their pursuit of a Talibani is their Afghan guide, translator and driver – Khyber in his Toyota Jeep called Kabul Express.

As the film unfolds, a special relationship develops between an Afghan, a Pakistani, two Indians and an American.

Indian American Astronaut - Sunita Williams heads for Space Station

Indian American Astronaut Sunita Williams new home will be at the "International Space Station" for the next 6 months.

Sunita and the rest of crew headed to space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on Saturday 12/09/2006.

What did Sunita carry with herself to her new home....(source GulfNews)

Carrying among other things a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a statue of Ganesh and a packet of samosas

George Clooney to act in a Bollywood Movie?

George Clooney has expressed interest in acting in a Bollywood Movie.

ZeeNews.com reports:

Hollywood star George Clooney says he would love to act in a Bollywood movie.

"I'd love to. There are some filmmakers whose films, when you see, you say: that could be an interesting story to tell," Clooney said in an interview.

"I was watching a film the other day and the music was just amazing. It's become such a huge industry," he said.

Detroit - Foreclosure Capital of US

MSN Real Estate is reporting that Detroit is ranked #1 in United States in terms of number for foreclosures. The report further states:

More than 10,000 homes in the Detroit area entered some stage of foreclosure in the third quarter, a 42% jump from the previous quarter and a 121% jump from the same time last year, according to foreclosures listings and RealtyTrac, a data provider in Irvine, Calif. To put that number in perspective: One in every 80 houses in Detroit began the process of returning to the bank in that time -- a rate that is almost five times the national average.

The top 10 Foreclosure markets are:

1. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.
2. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
3. Denver-Aurora, Colo.
4. Miami
5. Dallas
6. Indianapolis
7. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
8. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
9. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.
10. Memphis, Tenn.

Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan in a Lip Lock

Aishwarya Rai finally drops her inhibitions in DHOOM2. As can be seen from this image, there is a great chemistry between Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan.

What does Hrithik's wife Suzanne have to say about the kiss which everyone is talking about. According to Hrithik Roshan:

My wife had laid down only one condition — If you’re going to kiss on screen, this better be the best bloody kiss in the entire world!- That was her only pre-condition. And it was a challenge I had to live up to!

She’s very very proud of my kiss. When she was going to see the preview, I was tense not about the kiss but whether it would live up to the high standards she had set for me. You could say I had performance anxiety. But she was fully satisfied.

Source: Times Of India

Good Job Hrithik, Congratulations!