Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre: My Visit to NMACC – A Place of Art with…
Browsing: Mumbai
Exploring the Veggie Food Trail to India Delhi, Mumbai and Bhuj A trip to India…
Mahatma Gandhi, with his simple khadi loincloth and chappals, was the absolute antithesis of the avid consumer, yet the luxury brand Montblanc has chosen to honor his memory with a gold pen priced at $23,000.
Janmashtmi – Lord Krishna is the Cosmic Cowherd, the mischievous deity that Hindus love the most for his pranks, for his butter-thievery, for his melodious flute, for his romantic interludes with Gopis, the milkmaids.
He fought demons, danced on the mighty serpent’s head and lifted Govardhana Hill with his little finger, using it as an umbrella to protect the people from torrential rains.
India runs on spice! A billion plus people can’t be wrong – they swear by the tangy, sour-sweet spicy street foods of India. Indeed, there is something homey and comforting about street foods, almost like the hug of a mother. Not surprisingly many of these street treats go back to ancient times and have been a part of Indian tradition and memory.
Update: Ritesh Batra’s award-winning drama THE LUNCHBOX has now become the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2014 in North America.
The Irrfan Khan hit has grossed $1.45 million to date surpassing the $1.3 million grossed by both Salman Khan’s latest action picture Jai Ho and the sleeper hit Queen to set a new record for this year.
No matter which part of the world Indian immigrants live in, they each carry with them their special memories of India filed away in their heads and hearts. For these diasporic Indians, many now with hyphenated identities, India’s Republic Day does bring in a whole lot of memories and a feeling of pride in being a part of India, and India being a part of their emotional DNA.
The first thing I spotted was rows and rows of footwear lined up outside the door, neatly stacked. I dutifully shed my sandals too, and going inside found an Indian-style behthak in progress with silk cushions scattered on the woven carpet.
Arts lovers, some with babies in tow, were already sitting cross-legged, facing the empty expanse of a large wooden floor. Musicians were tuning up their instruments, in anticipation.
The space is the Anamika Navatman Studios, an innovative organization for South Asian Arts and the production was Bhinna Pravaaha: Memories of a Performing Artist – Maya Kulkarni. This is a first undertaking to record and pay tribute to the noted artists of the past.
A few years ago, at a party hosted by an Indian in the New York suburbs, I chatted with the wife of a senior executive of a major American financial services company who is an IIT graduate. Both husband and wife are from Haryana. I asked if they knew a consultant with a major firm, an IIM graduate who is also from Haryana. She said “We meet at such parties. But we do not socialize. He is a Jat while we are Kayasths.”
Did You Know? Lassi with Lavina’s Fact of the Day Mumbai is the richest Indian…
How many Indias are there?
As many as the eyes that perceive it.
Each visitor sees a different India, bringing in their own experiences to the encounter. British photographer Clive Limpkin has a lively new book ‘India Exposed: the Sub-Continent A-Z’ which shows the results of his brush with India. His camera, however, returns time and again to what really moves him: the human connection. As he writes: “When friends ask for one good reason to visit, I offer them a billion – it’s the people.”
The US has several Indian-Americans doing important work in academia. Meet Beheruz. N. Sethna, President of the University of West Georgia with a budget of $ 100 million and 100 programs of study through the doctoral level.
He’s a Parsi who’s got some important firsts affixed to his name: he is the first person of Indian origin to ever become the president of a university anywhere in the US. He’s also the first person from any ethnic minority to become president of a predominantly white or racially-integrated university or college in Georgia.
As spring turns into fall, we should be seeing a lot of excitement and action in the fashion arena. Will more and more Americans be seduced by Indian fashion through travel to India, through cinema, and through Indian-American friends in an ever increasing Asian population?
Will American designers continue to find inspiration in India’s myriad delights of color, crafts and couture? Will Indian designers make it big in America? Will new mega-fashion stores dedicated to India ring up the sweet music of cash registers?
Kirti Mukherjee and Sulekha Rawat are the two bloggers behind Chatty Divas. They tell stories of ordinary people, of family love and angst and of lives lived in India and America. Here are some of the highlights of their blogs posted in 2014…Flying the Friendly Indian Skies, Bombay – A train to Nowhere; Diwali on Two Continents. Stories so simple and natural that it’s like being in a circle of friends.
Lord Ganesha enters people’s lives in mysterious ways – sometimes it can even be just a chance encounter on a busy New York street! When photographer Shana Dressler passed a bookstore in Manhattan, she stopped in her tracks. In the window was a photography book which had on its cover a striking 20-foot high plaster of Paris statue of the elephant-headed God in the water, being splashed by a small army of men.
What happens when there is a massive power cut and Mumbai’s trains stop running? The buses are jam-packed and cabs are at a premium. Can one walk three hours to the suburbs? On a dark and rainy night, nameless people become friends and it’s all about the kindness of strangers. Guest Blog post from The Chatty Divas.
In moving from LA to Mumbai, actress/writer Tori Roy discovers many truths: That heat stroke is real, so is heat rash. That cockroaches DID inhabit the earth long before mankind and will outlive us by any years by hiding out in India. That when Indians do the ubiquitous head-wobble, it means ‘I hear You’ – nothing more. Read on – Guest Blog.
“If you’re a (born again) single woman, and traveling in India, be prepared to be judged. You walk in, you are single, you will be singled out.
Do not let slip you were once married. Divorcee spells danger. You cannot talk to any man assembled there, without prejudice.
By the time you have settled down with a drink thrust into your hand, womenfolk in the room have automatically assumed you are there with the sole purpose of playing “Le Slut”, out to ensnare the nearest male with your beguiling ways and doe-eyed charm…and married Indian women can be spiteful.” Guest Blog by Tori Roy.
“In India, traveling by air is no longer a monopoly of the elite, but has instead become an affordable and convenient way to travel for all. When we were younger only the rich and famous could afford air travel. The average, middle-class Indian citizen had only one option: the train, and that too either the sleeper class or the third AC.
Thanks to the low cost airlines in India, now everybody makes a beeline for the airport, and many have forgotten the way to the railway station – including me.” GUEST BLOG
The fabulous Helen Mirren, the quite wonderful Om Puri – loads of French and Indian food – and a love story with music by AR Rahman. Add to it Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey! Perfect ingredients for an unexpected romance set in France.It is based on the critically acclaimed book by Richard C. Morais which has been a best seller in 29 countries.