Browsing: Features

Thought you had put the 2012 Elections behind you? Not so fast! You now have to make the big bird decision and we don’t mean that Big Bird! It’s that time of the year when the President pardons one lucky turkey to live out its life in comfort. On Wednesday, November 21, 2011, President Obama will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a ceremony in the Rose Garden.

The President will pardon Cobbler and his alternate Gobbler, both 19-week old, 40-pound turkeys. This year, for the first time ever, the American public decided which of the two turkeys – Cobbler or Gobbler – would become the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey by casting a vote via the White House Facebook page. And now there’s a winner!

Indian-Americans finally have a presence in the US Congress – Ami Bera, MD, is the new Congressman-Elect from California’s 7th Congressional District. I had interviewed him some months back when he was running a hard-fought race against the incumbent Congressman Dan Lungren, who conceded today.
For Ami Bera, serving people has been an important part of who he is, and he is ever conscious of the need to give back to a country which embraced his immigrant family. While he grew up in California, his father crossed the oceans from a farming family in Rajkot near Ahmedabad, Gujarat for a higher education in America. “My father was the first in his family to go to high school,” he says. “He got a master’s in engineering and my mother became a teacher.”

Like many immigrant families, theirs’ was a close-knit family with a lot of emphasis on education, hard work. His father ran a small commercial real estate business, and inculcated the values for a strong work ethic in his children. “There was a strong family support and strong community support,” he recalls. “And also a keen appreciation of the opportunities America offered.”

Today Diwali is being celebrated in the White House. And yes, ‘Happy Diwali’ is trending on Twitter in America. What more could a Hindu ask for? So before you do your puja and enjoy the jalebis and laddoos, listen to the Prez. And we will also share with you in another post the great work Hindus are doing with disaster relief for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Here are President Obama’s thoughts on Diwali. “Many who observe this holiday will light the Diya, or lamp, which symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. As that lamp is lit, we should all recommit ourselves to bring light to any place still facing darkness. Earlier this year, we were reminded of the evil that exists in the world when a gunman walked into the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and opened fire.

In the wake of that horrible tragedy, we saw the resilience of a community that drew strength from their faith and a sense of solidarity with their neighbors, Sikh and non-Sikh alike. We also saw compassion and love, in the heroic actions of the first responders and the outpouring of support from people across the country. Out of a day of sadness, we were reminded that the beauty of America remains our diversity, and our right to religious freedom.”
– Barack Obama

What is art exactly? In a throw-away world where material things lose their value all too soon, the Brazilian artist Roberto Custodio celebrates art as reincarnation, art as renewal of the spirit. Old, discarded magazines become the building blocks of his art, as he picks and chooses images and bits and pieces of different worlds to juxtapose a totally new reality, a fresh take on things.

A ragpicker of the soul, Custodio creates a gorgeous puzzle of tiny shards from different lives and invites you into a whole new universe. His earlier work from found and discarded publications brought into existence a whole pantheon of Hindu Gods from Brahma and Shiva to Krishna and Kali. Now in his latest exhibition ‘Your Royal Highness’ he turns his attention to powerful women from queens to courtesans – and yes, even a maharani.

A young actor pays tribute to the late great filmmaker Yash Chopra.

“In utter shock & sadness I wake up to hearing about the passing away of Mr. Yash Chopra. With my eyes already moist, no words will ever be good enough to describe Yashji’s stature in giving Bollywood the platform and the recognition that it sits on today, and for giving audiences around the globe the ability and heart to smile, cry and love through his soul-stirring vision.

There will NEVER be another Yash Chopra ever again. For me personally, no filmmaker has touched my life and captured my passion and love for Indian Cinema the way Yashji’s films have.”
Guest blog by aspiring actor Zoran Saher

“I have to say that I was very blessed as a child as I grew up in a family that was blessed with great cooks! My dad is amazing at making meat based dishes, my mother – I think she should be called the Vegetable Whisperer – has a delightful way with vegetables and pretty much my entire extended family either cooks well or knows where to take you for a great meal!

My fondest memory as a child is sitting in the kitchen with my dad and watching him cook his legendary butter chicken. Not only did I know the dish would turn out amazing (it always did) but it was a time for us to connect and talk about his world travels. I adored listening to his stories and was thrilled whenever he would make this dish as it meant he would be in a mood (and have time) to talk!”
Monica Bhide chats with the Single Desi on Food, Family – and recipes for the perfect date!

While ‘English Vinglish’ is about a big starry comeback – that of the wonderful superstar Sridevi, it’s also about new beginnings – that of Gauri Shinde’s directorial debut. And there’s yet another story in there of particular interest to New Yorkers – that of the debut of local model-actress Neelu Sodhi in a big Bollywood film, playing the niece of Sridevi.

