No excuses this time...Its a new year

Today - the 9th day of the new year I'm making an addition to my list of resolutions, to post something to this blog at least once a week with a topic that has intrigued me as an Immigrant.

In New Zealand holidays are far and few in between so when the year began with 4 days of absolutely nothing to do, people start doing things they would normally save up for a weekend or annual leave. Barbecues get fired up, camper vans start slowing traffic down and a general sense of irresponsibility seems to blanket all the sane people. It's ok to have a little more to drink, it's ok to make a fool of yourself and be laughed at instead of being laughed with.

News channels start beaming reports from the year gone by, some looked back nostalgically others reporting a disaster. Millions of lives affected in 2010 with natural disasters, The new year wasn't happy for many. Fears of a double dip recession loom large, oil has shot up over $90 a barrel yet peoples capacity to consume hasn't reduced!

I even ended up going out on a weekend away clocking over 850 kms in two days despite fuel prices. People cannot stop living their lives be it rise in fuel or vegetable prices, one can only minimize the impact of these costs.

As I begin the year, I look Towards actively developing my online presence in social media and the web sphere. Success doesn't come easily and I have a fat lot to achieve before I can rest!

Till next week!

Fruit & Nut

Fruit & Nut
Originally uploaded by Tushal

Strange fruits but normal nuts!!

When you are miles away...Food helps

In a recent sojourn in Melbourne, I noticed the lack of Melbournians acutely affecting me. Going to restaurants and bars, I found people of various ethnicities serving everything from Lebanese Boreks (image on left), to pizzas, to dips, Greek food, Asian cuisine, INDIAN cuisine..Italian fare...the choices were unending. Its true when they say a city is truly a melting pot of cultures when you are greeted by people of all origins and races.

Its both good and bad in my opinion, when a country is invaded by people from other nations trying to scrounge a living for themselves they are more often than not, accepted by the people they have come to live amongst. These are the people who didn't have much of a say in their nations cultural mix. Politics and financial strength were at high priority amongst decision makers who you may call greedy? allowed the influx of immigrants. Dare I complain as I too was allowed into paradise.

That was the bad, here's worse, as in a democracy, once you cast your vote, there's not much else you have a say in. Taxes will rise if the "democratic" government decides it wants to, health and welfare benefits will be cut whether you like it or not! What democracy? Did I veto either of the above to happen, was I asked? No! instead the government spent $4 million in gathering opinion on whether its OK to spank ones child when they misbehave.

I'm not complaining...I'm merely trying to think from a citizens perspective. Whats in it for them?
The other side - cultural diversity implies tolerance and acceptance. If a country ONLY had people of their nation and no outsiders, you can forget about getting Pad Thai in Downtown Auckland or Churros in Melbourne CBD.
Samosas in Southall would be tantalising for the Brits too and don't forget the eternal favourite Butter Chicken from Birmingham. (psst I only mentioned those cities as they went well with the Brits craving for these not so delicate Indian delicacies).

Reminds me, just the other day when myself and the other half were craving for Paav-Bhaaji (Indian for bun and veggies) we could (a) source all the ingredients easily from one shop and cook at home or (b) pop down to JJ's in Sandringham, Auckland about 4 k-licks away! You bet we chose the latter option but that was a couple of weeks back, today we're cooking it at home!

Catching up on news from the homeland has become so much easier off-late with the plethora of mind boggling websites from India projecting everything from plane crashes to suggestions to elevate ones sex life. Nice.

I was last in India for my wedding (which went very well thank you) and was exposed to the modern age of satellite media and advertising - I was truly taken aback by the concepts and boldness of the adverts. I find adverts in the Pacific so much more subdued and sometimes well...boring. One of the recent adverts for Yoghurt was really good, I would recommend viewing this one. The music is good but the advert is for the NZ market and made across the ditch in Austraalia!

I think I've spoken too much about food this time around. Peace out...hope to be more readable next time around - Kiwi Music maybe?... As they say in New Zealand - Pō Marie (Goodnight)

Pōhutukawa Medley

Pōhutukawa Medley
Originally uploaded by Tushal

Summers in New Zealand are bright and shiny. This is a medley of my impressions of the Pōhutukawa plant, which grows abundantly across this country. BBQ, Beach and Bach complete the Kiwi summer, add a Beema (BMW) and you're sorted for life...or so you're made to believe.

Apologies for the delay...

Hi,

It's been a while (well over 2.5 years) since my last blog post. In that time frame I've moved on from professional photojournalism to corporate communications from being a bachelor to marrying my delightful girlfriend, from Bahrain to Auckland, New Zealand...

This blog has long been overdue now especially as I looked for a forum to express my thoughts about being an Immigrant - always.

Immigrant is defined as a person who comes to a country where they were not born in order to settle there. But I've been living on 3 islands over the past many years as an immigrant and even in the country of my birth India, I've never really felt completely in place. Home is where the heart is but I've always had vested interests everywhere.

I will begin from not the beginning but from somewhere around October 2007 when I last blogged about a Mitsubishi Outlander in Bahrain and moved to New Zealand a couple of weeks later....I won't start ranting from my first post but this is just to let you know of the things to come in day to day life in one of the best cities of the world to live in.

I hope to juxtapose bits and pieces of the 2.5 years gone by with my weekly experiences as a foreigner at home, en route I will introduce you to some of my friends as well maybe with pictures if they permit.

Look forward to seeing you back here soon.

PS Please excuse me if my writing is a bit rusty...I'll be back in shape asap.