Currently Showing Bollywood Movies at SR Movies, Novi, MI

Take a look at the right side of this page. I have a link out there titled "Movies from India at SR Movies" which takes you to Google's Movie Showtime Page for SR Movies. So if you want to know what are the current Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu Movies being shown here in Michigan at SR Movies, Novi then go ahead and click on the link.

Again this link is for currently showing movies. However for upcoming new Bollywood Movies you can always check out Alok Manchanda's site at mimantra.com.

By the way, have you seen Lage Raho Munna Bhai? If you have seen it, then please do give us your feedback. How does it compare with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Which one is worth spending $10.00.

more later....

Diwali in Michigan - Uttar Pradesh Association of Detroit (UPAD)

Diwali in Michigan. Yes Indian Associations in Michigan have already started finalizing plans for the Diwali festivities here in Michgian.

Uttar Pradesh Association of Detroit (UPAD) has the Diwali Celebrations all set for October 28th at the Costick Activity Center in Farmington Hills. For more info visit upcoming.org

For Maps and Directions visit my Michigan India Community page.

Wiki: Diwali
Wiki: Uttar Pradesh

Note: Do you know of any other Diwali Celebrations around Michigan then please do email me the details and I will post it here.

Indian Community Events in Michigan - September 2006

Here are the Indian Community Events in Michigan for September, 2006:

Lage Raho Munna Bhai - Bollywood Hindi Movie at SR Movies, Novi, MI - September 1st.

S.P. Balasubramanyam Live in Concert - September 8th

Women's Day in Michigan - September 16th

SPARSH - A Social Play presented by Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit - September 16th

If you know of any other Community Events please send me an email and I will add it to this post.

more later....

Infosys employees hit jackpot

Infosys, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary distributed Rs 126 crores among its 55000 employees. The payout ranged from Rs 25000 to Rs 3.5 lakh.

Apparently this is not the 1st time Infosys has done this. When it reached a milestone of $1 billion in revenues it handed out $1000 to each of its employees.

That sounds so much better than handing out movie tickets. WOW!

Fore more on this check out mangalorean.com

Lage Raho Munna Bhai this labor Day at SR Movies, MI

Munna Bhai and Circuit are back! You can see them starting this Friday at SR Movies, Novi, Michigan. For showtimes visit mimantra.com

Starring Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan - Lage Raho Munna Bhai promises to be a fun filled family event.

If you happen to see it this Friday then do post your comments as to what you thought of Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

Here's a short trailer of Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

Indian Associations in Michigan

Diwali is not far off and various Indian Associations in Michigan are planning functions/events around Diwali time here in Michigan. (Note: This year Diwali will be celebrated on October 21st)

Thought you might be interested in knowing what various Indian Associations have planned for Diwali. Here are there websites. If I have missed out on any association please send me an email and I will add them here.

Uttar Pradesh Association of Greater Detroit.
Michigan Indian American Cultural Association
Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit
Bengali Association of Greater Michigan
Konkani Association
Gujarati Samaj of Detroit
Telugu Association of Detroit

more later....

Google Maps Mashups - My Book

Besides writing on India/Indian related stuff here at mibazaar for the Indian Community in Michigan and elsewhere, for those who do not know, I am also writing a book on Google Maps Mashups for Wiley Publishers. It's also out on Amazon. (Note: Amazon has the title as "Beginning Google Maps Mashups", which will soon be corrected to read "Google Maps Mashups")

My book will be out sometime in February/March 2007. My book will walk you through in creating Google Maps Mashups with data from multiple sources (Google,Yahoo, Microsoft, eBay).

Take a look at the mashups I created which are listed on the right. I started creating Google Maps Mashups exactly a year ago. This is a part time effort since I work full time elsewhere.

Some of the interesting mashups I have created so far:

What's happening in your Zip Code
Top 99 Women on Google Maps
Newsweek's top High Schools in United States
Ethnic Dining in United States
Missing Kids
World Cup Soccer
World and Human Rights Watch News

wiki: Mashup

more later...

A Farmer commits suicide every 8 hours in Vidarbha, Maharashtra

That's what was buried in a BBC article I read. What's going on here?

Apparently the farmers are so much in debt that there does not seem a way out for them and thus they take this route of leaving this world and their loved ones behind.

