Browsing: India

What can you, an immigrant who came with nothing but a battered suitcase filled with bits and pieces of a disappeared life, offer this new country? What gift can you give America on its Independence Day celebration? A Punjabi immigrant love story.

Portrait of a mother – as this young artist, who is very close to me, has depicted in this art from the heart, may the flowers always bloom for you, the sun shine on you and your lives always be full of love. Roses, gifts, visits to the spa, jeweled baubles, lunches and dinners, lots of pampering – you deserve them all! A perennial post I love to share on Mother’s Day.

A perennial favorite that I like to share on Mother’s Day.

Mothers, Sons and Daughters…

To all the wonderful moms – Happy Mother’s Day! As this young artist, who is very close to me,  has depicted from the heart, may the flowers always bloom for you, the sun shine on you and your lives always be full of love. Roses, gifts, visits to the spa, jeweled baubles, lunches and dinners, lots of pampering – you deserve them all!

Sharing a wonderful video tribute to mothers by SNL’s Tina Fey!

Her transformation from an “It” Style Girl to a Buddhist nun is so complete that people who knew her earlier do a double-take. She admits, “It was hard at first because your sense of identity is tied to how you look and your look determines your self-worth. As a renunciate you shave your head, use no makeup, perfume or high heels – but the beauty of wisdom that adorns you is far more beautiful than any couture dress.”

This year we are witness to a catastrophic nightmare in India, multiplied many, many times over. Covid-19, in a virulent second wave, has invaded the country and has its powerful knee on the collective neck of India

A Suitable Boy has been with us for decades, in our hearts, the gift of everyone’s favorite author Vikram Seth. This global best-seller clocks in at 1349 pages and is one of the most beloved novels about a post-independence India. It has now been adapted to a BBC six part series by Mira Nair.

The tea had a special earthy flavor in this cup and the fact that the clay container would once again become one with nature seemed a beautiful idea. After all, aren’t ancient civilizations traced out by the clay remains of their days?

Our civilization of course will probably be remembered by the piles of plastic containers and garbage stuffed landfills we will leave behind! So the idea of the reborn clay utensils really appealed to me.

Art

By binding the past and the present, Birendra Pani’s gorgeous art creates a new way of thinking for the visitors to the gallery: He says: “Relooking and revisiting our local culture and re-establishing  a new relationship with the positive aspects of our tradition will sustain us in a situation of loss in a disoriented and homogenizing world.”

India is like a gigantic Hall of Mirrors – so many reflections, some magnified, some distorted. Which is the true India? And who is the true Indian? In ‘Kai Po Che’, Abhishek Kapoor’s stunning new film, you realize there are no easy answers as you step into the complex, complicated terrain that is India.

‘Kai Po Che’, based on Chetan Bhagat’s best-selling novel ‘The Three Mistakes of My Life’, takes you into the innards of the bustling city of Ahmedabad and introduces you to real people in situations taken right out of real life, such as the 2001 earthquake and the Godhra killings. You are relentlessly drawn into the ugly, unpredictable vortex of current events, of unforgiving real life as it happens.

When immigrants came to America, they bought their home cures and folk remedies along, a legacy of mothers and grandmothers. It is surprising how many families still turn to ginger as the first remedy for coughs and colds, and even motion sickness. Ginger has certainly been around for centuries and everyone from the ancient Greeks to Confucius to the Emperor Akbar is supposed to have been a fan, not to mention the sage Vatsyayana – author of India’s famed sex manual, Kama Sutra, who recommended ginger as an aphrodisiac for lovers.

In ‘Ajanta – Regional Feasts of India’ cookbook author and restaurateur Lachu Moorjani explores the diverse foods of India, with regional feasts from different states. Here he shares some recipes from different regions of India. Come hungry!

Warning: Do NOT Separate an Indian from his Onions! It’s the one ingredient that no self-respecting desi cook would want to be without; whether you are whipping up a Mughal feast or a poor man’s meal – onions are absolutely necessary. In fact, a shortage of onions can cause a near revolution in India!

Dr. Nirmal Mattoo may be far away from the Vale of Kashmir, the place where he was born,  but its sheer beauty, sense of community and native customs have stayed with him, even in far-off New York. He has tried to bring the wisdom and beauty of India, including that of his hometown, to share with the larger world.