Author: Lavina Melwani

The Happiness Rickshaw is guaranteed to make you smile. It makes you happy even as you spread the happiness factor across continents

Wouldn’t you want to have a seat at the U.S. premiere of The Brawler (Mukkabaaz) by acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap? How about Pahuna, a film produced by actress Priyanka Chopra? These are two of the eight films at the India Kaleidoscope Film Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York

The Children’s Hope 25th anniversary gala honored Chandrika Tandon and Bob Roth for excellence, & hosted Mira Nair and her Broadway bound show Monsoon Wedding

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard shares a message about victory over challenges this Diwali. “Just as Lord Rama faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles, we as a people, face immense challenges—whether it’s war, poverty, disease, or countless other adversities.”

7316 people reached on Lassi with Lavina FB page Doli Sen, Sagufta Parveen and 130 others like it on Lassi with Lavina  FB page   459 views on LinkedIn – 9 Likes Lassi with Lavina Guide to Upcoming Events: CHI Gala – Monsoon Wedding and More! [dropcap]N[/dropcap]o need to bring your umbrellas but It is the 25th anniversary gala of Children’s Hope – so what better way to celebrate than with a full-fledged joyous Monsoon Wedding? It’s the wedding of the year and to officiate it, there’s none more qualified than the feisty Mira Nair who brings…

ow does a 21st century, modern Indian transform himself into a 19th century British Raj clerk, a servant of Queen Victoria?

In ‘Victoria and Abdul’ the story of an unusual friendship between Queen Victoria and her Indian servant Abdul Karim, this was the challenge for Ali Fazal, boy from Lucknow, Bollywood actor from Mumbai who had done a cameo in ‘Fast and Furious’.

2723 people reached on Lassi with Lavina Jeeva Patro, Pinky Niki and 94 others  like it on Lassi with Lavina FB page 178 Views on LinkedIn – 3 Likes Asian Art Week – South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art at Christie’s A Gaitonde Canvas Goes for over $ 4 Million… [dropcap]I[/dropcap]t certainly pays to hold on to your Master Artists! Untitled, by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde painted in 1996, went for $ 4,092,500 – the second highest price paid for the artist. An advocate of Zen Buddhism, Gaitonde saw painting as a spiritual endeavor and not something to be rushed, either…

Well, this nice middle-class girl from Bombay did follow the road less traveled. It led her all the way to New York City, the school of hard knocks, the elusive hunt for success and happiness. Did she find what she was looking for?

There have been many celebrations for India’s big 70th year of Independence but perhaps one of the liveliest – and most delicious – was at the United Nations, organized by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN. When you have an army of skilled Indian dancers and musicians and an arsenal of spicy Indian street foods, how can you not succeed?

.’Viceroy’s House’ – a screening in NYC. The evening was organized by Indo-American Arts Council at IFC Center and the celebs included Writer-Director Gurinder Chadha, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi, Samrat Chakrabarti and Tanveer Ghani,

It seems wholly appropriate that Grammy-nominated artist Chandrika Tandon has released the first track of her new album Shivoham – the Quest, in August, the month of Ganesh Chaturthi, the birth of the beloved God of New Beginnings.

India’s Freedom at Midnight – Sixty Years later. This piece was written in 2007. Now it’s a decade later – India’s 70th anniversary of Independence… How do Indian-Americans connect to this momentous event? [dropcap]I[/dropcap]magine this: Lord Ganesha, beaming benignly, with a fierce tiger perched on one hand – and a cell phone in the other! This is the photograph on the cover of Shashi Tharoor’s new book, “The Elephant, The Tiger and The Cell Phone: Reflections on India, The Emerging 21st Century Power.” An apt image of India in its 60th year of independence – roaring and rearing to go,…

How do you create sweet things and also sweeten life for others? Ask Surbhi Sahni – the mithaiwalli of New York. A Michelin-starred chef, she recently became the pro-bono Director of the Tiffin Project operated by the nonprofit organization SAPNA NYC through which low-income South Asian immigrant women train for marketable jobs in the culinary industry.

These are the littlest citizens and they seem to have a real hold on President Obama, and he on them. Look at these charming images clicked by Peter Souza, the Chief Official White House photographer and you’re bound to smile. The most powerful man in the world and Commander-in-chief of a mighty nation can baby-talk, snuggle and hug and cuddle and exchange high-fives with the best of them.

3638 people reached on Lassi with Lavina Nandita Godbole, Shagun Mehandru and 42 others Roshni Aa-Mom, Pratibha Manandhar, Lavina S Bhojwani, Thomas Vellaringattu and 6 others like it on FB Lassi with Lavina Lassi with Lavina among the 36 Platinum Blogs on the 2017 list of Indian Top Blogs. Indian Top Blogs is the Directory of Best Indian Blogs in English and has been published every year since 2011. It was released on June 1, 2017.  Here is the list, the Platinum List of Indian Blogs in English:  We present you this eclectic list of outstanding…

f you’re a woman, ‘Lipstick Under my Burkha’ will certainly speak to you, no matter whether you’re a big city girl or a small town woman. After all, we all may not have worn physical burkhas, but nearly every woman has had to wear a mental burkha – a metaphorical confinement, a cover to who she really is.

1897 people reached on Lassi with Lavina Rita Sharma, Nita Anand and Tej Gursahani like it on FB  Lassi with Lavina 740 views on LinkedIn – 9 Likes Lassi with Lavina Guide to Upcoming Events – IAAC’s Seductive Summer of Dance [dropcap]E[/dropcap]ver wondered what makes New York City so special? It’s the unmatched opportunity to see the best of all cultures in the most unexpected places. The Indo-American Arts Council once again brings the joy of Indian dance to a populace which is otherwise engaged in rushing to catch the subway, rushing to chores, rushing to work. Yes, it’s…

Indeed, the maharajas had an appetite for every kind of jewelry: when the British refused to let them wear western-style crowns, they simply wore tiaras over their turbans!

Once in a blue moon, these stars descend to earth and actually come and mingle – somewhat – with the common man, the diehard fan. This happened in the hot month of July, when IIFA came to New York and New Jersey with a whole gaggle of stars from Salman Khan to Katrina Kaif to Alia Bhatt.

Jyotsna Singh, grand-daughter of the Maharaja of Patiala, recalls a bygone time: “Naniji was exceedingly beautiful and at a young age she was married to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and had two daughters Elsie (my mother) and Angela (her younger sister). The English names were given by the English governesses who could not pronounce the Indian names of the children. And there were a lot – 52 siblings, a pack of cards my mother would tell me…..Though the mothers lived at the palace and spent time with the children, the children were really brought up by the governesses. My grandfather lived in the main Motibagh Palace with his wives and his older children.”