Posts Tagged ‘india’

Dancing Indians advertise Cup Noodle curry flavor

The last Cup Noodle commercial had Takuya Kimura walking through redwood forests. Now he’s in India for a Bollywood-style musical promotion of Cup Noodle’s curry flavor:

The song lyrics consist of Kimutaku repeatedly announcing the existence of corocha curry Cup Noodle. The woman interrupts him to suggest that he say it tastes good, since it is a commercial. Kimutaku replies by expressing supreme confidence in only having to say that it’s corocha curry Cup Noodle.

[Note: The "coro cha" he keeps singing about are little cubes of meat.]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
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Bangladeshis in Japan

A really great report from TBS news about the increasing number of Bangladeshis living and working in Japan (partially subtitled in English):

Part 1

Part 2

In the end of the second clip, we are told that people from Bangladesh are choosing Japan over the United States because America is unsafe and there is “discrimination” against Muslims in that country. These may be reasons for the shift, but it probably has a lot more to do with the fact that post 9/11 security measures have made it much harder for citizens of Bangladesh to obtain work and student visas for the United States.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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The World’s Most Crowded Train

Some of you may have seen old video clips on YouTube of public transportation in Japan and assumed that Japan has the world’s most crowded trains. Apparently that’s not the case.

On Sunday night’s episode of “Itte Q,” weird reporter Imoto was sent to India so she could experience the “world’s most crowded train”:

They wanted to see if she could read a newspaper on the train, but it proved extremely difficult.

Note: Yes, she painted those stupid eyebrows on. They are part of her character.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Promoting Indian food in Hokkaido

NewIndPress.com has a great article about Dilip Mansukhani, an Indian who came to Japan in the 1970′s and has since built a very successful chain of Indian restaurants:

Sporting a Charles Bronson-style moustache, Mansukhani was mistaken for either an American or an Italian. When he said he was an Indian, no one would believe him. It was then that he made a life-altering decision: “If I have to make India and Indian known here, there is nothing better to start an Indian restaurant.”

His first restaurant, a 100-seater, came up in downtown Sapporo in 1982 — called the Taj Mahal, a brand that he has promoted since then, not only for his chain of restaurants and fast-food outlets but also for his Indian provisions, pickles and spices.

An offshoot of his restaurants is the growing demand for his ‘Taj Mahal’ catering services, with clients including the Japanese defence forces on special occasions.

In tribute to his iconic India brand, the forces built a giant Taj Mahal at the snow festival here out of large blocks of ice and powered snow. Sapporo is said to get more snow than any city in the world.

“I have been very lucky,” Mansukhani said. “Almost all Indian ambassadors posted in Tokyo have visited my restaurants here and former ambassador Prakash Shah even made me an honorary consul to promote India and its tourism.

If you’d like to visit one of Mansukhani’s restaurants, check out the information on the Taj Mahal Group’s official website.

Ghost Chili Pepper Chips

ATV news reports about a new snack from the makers of ultra-spicy Tohato Bōkun Habanero Chips:

The new stnack will contain Indian Bhut jolokia (“ghost chili”), which was recognized last year with the Guinness World Record for spiciest chili pepper. The new snacks will hit stores on April 21st.

India Protests American Cattle Slaughter

Those of you who have been following news about the whaling issue might be interested in the following:

NEW DEHLI, India – Recent publication of graphic images of cows at an American slaughterhouse released by the Indian Cultural Affairs Office on Thursday mean a stronger legal case against cattle consumption, the Indian government says. Indian government officials have been monitoring American slaughterhouse activity and the nation is still considering what kind of legal action is available, should be taken, and which institutions and individuals should be targeted.

For more information, read the full article!