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.

Mumbai is about grit, drama, passion – and the luck of the draw. The new movie ‘Noise/Shorr’ follows three very different lives during the frenzy of the Ganesh Chaturti Festival in the city – and finally these disparate stories come together in the gripping climax. ‘Shorr’ embodies the high energy the city is famous for and keeps you thoroughly engaged. And indeed Mumbai is a central character in the film, around which the various tales are interwoven.

It’s not often that you run into Bollywood biggie Karan Johar at a makeshift Chowpatty or chat with Mira Nair while eating kulfis at a fake Pasta Lane – and that too in the heart of New York, inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel!

The event was An Evening in Mumbai, and like the real Mumbai, this imitation Mumbai glittered. Every one of the guests was dressed in Bollywood glam, a mad medley of colors and jewels. For a day, every guest was a star and walked down the red carpet.

GUEST BLOG by Alex White Mazzarella
“It’s occurred to me that the way we measure what people want and need to be happy, healthy and fruitful is relative to the context and messages our world delivers to us. But one thing seems certain to me, and that is that people who live as part of a genuine community larger than themselves can identify their individual humanity.”

For all those who sat horrified and heavy-hearted as the terrorist drama unfolded on television, watching firsthand the destruction of the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, there is good news: you just can’t keep a good hotel down. The Taj is resilient – no doubt about it. This Independence Day, the 100 year old hotel is back in business with a beautifully restored wing.

India is serenity, beauty, calmness. India is noise, pollution, crowds. India is irony, humor, drama. India is sharp contrasts, extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

India is a billion people and you get to see many facets of their lives in Clive Limpkin’s book,’India Exposed: The Subcontinent A-Z’ (Abbeyville Press)

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?

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.

All you Bollywood fans, do you ever wonder how the Indian film industry got started almost a hundred years ago? Forget superstars, overseas locations, musicals and spicy dance item numbers – there wasn’t even sound! It’s hard to believe women’s roles were played by men since even prostitutes considered acting in the cinema too demeaning a task.
‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ is a wonderful little film – only 95 minutes compared to the 3 hour Bollywood blockbusters – and it is a journey into the making of India’s first film by Dhundiraj Phalke, who is acknowledged as the father of the Indian film industry.