The Uncensored Household
My White Wrists (Chitiyan Kalayan) is the translation of a chorus of a Bollywood song that has been in the top ten in the BBC Asian Radio Charts and on radio loops in India non-stop.
Songs like this make me want to scream: is there no hope of evolution in the South Asian community’s mentality about skin
BBC2 ran a programme rather late on Thursday night called Jihadi Brides. I happened to see it after reaching saturation point with Question Time on BBC1 so it was an accidental yet intriguing insight into these young girls and women as well as their ideology. I’m a Muslim woman (selectively practicing), too old/wild to be groomed but quite bemused by these holier than thou Muslims. These are some of the opinions raised from the programme:
1. Professional: These young women are not stupid, they are intelligent and educated.
2. Professional: The young women may lack an ability for critical thinking.
Earlier this week, Bunty and I had the pleasure of going along to a wonderful and lively discussion at Asia House about stereotypes in Asian literature.
The panel was formed of leading figures in the creative arts: Yasmeen Khan (writer and broadcaster and shoe-horned to unofficial BBC Representative for the evening!), Daniel York (actor, director and writer), Anna Chen (first British Chinese comic to take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Niven Govinden (author) and Bidisha (author, journalist, broadcaster and Booker Prize Foundation trustee) who was the delightful chair for the evening’s enthralling discussion.
A capacity audience listened intently to the questions, answers and anecdotal experiences giving an insight into a world that many of us
From L-R: Saurabh Kakkar, Shazia Mirza, Anil Gupta, Sathnam Sanghera at Asia House
It’s the second time British Asian humour has been the subject of debate and discussion as part of Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival and this year’s event was wonderful. Everyone in attendance was mostly in good spirits (some wine helped of course!), eager to hear and participate in the discussion. Despite the lightness of the topic, Bunty and I left feeling we had learnt new things and subjects to ponder. The evening event focused on British Asian humour, its development as mark of cultural identity and how it has evolved since Goodness Gracious Me.
Asia House invited Anil Gupta, Saurabh Kakkar (both writers and producers) and Shazia Mirza the stand up comedian. Anil Gupta is well known for the revolutionary and groundbreaking series Goodness Gracious Me, The Office and The Kumars at No 42. The evening started with a few
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. the opening lines of one of my favourite movies of all time, Star Wars. The majestic musical score written for the Star Wars movies has been voted the UK’s favourite soundtrack as voted for across all BBC Radio listeners.
Instantly recognisable from the first notes
The things I learn when I’m on the move! Today I learned that there is a World Instant Noodle Association (WINA), can you believe it? I’ve never been a fan of Pot Noodles although Supa Noodles were at the back of my cupboard in my halls of residence …long past the expiry date.
Instant ramen noodles were first invented by a Japanese man in 1958 who experimented on creating a low cost dish after seeing starving war veterans. Many decades later
On a good night we might get eight hours sleep a night. Whatever your pattern, we spend an awful lot of time sleeping and dreaming, however, little undisputed knowledge exists about dreams. Not all of us have regular dreams although I’d be willing to bet that none of us have escaped the dreaded pre-exam anxiety dream.
Do you dream? Do they convey messages? Do you take them seriously? Some of my family seem to receive messages
No sooner had French tennis player Marion Bartoli won the Wimbledon championship when BBC Radio 5 Live presenter John Inverdale made the following disgusting commentary:
“I just wonder if her dad, because he has obviously been the most influential person in her life, did say to her when she was 12, 13, 14 maybe, ‘listen, you are never going to be, you know, a looker.
A new documentary that premiered at the Sheffield Doc/Fest unraveled the secret career of Uri Geller as an international psychic spy. Spoon-bender extraordinaire Uri was allegedly recruited by the US and Israeli governments in a race with the Soviets in a psychic arms race. It sounds too silly to be true but the documentary maker apparently managed to make the hypothesis convincing
Last night’s BBC Panorama on Jimmy Saville has left me slightly shaken. I cannot quite figure out what the agenda was behind this programme but the outcome was to clear the BBC of any wrong doing’s in not airing the BBC Newsnight report in November 2011.
Are the BBC along with other institutions not to be held accountable for 5 decades of abuse by one of its employees under its guardianship and roof?
Nigella Lawson’s current series on BBC 2 has caused controversy. Notorious for “cheat’s cooking” as she calls it and loved by working women everywhere for its ease and convenience, this current series has gone a step too far or has it????
The Italian inspired series is full of recipes that use unhealthy helpings of butter, cream, chocolate and the list goes on. Nigella recently said in an interview in The Telegraph that she is a great believer in fat; it helps look younger in middle age and is a moisturiser from within.
The outbreak of Jimmy Saville allegedly molesting several young girls and rape has caused great concern amongst the British public. The issue raised for me in this whole tragedy is why, when people such as the former colleagues and staff including the former BBC chief Lord Michael Grade had heard rumours, they did not take it any further.
His family are outraged at the allegations and ask for his reputation not to be tarnished as he is not alive to defend himself. However, the number of women are growing on a daily basis and if he did do this then his victims need to be heard and full inquiry needs to take place at the BBC who housed Mr Saville for his career.
If you are fascinated with economics, Masters of Money, is a really good series by the BBC portraying 3 of the most influential economists of the 20th century, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and Karl Marx.
Set against the backdrop of today’s recession, the series examines in lamens terms, the theories of these men and how their view on the economic crisis of their time shaped policies and politics around the world.
