Sometimes You Have To Drive Up To Allen, Texas To Get Some Culture

I have been meaning to post about my goings-on this past Saturday night as it was one of the best times I have had in a long time. Michelle and I drove north on 75, past Plano to Allen, to visit my friend, Ashwinee Bhatt. Ashwinee is an acclaimed Indian author who has written over 15 books. He moved to Texas with his wife to be with his son and daughter-in-law.

He is one of the funniest, kindest, most interesting people I have ever met. He is full of stories and he always cooks up an amazing spread of food for his guests. He is also a walking connection to history.

Last time I was at his house, he informed me that he was close friends with Gandhi's personal photographer. He then produced an original photograph of Gandhi walking with a stick as the sunlight streamed over his shoulder. It looked like God was smiling at him. Ashwinee then regaled me with accounts of the sage's life and struggle. This time when the conversation turned to children and Montessori education, Ashwinee then modestly added that his father who was an educator had trained under Maria Montessori, and then Ashwinee revealed that to his father's chagrin, he was somewhat of a mischievous student who only made passing marks. But had shown promise as a writer as a child. A story not unlike my own.

Then after all the stories, we ate too much. Ashwinee and his family provided us with spicy okra, chick peas, rice, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, curries, mango chutneys, pickled lemons, puffs of bread, and sweet, creamy almond soups. We ate with our hands and talked and laughed. I had four helpings of everything.

After dinner, Ashwinee's son Neel who is an engineer at Texas Intruments put in a CD of his bands latest endeavors. Turns out Neel is a highly sought after Tabla accompanist who studied under Shree Nandan Mehta in India. (Humble Neel didn't tell me this. Google did.)

Anyway, Neel's band kicks ass. It's some of the most interesting music I have heard in a long time. He kindly burned me a CD of three songs. I want to send the music to Michael London and David Gordon Green. These songs should be on the Lord Vishnu's Love Handles Movie Soundtrack.

Comments

[Coty]

That does sound like a great time. I envy you the stories, the food, and the music.

What is the name of Neel's band?