Everything I know about Indian pop music, I learned from a 2 disc VCD pack I picked up in Lhasa. Within my very limited mental database of Indian pop singers, Daler Mehndi is one of my favorites. How can you not love someone who looks so happy just to be singing? If India had Santa Claus, Mehndi would be a shoo-in.

Another reason I enjoy him so much is that I can keep up with his dance moves. Most Bollywood-style choreography is way too fast for me to keep up with, but his moves I can handle. This video clip is especially fun because Mehndi forgoes his usual female backup dancers and handles it all by himself - sort of.

Mehndi and his clones represent the four primal elements from which the Earth was formed: fire, water, wind, and crumbs. Ah, the magic of technology. 

See, that's another benefit of having clones. If one of them becomes unhappy, the other clones can cheer him up. Also, you never have to wait for other people to join in when the Macarena comes on at the club. It's like an instant dance party.

Hmm. I'm going to have to look into this. I kind of like the idea of having backup dancing clones follow me wherever I go, like how Peter Griffin got to have his own theme music.

Oh, and don't make the same mistake I used to of thinking that knowing what the lyrics mean will help you understand the video's premise. It never does - Korean pop music proved that to me. Just dance and be happy. 

"Tunak Tunak Tun" is not the video clip that was on my VCD set - that clip I don't remember the name of, but I'll check when I get home and see if I can track it down on YouTube later. It's main distinguishing feature is Mehndi's unusual hand choreography and I don't think that's something people usually note in the keywords.

In the meantime, please enjoy this very amusing, nearly spot-on remake of "Tunak Tunak Tun" by a couple of self-proclaimed "dumb white kids (and Rick, who is Asian)." Sadly, the young man playing Water Mehndi has since passed away. He puts on a marvelously energetic performance, though, in spite of the fact that he may have been battling cancer at that time.   

And you thought there was no use for your old graduation robes. Better keep them handy for the next viral video craze.