Author: Lavina Melwani

“I wanted to have a story behind the dress, and the story to point to the environmental work that we were doing.” These dresses use sustainable and innovative material, constantly pushing boundaries.” – Suzy Amis Cameron, founder of Red Carpet Green Dress Eco-friendly initiative at the Oscars

Did You Know? Lassi with Lavina’s Fact of the Day Mumbai is the richest Indian City with 46,000 Millionaires & 28 Billionaires… Well, well – the Maximum City is also the city with the maximum wealth, maximum billionaires and maximum millionaires – and that’s the maximum truth! Mumbai has become the richest Indian city with around 46,000 millionaires and 28 billionaires, and a combined wealth of US$ 820 billion, according to a report by New World Wealth quoted on ibef.org Delhi follows next with 23,000 millionaires and 18 billionaires, and Bengaluru with 7,700 millionaires, eight billionaires. The full list is…

‘Growing Up Smith’ will surely hit a sweet spot – almost every Indian immigrant child has a memory of being the only brown-skinned student in the class, the one with the unpronounceable name and a lunch box from which emanated curry smells. ‘Growing Up Smith’ is a love poem to all those little kids who struggled to become ‘American’ and tried to straddle two cultures.

Strolling through the Chocolate Show in Manhattan (and munching as I went) I thought I had seen it all – chocolates with a hundred different flavors, chili chocolates, chocolates mixed with bacon, even chocolate lotions, lip glosses and potions. – until I came to the most unexpected – camel milk chocolates!

4902 people reached on Lassi with Lavina  Pooja Vishwakrma, Aeayat Khan and 71 others  Like it on Lassi with Lavina Barack Obama, Thank you for the Memories… [dropcap]W[/dropcap]e were all together when you pulled off that first victory, that wondrous miracle. It showed us that America had a vast heart, there was place for reconciliation, for change, for new beginnings  – and hope. We smiled a lot, even when things were tough. Together we would pull through all those nightmarish days, days of crisis and financial problems. [dropcap] W[/dropcap]e had got so accustomed to your voice, your smile, your…

Published articles by Lavina Melwani in The Hindu, Scroll, Quartz, Outlook, Beliefnet and other publications.

Once upon a time there was a young Indian-Canadian porn star who decided to reinvent herself and see if she could make it in Bollywood, India’s vaulted film industry where heroines are chaste and where even a kiss is forbidden. Meet Sunny Leone!

Some of the most poignant testimony of a culture in flux is Thomas Kelly’s ethnographic work of marginalized, landless communities. He has lived with the Badi people where the young women have had to sell themselves to keep their families out of poverty. Once they were singers and dancers and entertainers at weddings and other ceremonies – now these women have to use their bodies as a source of income.

Using a Gates grant, Kelly looked into the lives of fallen angels in various parts of Asia, from ‘maalish’ or massage boys in hotels to sex worker communities, analyzing what drove them to this work and how they could be helped by the organizations.

For immigrants in New York, there’s a particular comfort in being in the multicultural capital of America under the glow of Lady Liberty’s lamp. The city and state government has come up in support of all immigrants. “If anyone feels that they are under attack, I want them to know that the state of New York – the state that has the Statue of Liberty in its harbor – is their refuge,” wrote NY Governor Andrew Cuomo in an open letter to all New Yorkers.

Disney’s ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’ is produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake and directed by Lasse Hallström; it has the music of maestro AR Rahman and the beauty of South of France; it’s a delightful comedy with enough gourmet food in it to get the mouths of all foodies watering, with Manish Dayal as the young culinary genius Hassan.
In this film Dayal gets to interact with topnotch stalwarts like the remarkable Helen Mirren – and the equally wonderful Om Puri, both embroiled in quite a rowdy Indo-French food fight. A report on the special tribute to Om Puri at the Museum of the Moving Image.

The scourge of cancer, the threat of a damaged environment, poverty and joblessness are some of the problems which endanger our world. However, instead of tales of gloom and despair, we share with you three wonderful stories of hope for our small planet.

Meet young entrepreneurs, all from California, who have come up with creative solutions to problems with their bold out-of-the-box thinking.

