there is no way you have been more saturated with slumdog than i in the past two days. and, n case you are exhausted by another mention of the film's success, my apologies.

as much as i'm ready to move on to other news ... i have yet to grow weary of the energy this film has generated here in india.

it's absolutely incredible.

i was having a meeting (in a car) with a woman representing a local university and the oscar success of slumdog opened up a strikingly honest and deeply intense conversation about hope. and life.

mention was made of a r rahman's acceptance speech and his final quote: "all my life i had a choice of hate and love. i chose love and i'm here ...." that led the conversation in the direction of obama (all completely guided by my indian host). her observations of america and the hope for a better future for the world as a result of our election of president obama had been restored. while she acknowledged it was absurd to expect that he will be able to perform miracles, she was quite adamant about her renewed hope for the citizens of this world as obama takes the global stage and leads us in a new direction. after her beautiful oration of another chance at democracy, freedom and hope ... she yelled, "so ... JAI HO!!"

now, i have to admit. this woman epitomized energy. she could have passed as mildly insane, but. as you know, that's how i prefer my company. i laughed out loud and she went into another oratorical dialogue that expressed her pride in india and the film that had made "jai ho" an international phrase. i asked her what the literal meaning of the phrase is and she quickly responded, "it's a greeting. kind-of like namaste ... but more fun. it's the party side of namaste! like, 'JAI HO!!' yay!!" oh if only i could have had a video camera to capture her excitement! she was unbelievably contagious.

we ended the conversation on a more serious note as i offered my humble (and personal) observations of india in this hour as an american. i explained that 26/11 (the mumbai attacks) were no longer what comes to mind when i hear someone say, 'mumbai.' the first thing that enters my mind is slumdog or ... better yet ... jai ho - which, by the way, can not be said. no. for me, it has to be sung. does anyone else have that problem?

i digress. i finished my mini speech by telling her that this nation has overcome. that hope is winning. and that ... well ... that is something we now have in common. it is not only to be celebrated, but also respected.

for that. i say, 'namaste. now let's party!' :)