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2020 –Pandemic, Economic Disruption, Vote Wars
How We Triumphed, A Hard-Fought Battle
10 pieces from Lassi with Lavina about struggle and victory
In the Eye of the Storm: New York Battles Coronavirus
The days of invasions and colonization may be over but the world is now facing a mass threat from an invisible invader – the infamous coronavirus which has caused so much grief and pain in countries around the globe. Just a few months back, this insidious virus had been a blip on the horizon, a tragedy that was unfolding in far-off Wuhan in China. Like a thundering army, the Novel coronavirus which causes the deadly COVID-19 disease has spread across the world, leaving no country untouched.
In the Eye of the Storm: New York Battles Coronavirus
Losing Chef Floyd Cardoz to Coronavirus
(A GoFundMe tribute has been set up at https://www.gofundme.com/f/remember-floyd-cardoz )
This morning we learned that we have lost that wonderful chef and human being Floyd Cardoz to Coronavirus. My eyes welled up with tears; I must have met Cardoz briefly about a dozen times over the span of 20 years – but his grace and his integrity stayed with you. That was the kind of person he was.
Cardoz is survived by his mother Beryl, his wife and business partner, Barkha, and their two sons, Peter, 27, and Justin, 22
Losing Chef Floyd Cardoz to Coronavirus
New York becomes the Epicenter of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Cherry blossoms and daffodils are blooming in Central Park but the mood is far from joyful. Spring has come to New York and many of its noted tourist spots are in the news but for somber reasons: A portion of Central Park is being turned into a temporary hospital, as is the massive Jacob Javits Center which is usually the space for major trade shows and exhibitions.
The famous Aqueduct Racetrack is now being converted into a hospital; the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, which is one of the largest tennis facilities, is also being transformed into a makeshift hospital and the USNS Comfort, a huge naval ship is now stationed in New York h arbor, as a virtual floating 1000 bed hospital.
New York becomes the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic in America
Indian Chefs Feeding People in the Corona Quarantine
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]estaurants are some of our favorite places, our hideaways, our escape with friends. Yet in the time of coronavirus, they lie empty – a stark still life of empty chairs and tables, as millions of New Yorkers self-quarantine and practice social distancing in this strange new world.
New York was once the city which launched thousands of restaurants –The National Restaurant Association estimates that 15.6 million people work across 1 million restaurants in the United States and annual sales of $899 billion were projected for this year.
Now the industry stands decimated – at least for the moment – with shuttered doors, laid up workers, no clients and no income. The city has hundreds of Indian restaurants and all have been caught up in the whirlpool of the coronavirus. A few brave souls have opened for delivery but it’s not an easy task considering that homes have turned into self-created fortresses and many consumers are paranoid about the possibility of covid infections even through contactless delivery.
It’s a painful time as restaurateurs wait for help from the federal government and try to find new ways of helping their workers and keeping their business afloat. In the future, the restaurant business will have to be about reinvention and persistence.
Indian Chefs Feeding People in the Corona Quarantine
New York Re-Imagined, Reopens in a Coronavirus World
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]asked and socially distanced, I was on my daily walk in the streets of quarantined Manhattan. I came across a surreal scene – outside Bombay Chowk, a neighborhood Indian restaurant, there were tables and chairs laid out for dinner right next to the parking meter on the narrow sidewalk.
A masked waitstaff eagerly waved a menu at me – something unimaginable a month back in the stricken city. A few days later the restaurant graduated to more outdoor tables right on the road, with music and enticing aromas – and many diners. Assis Goes, the chef-owner of Bombay Chowk has been doing a lot of deliveries during the quarantine but is finding people are coming in for his eclectic regional dishes including his Goanese specialties.
New York Re-Imagined, Reopens in a Coronavirus World
Indian-Americans Confront Racism in the Nation
[dropcap]“I [/dropcap]can’t breathe” were the last words of George Floyd, an unarmed, handcuffed black man in Minneapolis who died in custody, his neck pressed under the knee of a white policeman for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while three other officers stood and watched.
These three words have become the rallying cry against injustice and police brutality across America. Millions have marched across hundreds of cities in all 50 states. To watch it in real time on the streets or on television is to realize we are in the midst of history being made, in the birth of a revolution.
