Author Lavina Melwani

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Over 250 women turned up for a fabulous Spring Luncheon at Swan Club organized by Children’s Hope India to support the children living in homeless shelters in New York City. A highlight of the 2015 spring luncheon is the Woman of Distinction Award, given to a woman who has managed to balance the challenges of the workplace, home and social responsibility. This year we honored Ila Paliwal who is a classically trained vocalist, song writer and producer. She was presented the award by Sadhna Shanker, wife of the Consul General of India, Ambassador D. Mulay.

Cinema Apur Sansar
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Have you ever met Apu – Satyajit Ray’s Apu? If not, this is your chance to finally make his acquaintance – and he’s looking better than ever before. As film fans know, ‘The Apu Trilogy’ is master filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s seminal work, a story that is bound to touch whoever sees it, because it is our story. We may never have stepped into a Bengali village or lived in that simple yet hard world a century ago but this tale of family, struggle and aspirations speaks to something so universal, so human that it affects us all.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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If Alice went through the Looking Glass into a startling new world, this month thousands of museum-goers have turned Alice – and zapped through a disorienting world of mirrors into China!

A China right in the middle of New York.

Over 30,000 square feet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has been transformed into a fantastic China of the imagination through the magic of fashion, art, cinema and film. It was heralded by the big Costume Institute Gala where countless Hollywood celebrities from Beyonce to Rihanna to Lady GaGa showed up on the red carpet, each dressed in designer garb, each a love-poem to China.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Advertisers really know how to pull on your heartstrings, and sometimes they get it right.

The work of mothers is so undervalued – it carries no pay, no certificates and no awards. Yet daughters are so strengthened by the unconditional love, the drive and determination of mothers to make the lives of their daughters so much better than their own. A touching tribute to mothers everywhere.

If you’re a mother or a daughter, you’ve got to watch this emotional video. It will make you want to call your mom immediately. Enjoy!

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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“I don’t know dance but my soul dances while singing in concerts. Many times I fly in void, my audience’s energy becomes the surface…Every pore of my body becomes the vent for breeze to pass through. I am weightless…in samadhi.”- Kailash Kher
Kailash Kher’s unique voice which makes you lose yourself – and also find yourself – in his soul-stirring music. Indeed, if you want to discover truths about life and humanity in a tornado of music, there is no better venue than a Kailash Kher concert.
The Sufi singer is now coming to the heart of Manhattan, to Times Square, and audiences are going to hear his raw, fabulously powerful voice at Town Hall, in concert with his band Kailasa on May 3.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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What would be a filmiholic’s idea of heaven? A week full of back-to-back viewings of the most intriguing films, a mixed bag of drama, suspense, comedy and chills – by some of the most noted directors in Indian cinema. Think Vishal Bharadwaj, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen, Hansal Mehta and Shonali Bose. Then there is the joy of seeing the work of so many regional filmmakers as well as getting to know so many new directors. Lots of films by Indian-American filmmakers too, including ‘Miss India America’ and ‘Meet the Patels’.

All this is happening at the upcoming New York Indian Film Festival with over 30 films, 30 alternate worlds to get lost in. You’ll find love, loss, laughter – and life…

The Buzz
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In India, skin color seems to dominate all else. In this land of ‘wheatish’ skin, why is white skin so cherished and so desired? Why is black denigrated?
A new ad for jewelry features the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, white as can be, and a small dark child slave holding an umbrella over her head. What were the creators of this ad thinking?
Will colonialism and the British Raj continue to dominate our lives in free India? And how many more young people will associate dark skin with failure and repression. Is the solution in life a tube of skin whitening cream?

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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He has been Shiva and Krishna, countless mythical heroes and ordinary humans, and he has traveled the globe, telling all their wondrous tales through the magic of rhythm and dance. Datuk Ramli Ibrahim is a changemaker, an innovator with bells on his feet. For over 30 years, this Malaysian dance pioneer has nurtured both Indian classical dance and contemporary modern dance in Malaysia. He brings past, present and future on the lit up stage with audacity and shows that culture is meant to be shared, regardless of faith or nationality.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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A six figure job, a trophy spouse, an earth-shattering romance – we certainly think all these things will make us more happy – and isn’t happiness what we all seek and hunger for?

Yet listen to this: “There is nothing that you have to get, do, or be in order to be happy. I repeat, nothing. In fact, happiness is your innate nature. It is hardwired into your being, It is part of your DNA. It is always with you.”
These words of wisdom come not from some spiritual text or soothsayer but from Dr. Srikumar S. Rao, the very practical and philosophical professor who has made happiness an achievable goal…

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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“Even 65 years after our independence, we find that India’s progress towards establishing an equitable society has been slow and disappointing. Discrimination against women thrives and cuts across religion, caste, rich, poor, urban-rural divides. Secure in their solid economic and social foundation, men are men, and we are the other. Today, women realize that unless certain fundamental issues that affect gender equality and justice are addressed, women’s empowerment will remain at the level of rhetoric.” – Sharmila Tagore

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