Author: Lavina Melwani

September 6, 2012 was no ordinary day – it was the day that fashion became thoroughly democratized with Fashion’s Night Out taking over Manhattan. Every man and woman even remotely interested in style was invited to the citadels of couture for an open party.

The streets of Manhattan were over-run by hordes of fashionistas – all dressed to the hilt, many in designer dresses, others in their own unique styles and they had taken over the city. It was like one big, glorious feista, especially in lower Manhattan. Women in groups, women with boyfriends, generational groups too – everyone out to celebrate something as whimsical, as fleeting as fashion.

The very first party I stopped at was at Soigne K, the luxury boutique on Madison Avenue owned by Soigne Kothari. It was pure carnival as crowds gathered to see fiery dancers in the store windows and indulge in shots of tequila, rose and white wine, and dainty little finger foods.

Once upon a time three young rising chefs were handed shrimp, an immaculate kitchen. limited time and a medley of ingredients to orchestrate into an award-winning new shrimp masterpiece. They dashed and they mashed, they mixed and they fixed, they chopped and they pureed as a lineup of pedigreed judges and VIP guests watched with bated breath and hungry stomachs.

The event was Varli’s ‘Rising Star Chef 2012’ live competition at Junoon featuring chefs under the age of 35 – Bhavesh Patel (Moghul Caterers), Shravan Shetty (Urban Spice), and Sylva Senat (Tashan). Each created a signature entrée and served a tasting to the celebrity panel of judges – noted chef Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti and Mehtaphor; restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj, and award-winning cook book authors Monica Bhide and Ramin Ganeshram.

Three Shrimp Creations from Varli Rising Star Chefs at Junoon Restaurant in New York

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’.

Sacrilege or a seduction? Chocolate Dosa!
The other day wandering in the pleasurable desi by-lanes of Jackson Heights, admiring the mounds of mangoes, lychees and papayas, I stopped at Dosa Delight, a small family-type vegetarian eatery. There along with the traditional idli, medhu vada and Pondicherry Dosa was – Chocolate Dosa!

Now this is not a gourmet city restaurant but a tried and tested homey Southern outpost. So how did something as contrary as Chocolate Dosa find its way here? And could I have a taste?

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.

New York is the place where nothing is impossible. You can be a medical student, decide to take on a fashion career and actually see it materialize before your very eyes. All you need is chutzpah – and of course, talent.

Ask Siddhi Vaishnav and she will tell you New York is indeed the place to test-drive the most amazing vehicles. Just a few months back she was immersed in medical studies – and now here she was, the center of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, a NYC fashion event choreographed by her newly formed company Clic by Siddhi.

Imagine thousands and thousands of stone, brick and glass skyscrapers rising in the concrete canyons of New York City, blocking out the sun and stars. The streets of Manhattan are gridlocked with vehicular traffic, horns blaring, tempers flaring, sometimes drowned out by the wailing siren of a rushing ambulance.

Now imagine lush greenery, idyllic ponds on which swans and ducks glide, virtual forests of old trees and acres and acres of plush green grass where families can relax, dogs run about and children play ball. Welcome to the parks of New York City which are the virtual lungs of the city and provide the breathing room, the thinking room that millions living in the frenzied city require.

A look at the parks best for a Summer celebration.

Why is the langar such a remarkable meal?

“It’s the simplicity of it. The humbleness of service. The server and the served work like a complete circle of Universe.
Sitting on the floor in simple lines define the equality of us all.
The way everyone prepares, cooks, the energy, the chanting is all about seva and sharing. It’s truly remarkable that how much pride Sikhs take in even cleaning. It’s a Utopian experience.”
– Vikas Khanna

Recipes from the Langar meal, blended with blessings from Gurdwaras in the US and India

Why would young people all be wearing sunglasses in the darkness of a happening bar? The Empire State Building was recently lit up with a very different kind of light- the light of giving – when CH2 hosted the 20/20 Party Bring Sight Tonight at the Empire Room. CH2, the junior branch of Children’s Hope India, held a swinging cocktail soiree for over 300 supporters – and the idea of this fun evening was to raise funds to correct and prevent blindness in children in India through the K.K. Eye Institute of Pune.

While everyone had a fun evening, the cool thing as a guest was to acquire a pair of dark glasses – given as a thank you gift to those who contributed towards funding eye care for children in rural India. “Everyone was wearing their sunglasses, adding another fun element to the night while also a great reminder for why they were all there,” recalls Puja Pahlajani, a CH2 board member.

In the past few days we’ve all been to the Oak Creek Gurdwara in Wisconsin again and again, if not in person then in spirit via scores of live reports on the senseless killings, the grieving congregation, the stories of the lives lost. There’s almost a surreal ring of deja vu to this whole episode as one recalls the painful stories of discrimination against Sikhs in the aftermath of 9/11.

Why does it take some people so long to understand a simple truth – that we may all look different but at heart we are all the same – human? Why do common-sense teachings go awry and lessons which are taught in kindergarten – kindness and love to one’s fellows – get misinterpreted so horribly?

What is particularly sad about these attacks is that they are a backlash against a community which has a sterling track record of service and openness, even to complete strangers. If this assailant had wandered into the gurdwara sick and hungry and hurt, looking for food and help, this would have been the one place in the neighborhood where he would have been showered with both, no questions asked. Indeed, one of the key tenets of Sikhism is service to humanity.

Children’s Hope India presents the Black and White Ball to mark a grand anniversary – its 20th year of service to children. Two decades ago this New York-based non-profit started as a small group of women professionals hoping to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children.

Now in 2012, CHI has over 20 projects across India which have served 200,000 children, looking after their health, education and vocational training. CHI projects are in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Bhuj, Pune, Jabalpur and several villages in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

“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.

Who’s Matt? And who’s Meera? Well, Matt & Meera is the name of chef Hari Nayak’s newest venture, a happening new cafe in the heart of Hoboken, NJ, which is fast coming up as a young, multicultural haven. Nayak saw so many young intercultural couples in this area that he decided to take two typical Indian and American names – Matt and Meera – and combine them for his cafe.

“American food is a combination of so many different cuisines today and I like to give it a flavor punch with ingredients and spices from India and around the world,” says Nayak. “I don’t want to eat heavy Indian food every day but whether it’s a slice of pizza or a bowl of salad, I want to give it an Indian touch.”

Nayak, whose popular cook book ‘Modern Indian’ touched upon this very subject, goes fun and light at Matt & Meera, with American comfort foods to which he has added his own desi twist.