The dawn of 2017 – it’s the time for resolutions and advice from the experts! So here are New Year tips from Mumbai! No, not from the city but from the canine. This little bit of fluff, a Havenese, is as tiny as the megacity is big.
Mumbai’s philosophy of life is something we should all emulate – apart from chasing pigeons, that is. So usually you have Influencers and Movers and Shakers giving you their tips about living the perfect life in the new year. Well, let me tell you something – we all would be better individuals and have a better 2017 if we were all a lot more like Mumbai, the Philosopher-Dog.

‘Lion’ is a wonderful film which shows us that even the most nightmarish journeys can end well and if there’s a will, there’s a way to recover the past, to return home. Based on the compelling true story of Saroo Brierley who was lost as a child, the film tracks the journey the five-year-old must undertake alone in a relentless, uncaring world.

Would you be willing to give up your life, your family and your name? Would you renounce love, marriage and parenthood forever? Could you live with the prospect of never seeing your father and mother again?

Bhavesh Choksi, 27, has done exactly that.

This high-achieving young Indian-American, forsaking all, has taken ‘diksha’, monastic vows, and is on his way to becoming a swami in BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a socio-spiritual Hindu organization. For those of us still embroiled in the trappings of the material world, this decision can be wrenching. Breaking all ties with his past life and giving up even the smallest of luxuries, he is turning his back on what most people fight tooth and nail for. Bhavesh is following his dream, walking into a joyous light which most of us cannot even comprehend. He is obtaining ‘moksha’ and guiding others to find it too.

Moumita Pal, Nisha Gain and 222 others like it on Lassi with Lavina FB page 13,281 people reached on Lassi with Lavina FB page ‘Dangal’ Review: Aamir Khan’s Wrestle with Society [dropcap]T[/dropcap]o show ‘Dangal’ to any young girl is to hold up a mirror to her of her own potential. It is a story in which our young heroines don’t need rich, handsome princes in order to fulfill their destiny – they just nail success through their own sweat and struggles.  It is about carving your own future and not letting society tell you otherwise.  We can let our girls…

New York’s beautiful Gracie Mansion is done up with all the brightness and baubles of the festive season and the apple cider and cookies are laid out – and you’re invited! So bundle up the kids and enjoy a tour of the First House. Just remember to reserve your free tickets at the link as you will need them to enter.

She’s out of sight but not out of our minds – we’re talking of none other than the bubbly, ever vibrant superstar Madhuri Dixit. Well, here are some nuggets from a brief but fun interview she gave to me during her New York visit. What comes through is her warmth and easiness as she adapts avidly to a very un-Bollywood lifestyle.

1384 people reached on  Lassi with Lavina FB page Lassi with Lavina Guide to Upcoming Events – India Kaleidoscope Powerful, Regional  Cinema at Your Doorstep… [dropcap]N[/dropcap]ew Yorkers are really fortunate – not only do they get to see mainstream Bollywood films at the theaters but also catch several film festivals with the rare and independent films from all parts of India. This month the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) and The India Center Foundation are launching India Kaleidoscope, which gives film-goers a chance to check out the best of regional, independent films. For years beautiful regional languages lay silent on…

How many Indias are there?

As many as the eyes that perceive it.

Each visitor sees a different India, bringing in their own experiences to the encounter. British photographer Clive Limpkin has a lively new book ‘India Exposed: the Sub-Continent A-Z’ which shows the results of his brush with India. His camera, however, returns time and again to what really moves him: the human connection. As he writes: “When friends ask for one good reason to visit, I offer them a billion – it’s the people.”

For most Indian immigrants the two most mouth-watering words in the English language are “Indian Food”. Last summer I enjoyed a great culinary journey back to India: I visited Anjappar, a noted ‘military hotel’ in Chennai famous for its non-vegetarian Chettinad cooking , and also the iconic Sarvanna Bhavan beloved for its dosas, uttappams and other vegetarian delights. I next ate my favorite street foods at Kailash Parbhat, my family’s favorite Sindhi eatery in the by-lanes of South Mumbai. Final stop was of course the classic Moti Mahal in my hometown of Delhi where I’d first tasted the divine makhani murg or butter chicken in my childhood.

Yet you’ll be surprised to know that I visited all these treasure troves of regional cuisine without ever boarding a flight or stepping out of America!