Gandhiji, with the passage of time, has become modern and totally relevant to our times. I think for the new generation he’s becoming cool, someone they can really look up to. No less an arbitrator of cool than Google had a tribute to Gandhiji today and millions and millions of Googlers saw that iconic, bespectacled face entwined with the Google name.
You don’t see this every day but the heart-throb of the sixties, Dharmendra, now a dad of two Bollywood hunks Sunny and Bobby Deol, walked the fashion ramp in New York, all for an important cause – the fight against cancer, which was initiated by his good friend Sunil Dutt. (Dharmendra seen here with Trishala, grand-daughter of the Dutts)
If there’s one panacea for broken spirits and hearts, it is cinema. Cinema, when done well, can heal wounds, probe motivations and even foster debate. It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, for the hurts still linger. Over the past few years the Sikh community has worked to get the word out, and in a post 9/11 world, it’s become increasingly important to talk of the Sikh culture and identity.
(Ashok Amritraj seen here with Dustin Hoffman on the sets of Moonlight Mile)
When Ashok Amritraj was growing up in Chennai, he saw the Hollywood film ‘Ben Hur’ and was mesmerized. Watching Charlton Heston in that huge epic, he was hooked on to cinema forever. So it was particularly sweet, when decades later, as a big Hollywood producer, he was awarded a plaque at the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences by none other than Charlton Heston himself.
Creating a space for voices which are seldom heard has been the passion for Myna Mukherjee, director of Engendered, a New York-based human rights organization which recently held the first ever South Asian Queer Leaders Summit in New York. You heard some strong, individual voices including those of Sunil Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay parliamentarian who worked to get same sex marriage rights for the community there
Check out this scenario: you’re in a new neighborhood, you’re hungry and don’t know where to go. You don’t want to overspend and you want to ensure that the restaurant you visit is not over-crowded. Well, if you have a cell-phone with you, the magic word is “Buzz’d!” This enterprising service started by entrepreneurs Nihal Mehta and Deepen Shah makes sure you get the most out of your dining experience.
In the heart of Chelsea in New York stands a bountiful bulwark and anchor of Eastern spirituality, a treasure trove of hundreds of Himalayan artifacts, as peaceful and inspiring as a Buddhist temple. This is the Rubin Museum of Art, started just four years ago by the noted philanthropists and collectors, Donald and Shelley Rubin.
“I am 29 years old and I live at home with my folks…Wooh hoo! I’m getting lucky every night…home cooked meals, my laundry gets washed and they’re arranging dates for me left right and centre. It doesn’t get any luckier than that!” So says Sanjay Gupta – no, not the CNN superstar – but the one who runs his parents’ corner store in New Zealand, home to about 4.4 million people – and 40 million sheep!
She may have thousands of fans but Bollywood star Preity Zinta is a diehard fan of – New York City!
She comes in to New York so often that it’s like a second home to her. She says, “It is my favorite city in the world because a) it’s one city that never sleeps. b) Its a city that can swallow you and you can disappear in it, which is fantastic. c) It’s so diverse and every time I come back so many things have changed about it.”
Who would have thought you’d be getting gourmet food in the rough and tumble of a ball park? Leave it to celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to bring elegance to the usual hot dog, precooked burgers and popcorn routine.