Lot of lives are getting ruined. Half the widows are between the ages of 19 and 25 and have two to three children and they are not going to marry again because it's against tradition.

What's the government doing?

Fore more on this read BBC

Wiki: Vidarbha, Maharashtra

Family Planning in Gujarat only if.......

One of the child is a son. You might think that this is prevalent in rural areas. No! When it comes to one's individual family, the urban and rural people think alike--they all want atleast a son and then they will stop producing.

In Gujarat the sex ratio is 878 girls per 1,000 boys.

For more on this story check out Times of India.

Wiki: Gujarat

SPARSH - A social play by Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit

Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit presents SPARSH - a social play written by Jaywant Dalvi and Directed by Suresh Gadgil.

The Play is on September 16th at 3.00pm at Groves High School Auditorium, Beverley Hills, Michigan. For maps and directions visit my Michigan Indian Community page.

For tickets Contact:
Rajashree Rao-Joshi 248 738 1884
Harshad Annigeri 248 474 6461
Manisha Dongre 248 740 5915
Sudha Gadgil 248 788 0253

Program Coordinator: Rajashree Rao-Joshi 248 738 1884

Wiki: Maharashtra
Wiki: Marathi

HR in match making role in India

Looks like the attrition rates are high in BPO firms, so to curb attrition HR managers are now playing the role of match-makers, financial consultants and some are even encouraging office romances.

They are even promoting marriages within the organization. According to HR Execs "Married Employees are more productive and tend to stay longer with the company".

For more on this check out Economic Times.

Vande Mataram to be mandatory in BJP ruled states

BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has instructed the Chief Ministers of BJP ruled states to make singing of the national song Vande Mataram mandatory in all educational institutions.

The Chattisgarh Chief Minister has already announced that singing Vande Mataram will be mandatory in all educational institutions in his state, including madrassas.

Fore more on this check out Hindustan Times

India too introduces passenger profiling

India introduced (APIS) Advanced Passenger Information System, silently sometime in July. This currently only exists for international passengers flying into Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Eventually it will be expanded into other International airports in India.

What this is that the airlines flying into India have to furnish details like complete name, date of birth, nationality, sex, passport number, country where passport was issued, country of permanent residence and visa of all the passengers before the aircraft lands in India.

For more on this check out Times of India.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee dead

India's leading Filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee died in Mumbai, India after a long illness. For more on this check out BBC.

Wiki: Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Here's "Maine Tere Liye Saat Rang Ke Sapne" from Hrishikesh Mukherjee Bollywood Classic "Anand"

Festival of India Detroit - Awsome showing

Congratulations to the Festival of India organizers for putting up an awsome show. Thanks in particular to Rajiv Sanghvi, Gurvinder Singh, Jack Sandhu and mimantra.com's Alok Manchanda.

I was there on Saturday August 26th. I have not seen so much crowd in downtown Detroit before. It was awsome.

The highlight of the evening was Jay Sean. He put in a spectacular performance. His performance was preceded by an impressive show by Kidd Skilly, Detroit's Bad Boy and Bikram Singh of American Jugni fame.

All this was preceded by a specatacular fashion show by Chrysalis Fashions and Bhangra Performances by extremely talented kids from around Michigan.

Indian American in New Jersey charged with Hate Crime

Hate Crime is terrible by itself, but what makes this crime more shocking is the hate crime was committed by the Indian American against his own family.

For more on this click here.

"Macaca" Slur against an Indian American - more coverage

There are couple of interesting must read articles on the racial slur directed at the Indian American S.R. Sidharth.

The first is an article in the American Chronicle
which compares the contribution of Indian-Americans and illegal aliens who cross the US-Mexico border.

The second is an article in Washington Post by an Indian Ameircan - John J. Thatamanil.
One of the quotes from the article "Education, meaningful work and financial success can get immigrant minorities only so far. For some, whiteness will be a prerequisite for being American. Conveying that message might not have been Senator Allen's intent, but it centainly was the effect"

Indians are Unruly Fliers

"If we were to follow such strict rules in India, then every flight would have to make emergency landing".

This quote from a flight attendant in India referring to the recent NorthWest Airlines incident where certain passengers refused to follow instructions and the flight had return back to Amsterdam.

