Author: Lavina Melwani

Duru Massand, Slade Malhotra, Amrita Ghosh Douglas and 21 others like this. 6530 people reached on FB page – Lassi with Lavina ‘Bajirao Mastani’ – Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Labor of Love [dropcap]C[/dropcap]oming out after a screening of  Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’,  I encountered two middle-aged women. One of them said to the other, ” I’m so drained. I’ve cried so much – and now we have to get back to real life!” Yes, your own real life is far away and forgotten as you wade into the emotional high drama of ‘Bajirao Mastani’  the tempestuous passion play of the Maratha ruler…

Is Bollywood growing grey cells? A conscience? More empathy? Just this year I’ve watched a whole lot of films which made me feel that Indian cinema, usually flippantly boxed together as Bollywood, is maturing, developing a heart and a soul.

In recent times there have been thought-provoking films like ‘Court’, ‘Killa’, ‘Titli’, ‘Fandry’ and ‘Shahid’  which have  made you mull over social issues long after you left the theater, in the manner of old powerful game-changers like ‘Garam Hawa’, ‘Ankur’ and  ‘Manthan’.

In the ever expanding refugee crisis, we are mourning many things – lost lives, lost freedoms, lost homelands but also we mourn lost childhoods which can never be reclaimed.

These photographs taken by international photographers for the UNICEF contest shine a light on the real cost, the real damage of wars and international conflicts.

School, play and family are all mundane things we take for granted but the ever-escalating refugee crisis ensures that these become luxuries, tastes which a child may never experience.

The camera has had a long love affair with the gorgeous fashion model Pressy Nathan, catching her every nuance, every glance, every smile. And now, the tables have turned – Pressy is having a love affair with the camera, having turned fashion photographer!

Lassi with Lavina reads and reads noted publications and unknown blogs, obscure magazines and news zines – so you don’t have to! Here, ferreted and gleaned are some of the buzz stories from the web – some hopeful, some sad, some funny – but always telling us a little about our changing world.

The hot star team of Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, fabulous foreign locations in Corsica and Tokyo, and A.R. Rahman’s music: ‘Tamasha’ seems to have it all, but the ‘tamasha’ movie-goers get to see leaves you a tad unfulfilled.

Why have Indian-Americans lost the art of eating with their hands? Eating with your hands is a no-no, a taboo in polite ‘civilized’ western society yet hands are the utensils of choice in some parts of the world including South Asia. However, when it comes to eating out, even Indians who happily eat with their hands at home seem to lose the desire.
Why do so many Indians hide this guilty secret? Why is there shame attached to this natural act? Is it perhaps a lasting legacy of the British Raj – a side-order of racism, of inferiority? What does it say about accepting our cultural ethos? Are we the kind of Indians abroad who would eat even a roti with fork and knife in the ‘civilized’ world, just to fit in

Vikas Khanna’s new book ‘Indian Harvest: Classic and Contemporary Vegetarian Dishes’ begins and ends with his poems. No, it is not a book of poems but a recipe book which is part memoir, part travelogue and part encyclopedia, as well as his repertoire of traditional and modern vegetarian recipes.

Our hearts go out to the people of Paris as they live through a nightmare. It is the world’s collective nightmare for the places may change – Madrid, Mumbai, London, New York, Beirut – but the devastation and the destruction remains the same.

Mona Saeed Kamal, Poojaa Bathija, Ashoo Prabhakar and 27 others like this. Sharmila Rao Thakkar, Vandna Khera Bajaj, Nita Anand and 10 others like this. Lighting the Diya with the President  The immigrants who came here in the 60’s would never have believed it if you had told them that one day an American President would be wishing them ‘Saal Mubarak!” and the US Surgeon General would be munching on mithais and would have a last name Murthy, first name Vivek! Diwali Sweets Make it to the White House As Indian-Americans celebrate Diwali, there’s a special thrill in being wished…

The World is getting older no doubt about it – even Shah Rukh Khan, the heart-throb of millions is turning 50!
It’s hard to believe that the carefree Raj of ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Lejayege’ is five decades old. Yet he’s evergreen for his legions of fans and this photo of fans coming to his home to wish him on the big 5-O says it all.

Want to get some colorful festivities into your Diwali? Head for the Met! The Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrating Diwali on Sunday November 15 with a musical dance performance, children’s Indian dance workshop and art-making activities.

Don’t you love this new America where India pops up in the most unlikely places? If you live in Queens you’ll be delighted to know that the marvelous Museum of the Moving Image has embraced India’s New Wave Cinema with the screening of a new film every month.

Couldn’t let Halloween pass by without sharing this truly wonderful picture of President Obama, the perfect host to trick and treaters at the White House. Pete Souza shared this picture on Twitter – “President Obama plays with Ella Rhodes in her elephant Halloween costume.” I can’t think of any other president who would be so down-to-earth and so tender with little people. It says so much about the man and all that he stands for.

What’s better than reading a book? Having the author read it to you! At the Indo-American Arts Council Literary Festival 2015 at Hunter College, book-lovers binged on new books, authors old and new and discussions on everything from the state of the kitchen to the state of the world.

With his grey hair, rimmed eye-glasses and gentle smile, Mani Ratnam is an unlikely global rock star. Yet rock star he was when the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image in New York showed the film series ‘Politics as Spectacle: The Films of Mani Ratnam’ – ‘Roja’, ‘Bombay’ and ‘Dil Se’, three films from his stormy, much loved oeuvre.

It’s been called a ‘jugalbandi’ – this evening dedicated to Bombay shared by the two writers – Salman Rushdie and Suketu Mehta. When the two were introduced to the audience by writer Amitava Kumar, he put it succinctly: ” Master story tellers – they are the djinns of stories!

Fast, Cool and Fantastic – and Made in India Meet the M-Zero India is known for producing the smallest car and the cheapest car. But now put on your seat belts! Here’s news for speed lovers.  India may be on to something cool and fast! Sarthak Paul, a 21-year old entrepreneur is planning to launch India’s first sportscar. Here’s  M-Zero  – and it’s going to cost anywhere from $125,000 t $150,000! Paul calls his fledgling car company Mean Metal Motors (MMM). The automaker has already produced a couple of planned concepts, and if all goes well, Paul hopes the first…

News for You! The case of the vanishing Asian American characters in ‘The Martian’ “NASA’s Director of Mars Operations is Dr. Venkat Kapoor — an Asian Indian character who identifies as Hindu.In Scott’s film, he is played by British black actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and the name is changed to Vincent Kapoor. Character Mindy Park is written as Korean American in the novel, but portrayed by Mackenzie Davis — a white blonde actress. http://nydn.us/1PqSCJ8

The word ‘home’ immediately conjures up images of comfort, security and peace – yet for many women, perhaps there is no more dangerous and frightening place than home. Behind its closed doors and curtained windows can be a whole litany of horrors from domestic violence to psychological traumas, intimidations and beatings to molestation by family members.