Black Lives Matter – Indian-Americans Confront Racism in the Nation
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Her Loss is personal to all of us
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]wo days have passed since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – and I am having some difficulty in putting pen to paper or even getting the words out on my blank screen. No one is compelling me to write this but it’s almost an exercise in articulating the loss to myself and understanding what she meant to so many of us across America, especially women and girls.
Last night we sat and watched ‘RBG’ on television, and her life unspooled on the screen – beautiful young woman, student, sweetheart, wife, mother – and a woman struggling not only to find her place but a place for all women. It was an eye-opener to see all that she went through to get where she was, and how she retained her grace and equanimity – and the steel and determination – within her, as she brought her formidable legal mind and fresh gaze to the Supreme Court and affected real change for women and minorities through her thoughtul dissents in a world of male judges.
Kamala Harris – A Lotus Takes Root in America
Meeting Kamala Harris in the flesh is compelling. I experienced it first hand when I saw her take the stage for a fundraiser for a nonprofit in New York two years ago. This was before the pandemic and over 500 Indian-Americans had gathered close, excited to meet one of their own. For them the name ‘Kamala’ resonated – almost every Indian knows or has a Kamala amongst family and friends. In her well-defined Indian eyes and luminous smile, in her genes there were echoes of a shared past and ancestry.
Senator Kamala Harris – an Indian and Jamaican by birth, has just been anointed the vice presidential nominee, Joe Biden’s running mate in the upcoming American presidential elections. Kamala Harris becomes the first woman of color for the second highest job in the land.
Kamala Harris – A Lotus Takes Root in America
Biden beats Trump in a Roller-Coaster Election
[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ovember 7 was an unbelievable day in America. Today the US presidential election, after a nail-biting vote count, was finally called for Vice President Joe Biden as he reached the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to be declared president. He and Senator Kamala Harris, who is now vice-president elect, plan to usher in a very different America from the dystopian Trump world of the last four years.
As the news channels broke the news, there was joyous cheering and dancing in the streets, an endless honking of horns – the new form of applause – with people clapping and celebrating. This past week Indian-Americans, along with all other Americans have been on a wild roller coast ride in a sharply divided country.
Biden beats Trump in a Roller-Coaster Election
Indian-American Legislators Share Their Winning Stories
For Indian-Americans, 2020 has been quite a year in the political life of the country – they not only brought out the vote for the winning Biden-Harris ticket but have also won some considerable victories up and down the ballot. The big victory was getting the four desi representatives in the US Congress re-elected – Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi.
Over 70 Indian-American candidates had stood for public office and there were some losses and considerable gains too. Some of the winning candidates include Nima Kulkarni (KY State House, HD-40), Kesha Ram (VT, State Senate) Nikil Saval (PA, State Senate) Jeremy Cooney (NY, State Senate, SD-56), Kevin Thomas NY State Senate, District -6. Vandana Slatter (WA, State House District 48), Padma Kuppa (MI, State House 41), Jay Chaudhuri (NC, State Senate), Ravi Sandill (TX, 127th District Court Judge), Amish Shah (U.S., State House AZ-24), Jenifer Rajkumar (NY, State Assembly District 38),and Ranjeev Puri (MI State House, District 21). Their wins in the state and down ballot races shows that Indian-American politicians are working their way up, building muscle and embedding themselves in the local issues which matter most to ordinary Americans.
Indian-American Legislators Share Their Winning Stories
Indian-Americans in the Public Life of America
Meet Dr. Vivek Murthy, Neera Tanden, Rohini Kosoglu and More…
President-elect Joe Biden had pledged that his team would look like the real America – and he is staying true to his word in thoughtfully selecting a cross-section of diverse, multiracial talent representing the country’s changing demographics. There are a number of Indian-Americans chosen for the new Biden-Harris administration.
Maju Varghese, who was the CEO and Senior Advisor in the Biden-Harris campaign, has been named as Executive Director for the U.S. Presidential Inauguration Committee, and will be handling the many cogs of this giant apparatus. He is the son of immigrants from Kerala and has been on the Biden team from the start. Earlier he had served in the Obama Administration.
Meet Dr. Vivek Murthy, Neera Tanden, Rohini Kosoglu and More…