This appearing under the title "Indians are Unruly Fliers" in Times of India. For more on this check out Times of India.

more later...

Horrific Crime in New Delhi

My dad found this buried in one of the pages at Hindustan Times of August 26th. He was very..very upset with this news.

A 94 year old woman living alone in Central Delhi (Old Rajindra Nagar) was found murdered (strangled and gagged) and her house was ransacked. They found her lifeless body on Friday August 25th. She is survied by her 4 children. One living nearby and the other 3 living here in United States.

For more on this click here.

Related: New Delhi Police - Senior Citizen Cell

more later....

Shahrukh, Aamir, Salman - who is the greatest Khan?

Here's a quote from an interesting article which compares Shahrukh, Aamir and Salman Khan.

"Shahrukh is the box office badshah, Aamir is the embodiment of perfection and Salman is the frontbencher’s delight. But who among the trio is the greatest of them all"

I don't want to take away anything from the article. Check the article out at tribuneIndia.com (Saturday 8/25 edition).

Senator Allen of Virginia calls Indian-American a "macaca"

This remark by the Republican Senator George Allen directed towards a Indian-American volunteer R.S.Sidarth a student from University of Virginia who was at the rally videotaping Senator Allen's speech for Senator's Democratic opponent Jim Webb has mushroomed into a major controversy and a embarrasment for the Republican Senator.

Wiki: Macaca

For more on this click here.

MIMANTRA.COM raffling off Great Prizes at Festival of India

Alok Manchanda of Mimantra.com is raffling off the following at Festival of India, Detroit, MI.

Dell PC with 17 inch Flat Panel Display
Color Hand Held Palm Pilot
IPOD Nano

Be sure to visit his booth on any of the Festival days on August 25, August 26, August 27 and all you have to do is enter your name and email address. That's it.

Bhangra Performance by High School Kids at Festival of India

My 15 year old and his buddies from Plymouth Canton High School will be showing off their Bhangra skills this Saturday (8/26) at around 5 pm at Festival of India, Detroit, Michigan. Hope the weather is good. Its kind of gloomy today and forecast calls for the same for tomorrow.

I plan to video tape the event and upload it to YouTube and share it here with you'll at mibazaar.


more later....

Chennai Vilas - A Brand New Indian Restaurant in Ann Arbor

Found out thru a friend that a brand new Indian Restaurant Chennai Vilas has opened up in Ann Arbor.

I looked at their website. Unlike other area restaurants their website seem to be pretty impressive. So first impressions are good. I have not gone to eat their yet. If any of you have then please post your comments as to what your experience was.

They serve South Indian, North Indian and Indo-Chinese dishes. Parents! take a look at their kids menu. The kids menu has:

• Pizza Uttapam
  Yummy, thick rice crepe topped with pizza sauce, cheese and chopped veg.
• Indian Style Veg./Chicken Burger
  Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Vegetables/Chicken with crisp breading, fresh lettuce, ripe tomatoes and sauce on a corn dusted bun.

Got to take my kids.

Something else which caught my attentions was their "About Us" page which states that "Our chefs are graduates of acclaimed catering schools in India and will ensure that you are delighted with our cuisine."

Here's a Map to the location.

They are located at the heart of Ann Arbor at 207 Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 and there telephone Number is 734.302.3711

Feel free to let the community know what you think about the food at Chennai Vilas by posting a comment here.



Related: Click here to vote for your favorite Michigan Indian Restaurant.

Metro Times article on "Little India"

Here's a Festival of India article in today's Metro Times (08/23) which got me all worked up.

What's so strange about this article. Let me explain it.

Take a look at the Festival of India Website. They have couple of Michigan Indian Websites listed which includes my website mibazaar.

Now read the article at Metro Times. What on earth could be the reason for them to include the other Michigan Indian Websites in their article and just exclude mine.

Thank goodness, Google's Search is quite different. Type in "Festival of India Detroit" or "Festival of India Michigan" at Google Search and see which sites come up.

Also a certain Indian Radio Program is mentioned and the radio program hosted by Rajiv Sanghvi (Swar Bahar) one of the organizers of "Festival of India" is conveniently left out.

Also according to the article a certain Michigan Indian Website (run by the same folks as the radio program mentioned above) gets 12000 unique visitors a day. Wait a second if that's the case then they should be way up there. Check there ranking out for yourself at alexa.com (an amazon company)

Go Figure who is the source for this story and what is the agenda.

