http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/ not content to sit still en-us 2006-04-21T23:18:17-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/016768.shtml It's not fair to compare Bombay and Hong Kong, two bustling Asian cities once under the realm of Britain, but I couldn't help doing so while on a recent trip.... Travel Melanie 2006-04-21T23:18:17-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/016524.shtml Good news, everyone! As you may or may not know, in between voiceovers, observing India, and blogging, I've also maintained a pretty full freelance writing/editing schedule. The results of those long days and nights last fall have been two guidebooks... Writing Life Melanie 2006-03-19T23:32:47-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/016438.shtml I apologize for the long silence. In fact, not much has been happening around here. Well, not much except bird flu, temple attacks, and presidential visits. At this point, nearly two years later, India and Bombay have almost become... India Melanie 2006-03-08T05:17:11-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/016044.shtml Senator John Kerry came to India recently to discuss, among other things, his opinions on outsourcing. During the U.S. elections of 2004, Indians (or at least the Indian media) never quite warmed to Kerry, so I suppose this was a... India Melanie 2006-01-12T20:03:37-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/016030.shtml Bombay is one of the most progressive cities in India. For most intents and purposes, both the New York and L.A. of India. It is also the capital of of Maharashtra, a state that is proving to be more backward... India Melanie 2006-01-11T07:43:39-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/015968.shtml I don't think I had ever planned my life beyond 2005, so New Year's 2006 hit me from the out of the blue. We hadn't made any plans for New Years, either, figuring that something low-key would come along. Ha!... India Melanie 2006-01-04T08:07:08-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/015581.shtml Another sign that Bombay is booming: it seems like a new club opens each week. Since I arrived over 15 months ago, a number of new clubs, including Zenzi, Seijo and the Soul Dish, and Squeeze have opened in Bandra... India Melanie 2005-12-28T00:36:17-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/015732.shtml Bombay has changed to Mumbai. Madras to Chennai. Calcutta to the much less evocative Kolkata. Now, it looks like Bangalore is jumping on the renaming bandwagon. It intends to change its name to Bengaluru, which means "the town of boiled... India Melanie 2005-12-14T05:18:06-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/015390.shtml I'm finally back to work after three restful weeks back in the States. Besides traveling around and seeing family and friends, I had the chance to while away a few afternoons in some national and state parks, including Wakulla Springs,... India Melanie 2005-11-11T09:35:41-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/014838.shtml September Ho Gaya...September is gone. And I didn't even have much time to blog. I did some traveling - again to the Golden Triangle (see below) - went to a film shoot (see my last post), attended the Elle Decor... India Melanie 2005-09-26T13:30:10-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/014713.shtml Much has been made about a possible link-up between Rani Mukherjee and Abhishek Bachchan, two of Bollywood's biggest stars of the moment. As I've mentioned before, Rani is on a hot streak, having had hits with Black (a remake... India Melanie 2005-09-15T13:14:06-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/014526.shtml As Indian states go, Gujarat has a long way to go before becoming tourist friendly. It may be the homeland of many a global Indian (the Patel clan comes from there), but it's lacking in some of the things... India Melanie 2005-08-29T12:57:19-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/014380.shtml No matter what the raging controversy is about the new film about Mangal Pandey, whether it was too harshly anti-British or that Pandey, India's first so-called freedom fighter, was blasphemously portrayed as a having a relationship with a nautch... India Melanie 2005-08-19T03:33:26-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/014365.shtml The first thing I thought of when reading this front-page story in the Times of India today was, "Couldn't they have let the poor thing live somewhere in the country?" As I've said before, animal rights have a long way... In the News Melanie 2005-08-18T04:56:09-05:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/miss/archives/014205.shtml I've often mused at the title of "I'm Not Rappaport," the play-then-film about two men from varying backgrounds coming to terms with the ravages of old age. Even though I've never seen the play or the film, I was always... India Melanie 2005-08-08T12:45:06-05:00