India on American TV (slumdog millionaire effect?)

Having studied and worked in the media back in India, I cannot help but notice the increasing presence of Indians (from India) on American Television.   This is besides the more established media personalities of Indian origin like Fareed Zakaria and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.  Indian  characters on TV are not restricted to being doctors and terrorists anymore (remember Parminder Nagra as a doctor in "ER" and Kal Penn as a member of an Islamic group in "24").
Post slumdog millionaire, talk shows, enterntainment news shows were abuzz with the the Bollywood theme. Dance shows like "So you Think You Can Dance" regularly feature a Bollywood dance round. However, what  really caught my attention and got me to make this small entry was watching the trailer of NBC's "Outsource", a new TV series centered around the call center phenomenon. Pasted below are the links to the trailer:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JrL3PYpWnM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTe9KAH6ZhU

The south asian/Indian theme has been incorporated in advertisements as well. The "Subway" five dollar ads have an Indian dance , an insurance product ad has scenes from an Indian wedding, "Intel" ads portray their Indian architects who have contributed to its brand value  but the most noticeable ad for me is the one for a chewing gum (cannot recall the product) which has these three teenagers buying gum from a turbaned Sikh at a store.
I am really curious to see how a show like "outsource" portrays the call center phenomenon considering that  there is a huge negative wave related to outsourcing especially in the wake of the recession.
Overall, there definitely seems to be an acceptance of south asian/Indian culture as part of the American mainstream and I hope this acknowledged is strengthened in a positive way with time.

A fun filled family trip to Maui, Hawaii

May was a special month for the family. Tired of holidaying within California we finally ventured forth and moved to destination Maui islands in Hawaii, no less!! Our group consisted of four adults and three kids and we decided to rent a condo in the town of Lahaina close to the water activites instead of a hotel and believe me it was a great decision. Staying in a condo gave the kids a lot of space to run around and just be themselves. Also, having a fully functional kitchen helps especially with infants and toddlers.
Lahaina in Maui is the hub for water activities like the submarine adventure and it really felt great to be able to walk to the waterfront instead of taking the car and paying for parking. Withing walking distance of our condo we had an array of gift shops and dining options. I personally loved the floral Hawaiian dresses and jewelery although most of the stuff could be bought for less elsewhere. Food groceries and gas are expensive in Hawaii and having done research beforehand we stocked up on water and soda for the week long trip from Costco (within a couple of miles from the airport in Maui)and food stuff from Walmart. I also bought a few freezer dinners since we had a great kitchen and it helped us stay on a budget. Another reason for preferring to eat in was that after a long day of sightseeing, the last thing one would want to do is take cranky kids to a restaurant!!!
When I was doing research on where to stay in Maui for first timers, I could not find a lot of suggestions online and now post trip, my suggestion to first timers especially those travelling with family would be to stay in the town of Kihei. My second choice of course would be Lahaina. Kihei had a lot more shopping and dining options than Lahaina and many ocean front condo complexes and hotels. In that sense the beaches would be steps away and since Kihei is midway, it would not be a long drive to most attractions. The Makena area and Wailea are more upscale with the best resorts.
We had initially planned to cover two islands but we chose to stick to just Maui for six days and chill out. That ways, we covered the entire island and soaked in its scenic beauty. The activities we covered were: submarine adventure aboard the Atlantis, snorkelling at Molokini,Road to Hana, sunrise at Haleakala, visit to Maui Ocean Center and the Luau at Royal Lahaina. The rest of our time was spent driving to the unexplored rural areas of the island, shopping and at the beautiful beaches.
It was an awesome vacation and I cannot wait to return and visit the other islands in this beautiful paradise!!!