Ramadan Kareem, Happy September, Happy Birthday


A few more minutes to go before the birth of the new moon, thus signalling the start of the month of Ramadan, before August finally fades into September, before she celebrates her birthday, heralding a new year filled with promises.

Ramadan kareem!

Almere celebrates 50th birthday of king of pop

"Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand. Creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize your neighborhood. "

"No mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller." Hahahahahaha.

glitter-graphics.com

Lots of things about to happen. A few more nights and then the month of Ramadan kicks off.

Me is going to see DJ Joa in the flesh. Yes, the one with the beautiful watch.

And I managed to arrange an interview with none other than Azhar Usman also known as the Ayatollah of Comedy or Bin Laughin. Yep. From the comedy show "Allah made me Funny". He will be in the Netherlands to jazz up the opening of the Ramadan Festival 2008 in Amsterdam this coming Monday.

photo credits: Google images

Moon River

Dedicated to all dreamers who can't sleep. And God knows, we have plenty of those around lately. Lost loves. New loves. Feverish little ones. Hyperactive ex-teachers who found out too late they are totally addicted to teaching the Queen's English to A-level students.

Moon River, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style some day.

Oh, dream maker,

You heart breaker.

Wherever you're going,

I'm going your way.

Two drifters off to see the world.

There's such a lot of world to see.

We're after the same rainbow's end,

Waiting 'round the bend.

M huckleberry friend,

Moon River and me.

(music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by John Mercer, performed by Frank Sinatra)

Disturbia: holidays are over

Bumming around. Having loads of lazy days on the beach abroad - from Costa Rica to Greece, Italy and Croatia, or at home. And then, just when you are are about to become an expert couch potatoe, it is time to go back to school. Sorry guys, but that's life. Yep. Life is hard and then you die. ;-)

Happy birthday to the Motherland India

Swagat and Namaste for all my Indian visitors. Sixty one years old tomorrow. Wah wah. Many happy returns and definitely shame on me for having missed every birthday party, well 42 anyway ;-)

Despite the 150-year-old gap (due to immigration flows from India to Surinam to the Netherlands), there are actually people out out there, in Hindustan, in Bharat, in India, whose blood is running through my veins.

Anyway, I hope you have a great birthday party and I hope that one day all Indians, from the widows in Vindravan to the slumdwellers in Dharavi, will be able to sink their teeth in the birthday cake which is getting bigger and bigger every year thanks to the enormous economic growth you are experiencing.

Below some pictures I found regarding the partition in 1947 when at least 10 million Indians were forced to flee. Needless to say I also included some pics of the stars who made it all happen: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (a.k.a. Mahatma Gandhi), Jinnah, Nehru and Lord Mounbatten) and of course a couple of hundreds of thousands of Indians daring to defy the English and march towards freedom.

And the first track you are listening to is from the film Earth 1947. This 1998 film directed by Deepa Mehta is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Cracking India, originally published as Ice Candy Man. Earth is the second part of Mehta's trilogy Fire, Earth and Water. And of course it stars Nandita Das. Enjoy the pics and the song.






Photo credit: Life Magazine, August 1947

photo credits: Martin Frost's website

Hyves crap




Used to think Hyves was utterly crap, but that was before I discovered it was hotspot number one for my teenage darlings from Almere. The song you are supposed to listen to right now - Jody Wisternoff with Nostalgia - is from none other than DJ Joachim with the beautiful watch. Thanks for sharing this with me.

PS Tracks like these are the very reason I keep getting speeding tickets. ;-)

PPS My dance instructor:

Finally made my way into the NRC Handelsblad, me being of course the one of the far left.

Teaching from a Genghis Khan perspective

Friday, 1st August. Lots of things happened today. To begin with, as of today I am officially no longer their teacher :-( I hope they know though that I shall still be at their service 24.7 for as long as it takes. No empty words, even though I started my new job today. Okay, I stand corrected, because it is not an entirely new job. In a long forgotten past (read: some three years ago) I did work for NMO (Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Corporation) before. Loved the job. Yet after having taught for just four months I wonder whether journalism can be as fullfilling as teaching. Perhaps, in due course, I should combine the two. To use but a cliche: time will tell.

Ramchand Pakistani no Valentine to India
Whoever thinks Indian cinema is all about Bollywood and that all else is uninteresting, then don't bother to read the next bit which is about Ramchand Pakistani. A film that was released in both India and Pakistan today. Even before its release it already stirred quite a buzz. For one thing it stars one of my all-time favourites, Indian actress Nandita Das (Fire, Earth and Provoked), the rest of the cast coming from Pakistan.

Over a black screen, the words appear: adapted from actual events. The world is full of mad facts, but among the maddest is that in 2002, when Indian and Pakistani troops massed against each other on the countries' border. Ramchand Pakistani is the true story about an eight-year-old boy named Ramchand who wandered over the invisible line separating his own side of the desert from that of India's and was taken prisoner. In search of Ramchand, his father too crossed the invisible border and he too was thrown in jail. For five years father and son were held in an overcrowded Indian jail.

Poignant detail is that Ramchand's family is part of a Hindu tribe of untouchables, making them both suspect and powerless in Pakistan. Nandita Das thus proves doubly brave for taking the part of Ramchand's mother: Ramchand Pakistani isn't exactly a valentine to India.

Playing the younger Ramchand, Syed Fazal Hussain proves one of those miracle discoveries-he's a real kid, all piss and vinegar and shaking vulnerabilities-and director Mehreen Jabbar does well to dwell on his face as much as she does. The world is, after all, full of mad facts-but full of beauty, too.

Singh is Kinngh; Snoop Dogg goes gaga over India

Recently bombay star Akshay Kumar and Snoop Dogg shot this video clip in Chicago for the film ‘Singh is Kinng’ with Snoop dressing up in full Indian attire. The song is a mixture of Bhangrra and hiphop. Rumour has it that Snoop Dogg now wants to enter Bollywood to shoot a motion picture.

The video release is slated for release this coming Wednesday, two days before the premiere of the film Singh is Kinng. In the Netherlands you can go and watch the film in the Pathe Theatres de Kuip; Spuimarkt and Arena as well as the BiosWollf theaters Mustsee Groningen, Plaza Nieuwegein and Cinestar Enschede. For more info, do go to Bharat Entertainment International. Enjoy.