<img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/jun/nanjappa.jpg" align="left" border="0" />So the big travelling circus has left the town. With their jumbo jets and Secret Service performing monkeys, the Obamas have moved on to other parts of Asia. u00a0 As Marine One, Limo One, Charlie One and First Lady One packed up, they left behind an entire country that was truly grateful that the Big White Man had condescended to arrive on their planet. I actually think Indians are fascinated by the mystique of the American president because he is just like a Bollywood star: a larger than life cut-out with a lot of hoopla and not much else.u00a0 For those, like me, who watched the "historic moment when he first stepped foot on Indian soil" (quote courtesy:u00a0 hyperbolic TV channels), it was a little tacky to see the Obamas greet the Chief Minister with a cursory hello and then hug and kiss the Americans on the landing strip. But that was probably the last time someone ever ignored Mr Chavan. The runways had barely cooled from the exhausts of Air Force One, and the spotlight was back on the man, as he was given his marching orders. Perhaps he can now spend his retirement in his ill-begotten apartments re-editing the coffee table book on Maharashtra that he handed over to the Obamas. As the political cooking pot gets as spicy as the hottest Andhra pickle, half the guys in India are today hooked on to a cooking show.u00a0 A year ago, if somebody had mooted the idea that men would be watching a culinary series with as much attention as Baywatch, I would have called them half-baked. u00a0But Masterchef Australia now takes up a lot of my viewing time. I gasp and groan when the Blue Team gets their blini flung back at them. And chew my fingernails when the Red Team hasn't finished their raspberry sauce and vodka flues on time.u00a0 My new buzzwords now include "plated" and "scalloped".u00a0 And cocktail conversation has to include the latest pressure test. While Nigella Lawson, Jamie Olivier and the Australian Masterchefs grip you in their own casual, laid-back styles, the hoopla that surrounds Akshay Kumar on Masterchef India is simply as limp as old lettuce. He should stick to his acting (or non-acting skills, if you were to view him in Action Replayy.) u00a0Celeb judges on the show are now bound to include such stalwarts as Tendulkar, SRK and Katrina Kaif ufffd none of whom are authorities on cuisine. But then, like the Obamas, we're all about bombastic larger-than-life style rather than substance, aren't we?u00a0

So the big travelling circus has left the town. With their jumbo jets and Secret Service performing monkeys, the Obamas have moved on to other parts of Asia

Masterchefs and masala visits

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