Day 7: I'll have Naan of it

2011 Contest Winnings:  $1,625

Today’s Contest:  The Journey to India contest sponsored by Kitchens of India

Prize:  One winner receives a round trip for 2 to New Delhi

How to enter: Submit standard contact info on the Kitchens of India website

Background:  ITC is a big ol' conglomerate in India.  They own hotels, retails chains and agriculture companies.  One thing that marries all of these industries nicely together for them is a food line that they have called Kitchens of India.  It's ruuul good stuff (apparently Bill Clinton went off his diet to have some).  It emulates the gourmet restaurants they have in their hotels.  I mean I live for a Tikka Masala, or a Chana Saag dish.  Throw in some naan bread and forget it.  I'm done.  It's over.  I love it.   C'mon.  Ya know?  So they are hosting this online contest to bring American awareness to this line of food products.

Some After (I eat all of my naan, have a bite of yours and then order seconds) Thoughts:

India is totally hot right now.  Not in Fahrenheit terms like, "Girl, I am sweating something fierce in this Ashram."  But like hot, as in the culture-du-jour.  After the success of Slum dog Millionaire (loved it, thank you Danny Boyle), there seemed to be an avalanche of Indian influenced media.  I’m still totally captivated by that movie.  Dreams, hope, destiny, and an incredible Bollywood dance sequence in a train station at the end.  I duh-reeeeeaaam-uh of the 1 train platform exploding into something like that. 

Can this please happen tomorrow on my commute?  

And can I please have that outrageously long yellow scarf?

BOOKS

Eat Pray Love made traveling to India and beyond the thing to do for dissatisfied 37-year-old women with enormous bank accounts.  

Since I couldn't afford the escape plan Elizabeth Gilbert did in her memoir, I read the book while soaking in multiple baths over a couple days.  Calgon take me away.   I know some people kinda turned their noses up at that book.  I totally loved it.  But then they made the unfortunate movie version.  Holy Krishna...

HEALTH

Yoga is everywhere now.   I myself practice regularly.  It totally helps me with my breathing and mindfulness but more than that...it also gives me flexibility for real life situations..like flushing a public toilet with my foot.  Nama-steyyyy.

TV

“Outsourced” is the NBC show about an outsource call center in India.  Haven’t seen it.  Seen a couple promos.  Kinda looks like a rip off of the Office.  Which was a rip off of…well, actually The Office.

ADVERTISING

Those  Metro PCS Tech N Talk guys have taken over my TV. They are on every commercial break.  Please let me win a DVR. I can't watch them anymore.  Can't. watch. any. more.

American media does this all the time.  They take a culture and turn it into a fad to make music, videos, movies, books, and TV shows out of it.  

Before this Indian (re)incarnation, they did it with the gays.  There was Will and Grace,  Queer Eye for the straight guy, & Boy meets Boy (a totally bad gay dating show...that I was furious I didn't get on).

And back in the early 2000’s America's fascination with all things Latin was ushered in as Ricky Martin Vida-Loca’d his way into the hearts of American girls, and the pants of American boys.  Followed closely behind by Marc Anthony who followed closely behind J-Lo's behind


Next up....

I actually think the next  cultural wave is going to be of a more supernatural variety.

Zombies

There are already books, tv shows, even an smart phone app.

At least with zombies, if we take their culture and totally commercialize it, they won't want to kill us any more than they already do.