Neelu Sodhi has gone from a career in finance to modeling and commercials to the big desi dream – Bollywood. Indeed, such is the power of Bollywood in Indian lives that you never know when it’s going to enter your life and give it a 360 degree turn. Read on for a heartwarming Cinderella story. Yes, Bollywood Dreams do come true…

Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula of New Jersey is very much a people’s man, rubbing shoulders with the person on the street and well aware of the difficulties the middle-class faces. He’s been there and he’s walked in those shoes. He is running for US Congress from New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District but he’s come up the hard way and understands the concerns of his constituents.

He was born a continent away in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh in a lower middle-class family. He and his five siblings, parents and grandmother lived in a mud hut with thatched roof without electricity where schoolwork had to be done outdoors under the street lights, and life had to be lived on a fixed income. The family even moved to Chennai in search of work.

“My father held many jobs including that of cashier and teacher and was a very honest man who taught us good values,” recalls Chivukula. “My mother was a music teacher, teaching classic Karnataka music and she played the veena. We still have the veena back home and when I visit her, I see that she is still singing. She is 83 years old and I wish I had the gift and talent that she has!”

India gave us the sari, the salwar kameez, the lengha. So what’s coming next?

“The Indian gown!” says Shirin Vinayak of Shehnaai Couture, who just got back from Lakme Fashion Week. “Indian fabrics, Indian embroideries and Western silhouettes seem to be the way to go, not only for the red carpet but also for reception wear as well.”

Gowns are all the rage with Bollywood stars like Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor, as well as the Page 3 crowd in India, tricking down to young women in the metros.
Vinayak is bringing that trend of the Indian gown in – “I feel like culturally that works for us here and so this is the first year that we have a full display of gowns on our rack.”

Maneet Ahuja, 27, certainly knows a thing or two about hedge funds. In fact, she is CNBC’s hedge fund specialist and a producer on Squawk Box, the noted morning program for the business world.
“The level of coverage we’ve developed for hedge funds did not exist in any business news TV outlet,” she says. “Our viewers definitely want to hear what these hedge fund managers have to say. They guide the smart money, and we’ve been able to carve out a niche for ourselves in an industry that wasn’t previously covered.”

The world knows of Dropbox, which is estimated to be a $ 5 billion company but few know that its genesis happened at Y Combinator, an incubator of start-ups which also nurtured the $1. 3 billion Airbnb.
“Y Combinator has become the central place to see where the next huge companies will be born and this makes it tremendously exciting to be a part of,” says Harj Taggar, 29, who is part of the core team at Y Combinator.

Since 2005 Y combinator has funded over 380 startups, including Reddit, Scribd, Disqus, Dropbox, ZumoDrive, Justin.tv, Posterous, Airbnb, Heyzap, Cloudkick, DailyBooth, WePay, Bump, Stripe, AeroFS, and Hipmunk.It has been called the most prestigious program for budding entrepreneurs and has created an entirely new method of funding early stage startups.

Bali. Las Vegas. Hong Kong. Dubai. Miami. Mumbai. Singapore. And the list keeps growing! ‘Have Make-Up Kit, Will Travel!’ This could well be the mantra of Sanjana Vaswani, a traveling cosmetologist in New York who has flown to many cities and driven many miles to transform everyday women into dazzling brides at countless weddings.
It’s interesting how new careers can be created and willed into being, and now with the ever-burgeoning Indian-American community in the US, the business of beauty is a multi-million dollar industry, part of the Indian-American wedding industry. Along with wedding planners, caterers, decorators, and photographers, you have the make-up artistes…
For Sanjana, her car keys are crucial in the business, and she’s driven from Pennsylvania to Virgina. “Thank God for GPS!” she says. At any given time her car carries her makeover cases of cosmetics and accessories which are geared for any beauty emergency.

In a very material world of designer haircuts and stylish togs, Vikram Gandhi, 33, did a radical thing: he grew his hair long and nurtured a massive beard. Forsaking all, he donned saffron robes, a fake accent and armed with a trident, became Kumare, the enlightened founder of the Sri Kumare spiritual movement.

Really?

Well, not really. Vikram Gandhi, you see, is a New York based-filmmaker and he is a fake guru in a real documentary, ‘Kumare’. Or as the film is billed, ‘The true story of a false prophet’.

New York fashionitas rejoice! Soon noted Indian designer Anita Dongre will be making her US debut, and in her many labels you are bound to find your vibe. Her style has brought cachet to everything from the airlines to the hospitality industry and her designs can be found in films like ‘My Brother Nikhil’, ‘Bas Ek Pal’ and ‘Sorry Bhai’. Fresh from her dazzling show at Lakme Fashion Week, Anita Dongre shows her latest couture and answers your questions.

