Chinese biryani(Szechuan rice) and Indian Stuffed Savory Pastries(Samosa)!!

Starting with "I am a big time foodie"...Or should I be specific and say I am a big time foodie (Mumbaiyya/Indian food). This "specific" struck me when a good friend pointed out that I am very fussy about any food besides Indian cuisine which came out in open during my stay in United States. The "Italian" I ate in Mumbai was not "Italian", the "Chinese" I ate in Mumbai was not "Chinese"....they were "Indo-Italian" and "Indo-Chinese". I am sure most of you have tasted "Paneer Tikka Sub" or "Schezwan Dosa" or "Veg Hakka Noodles and Paneer Chilly". These dishes are put up nicely under the "Chinese" section of every menu card in India...
When I came to US and tried in vain to find that taste in the Chinese food here...why even cursed them for preparing it so bland...it never crossed my mind that what I used to have was the Indian version of Chinese..The funny part is in India you will find Szechuan spelt in different ways in different restaurants...For the record...it is "Szechuan". I myself looked it up on wiki before writing this blog :P so much for being a big fan of this dish...
We Indians have a great knack of accomodating and modifying things to suit our needs and I love that about us. Why...we have Paneer tandoori pizza and Mc Chicken Maharaja and so on....And when I did not find any of that in the menus here I almost fell off my chair exclaiming, "What??They dont have gobi manchurian" or when I found Jalapenos in dishes that said "Chilly something something"....
This is what happens when I write or talk about food...I get so carried away!!The point I am trying to make follows...
So while I was busy complaining about the authentic Chinese/Italian/American cuisines in US, so upset about it not tasting like the ones I used to have in India and how it turned out nothing like I expected etc etc....we had Indian cuisine at our company cafe today...I had been yearning for some good Indian food..and was so excited about having lunch..
As I reached the counter, I saw little somethings which were boldly named Samosas!!They were far from triangular(though a sincere effort to shape them in triangles could be made out) and to my dismay had no traces of either potato or green chillies or garlic in them. Instead it was stuffed with chole(chic pea), carrots, some leafy thingy...
It ached to see this patty being called samosa....It definitely did not taste bad and with all my heart I appreciate their efforts but it was NOT SAMOSA...it was some stuffed stuff....and then admist my disappointment it occurred to me..."imagine if the Chinese were to come to Main Land China at Vashi and order for Veg Hakka Noodles", "imagine if the Italians were to come to Dominoes and see Tawa Paneer Tikka Pizza on the menu", "imagine if the Americans tried Chicken tandoori at the subway".....
I quietly munched on the colorful pastry and relished their version of Indian Samosa :)

Whatever has happened to simplicity!! - Talent Shows (Music)

I was listening to some of shreya goshal's songs recently on youtube. Then one thing led to another and I happened to fall upon her audition for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Then I saw that entire episode. Then I started watching those in which Shekar (of vishal-shekar music director duo fame) was a participant, saw some of  Bela Shende (of natrang's "mala zau dena ghari" fame) etc. I saw the soft and charming, young Sonu Nigam wearing a modest kurta-churidhaar and hosting the show humbly.
My mind slowly went on to Indian Idol, X Factor and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa as of today. Whereas the episodes of yester years brought pictures of sweet girls dressed in salwar kameez singing their favourite numbers and ambitious young boys singing with passion....what today's shows brought to my mind was Anu Malik and Farah Khan fighting on an opinion they had over a contestent, Himesh Reshammiya blowing his trumpet over a participant, Alka Yagnik screeching to a fellow-judge over her opinon about a small girl participant, Ameya Date and Rahul Vaidya getting voted out, participants forcing themselves to dress in outfits they are so not comfortable in but do so to show "apparently an X factor" in them!!
I thought to myself "whatever has happened to simplicity!!" Yeah I remember Abhijeet Sawant..but Indian Idol 2,3 ummmm who was that??Oh and didnt "India" vote for him/her??Umm did Anu just say he/she had "X Factor??"
Instead of showing clips of songs the contestents sang during the episodes, we see clips of spats between judges on these shows during "Coming up". I believe these shows have ceased to be "ubharte sitaron k liye manch (a good platform for young talent)" and has become more of a scripted reality show with drama for TRP.
It is strange how these judges (some of whom have contributed really good songs to bollywood music industry) accept to be potrayed this way on the shows. If they believe in the sanctity of music and those gifted with it then they would not accept to behave the way they do.
There was a time my enitre family used to sit in front of the TV at 8 to watch Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, me and my sis used to be head over heels for Sonu Nigam..the perfect guy with looks and amazing voice and humility. Whatever happened to him in Indian Idol?Today I dont follow any of these Music Reality shows, the focus has gone astray, the love for music seems fake. While we used to "follow the show" now we just land up on that channel while surfing and stop by to catch a song or two and move on quickly..so much for bringing in aspiring singers and making them a pawn in the TRP savvy industry.....