Author Lavina Melwani

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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She’s probably the sexiest mechanical engineer around, and by her own admission, she’s also a bit of a geek who loves all things techie. And yet, Melanie Kannokada, 24, is so much more than a geeky mechanical engineer.
Her debut film ‘Bicycle Bride’ won the best feature film award at the South Appalachian Film Festival, and she was nominated Best Actress in this, her very first role. ‘Love, Lies and Sita’, her second film, has three guys madly in love with her – and it’s set for a summer release. In this recurring post spotlighting emerging South Asian talent, Lavina Melwani checks out her story…

Little Black Book: Events
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Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, or M G Vassanji – who would be the one you’d vote for in the world of journalism and literature? Bobby Jindal, Swati Dandekar, Dr. Ruby Dhalla or Ameya Pawar – who would be your choice for political leadership? Would you be torn if you had to choose among Mira Nair, Russell Peters, Meera Syal, Sunil Nayar and Sanjeev Bhaskar in the field of entertainment?

Well, now you have a chance to vote for the most notable NRIS – and perhaps win free tickets to India in the bargain, with the upcoming Light of India Awards.

People
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Great news for Anoop Desai fans – they are going to get not one but three albums from him this year, as part of the Zero trilogy. Songs like ‘Worth the Wait’, ‘Want your Love’ and ‘OoWee’ can be downloaded for free – in fact the entire ‘Zero.O ‘ can be downloaded. The light-hearted ‘OoWee’ is just the right number to hear now – fun and very danceable, it makes you think of Spring. And Anoop is giving away the album – so here’s a chance to download it and also watch his new music video. Also learn how you can support the efforts of this independent artiste who does not have a big label behind him.

Little Black Book: Events
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If you want to see Padma Lakshmi break into a smile, all you have to do is ask her about her little girl, Krishna. “She’s wonderful, she’s healthy!” she beams. “We went to the zoo today – it was such a beautiful day! She’s the light of my life and I am very thankful to have her!”

She adds, “And I might not have had her if it wasn’t for the fact that I was diagnosed by Dr. Tamer Seckin and I got the help I needed. I can’t stress that enough – I was told that I wouldn’t be able to have a baby and the fact that I have her is a gift of God and this is just my way of saying thank you.”

‘This’ was the Blossom Ball at the New York Public Library to raise awareness and funds for the Endometriosis Foundation of America, and Padma Lakshmi, who is the co-founder with Dr. Seckin, was on the red carpet at the gala, looking stunning in a Sabyasachi saree.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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For Indian food lovers, this is the equivalent of Foodie Heaven! An opportunity to taste the food of not one, not two but 13 noted Indian chefs – all under one roof. The noted chefs include names which are familiar to fans of Indian cuisine – Floyd Cardoz, Vikas Khanna, Jehangir Mehta, Hemant Mathur, Prasad Chirnomula, Hari Nayak, Maneet Chauhan ,Walter D’Rozario and Peter Beck, with Sanjeev Kapoor flying in from India.
This would have been an unimaginable scenario a few decades back but now is a done deal, thanks to the Varli Food Festival being held in New York City on April 7 at the Altman Building in Chelsea.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Love a good food fight? Then you’ve got to watch Bravo’s Top Chef Masters which has a dozen award-winning chefs battling it out for the title of Top Chef Master and $100,000 for their favorite charity. This includes, for the first time probably, two noted Indian celebrity chefs – Floyd Cardoz and Suvir Saran.

In each episode the Lords of the Kitchen sharpen their knives for cooking encounters and dish out their specialties. For celeb watchers it should be quite a treat – Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks, Pop/Rock Group Maroon 5 and Pop Star Kelis serve as Celebrity Guest Judges. Celebrity chef Curtis Stone hosts the series and judges include James Oseland and noted food critic Ruth Reichl. Celebrities and food – a potent mix!

Art
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A precursor to Asian Contemporary Art Week in NY, a recent group show: India and Pakistan may have been geographically birthed on the same subcontinent but they are relentlessly apart as nations. It is a question of so near – and yet so far. Once one people, they are now so far apart that can one understand the mindset of The Other?

Yet, art by Indian and Pakistani artists hung side by side in the Aicon Gallery in Manhattan – perhaps there were not even six degrees of separation between these canvases.

Looking at these powerful works of art one would be hard-pressed to say which artist was from India, and which from Pakistan. This only goes to prove that at heart, the dreams, the hopes and the fears are the same…

Food Articles
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This is the tale of The Three Chocolatiers. Once upon a time there was a hotshot financial wiz, a smart biochemist who loved to bake, and a savvy chef who had sailed the high seas on the Q E 2, each going their own way.

A steamy passion for chocolate brought the three together to create Co Co Sala, a foodie kingdom dripping in high-end chocolate, coffee and cocktails. This attracted legions of chocoholics, made the fortunes of the Three Chocolatiers, and they all lived happily ever after.

Now isn’t that a sweet ending?

The story, however, is fact and not fiction. Co Co Sala is a hot and happening chocolate lounge, bar, restaurant, pastry shop and boutique on F Street in Washington DC, and three young Indian-American entrepreneurs are behind its big success – Bharet Malhotra, Nisha Sidhu and Santosh Tiptur.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Archana Patchirajan, Puneet Mehta and Sonpreet Bhatia, the three entrepreneurs behind MyCityWay really seem to be on a roll – they’ve just managed to raise $ 5 million in financing from BMW i Ventures, First Mark Capital and IA Ventures. Yes, you may be seeing the innovative MyCityWay app in BMW cars in New York in the future!

Mobile services are very much on auto-makers minds and the BMW Group has founded BMW i Ventures — a New York-based venture capital to provide early- and mid-stage investments in the area of Mobility Services, and MyCityWay is the beneficiary.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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India has a secret weapon in its continuing ride to success and wealth – the Goddess Lakshmi! All the billions of prayers offered to this deity of prosperity in business offices across the world must be paying off for all those successful entrepreneurs.

Now even all the wanna-be-wealthy folks in far off Mexico are realizing the value of having the Goddess of Wealth on their side. The National Lottery in Mexico had the image of the Indian Goddess on some of the lottery tickets – and the grand prize went to – you’ve guessed it!

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