“Q: Do you think you need a different fashion lingo for New York or are you planning to bring the same looks to the US? How different or similar are the sensibilities in Mumbai and Manhattan?

A: Women all over the world share a commonality which is to discover new trends and style statements so the lingo in New York isn’t necessarily different. We as designers have to constantly be reinventing our designs whether for the consumer in Manhattan or Mumbai. There is a similarity between the two cities as both are fast paced cities and women are always on the go and they want to dress efficiently yet trendy.”

On this golden summer afternoon, it seemed quite a good option to be jobless, a tourist or a window shopper browsing the Financial District rather than a hedge fund guy or a banker immersed in a dry office!

In a surreal juxtaposition, sparkling Bollywood, Indian music and dance had come to NYC’s downtown business area, with costumed dancers doing high kicks against the skyscrapers and bringing the ‘nakras’ and ‘chakras’ of Indian dance to this rather sober part of town.

Tourists gaped from the top of open double decker tourist buses which rolled past the plaza with its unexpected celebration of Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and ‘filmi’ Bollywood dance. Right on One New York Plaza was Erasing Borders: Festival of Indian Dance, a free event co-presented by the Indo-American Arts Council and Battery Dance Company as part of the 31st Downtown Dance Festival.

“Music is a vast ocean and no one can claim to know it all. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. It is an eternal quest.”

-Dr. L. Subramaniam

Music lovers will get a chance to dip into the vast ocean of music with the free Lincoln Center Out of Doors concerts which run through August 12, and on August 8, enjoy a fusion concert with noted violinist L. Subramaniam and his family.

Padma Bhushan L. Subramaniam has had his work performed by the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras. In this fusion concert he will be performing with his wife Bollywood playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthi Suramaniam; Ambi Subramaniam, his violin-prodigy son; Bindu Subramaniam, his daughter; jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell; and Corky Siegel, the blues-fusion harmonica player

I caught up with L. Subramaniam and Kavita Krishnamurthi enjoying a dosa break at a press conference at Chennai Garden and discovered the plans for that rocking evening.

If there’s one thing that Indians across the world share, it’s their love for movies. As newborns, they are weaned on cinema by star-struck parents and as toddlers, their first steps are mingled with dance steps learned from Bollywood movies on video. School kids can rattle off famous dialogues from Hindi films and as young adults, they often take their cues from the romantic sequences in their favorite films. Even patriotism and national integration are often invoked by Bollywood’s rousing lyrics and over-the-top emotions.
This year marks the 100th year of Indian cinema and this vibrant industry seems to be gaining in momentum and strength across the world. Immigrants have brought their love of cinema to America, carrying memories of the golden age of cinema of the 50’s, the wonderful films of V. Shantaram, Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, and Guru Dutt.
Young Indian-Americans have acquired this passion for film from their immigrant parents and in this essay, which first appeared on the Smithsonian’s blog, a look at their dreams and aspirations.

Salman Khan is moving to New York! Uh-oh, before you get over-excited, I’d better add it’s the waxwork Salman Khan that is moving to Times Square, New York, joining his buddies Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in the Bollywood Zone set up in Madame Tussauds famous atelier.

One has to say, it’s about time! After all, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has such a fevered fan following across the world and his latest film Bodyguard is the second highest grossing Bollywood film of all time.

The grand unveiling of the Salman Khan figure is on August 2 and fans should catch him while they can, as this waxwork is on loan from the London Madame Tussauds and will surely add punch to the Bollywood zone which has the other two biggies, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Two lucky Lassi with Lavina readers can win tickets to see their hero in the wax-flesh.

“An increasing number of young adults will be taking care of elderly parents in the next few years – and that is not going to be a simple process. Where will the senior members in the family live? Do they move in with the children? If the children have transferable jobs, what happens? Do they uproot themselves and start all over again, adjusting to a new climate, a new environment? Will the daughter-in-law/son in-law cope with long term illness?

Some parents insist on staying with the son. What happens to the wife’s parents? What if they do not have a son and wish to stay with the daughter? Is it possible for everyone to stay together? How do you take care of sick parents when you have a job and children? Aging – no matter how beautifully you age – can be fraught with frustration, bitterness, anger and resentment.”
GUEST BLOG

Gladys Perint Palmer, executive director of the School of Fashion, Academy of Art University, and noted fashion illustrator, turned her pen on the charms of Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor, spotted in the front row at the Paris shows. The drawing will feature in her book “Adam & Yves” (Firefall Editions) to be published later this year.

Palmer’s pen has caught the work of many fashion rajas and ranis from Jean Paul Gaultier to Zandra Rhodes. She says: “It is hardly surprising that when I saw Sonam Kapoor at Elie Saab in Paris, glittering with sequins, bugle beads and embroidery, I had to draw her!”