For mibazaar.com it would be:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=&url=www.mibazaar.com

For other websites replace url parameter with the site name. Now tell me how is it possible for a "certain michigan indian website" to get 12000 unique visitors a day.

Should'nt the media research and cross check before putting anything in print.

Clearly someone does not want mibazaar in the mix.

MIBAZAAR creates a map for Human Rights Watch Group

Folks from Human Rights Watch Group contacted me to find out if I would be willing to ceate a Google Maps Mashup of HIV/AIDS related abuses around the world which they wanted to show at the AIDS international conference in Toronto. I was more than willing to help out with this community service.

Take a look at this Google Maps Mashup I created which is now up at their site.

Related: My Google Maps Mashup of World News from New York Times and Human Rights Watch News from around the world.

Sachin Tendulkar not a VIP at Mumbai Airport

Sachin Tendulkar on his flight back home from the jinxed Sri Lanka Tour found to his surprise that he was like any of us. He had to walk out through the same gates like any one of us would. Even his BMW which usually is parked next to the VIP exit had to be moved to the common area.

This might be due to heightened security awareness following last month's multiple bomb blasts. For more on this click here.

more later...

Indian Restaurants at Festival of India, Detroit, Michigan

Indian Restaurants from around Michigan will serve up food at Festival of India, Detroit which will cater to every taste.

Some of the restaurants which will be at the show are:
Priya from Farmington Hills, MI
Ruchi from Southfield, MI
Sizzle N Spice from Detroit, MI

Be sure to visit them at the show and sample food from different parts of India.

more later...

Aishwarya Rai in some bold daredevil stunts in DHOOM 2

That according to DHOOM 2 movie director Sanjay Gadhvi. DHOOM 2 is a fast paced movie on COPS and ROBBERS. According to Sanjay Gadhvi Aishwarya Rai trained for months for the action sequences in DHOOM 2.

Sanjay Gadhvi is all praise for Aishwarya Rai. He continues "Ash has a lot of guts. She has done some awesome stunts in the film. She did power yoga for two months and has a perfectly toned body".

DHOOM 2 also stars Hrithik Roshan (Hrithik Roshan will be seen doing roller-blading, sky diving, sand boarding and various other extreme sports in this movie), Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu.

Enjoy this trailer from DHOOM 2

DHOOM 2 was filmed in Namibia, South Africa and India.

DHOOM 2 is all set to release later this year.

For more on this click here.

Kumbh Mela Going Global

Kumbh Mela is coming to United States. It is going to be held for the first time in United States on September 10th at Bren Center, University of California Irvine.

For more on this event click here.

Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Sushmita Sen in "Dulha Mil Gaya"

Cricket Legends Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara along with Bollywood Babe Sushmita Sen will star in an upcoming Bollywood Film by Vivek Vaswani titled "Dulha Mil Gaya" (Got/Found my man or Got/Found my Husband).

The film supposedly will be filmed in Trinidad and Tobago. The film will promote Trinidad and Tobago as a tourism spot therefore the government of Trinidad and Tobago are partly financing this film.

For more details check out IndiaFM

Indian American Community the Fastest Growing Asian Community in US

Indian American Community is the fastest growing Asian Community in the United States.

The US Census Bureau Data released for 2000-2005 shows that the Indian Community grew by 41% for the 5 year period and now stands at 2.3 million.

For more details check out DailyIndia.com

more later...

Amitabh Bachchan romancing 18 year old Jiah Khan

OMG!! OMG!! No...No its just on screen in the upcoming Bollywood Hindi Movie Nishabd directed by Ram Gopal Verma starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jiah Khan.

Nishabd is based on Vladmir Nabokov' novel Lolita about a 60 year old married man's romance with a 18 year girl.

Nishabd supposedly was shot in just a month. Don't know the release date yet.

more later....

Shahrukh Khan to add glamour to Jet Airways

Jet Airways which is going thru a financial turbulance (loss of Rs 45 crore in the 1st quarter) is all set to include India's Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan in the boardroom.

Shahrukh Khan will be the 3rd Bollywood Film Personality to be associated with Jet Airways. The other being Yash Chopra and Javed Akhtar.

