Billu likes Enrique Iglesias – as do a lot of people I talked to about music in India. I can understand this because it seems to me that Enrique has a little Indian spirit and look to him. Frankly, I like me some Enrique "Bailamos" Iglesias every once in a while, too. After all, I had been exposed to the music of his father, Julio, when I was a little girl and my mom was mad about him!
I also heard that Bryan Adams, yes, Bryan “Cuts Like a Knife” Adams, does a huge concert in India every year.
I like it when American hip-hop meets Bollywood. This collaboration happens quite often and I’m so lucky because of it! Wyclef Jean, Timbaland, Rakim, and a score of other really interesting and talented hip hop artists have been tapping into Bollywood music for years. Akon just played a concert here as well. There are tons of music video channels on Indian TV. In Goa, channel 1 is MTV!
My new musical obsession is Hard Kaur, a female Indian rapper, whose music reminds me a little bit of Missy Elliot and whose voice reminds me a bit of Eve. She was recommended to me by Shaddap, one of my row mates on my flight from Delhi to Goa. Thank you, Shaddap!
So, as Billu deftly maneuvered me around Delhi, trying not to give me motion sickness, I peered out of the tuk-tuk taking in the sites and smells of this city, the capital of India. In her unique way of explaining concepts clearly and relevantly, Priya said that Delhi is the capital of India, in the way that Washington DC is the capital of the US. But Mumbai is also an important city in India, in the way that New York City is important in the US.
My first impression of Delhi was that traffic was definitely more controlled than in Hyderabad. I mean, I could probably cross the street in Delhi! My second thought was – why does this box of tissues that this woman is trying to sell me through the tuk-tuk window have Britney Spears face all over it?
Here are some photos I took from the back of Billu's tuk-tuk:
At the end of the excursion, I suggested seeing Jodhaa Akhbar. It is a 4-hour semi-historical film about the Mughal king, Akhbar and his Hindu Rajput queen – Jodhaa, played by, of course, my homegirl, Aishwarya Rai! The music was done by A.R. Rahman, who along with Café Tacuba, Krishna Das, and old school Aretha Franklin, have provided the bulk of the soundtrack for my trip. My favorite song in the movie was Khwaja Mere Khwaja.There was a heavy security check to be able to get into the theater. On a side note, most of the times I entered a large, enclosed public space in India, I had to go through a security check. It happened at the Prasads IMAX in Hyderabad, which I was told, is a prime potential target of terrorism.
The security at this theater in Delhi told me that I couldn’t take my camera into the theater, so I had to check it into a private locker outside the theater, which was basically handing it to a cigarette and snack vendor on the street, for which I received a handwritten claim ticket. I saw a couple of local girls handing over their backpacks, so I figured it was legit!
Warning: There are spoilers below!
It was an ambitious film – maybe to its detriment. It was in Hindi with no subtitles, but I could pretty much tell what was happening. You know:
You have a reluctant bride forced into marriage by her father for strategic reasons.
They are of differing religions – but, even if she’s behind a translucent curtain he can tell she’s hot, so he accepts the marriage. ;-)
She immerses herself in his culture and she shares her culture through food and her bling!
Some people on the king’s side are suspicious of her – but she proves herself by riding a horse furiously into a battle, but doesn’t actually fight. Okay, so this part about how exactly she proved herself – I missed. But she did it!
He gets wounded in battle – and she prays to Krishna all night to save him, and he lives!
I found my attention wandering whenever Aishwarya was not on screen. Cell phone ringtones and conversations were constantly going on during the film – which was amusing in itself. The woman next to me, who I think was Mughalphile, kept nudging me to see if I was enjoying it, which was endearing. =) She kept tsk-tsking people who were walking out of the theater before it was over, and there were quite a few.
After the film, I walked out and the street was filled with security vehicles. Billu told me that it is because the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was in the theater watching the film with us!
I went up to the cigarette vendor to claim my camera – and he handed it to me with a smile.
Billu and I stopped into the Wimpy’s around the corner to get some takeaway and headed back to the hotel to drop me off for the night. I looked at my box of Vege Nuggets in my room and dialed room service for a serving of what had been my diet for my last four major meals – plain steamed rice and vege noodle soup.
Sounds blah– but as with everything else I had experienced in India – it had an earnest and warm charm that was all its own!
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