Meet some of the Big Apple’s hottest and happening Indian chefs…

They are the interpreters of Indian Cuisine, the innovators who aren’t afraid to experiment and create, adding new dimensions to the food they grew up with, giving an exciting buzz to the ho-hum chicken tikka masala and palak paneer which has become the norm of Indian restaurants around the world. Some of them are at the helm of New York’s most noted Indian restaurants and bring in the foodies.

Think of home, and for many Indian immigrants it evokes memories of cool interiors, a whirring fan and the street sounds floating from the outside. Inside was a cool, domestic heaven, outside was the chaos, the traffic, the ugly realities of the work world, of political upheaval, of price cuts. It was always about inside and outside, two very different worlds. And now in our new global world it is about India interacting with a larger, more complex world at its doorstep.

For all those who’ve been following the real life drama of the release of ‘My Name is Khan’ it will be a relief to know that there’s a happy ending to this blockbuster. After more cliffhangers than the Himalayas, the film finally got to open in theaters across Mumbai and was seen by thousands of people. ‘My Name is Khan’ is an intriguing example of how sometimes reel and real life intersect in this major metropolis.

A movie about racial profiling made by a Muslim man, albeit a Bollywood superhero, itself became a vehicle for racial profiling by the Shiv Sena which sent its army of believers out to threaten and ransack. Well, the people of Mumbai came through, overwhelmingly showing that no one group has the monopoly to speak for the millions in this big, cosmopolitan city.

What’s the buzz right now? Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and their much anticipated movie ‘My Name is Khan’ is what everyone’s talking about.

Well, the buzz is about the film – but also about what could almost become a drama in its own right – the Shiv Sena’s clumsy attempt to muzzle free speech. By now everyone knows about the Sena’s threat to sabotage ‘My Name is Khan’ in order to punish Shah Rukh Khan for his comment about wanting to include Pakistani players in the IPL. The Sena has threatened distributors and theater owners in Mumbai for having the temerity to show the movie, and by association, movie-goers who would dare to watch the film.

Haiti lies in ruins after the catastrophic earthquake, the streets of Port-au-Prince awash with dead bodies. It seems surreal that we are all going about our daily lives while a nightmare unfolds in our backyard. How can one help in such a mammoth tragedy?

2010.

Stare at the numerical long enough and you get the sense of the start of an almost futuristic, hefty new decade. At such a moment, it’s a good idea to evaluate the past and think about the future by sharing some thoughts from N.R. Narayana Murthy, the founder-chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd.
His ideas could be a road map, a blueprint for a better tomorrow. In just two words, his mantra for a better world – Inclusive Growth.

There was a time in the old days in India when it was regarded as almost sacrilegious to cross the oceans, and to leave one’s homeland was to leave it forever. Now, hopping between continents and countries and cities has become commonplace and there’s a new breed of global Indians who think nothing of breakfast in one country and dessert in another, with homes, networks and emotional ties in multiple cities.

You have to hand it to Myna Mukherjee, Director of Engendered, the small but spunky human rights organization dedicated to gender, sexuality and minority rights. She not only talks about these difficult topics in the South Asian diaspora, be it HIV-AIDS or sexual orientation, but also makes them more accessible through music, dance, movies – and now fashion.
‘Positive’ by Manish Arora, who is one of the biggest names in fashion, was a tribute to the resilience of AIDS victims: “I chose color to signify ‘positive’ because that is a sign of happiness for me – and I took ‘positive’ to mean happiness – I love happiness! It doesn’t take much to make yourself happy.”

The meandering, thundering steel dragon, also known as the No. 1 subway train, rushed on, its belly filled with countless strugglers and dreamers all commuting to the gritty Upper West Side. At crowded 165th street, it disgorged a huge chunk of humanity – patients and families, small children, doctors and nurses – all headed to the New York- Presbyterian Hospital, one of the great teaching hospitals in the city.
Interestingly enough, there are several physicians of Indian descent who are leading the charge here with cutting edge technologies in cancer treatment and kidney transplants.

A visit to Naeem Khan’s penthouse showroom is like being transported into a different world. It’s embedded in the bustling garment district of New York with its countless wholesale showrooms, and you see racks of dresses and the occasional store mannequin being ferried on the crowded pavements. Ascend to Khan’s 10th floor showroom, and you are in an 18,000 foot space with soaring ceilings and a touch of 30’s Hollywood.
Ever since the news broke that he was designing First Lady Michelle Obama’s gown for the State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Khan’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Now with the passing of a few weeks, I managed to have a face-to-face chat with him, asking him of course, about the famous dress.