Did I hear this right? Were athletes from the American and Australian Olympic teams lost in London yesterday? Can you imagine spending between 6 and twelve hours on the plane and upon arrival to London, spending a quarter of the day trying to get to your accommodation because the coach driver didn’t know where he was going….
I don’t whether to laugh or cry…
Following a BBC damning documentary investigating racism in football in the Ukraine and the recent Olympic ticket touting by their General Secretary, I am left to wonder how they have even been allowed to host Euro 2012 and why they are not banned from the Olympics. The ethics of the country is appalling.
There is a wonderful TV series showing on the BBC called The Great British Story: A People’s History I just watched the first programme over a cuppa last week.
It was insightful learning about how important and beautiful some towns and cities used to be, particularly as one suburb of Glasgow, Govan, once loved by the Romans is now junkie heaven and infamoulsy connected to its fictional comedy resident, Rab C Nesbitt.
As the programme moved across Britain
Desert Island Discs programme on Radio 4 was at the centre of a huge race row as veteran Jewish comedian Jackie Mason implied that racism didn’t exist in today’s society.
He told host Kirsty Young: ‘I wouldn’t say the Jews or the blacks today are suffering from racism…I don’t think it’s such a terrible disadvantage to be black or Jewish today. But because they once were… they are still not comfortable enough with the new situation….They still can’t accept the fact that they are completely accepted everywhere… it’s all in their minds.’
Is it all in our minds???? Or has that is faced now changed?
It’s International Women’s Day and our first anniversary!!!
So while Polly Tonybee in the Guardian today writes about it being the worst time in recent history for women in England and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on BBC Radio heralds women, we would like to celebrate womanhood.
It has a been a great year talking to all you Chatterboxes. We have reached 29,709 views and submitted 544 posts covering some amazing subjects from women’s rights to philosophy, family to relationships, politics to literature, style to food.
We thank you all for contributing to our vibrant blog and making The Chatterjis so successful.
We would welcome your thoughts and feedback on our blog and please continue to send us stories for our Daughtergate Diaries.
We are both looking forward to the year ahead and hope to bring your more chattering delights.
Bunty & Bubbly x
A man who won backing from Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis on the BBC Dragons’ Den was charged with fraud and jailed for two years and eight months.
Jean-Claude Baumgartner duped the dragons claiming he had the sole rights to a ‘satnav for skiers’ and when he received the investment he blew it on himself instead of investing it in the business.
Spain has a dirty secret that has finally been exposed and investigated: over the course of five decades the country’s government, in collaboration with the doctors and nurses and the Catholic Church, stole new born babies from families regarded as unfit in order to sell them to apparently more deserving families.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader’s birthday bash was an elaborate affair with no expense spared. This included a celebrity guest budget that paid for Jean Claude Van Damme and Hilary Swank to get up on stage and pretend to be buddies with Mr Kadyrov. Van Damme even declared that he loved him!
Hilary Swank issued an apology yesterday, now that the cheque must have cleared, claiming
Recent reports and reviews of maternity units and last night’s Panaroma programme have highlighted the failures of maternity units up and down the country. With a baby boom of one child born every 40 seconds, patient to midwife ratio at 32 to 1, and complications and fatalities increasing, it is even more evident that good quality maternity care is vital and demanded.
This particular subject is very close to my heart as my own birth story nearly ended up as a tragedy totally due to an understaffed unit and appalling midwife care.
This months Hall of Fame was conducted with BBC Asian Network Producer, Baljit Sidhu who currently produces the primetime Sonia Deol Show. Baljit left Leeds University with a degree in English Literature and History of Art in 2001 unclear of which career path to take. However, the events of September 11th made her determined to work in the media and in 2002 started in at BBC Asian Network.
You may have heard that Dr Death, aka Jack Kevorkian, died earlier this month. It is believed that he assisted with 130 suicides, which earned him the moniker. He took on the US authorities by actually filming himself giving a lethal injection to a patient, for which he received a prison sentence.
This is a hot topic as BBC2 showed adocumentary last night of Peter Smedley committing suicide.
Two days on and I am still really disturbed by this week’s Panorama programme on BBC 1 on care homes. The programme secretly filmed the tragic abuse taking place at Winterbourne View in Bristol. It was graphically shocking, distressing and unbelievable.
The programme follows the release of a damning report by the Care Quality Commission on the state of care provided in some hospitals for the elderly, where doctors were said to be prescribing drinking water to patients.
What has happened to the “care” profession in the UK? How has bullying, abuse and neglect become common place? How in 2011, can a place like Winterbourne View exist?
Camera-punching, high-heel-falling model Naomi Campbell has complained this week that Cadbury have produced a racist ad comparing her to a chocolate bar. Campbell is shocked by the ad and upset to be described as chocolate, and she’s also upset on behalf of all black women and black people.
Political correspondent Nick Robinson hosted an interesting documentary called “The Street That Cut Everything” on BBC on Monday night. This was Prime Minister David Cameron’s Big Society in action.
A street in Preston conceded council services for 6 weeks. As a community, they had to run everything from rubbish collection to graffiti cleaning, benefits support to planning issues.
Word on the street is that Absolutely Fabulous is making a come back with filming due to start pretty soon. This is still one of my most favourite programmes of all time, my sister and I recently watched the old series and were crying with laughter.
I love the mainly female cast, wit, stories and of course fashion.
The Chatterjis Blog 
Knobhead of The Week
This week”s nomination is for Nick Ross, a mister nobody that used to present Crimewatch on BBC1. He has written a book on crime since a career presenting must be the same as clocking up degree hours in criminology. The book is being serialised in the Sunday Mail, who reads that??
He has likened women
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