“The steel structure of Spine is transformed through the stitching of red suede, and was inspired by the two-piece choli that is worn at weddings in the Subcontinent. Spine led me to rethink the function of the choli and the inherent contradictions it carries; it is, at the same time, flirtatious and oppressive.”
– Naiza Khan
It’s not a lyric written for a Bollywood superstar to lip sync, nor is it a script for a million dollar movie, although noted poet Javed Akhtar has done plenty of both. His latest offering is straight from the heart – a love poem, a tribute to Mumbai’s children, the nameless, the homeless who live on the footpaths or survive in the slums, who have to work to get a day’s meal, to merely be able to exist.
Mahatma Gandhi, with his simple khadi loincloth and chappals, was the absolute antithesis of the avid consumer, yet the luxury brand Montblanc has chosen to honor his memory with a gold pen priced at $23,000.
Would you put green tomatoes in your dessert? How about basil or coriander? If you’re cringing, you’ve got to meet Jehangir Mehta, the pastry wizard who’s created a big buzz in Manhattan.
What can be better than a feast of cinema? A feast of cinema with several glittering parties and celebrities-in-the-flesh! The Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council festival of Indian films had ample doses of both, and drew an enthusiastic crowd.
When Oprah features a vegan recipe from Madhu Gadia in her magazine, you know it’s hot! The good news is that if you happen to be vegan, can’t eat eggs or dairy, you don’t have to be exiled to a Siberia of bland vegetables anymore.In fact, there are some Indian vegan super foods that can light up the menu and give you all the nutrition and flavor that you need. So what are these magic foods?
(Image is of one of the super foods featured in the book – beans – transformed into Dal Vada Burgers)
What’s cooking with Aasif Mandvi? A whole Indian feast! Well for one, the zany commentator from ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ has turned chef, worked at Tandoori Palace, found a new love, and even bagged a best actor award.
Sure beats Deep Space Naan!
His brand new movie ‘Today’s Special’ – all about the travails of a sous chef – premiered at the MIAAC, New York’s Indian Film Festival in Manhattan and has been a real crowd pleaser.
Dyyno is a tech innovation birthed by some superior minds at Stanford that could revolutionize video distribution on the web, by empowering big and small groups with their own video channel for live blogging, as it can broadcast straight from the computer to tens of thousands of people.
Meet Raj Jaswa, the serial entrepreneur behind Dyyno
Is Bollywood entertainment getting outsourced? At a big Indian wedding in New York there are the usual beaming uncles and aunties, lots of great Indian food, the latest Bollywood music. The dance floor clears and there’s a bespangled dancer doing all the classic moves from ‘Umrao Jaan’ as the appreciative crowd gathers around and claps.
The dancer is Russian and doesn’t speak any Hindi!
She is Inessa from Uzbekistan and is quite the star at Indian community events in New York, be it weddings, engagement parties or other celebrations.
New York is full of surprises and unexpected treats, of twists and turns. You can take a detour and find yourself face to face with the cinema you loved in your youth, the films which gave you goose bumps and showed you the futility and heartbreak of life, films which took you into a deeper, more complicated world and made you disregard the bag of chips in your hand. Who can forget the aching pain of ‘Pyaasa’, the disillusionment of ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ or the churning emotions of a fading way of life in a changing world in ‘Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam’?