Monday, October 30, 2006

PUNE : Siesta Manana

A few things to do in Pune between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. if you're
not working and have no PC at your disposal......

* Catch up on reading the Mid-Day edition papers.

* Watch TV in between frequent Power Outages a.k.a.
'load shedding'.

* Go stand in line for a movie matinee.

* Have a late lunch date and stretch it out till the restaurant staff
inform you that they will be serving items from a limited Menu
until the evening hours since the cooks are on (extended) break.

* Turn on some music and take an extended Power Nap. This will
help you get your groove on till the next City Curfew, which occurs
after midnight in most areas, 2:00 a.m. in other places.

* Make those leisurely phone calls you've always wanted to.

* Make room in your stomach for 'High Tea' .....

"Despite the advent of modern day malls and 24x7 shopping mania,

from 1 pm to 4 pm, most shops in this wondrous city continue to
remain closed" says Kalyani Sardesai of expressindia.com

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=207211


Saturday, October 28, 2006

The Blues Professor wants the Poona Blues



Rolf Heimann a.k.a. The Blues Professor
has an important bit of news to share from
Deutschland :

....
.maybe you haven't received my recent mail
in which I said I
have difficulty in posting**
something to the blog (I am nothing like a pc
nerd).

The reason was that finally I AM going to Poona
on a time travel after
more than 40 years and I don't
have a clue what to expect, in which
reasonably priced
hotel to stay, etc. So I wanted people to give me advice.


Perhaps you can help.

Take care,


Rolf

Visit the Blues Professor's Homepage here
and look at Rolf in his previous incarnation as a
Bishops' School boy in POONA/PUNE

difficulty in posting**
As an anti-spam measure, I receive posts via e-mail
and then post to the blog. So please e-mail me here:
frdmill.2005 at blogger.com or view Virtual Poona
Blogger Profile in top right-hand corner of this Blog
for contact info.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Little India, N.J. and Beyond


Roughly one out of three persons in Edison, New Jersey
is
of Asian-Indian ancestry these days, according to an
article
by the Associated Press writer Erin Texeira:

Not only is the Indian community burgeoning, it's maturing.
Increasingly, after decades of quietly establishing themselves,
Indians are becoming more vocal in the American conversation
— about politics, ethnicity and many other topics.....

After the Sept. 11 attacks, many Indian Sikhs, who wear
turbans as part of their faith, were mistaken for Muslims—

and terrorists. Hundreds were harassed or worse:
In Mesa, Ariz., a Sikh gas station owner was shot and killed
on Sept. 15, 2001, by a man who told police

"all Arabs had to be shot."

Few knew their rights because few had been engaged politically,
said Amardeep Singh, executive director of The Sikh Coalition
in New York.
"We were caught with our pants down," he said.
"Sept. 11 created a confrontation. We realized we now need to
actively involve ourselves in the policy-making process.
Otherwise policies will be made that exclude us."

Link to the AP article via Yahoo



Thursday, October 19, 2006

Pune: Mo' Better Brangelina






October 8th, in a previous Virtual Poona post :
Stay tuned, I believe this to be the event that puts Pune
in all
the Gossip magazines.......

The current issue of People magazine here in the U.S.A.
as well as the other tabloids are hacking around and have
come up with a few factoids and some decent pics**
What I liked was the little graphic map of India showing
the approximate location of PUNE, complete with trivia.....

** Click on the pics above to enlarge
Related Angelina link

More Importantly Related : The Journalist and the Jihadi **
I watched the HBO documentary** and was deeply touched by
the Pearl story, even more
since I have a musical background
and 'jammed' with
Joe Alvarez, a superb vocalist who is
interviewed briefly in the film while a clip of
Daniel Pearl
jamming on electric violin plays in the background...
I also noticed that the story Concept was by the illustrious

Farrukh Dhondy, (Salaam Bombay, The Rising, etc.) who like
myself attended
The Bishops' School in Poona a.k.a. Pune.
But that was many years ago and many miles away....


Sunday, October 15, 2006

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) Heaven On Their Minds

Carl Anderson R.I.P.- the definitive Judas along with Ian Gillian as Jesus. This was Heaven in my mind....

