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celebrities

Ajaa Nachle

By | Baby Jade, Blog, Uncategorized | No Comments

Rain pours down while a beautiful woman sings and searches. Searching for what you ask? For answers, her lover, her voice, the truth….the answers are endless, but the scene is priceless. It’s a scene you’re almost always guaranteed to find in a Bollywood film.
Growing up in an Eritrean household there are two movies guaranteed to be in your possession. The first of these films is “The Gods Must Be Crazy” and the second is “Mother India” Without knowing, we grew up on Bollywood. Of course the love I have for it now is one that had to be discovered. When one first sees a Bollywood film, and isn’t necessarily aware of what goes on in one of these films, their response is usually one of “huh?” but like anything, it gets better and better every time you watch it. I rediscovered a love for Bollywood, one I didn’t even know I had, when I saw “Bride and Prejudice” a remake on the Jane Austen classic, “Pride and Prejudice”. If I’m honest, I was taken aback by all the colors and the random outburst of song. The first time I saw the film I actually thought I’d wasted money in purchasing the film. A few days passed and I decided to watch it again, this time I found myself involuntarily tapping my foot, working my hands as they did in the film, and singing along. And by the third time I was ready to pack my bags, move to Mumbai and audition for a Bollywood film. Obviously, that didn’t happen but I did want more! Much more of what it was I just watched.
As if by fate, a cousin of mine told me of a Bollywood film showing on Netflix. Duh! Netflix was bound to have a Bollywood section and it did! I watched movie after movie until I ran out of films to watch. I became familiar with names like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee, the list goes on.
One becomes seduced by the colors, song and dance, the overly dramatic love stories, and the heartfelt ways lovers find their way to one another against all odds. Definitely a much different take on films than that of Hollywood and that’s okay. It works. One needs to understand that Bollywood is not a reflection of what happens in India but more a way for the citizens to escape into a world of make believe, while still keeping with the tradition of the people. It’s absolutely beautiful!
My only problem? I now find it difficult to watch Hollywood cinema. Not a bad problem to have.

*Thank you for continuously reading my blogs. For more content check out my YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/bethlehemawate*

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Xo, B

First Timer at SXSW

By | Baby Jade, Blog, Uncategorized | No Comments

SXSW has been around since 1987 and yet I’d never really heard of it, let alone dreamt of ever going. But if my life has taught me anything in the past 4 months, it’s to expect the unexpected! In a New Year filled with events from Sundance to All-Star Weekend, SXSW shouldn’t have caught me off guard, but it had. I’d no idea how vast it was. So as we departed for Austin, thoughts of being in the south and what awaited us swirled in my head. I’m one who shouldn’t be left alone in her thinking too much; I have a tendency to imagine the most bizarre scenarios, especially in unknown territory.
Fortunately for me, everything I thought was wrong. Austin is an amazing city. On the verge of being one of the hippest cities in the U.S. it’s very reminiscent of an early New York City. People of all walks of life living and working together in harmony; surrounded by rural suburbs on one side & Lake Houses on the other, the industrious downtown was filled with boutiques, music shops, restaurants (serving the best in fusion dishes), and of course, the birthplace to the hottest festival.
Each day we experienced one more reason Austin was such a great city. On one of our last nights in Austin we met, Earl. Earl was a native New Yorker who decided to move to Austin in 2012 with his business partner. When I asked him why the move, he explained to me how Austin was the number one city, per capita, where start up business are successful. When he and his partner heard this, they moved to New York and haven’t looked back since. He went on to explain that besides the positive effect on business he’s received, he’s just become the latest victim to fall hopelessly in love with Austin.
As for the festival itself?! Oh man, for a week people went without sleep to catch the hottest acts today! What was once considered an indie festival has now turned into one of the biggest mainstream festivals. Kanye and Jay-Z sharing the stage for a free concert! Janelle Monae! Lady Gaga even had a fan throw up on her, which is……a topic for another blog….the point is A-listers came to Austin and turned it up!
We left exhausted, stimulated, and excited for what SXSW will bring next year! This first timer was left wanting more.

*Thank you for continuously reading my blogs. For more content check out my YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/bethlehemawate*

Let’s connect on social media, I’d love to hear from you:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethlehemawate
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethlehemawate
Snapchat: betu_la

Xo, B