Author: Lavina Melwani

Santosh has been married only two years when her constable husband is killed in a riot and she, a housewife, finds herself literally in his shoes, taking on his police job thanks to a compassionate scheme by the government for widows. On the job she learns the many twists and turns of the world of justice and the brutal back stories of victims

What better way to seek blessings for family and friends and for our troubled world than to start the new year with the One who creates it all? At the Satya Narayan Temple in Queens, on the first day of 2025, there was a hawan to honor the Sindhi Lord of the Sea, Jhoole Lal

  Zarna Garg is The Cure for Many Things My heart is sadly left behind in India along with my beautiful big blue sun-glasses which I forgot on Air India. I’m missing family, friends, food – even the cranky black crows and their unmusical daily crescendo! I’ve come back home to the US where things have changed dramatically overnight while I was away and sleeping. But never fear – Zarna is there to make things right! The smart, funny Zarna has a retort and a solution for everything – I saw her at Broadway’s Town Hall where the New York…

At Hanukkah, Indian-Jews remember the homeland which nurtured their faith. “India has been the only country in the world where Jews have never been oppressed or suppressed or discriminated against,” says Romiel Daniel, who is Jewish-Indian-American. Indeed, India has been nurturing home and haven for generations of Jews whose ancestors fled from persecution centuries ago. At its peak there were about 37,000 Jews living in India. “Discrimination is something that has never happened in India for 2000 years and that is something we are very proud of, and that is why we go back to India so often,” he says.

At Christmas, some beautiful images from Roberto Custodio, all created from recycled materials and old magazine images. What could be more meaningful than an article of faith regenerated from the embers of the old and the discarded?

Infant Jesus of Prague is a famous statue located in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Mal Strana, Prague. Thousands of pilgrims pay homage to the Infant of Prague each year. Claims of blessings, favors and miraculous healings have been made by many who petitioned before the Infant Jesus.
We wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and peace in the New Year.

1959 impressions on LinkedIn  – 25 Likes  – 644 views on Instagram – 33 Likes  –  Meena Kashyap Purmasir,  Tirlok Malik and 20 others like it on Facebook. 6P Vada Bagels were served at launch of Bombay-New York – A Tangled Tale of Two Cities Vada Bagel Anyone? Bombay and New York – A Tangled Tale of Two Cities New York and Bombay, two places most of us spend a lot of time talking about, dreaming about, and fantasizing about.  We’re either in New York dying to go to Bombay – or in Bombay manipulating how we can get back…

 1597 impressions  Peter Rajsingh and 18 others like it on LinkedIn Rennu Dhindsa, Sabina Himani and 50 others like it on Facebook  747 views on Instagram – 28 Likes Read comments below the story and do share your thoughts!   Turtle Walker – A Love Story for Our Times   In a world where people are pulled into the pressure cooker of life, trying to accomplish too many things – and too many things of no consequence – Turtle Walker is a small gem of a movie which takes you on one man’s very focused journey of relentlessly following and…

  Lifestyle: Messe Frankfurt -Celebrating Beauty and Sustainability on Our Planet India is a Significant Player in the Lifestyle Market   With so much unrest and chaos in the world, it is always surprising to see that an alternate world of calm exists side by side – a world that is almost surreal, a world of possibilities enabling us to think, function and operate at our best, facing all challenges. The building blocks for these places of respite and action generation are set at places like the Frankfurt Consumer Goods Fairs where the blueprints are generated by world class designers,…

Exploring the Veggie Food Trail to India Delhi, Mumbai and Bhuj A trip to India means a vegetarian food orgy! I invite you to this delicious gigantic dosa and a glass of cold chas as I eat my way through Bombay, Delhi and Bhuj in the line of duty – a veggie food assignment from the editors of Hinduism Today in Hawaii. I’ll also be blogging for Lassi with Lavina so watch out for these food fantasies. Putting on a few pounds for the entertainment and knowledge of my readers!😊Let me know of any eateries you think I should visit!#Indianfood…

  Mira Nair, Gurinder Chadha, Deepa Mehta – The Three Bhenjis in The Big Apple THREE FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! Three iconic South Asian film directors -Mira Nair, Gurinder Chadha and Deepa Mehta -all under the same roof at Asia Society was the big draw for film lovers in New York. They live on three different continents so to get these enormously busy power women actually together was a marathon task but here they were, all three of them sitting gleefully together, as if in a Delhi chaat shop. The great sorority of the Bhenji Brigade! As Rachel Cooper,…

From Nilgiri Hills to New York One Hundred Beautiful Elephants and Sabyasachi too! [dropcap]W[/dropcap]ho would have thought that on one fine morning in Manhattan you would meet a herd of 100 Indian elephants from the Nilgiris – and noted designer Sabyasachi too! This was the first day of the fabulous public art event – The Great Elephant Migration- which is taking place across the US, starting here in New York. The idea behind the whole effort is a wonderful one about sustainability and the coexistence of humans and animals. The Great Elephant Migration event in the Meatpacking District featured…

Ganesh Chaturthi – Time for New Beginnings in a Troubled World You Are Invited to Birthday Celebrations [dropcap]D[/dropcap]id you know the very first blog I wrote on Lassi with Lavina was all about Ganesha? Forget consultants, coaches, influencers and critics – He’s the one to invoke when you start something new! What better way to start something new in life than with Ganesha, the Lord of New Beginnings? Give him whichever name you choose – He is that consciousness that is within us and around us and in the very breath we take. I’ve never been able to discard a…

Tips from the Indian Consulate on Getting Home to India A Public Service Message from Lassi with Lavina   [dropcap]T[/dropcap]raveling home to India is always a delight but sometimes it involves the dreaded paperwork of renewing passports, visas and OCI cards and there’s the old belief that you need to know someone at the Indian Consulate to get things to move quickly and efficiently. Well, the good news is that it’s not so. Indeed, it’s the digital age and most things are paper free, and hopefully hassle-free. The new CG Srikant Binaya Pradhan had his first press conference with local…

  Mayor Eric Adams on National Elections, the Migrant Crisis, and New Yorkers.  A One-on-One Interview with Mayor Eric Adams Eric Adams, Mayor of New York, sat for a one-on-one interview with Lavina Melwani of Lassi with Lavina and spoke about all things New York, starting with the upcoming National Elections. [dropcap]N[/dropcap]ew York is seen as a really blue state so how important is it to get out the vote there and how can one influence the swing states? “You know, oftentimes people believe that New York City is a state that’s not in play, but every vote matters, not…

It’s India’s Independence Day – and the children are celebrating! [dropcap]H[/dropcap]appy Independence Day from Children’s Hope India and Lassi with Lavina! Watch this beautiful video of the children of CHI Prayas – it is a love song to all the Indians living abroad and remembering their homeland today. It is also a thanks to all of you who live in the US and never forget to support the health and education of vulnerable populations in India. Children’s Hope India thanks you! ❤️

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Monica Bhide Saigal talks about love, marriage and divorce and how to cope with life’s triumphs and travails