For more on this story click here.

Words of Peace Booth at Festival of India, Detroit

Be sure to stop by at the "Words of Peace" Booth at Festival of India, Detroit from August 25-27. Listen in and see a short video clip of Prem Rawat.

For more info on Prem Rawat click here.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna triggers deadly violence

A Husband and Wife in Mumbai are having marital problems. Then the Husband makes up with the wife and takes her to watch Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

It was all a plan. The Husband had hoped that by seeing the movie the wife would somehow get convinced and let him get married to his girlfreind. The wife refuses and he shoots her. Fortunately she survies.

Film Director Karan Johar expressed shock and had this to say "When I made the film, I never thought it would incite such strong emotions".

I think quite a few might now think "Hey its cool to find love outside marriage". He should have introduced some marriage counselling sessions in the movie, but then the movie would have been 4 1/2 hours instead of 3 1/2 hours.

For more on this story click here.

Earnings per minute

Here's interesting piece of statistics on "earnings per minute" for some of the prominent personalities from India. Source Hindustan Times

Government:
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh: 57 paise per minute
President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Rs 1.14 per minute

Sports:
Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar Rs. 1163 per minute

Business:
Reliance Group Chairman Mukesh Ambani Rs 413 per minute

Bollywood:
Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan Rs 361 per minute
Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan Rs 247 per minute

Women's Day 2006 Conference in Michigan

Asian Indian Women's Association presents "Women's Day" on September 16th at Rock Financial Show Place, Novi, Michigan from 9.30 AM to 4.30 PM.

"Strong Women and Strong Community" is the theme of the Women's Day 2006 conference.

For maps and directions visit my Michigan Indian Community page.

The promo promises a power packed day of fun, seminars, marketing and networking and also the following:

Free Chair Massage

Free Beauty Consultation

Beauty MakeOver

Win Christian Dior, Clinique and other gift coupons every hour

Free Cholesterol, Bone Density, Blood Sugar Check

and exclusive Fashion show by Chrysalis Fashions.

more later....

Lalu Prasad now a Management Guru

No Kidding! Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is all set to accept Lalu Prasad, India's Railway Minister, as a guest lecturer sometime in Novemeber.

IIM-A director Bakul H Dholakia has this to say "The man who can change the fortune of the railways deserves to be a part of the IIM-A course curriculum. He is a great manager and we are going to use his managerial skill through a series of classes. We are preparing his case study and it will be ready in two months. We hope that a series of lectures by the minister will help the students understand the subject better".

For more on this check out Hindustan Times.

Congratulations! Mr. Minister.

No more Bhopals

This is a sad story of Sunil Kumar Verma, 34 a survivor of the 1984 Union Carbide Gas Leak in Bhopal, India. He committed suicide on July 26th wearing a t-shirt which read "No more Bhopals". Before he died he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia - a mental illness which affected many gas survivors

In 1989 Sunil toured the world to garner support against the settlement agreed between the Indian government and Union Carbide. Sunil though died without realizing his dreams of seeing anyone being brought to justice over the world's worst industrial accident.

For more on this story click here.

Related: BBC's one night in Bhopal

Indian Visa at India Day 2006, Novi, Michigan

Planning a trip to India soon? Then there is great news. Folks from Indian Consulate, Chicago will be at hand at India Day 2006 on August 20th (10 AM - 4 PM), to issue Indian Visa.

Please note the following:

There is a additional $10 fee over and above the visa fees

Indian Visa will be issued only to US Passport holders

Fees will be only accepted via Money Order or Bank draft or certified cheque drawn in favor of ‘Consulate General of India, Chicago’.

No other service except Visa Service will be provided

Related:
India Day 2006 website
Indian Consular office in Chicago

Jay Sean at Festival of India, Detroit, Michigan

Jay Sean is going to be performing at Festival of India, Detroit on Saturday August 26th at 9 pm. And guess what, it is FREE thanks to the genorisity of the Festival of India platinum sponsors DAIMLER CHRYSLER.

Who is Jay Sean? Jay Sean is a British Asian Sikh R&B singer. Jay Sean is his stage name. His real name is Kamaljit Jhooti. Check out more on Jay Sean at wikipedia.

