Author: Lavina Melwani

Foodie Paradise – Indian corn on the cob – take a bite!

Poona Diary – Republic Day in the Homeland – a song of saffron, green and white!

The three hour journey from Abu Dhabi to Delhi is made more satisfying with wine, nuts and food for someone slogging at blogging.

Over 300,000 Indian seniors long for their cultural roots in their sunset years.
Will they find them in a changing America?

a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a must – it is a testament to faith and reverence for the Almighty, and tolerance for all humanity.  This majestic building set on Abu Dhabi Island has 82 domes of various sizes and the largest is located in the centre of the main prayer hall.

On New Year’s Eve I am in Dubai, doing something I’ve never done before – hot air ballooning!
May we all soar this year with our families, our hopes and aspirations! Read about my discovery of sunrise and the adventures of take-off and landing -sideways
Safe flights and happy 2023, full of hope and possibilities.

Dubai Diary: A Ringside Seat to the Burj Khalifa Merry Christmas from glittering Dubai where I’m with the family. A memorable first day having a ringside seat to the fabulous light and music show of the Burj Khalifa from our hotel.

It’s  a short ride but you get glimpses of city side streets and the  beautiful East River as the cable car descends to the other side, and commuters with babies and bicycles and families click photos. At night the view is dramatic, like a foreign country. and the city goes from prosaic to glamorous. 

Asia Week New York 2023 Predicts a Colorful Spring The Flowering of Asian Art in New York  Photos: Lavina Melwani [dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith winter, snow and blizzards in the forecast for New York in the coming months, it is happy news to know that you can look forward to the warmth and beauty of art and schedule it on your calendar with the celebration of Asia Week New York 2023. There will be wonderful art from all parts of Asia, and this is a spring ritual since 14 years, with art lovers congregating in New York for an endless feast…

Christmas in Pune is special, says caricaturist Vikram Nandwani, because in his neighborhood people from all faiths join in on the celebrations, giving it a very local twist. “All Parsi Biryani joints go full house on Christmas Eve, People make Karanjis – a favorite Maharashtrian sweet made during Diwali – at home, and everyone – I mean everyone – comes out to the main markets in the evening to see the lights. The festivities end with kids being dragged into midnight mass.”

Work from home or go to the workplace? Questions, questions for everybody as this year winds down and a new one begins! Meanwhile have a very merry holiday season and hope Santa’s elves are working over-time to bring you whatever your heart desires! Maybe Santa can take an Uber if the reindeer revolt and insist on working from home.😉

Every day at lunch break at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in Delhi, India, hordes of ink-stained white-uniformed schoolgirls would surround me, salivating for a taste of my mom’s Sindhi home-made lunch: Green Mango Pickle Sandwiches!

Benjamin, the noted Indian-Jewish artist, left Bombay, now Mumbai, decades ago for America but the colors and ethos of India have become embedded into her art and her American life. Her unique works which are populated with blue figures reminiscent of the color of Krishna, the sky and water have been embraced by art collectors in America, Israel and India.

What can be better than going home for Christmas, especially if home happens to be warm and sunny Goa? Chris and Beverly D’Souza with their young son Luke visited Goa, their hometown, far away from the cold of New York. This story is a Christmas tradition on Lassi with Lavina!

For those who love design in the home and the world, the good news is that consumer trade shows and fairs which showcase the latest trends in interiors, furnishings and artifacts, are back with a bang.

Imagine blindfolding yourself and trying to do your daily chores in a dark world. Now imagine blindfolding yourself and managing to get a perfect SAT score, going on to Harvard and Stanford to get an MA, JD and a Ph D, becoming a lawyer in a topnotch law firm, a business professor in an Ivy League school, traveling all over the world, becoming an accomplished researcher and writing a critically acclaimed book.
All while blindfolded.

Impossible, you say? Well, between the two of them, Sheena and Jasmin Sethi have accomplished all this in spite of their blindness. Both of the sisters suffer from Retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disease, but have not let that stop them from creating vibrant, successful lives and conquering the sighted world.

When Sheena Iyengar went to Spain, people sometimes came up and asked her for a lottery ticket. “Because that is what blind people do in Spain,” she explains. “They sell lottery tickets. And when I was in Japan, random people would come up to me and take my hands and start putting them on their backs or on their necks because they expect blind people to perform magical massages.”

These people would have been stunned to learn that though Iyengar is blind, she is a noted researcher, a professor at Columbia and the author of a critically acclaimed book ‘The Art of Choosing’, in which she dissects and analyzes choice – the ability one has to take on destiny – or even competing brands of cola.

In life, how much can you choose and how much is pre-destined? Can you fight circumstances or is your role pre-ordained?And if you have the power of choice, how do you choose wisely?

They came to New York on a hunt for something elusive – world happiness. The players came from many different countries, from European nations to South Africa to India and Nepal, and each had something valuable to contribute.

If you don’t know anything about Thanksgiving – here are some fun facts!

NYC Marathon 2022 – A beautiful day of family, friends and fellowship. No one was a stranger even in this immense mass of strangers – and that is the unique quality of New York.