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Daniel Pearl remembered


AP pic via BBC Online

Previously on Virtual Poona we learnt of Brangelina fever
in Pune
surrounding the filming of a tribute to Daniel Pearl.
But it's not all gossip here. Today Yahoo reports :
'On Oct. 10, 2006, slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
would have turned 43. News of his assassination in Pakistan at

the hands of Muslim extremists in early 2002 reverberated around

the world. Pearl's parents, Ruth and Judea Pearl, spoke to

Yahoo! News recently about the HBO documentary

"The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl"
and an annual global musical tribute, which coincide with their
son's
birthday. They also provided photos of Pearl, some of which
have
never been seen publicly.'

Link to exclusive slideshow at Yahoo :
http://www.yahoo.com/s/409862

Meanwhile, E!Online now reports on the photog who got roughed
up by Brangelina bodyguards:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20061010/en_celeb_eo/20191

Madooo's Toronto Gig



Hi again!


I had a blast at the Toronto Beatles Celebration,
last month.
I took a bunch of exclusive pix there which have
been posted on their official
site.....put together as a slide show
by the producers at
Toronto.

I was very well received by the producers and now find out that
I may even
get on the main stage as a performer next year.
I happily find myself in
some of the pix too. The ones I specially
like of me are sitting on the actual
car that was used in
Paul McCartney's "BroadStreet Movie"
From my perspective I recall : Paul Saltzman who has this
tremendous book with
photographs of the Beatles In India,
who has now become a friend.
So has Bruce Spizer, historian
and writer of multiple Beatle books (He is
the ultimate authority
on Beatle-facts!)
Then there was Pete Best, the original drummer
of the Beatles
and Terry from the Hollies.
May Pang was getting great response for her interview and books.
And Pete Bennett, producer for "Concert for Bangladesh"....
with writer and producer
Doug Thompson interviewing them all
And Chris...The MellotronMan, who gave us all an in-depth
explanation on how
the Mellotron was used in songs like
"Strawberry Fields Forever"
Canada's very own: Hal Bruce and
Host: Greg, also an author, doing a great job.
And even
the Mayor of Toronto was there, whom I had a privilege of
meeting
and he graciously accepted my "Beatle Tribute from
India" CD
Fab Four" the great Tribute Band, which above all
were so close to
resemblance besides the music of
The BEATLES
And in the end you'll see pix of the producer
David Goyotte, with his
beautiful wife Victoria with champagne.

(Madooo)
Madhu Dhas

By the way, if you view any of the 8 videos on YouTube at
the links
below, pls rate it: Good or Bad.
Thanks

http://www.myspace.com/madooocom http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Madoooker

Monday, October 09, 2006

Watch "We. Featuring the words of Arundhati Roy" on Google Video

Fast-paced musical documentary that visualizes the words of
Arundhati Roy, specifically her famous Come September speech.
Download the entire film for free or get a DVD copy at weroy.org

We. Featuring the words of Arundhati Roy

1 hr 4 min 19 sec - May 3, 2006
Average rating: (68 ratings)
Description: Fast-paced musical documentary that visualizes the words of Arundhati Roy, specifically her famous Come September speech. Download the entire film for free or get a DVD copy at weroy.org

Want to see more cool videos?
Go to video.google.com/

Think you have an even cooler video?
Add it at video.google.com/videouploadform

If you're having trouble watching the video, try copying the following URL into your browser:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4100322562082185221&pr=goog-sl

Little Superstar Fightin'

Earlier we had the Little Superstar dancin'.
Now we get to see his fight moves, equally impressive !





Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Brangelina in Pune Rickshaw !!






Now a follow up to a previous Brangelina post :
Yes, it's true, they are in my old hometown of Pune, India !

Angelina
is to play the part of Marianne, wife of

journalist Daniel Pearl
, who was abducted and killed by
militants in Karachi in 2002.....


They toured Pune by Autorickshaw, during a spell of torrential
rain while media and the masses alike being true to form
braved the weather and the heavy security* to get
a glimpse of the world's most famous celeb couple.
Stay tuned, I believe this to be the event that puts Pune in all
the Gossip magazines.......

