Author: Lavina Melwani

Artist Jeena Raghavan had her first solo show in New York and displayed her new works which are suffused with her East-West experiences.

The special attraction of Bollywood at its best is the star charisma of its lead performers – Hrithik Roshan & Deepika Padukone in ‘Fighter’

If Thanksgiving is a festival of gratitude, then Indians have been preparing for it their whole lives.

In India, take a walk down the Mumbai waterfront in the early morning mist, and you see ordinary citizens quietly feeding the fish and the birds. Their daily day doesn’t really begin until the deities in their home shrine have been venerated with fresh flowers and offered prasadam.
It is only after eating a little of this blessed offering does the family sit down to their meals. Many remember to keep aside a portion of the food for a hungry person or the birds. It is all about sharing.

Indians have whole-heartedly embraced this American festival because it is inherently about what Indians believe in – togetherness, family and gratitude to the almighty. Thanksgiving is also about expressing gratitude for making it in a new world.

Ramaavan – the musical is a unique take on the epic Ramayana

NYC Marathon Takes over New York City!

New immigrants in ethnic enclaves tend to have a stronger support system but once they fly the coop into the prestigious suburbs and into Americanization, there is a chasm of distances to overcome between friends. We are monetarily richer but are we poorer in friends?

Recipes from an adventurous home cook takes you on a journey through India

The New York waterfront is a secret sanctuary away from the din of the city, a place to muse and to meditate, embraced by the open sky and the flowing river

The Mayor’s Diwali Reception at Gracie Mansion on Oct 17, 2023

With the upcoming holiday season begins the Indian community’s tryst with tradition in America. Both Garba and Dandiya Raas, folk dances, have found their way to America and everyone from heart surgeons to hip-hop kids are taking to the large dandiya raas arenas during the festival of Navrati which heralds a season of upcoming festivals from Dusshera to Diwali. How has the interaction with America changed Garba and Dandiya Raas?

They spin round and round, going faster and faster, but never breaking the sacred circle, as they clap their hands rhythmically, dancing around the Garba or earthen pot. They smile as they twirl around for in these nine nights they are celebrating the Goddess that is enshrined in all of us.

This hugely empowering dance is called the Garba and it is the centerpiece of the celebration of the Hindu festival of Navratri or Nine Nights.

CHI Gala 2023 was all about people and the power of giving with Grammy nominated Chandrika Tandon, the Young People’s Choir of NY and surprise guest Mayor Eric Adams of New York who gave a powerful speech.

Our Communities Women Achievers Shine at BAPS – Festival of Inspirations [dropcap]A[/dropcap]s a journalist dedicated to covering the Indian Diaspora and documenting the struggles and successes of our community for several decades, I was content to keep writing in anonymity, with people only knowing me by my faceless byline. Now in this age of social media things have changed. So I now step out to be recognized with other women achievers, for my writing in Lassi with Lavina and several international publications over the years and for being one of the co-founders behind Children’s Hope India, a non-profit dedicated to…

Naeem Khan brings a touch of India to his 2023 Collection at NYFW

Mahatma Gandhi, with his simple khadi loincloth and chappals, was the absolute antithesis of the avid consumer, yet the luxury brand Montblanc has chosen to honor his memory with a gold pen priced at $23,000.

Ben Kingsley nothing is ever forgotten or lost – just filed away for the future.
“I am fascinated by people. I love watching them. I do have a vast memory bank and I can access them,” says Kingsley. “It’s a very lucky gift that I have, being able to absorb things.

International foods at the Vegan Night Market in Central Park on Tuesdays!

When the writer Gita Mehta was growing up in Orissa, a small ancient image of Ganesha was unearthed in a mound of dirt as the foundations of their family home were being laid. “I’ve always kept the Ganesha which came out of my parents’ home,” confided Mehta when I interviewed her once in New York. “That is the one image that goes with me wherever I go. He came out of the Indian soil so to me he’s like an umbilical cord that connects me to India. So it doesn’t matter where I live – he is my India.” A lovely book from 2009, to check out this Ganesh Chathurthi.

Chandrika Tandon’s new album Ammu’s Treasures has Ganesh chants celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi