MIA desi hain !

A few days ago I was listening to a San Francisco radio station for Alternative Rock and a very strange and curiously familiar tune came on. It sounded so much like an 80's Mithun movie song. It went like "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja". Oh wait, it was *indeed* from an 80's Mithun movie "Disco Dancer"! Then a strange African congo beat took over but still interspersed with "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy". I immediately Shazam'ed it (for primates who don't know what Shazam is, its an iPhone feature that tells you the song name just by "listening" to it). It was by an artist called MIA. Strange name. Whatever. So I looked up a few more songs from this artist and got hooked. She had some unbelievably funky songs with beats from multiple cultures and always something desi about it but you couldn't point your finger to what it was. Then I read up on her and was shocked, amazed, astonished, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, maa-kasam'ed to discover that MIA is desi, aaila! This is the first desi (ok second if you count the Parsi bawaa Firdaus Bulsara a.k.a. Freddie Mercury from Queen as Desi, not kidding.) artist getting somewhere in mainstream western music. Her music is fascinating and makes you wanna dance. She is Tamil and hot. Her family fought with the Tamil rebels against oppressive Sri Lankan government. She has stayed all over the world, has strong opinions on social causes, freedom, injustice and what not. Naachti bhi hain mast. She is too much, yaar. Without further adoo garlic here are some of her more famous numbers.