Here's Jay Sean with the Bollywood Babe Bipasha Basu

Mohan Jhand of PunjabiDholak.com

Meet Mohan Jhand of PunjabiDholak.com. For the past couple of years he has been a regular fixture at India Day events in Michigan. This year will be no different. He will be showcasing his Bhangra and Dhol skills at India Day 2006 event at Rock Financial Showplace, Novi, Michigan this Sunday August 20th.

He informs me that he will be participating in the Michigan India Day Parade from 9.30 AM to 11 AM and then at around 3 PM he will be participating in a Live Bhangra event on stage.

Mohan has a 13 year experience in Dhol and Bhangra. He has done stage performances with Malkiat Singh - Golden star of UK, Safari Group of UK, Gurdas Mann, Kuldeep Manik, Surinder Shinda, Bhupinder Gill from Chandigarh, Jaspal Bhatti and various groups from Punjab and several Weddings and various community events in USA and Canada.

He also teaches Bhangra to Adults and kids. Do check out his website for details.

Indian owned bank in Novi, Michigan - a first!

The City Central Bank, which was formed a year ago by Satish Jasti and a group of 20 investors — nearly all of whom are South Asian Americans — recently received approval by the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to organize a new Michigan state bank.

For more info check out indusbusinessjournal.com

Outsourcing: From Troy, Michigan to Pune, India

This from a article dated today (8/17) by C. Medford in Red Herring.

Syntel, founded by Mr. Bharat Desai and his wife Mrs Neerja Sethi, in Troy, Michigan back in the 1980's, began moving its employees to its "spanking new Silicon Valley style, 40 acre campus" in Pune, India.

Syntel is outsourcing all of its operations to its own India based Outsourcing Operations, except Legal and Sales. With this move all but 500 employees out of a total of 6500 employees will be in United States.

The campus in Pune has gyms, cafeteria, overnight accomodations, courtesy vans. According to the Red Herring article, the campus is "part corporate residence part showpiece".

The article goes on to say that the campus is designed to make visiting U.S. clients feel comfortable about committing their computing operations to a company a world away. As mentioned in the article, according to Jonathan James, Syntel’s vice president of global marketing and investor relations, "It’s like a home away from home for U.S. businessmen."

India Day 2006 News in Observer and Eccentric

Pam Fleming of Hometownlife.com has a news article in Observer and Eccentric (8/17) on India Day 2006.

Pam Fleming states that "This year's celebration is expected to be one of the largest to date, with about 20,000 expected to attend. The event runs from about 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20".

Balaji Joshi secretary of the Organizing committee states that India Day 2006 is "like the Fourth of July for India," noting that India and the U.S. are the largest democratic counties in the world.

For more information check out the India Day 2006 website.

What Detroit can Learn from Bangalore, India

A great article in Detroit News today as to what Detroit can learn from Bangalore India.

Shikha Dalmia in the article explains as to what plagued India's progress up until early 1990's (excessive bureaucracy and destructive taxes), is the same problem with Detroit today.

It was early 1990's when the business climate began to change in India with a massive liberalization effort. The Indian government had come out with Software Parks Initiative program.

States that signed up for this program could not only offer information technology companies exemption from federal taxes, but also a one stop shop for all federal statutory approvals. Karnataka was the one of the 1st states to join the program. Karnataka went one step ahead by extending the program to all the companies.

Shikha Dalmia contrasts this with Detroit by writing that "Kwame Kilpatrick is so preoccupied with attracting big, glamorous Aswan Dam-type projects (witness the millions in tax credits he has arranged to pour toward the revival of a single building, the Book-Cadillac hotel) that he has no time to think about mundane process improvements such as these."

Read more of Shikha Dalmia's article in today's Detroit News

North American Bengali Conference (NABC) in Detroit, Michigan

Great News for our community. Detroit has been chosen the venue for the 27th North American Bengali Conference to be held from June 29th to July 1 2007, at the Cobo Arena here in Detroit Michigan. This event will be organized by the Bengali Association of Greater Michigan (BAGM).

The North American Bengali Conference (NABC) is supposedly the grandest celebration of Bengali Heritage outside of India.

Jayat Hazra the chairman of NABC 2007 has this to say about the event. "NABC 2007 will provide a platform where Bengalis who migrated to foreign lands can individually and collectively inspire and motivate each other". Read more...

