Author Lavina Melwani

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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If there’s only one thing you do today to make yourself happy, watch this excellent video! For all those who love the street foods of India this is the ultimate experience, traveling state by state and eating the delicious eats right on the road. The tears sting your eyes, your nose runs, your tongue burns – and you’re in foodie heaven!
It is amazing how everything is available in the open – be it spicy chat papri, ragra patice, alu tikki, chole bature or seekh kebab. You’ll see foods you’ve never eaten!

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Aasif Mandvi is the quintessential immigrant – he belongs nowhere and everywhere. He has knocked around three continents – Asia, America and Europe – and appropriated a bit from each of his hometowns – Dhule in Gujarat, Brampton in the UK and Tampa and New York in the US. Being brown, being different, being Muslim, he’s had a tough time and so many of us will identify with his story because in many ways it is our story too.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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For all those who loved ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, there’s more – ‘The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel! The joy of sequels can be akin to comfort food – getting involved in the lives of favorite characters once again and seeing how they are all doing since you saw them last. And this one even has that quintessential desi pleaser – a Big Fat Indian Wedding! Dev Patel and Tina Desai – and those powerhouses Judi Dench, Maggie Smith – and Richard Gere too!

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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The wonderful A. R. Rahman is coming to New York and you actually have the opportunity to meet him in the flesh, hear him speak and ask him a question or two!

The occasion is the world premiere of Jai Ho, a documentary about the iconic musician and composer. He’s won every award there is including an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe and has legions of fans around the world. So it’s about time his work was chronicled. Jai Ho, which is directed by Umesh Aggarwal, is premiering at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York on February 25.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Who would have thought that the princely state of Awadh exists in Manhattan? The flag of Dum Pukht has been unfurled by Gaurav Anand, a passionate culinary crusader, and the crest of the royal house is embedded right on the door of Awadh on the Upper West Side. This is an outpost of old Lucknow with its famous Galouti kababs, Lagan ki Raan and Kakori Kababs. Recently the Village Voice, the NY chronicle of everything cool, declared Awadh the best new Indian restaurant in New York.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Can biryani save the world? As life-long fans we certainly hope so!

Recently Varli Singh of Diya Foundation for Children and Gaurav Anand and Shagun Mehandru of Awadh came together to host a Biryani Festival, which not only tasted good but did good.So now there’s a way to eat your biryani and have it too! Enjoy a great meal and at the same time help kids in need.

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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Don’t you just love love stories and happy endings? When I first did the story with chocolatiers on their own sweet romances, it was a popular post. This year I thought I’d go back and see if there were any romantic updates. Yes, there were!

Shefalee Patel, our only chocolatier who was single had found true love and Aarti Mahtani Raman who had just got married now has a baby boy!
So here is a Valentine’s Day Treat – true love stories!

The Buzz
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On Valentine’s Day we share some of the fabulous chocolates and desserts created by Indian pastry chefs, culinary experts and entrepreneurs – and to add some extra sweetness, we also unearth their personal romance tales, from New Delhi to New York! Meet Divya Burman, Shefalee Patel, Monica Bhide, Surbhi Sahni and Aarti Mahtani Raman – taste their chocolates and hear what Valentine’s Day mean to them. We ran this story last year – and this year it’s twice as sweet!

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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How would you like to hobnob with the ever charismatic, ever friendly President Bill Clinton at a gathering of power people? Meet First Daughter Chelsea Clinton on board the battleship Intrepid? Perhaps rub shoulders with Indian-American business superstars Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Ajay Banga of Mastercard? Chat with superstars like Mira Nair, Shabana Azmi or Jhumpa Lahiri? Pose for a picture with Miss America?

If you’re on the gala fundraiser circuit in the US, you would have met them all – and helped raise millions of dollars too…

24/7 Talk is Cheap - The Blog
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The images are searing. Images of children who’ve lost their innocence, their childhood in the harsh world of bonded labor. Their eyes stare back at you without emotion, their lips frozen in a non-smile. This is art but art painted with the colors of true life. Each image by British portraitist Claire Phillips is of a real child, a child slave rescued by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi’s organization, Bachpan Bachao Andolan. Meet the artist who journeyed to India to document the lives of these children.

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