Dikshitar the Great

'vEHNkaTEshvara vibhAvitEna
vicitra vishAkha mahOtsavEna
shukarahasya-prakAsha-guruguhEna
kRttikAsuta shuddha dhanyEna
Subrahmanyena'

-Mudduswami Dikshitar (1775-1835)

Man! What a finish to a song! Amazing how someone can have so much insight into a rAgam. So why is it that Bach and Beethoven are so much more well known than our own Iyyer tantric sitting in south india at the same time(Mudduswamy was born in 1775 and Ludwig in 1770) , whose music, if not better, has as much genius in it?
Go ask anyone in the middle class in north india and he knows nothing about the music of South India. I dont get it. How can one sitting only 1000 miles away know nothing of a genius and his work. But ask him about Beethoven - surely he would have great praise for his work. (whether or not he ever heard it)
So what is it? I agree the west is cooler, technology-wise and weather-wise. But music? Art? Philosophy? So to all those indian bozos listening to western influences, give Indians a chance. Look at Mudduswamy's work, and then next time I ask you atleast say "Yeah, I think I have heard of him."

Curry and Spice

My hand is smelling of onions from Taco Bell. I hate it. Wonder if there might be something more surreal than my childhood dislike for onions.

If you are an Indian vegetarian at UCLA, you can have the following items across campus:

1. Taco Bell Bean Gordita - Make sure you add the fire sauce in generous quantities.

2. Soup Salad combo - How long can one eat rabbit food?

3. Sbarro pizza or stromboli - I would go for the stromboli any day, atleast some spinach in it.

4. Pizza from Synapse - Nice cheese floating on it, lots of oil is good for the body engine.

5. Cheese Quesadila - Ugh!

6. Panda Bowl - Not for the faint hearted, its made in chicken broth. The tofu submerged in the sauce is no match for the indian paneer, but definitely some nutrients there.

7. Hare Krishna - Food from the Gods for us. $4 eat all you can, the juice is free. The only drawback is the long walk to Engineering. Also beware, if you have a class at 2:00, do NOT take extra helping of the desert floating in ghee however tempting it may look. You shall have a tough time keeping awake.

8. Pizza salad again : at Northern Lights. Nothing to say here, whats the big deal in making a good pizza? I am sure they have perfected it by now. Or maybe nobody knows what it really tastes like.

Thats about it. Man, how have I survived for two years? Thats it, these hands need to be washed right now.