Author: Lavina Melwani

Calling all Yogis and would-be yogis! International Day of Yoga is around the corner and it’s time to stretch into a new lifestyle! There are activities in all parts of the world but New York has some very special events in the beautiful Battery Park.

The first thing I spotted was rows and rows of footwear lined up outside the door, neatly stacked. I dutifully shed my sandals too, and going inside found an Indian-style behthak in progress with silk cushions scattered on the woven carpet.
Arts lovers, some with babies in tow, were already sitting cross-legged, facing the empty expanse of a large wooden floor. Musicians were tuning up their instruments, in anticipation.

The space is the Anamika Navatman Studios, an innovative organization for South Asian Arts and the production was Bhinna Pravaaha: Memories of a Performing Artist – Maya Kulkarni. This is a first undertaking to record and pay tribute to the noted artists of the past.

Narasimha, the mighty God Vishnu in his half man-half lion avatar, sits with his frontal arms relaxed in meditation, his two rear arms bearing the chakra disc and the conch shell, which is now missing. Around his tautly crossed legs one is amazed to find a yogapatta – or yoga strap!
For many contemporary practitioners of yoga who consider the yoga strap to be a part of their daily routine in a studio, this brilliantly executed Chola period bronze sculpture is an eye-opener. It shows that not only did yoga originate in India but goes all the way back to the Hindu gods.

He breaks into people’s homes. And if that’s not outrageous enough, he even opens their refrigerators and checks out the contents! He makes middle-aged Indian men remember their youth – and young Indian kids conquer the world.

So who is Rahul Walia and what does he really do?

Jacques Torres is certainly building up good karma! After all, what can be more life-affirming than making humanity happy by feeding it chocolate every day? Torres, who is affectionately known as New York’s Mr. Chocolate, creates a massive 200 tons of artisan high-end chocolate in his 40,000 square foot factory in Brooklyn.

12057 people reached on Lassi with Lavina FB page Shivanya Singh, Pratiksha Chavan and 52 others  like it on Lassi with Lavina FB page Priyanka Chopra’s Legs and Other World Issues Terror, refugee crisis, hunger, environmental chaos: The world is going to the dogs and yet Twitter is all a-twitter over – Priyanka’s legs! Should she have met the Indian prime minister Modi with her legs fully exposed? Should she have perhaps worn trousers or a saree or a Punjabi suit to camouflage the truth – that she has legs?  Somehow, the trolls on social media just cannot…

Faith in a higher power infiltrates all of life in India. When things are tough or challenging, you see God is at every corner. There are countless ways spirituality merges into all aspects of life from small roadside shrines to massive temples; how nothing begins without the invocation to Ganesha, be it a new store, a new film or just a school examination.

4551 people reached on Lassi with Lavina   Piya Thakur, Megha Megha and 67 others like it on Lassi with Lavina 2744 views on LinkedIn & 17 likes Baywatch – Summer Fun in the Sun – And Priyanka Chopra too! [dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is a saga of beach action, well-sculpted bodies and beautiful babes. If you are a follower of the original Baywatch TV series you’ll know this movie won’t change your life or solve life’s pressing problems but will certainly while away a summer afternoon! It’s popcorn-induced voyeurism at its best as you oogle the great bodies, gorgeous looks and fabulous…

The gallery at the Rubin Museum in Manhattan is hushed with silent screams, copious tears, with catastrophic events as they happened, with real life receding into the realm of the past. Witnesses from the present watch as Mahatma Gandhi lies fasting, shrinking into himself with concerned followers all around him; they watch hundreds huddled on the refugee trains from Pakistan to India; they are at Gandhi’s funeral with inconsolable masses flooding the landscape.

‘Wordsmith’ – I like the feel of the word, its heft. It has echoes of blacksmith, silversmith, goldsmith – someone hardy and dedicated, working with raw material over fire, shaping it and transforming it into something which didn’t exist before.

Shah Rukh Khan, actor, producer and activist, recently gave a TED talk – smart, witty and life-affirming.

Who is Mac Duggal? You could say he’s the world-famous designer you don’t know anything about – although Americans from celebrities to prom queens swear by his creations.

4150 people reached on FB Lassi with Lavina page Opening Night at the New York Indian Film festival 2017 [dropcap]F[/dropcap]ilm fans came out in full force for the opening night of the New York Indian Film Festival, the oldest and most reputed South Asian cinema events. They were drawn by the tantalizing prospect of being the first (and only) people to see ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’. This was the New York premiere of a controversial film which has been banned in India, and hence was doubly enticing. Alankrita Shrivastava, the outspoken director of the film was there, along with one…

dmit it – sometimes you just want to run away from mundane real life!

Well, here’s the perfect antidote, the perfect escape route… you get to follow four feisty Indian women and their secret desires, meet a famous sibling pair of filmmakers, encounter the truth about the controversial politico Arvind Kejriwal, come face to face with Satyajit Ray’s fascinating detective Feluda and check out two of your favorite stars who are picking up the megaphone and turning director! You even get to see the life story of a porn star turned Bollywood actor!

‘For Here or To Go?’ is the anxiety-driven roller coaster ride of H1 B visa holders in America as they wait to find out where home and their life is in uncertain times.

India is the land of many cultures, many people – and many foods. Vikas Khanna’s ‘Utsav’ captures the many festivals of India and the unique dishes associated with each religion and region. Here’s a chance to experiment with different dishes and celebrate all the wonderful festivals of India!

“As creative people, I think we get tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. I’m a firm believer in the idea that excellence exists everywhere,’ says Antonio Ciongoli, director of Eidos, whose Spring 2017 menswear collection is inspired by Jaipur in India, and who used all Indian models in his NY collection.

Ritesh Batra proves himself adept at distilling people’s lives, no matter what their background. He captures, as in his previous film ‘The Lunchbox’, the minutiae of ordinary lives superbly, the subtle touches, a glance, a gesture. He manages to convey the complexities of the novel in the short span of the movie

‘From Today I have No Future’ – A solo show by M. Pravat at Aicon Gallery in Manhattan is almost a blueprint for loss, life and living – it is about streetscapes and mindscapes, of memories and the past but also about re-imagination, and new layerings added to the scaffolding of what we remember.

Sometimes ads do get it right such as this United Colors of Benetton one which touches upon equal rights for women. Sometimes images convey what words alone cannot, and sometimes commercials can sell more than clothes or jewelry – they can promote ideals and ideas.