Profiling Indian Restaurants in Michigan

I plan to start a new feature - "Know your Michigan Indian Restaurant - 'restaurant name'".

Related: My Google Maps Mashup of Ethnic Dining in United States

There are quite a few Indian Restaurants in South East Michigan, more so in the Detroit Metro area, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Flint. I am trying to contact as many restaurants as possible. But if you happen to know the following information you can post it in the comments or email me at support[at]mibazaar[dot]com and I will then share it with the community (credit will be given). The information I am trying to gather is

The date they opened for business

What's their speciality

Buffet served if any and the price

How spicy the food is

Any special deals/coupons if any

Any special menus during festival season

Lage Raho Munna Bhai at SR Movies, Michigan

Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) and Circuit (Arshad Warsi) are BACK!! in Bollywood Hindi Film Lage Raho Munna Bhai (Translation: Hindi --> Duniya ko topi pinate raho Munna Bhai - English: Carry on...Munna Bhai).







It starts at SR Movies, Novi on September 1st. For showtimes visit mimantra.com
For maps and directions visit my Michigan India Community page.

Here's a trailer of Lage Raho Munna Bhai

Deadly Violence at Shahrukh Khan's Bungalow

No this was not a film shoot. This was a real life drama which unfolded outside Shahrukh Khan's Bungalow in Mumbai early Tuesday Morning (8/15).

Couple of security guards assigned to Shahrukh Khan got into an argument with each other. One of them making fun of the other security guard's pay and quality of his revolver. The latter apparently could not take any criticism and so he resorted to deadly violence by shooting dead the other security guard.

BTW, Shahrukh Khan was home at the time.

Source: BBC and Times of India

Manoj Kumar Classic on this, India's 60th Independence Day

Here's a Manoj Kumar Classic - Mere Desh Ki Dharti - from Bollywood Hindi Film Upkar



more later...

Happy Independence Day - INDIA

On the eve of India's 60th Independence Day (August 15th), MIBAZAAR wishes Indians all around the world a Happy Independence Day.

Here's a awsome video of India's National Anthem which includes some of the great Indian treasures like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, AR Rahman, HariPrasad Chaurasia, Bhimsen Joshi, Jagjit Singh

Cool Site of the day at askmen.com

My Google Maps Mashup of Top 99 Women (aishwarya rai ranked #47) from around the world made it to "cool site of the day" at askmen.com.

Thanks to the folks at askmen.com

Brand India - a must see video!!

Take a look at this awsome video [via] showcasing India's progress. Folks from Bharatbala put this video toghether. Great Job!!

Alisha Chinai - The "Indian Madonna" at Ann Arbor, Michigan

Alisha Chinai (accompanying Himesh Reshammiya) will be on stage at Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan on August 18th. Hopfully she will be singing "Kajra Re" from Bunty aur Babli.

Here's Kajra Re for you:

Rani Mukherjee Looks Stunning in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Its been over 10 years since I have seen a Bollywood Hindi Movie in a Theater.

Finally went to see one at SR Movies, Novi, Michigan. It was Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

About Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna: Rani Mukherjee looked gorgeous. She looked stunning in those sarees. Other than that I did not think much of the movie. What they are trying to tell you is "Hey don't mess around outside the marriage. If you do then you don't deserve a second chance, there's no forgiveness. 'I am sorry or Mujh Se Galti Ho gaya/gayi' is a waste of time".
This quote from Times of India "Too Long Too Tedious", sums it all.

Here's a short video clip of the stunning Rani Mukherjee:

Detroit - Know your construction barrels

Here's the current Detroit Area Traffic on Google Maps. Bookmark this link and visit back whenever you want to get the most current and up to date Detroit Area Traffic (Made possible with Yahoo Traffic + Google Maps)

(Click on the Yellow Markers for Details)


more later....

Vande Mataram - National Song of India

Continuing from where I left off yesterday, here's another very inspiring video "Vande Mataram" which I found at YouTube. The credit at the end of the video is given to Deepak S.Deodhar (I assume must be the creator of this video). Awsome job Deepak.

Here's a nice informative article on Vande Mataram. Check it out at Wikipedia.



more patriotic videos tomorrow...

India - Remarkable progress over the Years

On the occasion of India's 60th Independence day (August 15th), I will be posting some Indian patriotic videos from YouTube and Google Video, all this week.

Here's a Indian Patriotic Musical Video showcasing India's progress over the years. The video also contains thoughts and sayings of our very own Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Hope you like this video.



more later...

Aap Ki Khatir at SR Movies on August 25th

Bollywood Hindi Movie Aap Ki Khatir starring Akshaye Khanna, Priyanka Chopra, Dino Morea, Anupam Kher, Amisha Patel, Lillete Dubey, Sunil Shetty and Music by the popular Himesh Reshammiya, is all set for being released on August 25th at SR Movies, Novi.


For Showtimes visit mimantra.com.

Here's the sequence of events from the movie:

• Priyanka Chopra (NRI from London), Dino Morea (Girl Friend, Boy Friend)


• They break up


• Priyanka's step sister Amisha Patel to be married to Sunil Shetty (guju businessman from New York)


• Dino Morea and Sunil Shetty are very good friends


• Enter Akshaye Khanna a male escort


• Priyanka hooks on with Akshaye Khanna to get Dino jealous


• You know that by now Priyanka and Akshaye Khanna (one of the two) start liking each other.


• Also Amisha Patel and ......(were Girl Friend/Boy Friend once upon a time)

Rest of the story coming to a theater near you....

Odissi - Indian Classical Dance Performance in Michigan

Odissi - An Indian Classical Dance Performance will be held here at Groves High School Auditorium, Beverly Hills/Birmingham on Sunday August 27th at 4.00pm.

For maps and directions visit my Michigan Indian Community page.

For tickets please contact:
Krishna Senapati - 248-952-5471
Sushri Sangeeta Kar - 989-636-7037
Sunita Das - 734-995-6492
Manasi Mishra - 517-347-7872

Here's a short video clip of ODISSI dance from YouTube:

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - starts August 11th

Reminder that Bollywood Mega Starrer Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (never say "TATA" or never say "GoodBye") starts on August 11th here in Michigan at SR Movies, Novi. For showtimes visit mimantra.com.


Enjoy this Title song from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam coming to Michigan

S.P. Balasubrahmanyam one of the leading figures of Indian Cinema, more particularly, South Indian moviedom is set to arrive in Michigan for a live performance on September 8th at Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

For maps and directions visit my Michigan India Community Page
For tickets call:
Surya Gunturi 586 634 8261
Sreenivas Oruganti 313 433 6201
Ram Nandyala 313 333 3777
visit http://www.s-cubeproperties.com/spb for more details.

India's answer to USHER

Here's India's answer to USHER



more later...

Kishore Kumar - India's Treasure Remembered

This August 4th, we remember, on what would have been the 78th Birthday of Kishore Kumar one of Indian Cinema's (bollywood's) all time great singers.

Here's a hit song from Bollywood Hindi Film Padosan sung/acted by Kishore Kumar.



more later....

India's 60th Independence Day

Celebrities from India
India's 60th Independence day (August 15th) is round the corner and there are host of activties planned here in Michigan. There will be abundance of Indian Talent and Indian Culture on display.

Here is a patriotic song from Puja Chatterjee of Indian IDOL 3


Related Videos:
Mere Desh Ki Dharti - Manoj Kumar Classic
Brand India
Vande Mataram
India since Independence

Related links:
India's Freedom Fighters
Wiki: India's Independence

Know your Michigan Indian Radio Host - Subhash Kelkar

Every Saturday Morning from 9 AM - 10 AM on WPON 1460 AM, Subhash Kelkar starts his Geetanjali Radio Program with this unique style - "Hindustani Film Sangeet Ke Shaukeen.....aapko Subhash Kelkar Kaa Namaskar". His style reminds you of Ameen Sayani. He blends in the old and the new bollywood classics with his own unique style and makes you feel right at home.

You can listen to the same broadcast on the web for a crystal clear reception at wpon.com.

For a second helping of Subhash Kelkar, tune in to http://www.eprasaran.com (WITHOUT COMMERCIALS, 3 times a day on every Friday, at 2 PM, 8 PM, and 11 PM Eastern Time.)

Mr. Subhash Kelkar has been hosting the Geetanjali Radio Program for the Indian Community in Detroit continuously since April 10, 1977. He has been working in this field since 1971.

more later...