Author: Lavina Melwani

Six of the eight winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee had used a coaching service called SpellPundit and the result was big success.

V]ikas Khanna’s life has been no bowl of gulab jamuns – he was born in a middle-class home in Amritsar with a club foot. He struggled with his disability  and had to overcome bullying by the other children. His is the classic story of the immigrant, coming to America with little money and big dreams.  

I came to the US in the 80’s, as an immigrant via India, Hong Kong and Africa, and landed in Astoria, a gritty Greek neighborhood in Queens. I fell in love with the prosaic neighborhood with its heart of gold, and it was here that I discovered my own private America.The part which never fails to amaze me is that when I take the N subway from Manhattan to Astoria – glancing at my fellow passengers I see a virtual United Nations – Latinos, Chinese, South Asians, Blacks, whites all wedged together, sitting side by side on the Great American Journey. If Lady Liberty was to see them, she would definitely shed a tear – because this is exactly what America is all about. And on this day after the Fourth of July, with the firecrackers still ringing in our ears – we can say amen to that.

Yesterday is Danny Boyle’s sweet, surreal summer fable about the Beatles and stars Himesh Patel and Lily James with Kate McKinnon & Ed Sheeran.

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

Age is just a number! Shelly Chopra Dhar is all about breaking stereotypes. She proves that everyone has one life to live and can do anything with it. Dhar, 62, is the debutante director of ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga’ and attended film school only when her fourth and youngest child was in middle school.

Mintu Pandher, a Sikh Indian-American, has been very successful in the American trucking industry

The end of 377 has changed life for the LGBTQ community in India – take a look at a gathering in New York to find the roots of this movement

Madhur Jaffrey, & Priya Krishna discuss the arc of Indian food in America, & their new books – Instantly Indian Cookbook and Indian-ish at IAAC’s event at DAG

Tulsi Gabbard, 38, outspoken, thoughtful and at the same time controversial, is certainly a viable candidate. She has been the US Congresswoman from Hawaii since 2013 and is also a soldier, having served in both Iraq and Kuwait.

Trump’s Build America Visa: Non-Starter or Game-Changer? [dropcap]F[/dropcap]or HI B visa holders, recent months have been stressful ones – they don’t know if their glass is half-empty or half-full or totally empty  as they wait to hear the latest from the White House on their future in America. Should they be putting a down payment on their dream house in America, which has become like home – or should they be packing their bags for Canada? Life was complex enough for many dealing with H1 B and H4 visas without a new wrinkle being added in to the immigration high…

10,109 people reached on Lassi with Lavina FB page – 586 engagements Vinita Ramnani, Milan Devjani, Shagun Mehandru and 21 others like it on FB  Children’s Hope India Raises $ 50,000 at Spring Luncheon [dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen 260 women get together, what can be better than getting inspired, enjoying shared laughter over common experiences, shopping to support emerging women entrepreneurs – and at the same time helping the girl child to get a great education? All this happened on May 8, 2019 at the much anticipated Children’s Hope India Spring Luncheon at the Carltun in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, Long Island.…

Sometimes ten years can pass in the blink of an eye! Hard to believe, but it was a decade ago that social entrepreneur Meera Gandhi launched The Giving Back Foundation to uplift and empower girls.

This year women of Indian heritage had a fine showing at the Sundance Film Festival and it was the first time that two of the biggest sales were of films created by desi women.

On Father’s Day, what gift do you give to the perfect dad? Two creative teens give you the perfect solution!

Many NRIs have supported the re-election of PM Narendra Modi, and the OFBJP has been very active in drumming up support among the Indian community.

Vishwesh Bhatt  become the first Indian-American to win the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for best chef from the South, after five nominations as finalist in the past.

Nina Duvuluri and Reshma Saujani – both are the daughters of Indian immigrants, both have encountered racism and stereotypes and both have had to overcome challenges to forge new paths for Indian women. They are warriors in the field of tech and STEM studies for women.

Walking in Times Square, you suddenly realize something strange – everyone is taking selfies! What is it about this part of New York that makes you want to record your visit for posterity? It’s like the Taj Mahal –  you feel it looks so much more meaningful when you’re standing in front of it!

We all love stories and cinema is the ultimate story-teller which spins magical tales of love and loss, set in unimagined realms. Sometimes cinema is a mirror of society, sometimes a celebration of the imagination and the invincibility of the human spirit.  It is always the magician which draws us into people’s lives