Pune rocks, say Jolie, Pitt
- It’s what two lucky fans were told when they asked
the celebrity couple how their stay in Pune was
by Sachin Haralkar, the Mumbai Mirror

The most coveted destination continued to be the Le Meridien
in Pune on the fourth day of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s stay
in the city. There were no signs of the hysteria ebbing, and
Sunday saw the maximum number of people surrounding the
place to catch a glimpse of the celebrity couple.

Continuing to roam the streets in a rickshaw, the couple had a
different agenda on Sunday. They changed their rickshaw on
reaching the Inox theatre to give people the slip. But not before
acknowledging the crowds by waving and shaking hands with them.

For call centre employees Sandeep Mahadik and Bhupendra Tenisari,
who trailed the couple on their bikes, it was a ride they will always
treasure. “I shook hands with Brad and greeted both of them.
Both were very friendly and gave us the victory sign. We asked them
how they were finding their stay in Pune, to which they replied,
‘Rocking’.”


*
Jolie's bodyguard assaults photographer
-from Midday.com





Saturday, October 07, 2006

My MySpace Space is Spaced Out



It's Cross-pollination time.
I'm finally sucked into the MySpace thing by a couple of
friends who are intent
on 'Networking'. Hope it all works out
for them and MySelf. I'm here for the wonderful ads they
keep dumping all over my MySpace pages. **

Below is the link to my MySpace. Period.

**
....not ! !

http://tinyurl.com/l2p96

Madooo now on MySpace



Hi again! Just an update with more details as to the contents of the
videos and more specific links!!

If you have down time over the weekend, I've updated some info,
please spend a moment and check out my videos at
http://www.myspace.com/madooocom in the video area.
There are 8 videos in all, 4 of them from Deutsch Talent Contests
listed below.

1) Elvis Impersonation, from 2000 at the Commons
2) Jim Morrison Impersonation from 2001at the Commons
3) Deutsch Inferno from 2004 at the ROXY
4) A Beatle Tribute from my CD, at Deusch Contest 2006 at the Commons

The others are:
5) "Spill The Wine" singing at CGBG's Gallery 2 weeks ago, with
Lucille's Mixed Nuts
6) "Start It Up" a Robben Ford Blues Cover, at ACE with Blue Rooster
Pie
7) The 9/11 Memorial Song which I wrote and sang. I put the video
together to help us 'Never Forget"
8) Another Beatle Cover from 1988 where I tried to come across as a
cross between KISS and a singing Maharajah from India. Scary! So gave up
the idea.

The videos are also on YouTube as MADOOOS VIDEOS
all of them in the 1st link below
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Madoooker
or individually below as in the same order:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRIe6eehfY
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PGJCtBPpJw
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsB-So2yMmg
4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPJje5twrI
5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1y7Pthl-bc
6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIdYSpl09FQ
7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opTc6c6gihw
8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opTc6c6gihw

So if any of them are to your liking, could you please forward the
links to your myspace friends, who may enjoy them too.
And if you have a myspace account and like what you see, I like to be
added as a friend. and we can support each others hobbies, and network
when not at work. Sorry if some of this information is a repeat.

And my website is: www.bigdooker.com

Sincerely

Madhu Dhas
Deutsch Studio NY

Friday, October 06, 2006

Stevie Wonder and Ultimate Divas Jam

Stevie is joined by Pop Divas Shania, Whitney, Jewel,
Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, J. Lo and more in a medley of
his greatest hits, raising their 'legend' status more than
a few notches. Must see !


Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Brad and Angelina : Pune Prepares



Yes, the Brangelina show is coming to Pune according to
The Times of India article dated Oct. 5th. Angelina Jolie
is scheduled to film 'A Mighty Heart' based on the story
of slain journalist Daniel Pearl. Filming will take place
in Nayansukh Bungalows on Baner Road in Aundh.

Link to the Times of India article

Madooo downloads now at MySpace

Hi!

I just got myself on myspace.com for music. below is the link:
http://www.myspace.com/madooocom

Please view it when you get some time, you might have seen the elements before.
If you have a "myspace" account, I'd love to link up with you on your friends page.
And if your friends share common interests, please pass on the link to them so we can network.
Won't that be cool??

Madooo


All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.