Without language, there is emptiness, a void. Each of us has a unique memory of our earliest words, the numbers, nursery rhymes. In invoking those we get a word picture of our childhood, our deep joys, our irrational fears. The language that we speak gradually becomes a layering, a part of us, an extension of everything we do. ‘In Other Words’ is Jhumpa Lahiri’s first book in Italian.
Author: Lavina Melwani
Lavina Melwani
Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who writes for several international publications. Twitter@lavinamelwani & @lassiwithlavina Sign up for the free newsletter to get your dose of Lassi!
Lassi with Lavina Guide to Upcoming Events: 2016 Asia Week Celebrates the Best of Asian Art [dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith the new year lying ahead of us as an exciting blank slate to be filled in, it’s good to know that you can pencil in some exciting art activities in the month of March! Yes, for all you Asian art lovers, March 10-19 is Asia Week, with its big celebration of Asian Art. A recent press cocktail announced that 46 international galleries and 5 auction houses – Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle New York, iGavel, and Sotheby’s – will once again be…
On International Women’s Day, we share this wonderful inspiring video from Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy which shows that men can be women’s best friends and strongest allies. It is with such simple, quiet stories of courage where people do what’s right, where men and women encourage each other and share the traumas of the world that a viable way of life, a decent society can emerge.
Maha Shivaratri – “Himself creates. Himself preserves. Himself destroys.”
For millions of Hindus Mahasivaratri is a very meaningful day, a day of oneness with the Supreme Being. Why do Hindus observe it? What is the Sivalinga? And do believers fast or feast on this day?
If you’ve ever wondered what the different rituals signify, the editors of Hinduism Today share an all-comprehensive report with readers of Lassi with Lavina, dispelling the myths and clarifying the power behind this observance.
Manning the cash register at a 711 or a gas station is no laughing matter – especially at night when the crazies and the desparadoes come out. Many an immigrant tale of striving and dreams has ended in a hail of gunshots. Here is one fiercely brave Indian immigrant who changed the outcome – but was she foolhardy or just plain lucky?
9786 people reached on FB Lassi with Lavina Atul Tolia, Jyoti Marwah and 6 others Like it. Lassi with Lavina Video of the Day Priyanka Chopra in her many avatars… Few of us would have thought that a Bollywood actress would one day be on the Academy Awards red carpet in Hollywood, coolly bantering with an HBO Asia reporter – in Hindi! The full of surprises Priyanka Chopra who’s pulled off so many tough things from beauty queen to Bollywood superstar to pop performer to super model to the lead in a hot new TV series, is capable of doing…
Are you all Oscar-ed out with the talk of black, white and brown, who said what, and who wore what? It’s been a real blitz on social media with the coverage of the 88th Academy Awards but one thing is certain – desis were really tickled to finally see South Asians at the Oscars. Yes, there was an Oscar for Asif Kapadia’s ‘Amy’ and for Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s ‘Girl in the River’, and Sanjay Patel’s short animated film ‘Sanjay’s Super Team’ was nominated for an Oscar.
Looking to do something fun and rewarding with the whole family this weekend? Check out Nagesh Kukunoor’s ‘Dhanak’ which won the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International jury at the Berlin International Film Festival
Wonder what Charles Dickens would have thought of this Bollywood adaptation of his work? ‘Great Expectations’ which I read while in high school has now been brought to the big screen by Abhishek Kapoor and stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif and Tabu.
Who is the Indian Bollywood star with a huge mainstream fan following in Spain, Germany and France? Amitabh Bachchan? No. Aishwarya Rai? No. Shah Rukh Khan? No. It’s Sally Bollywood!
Who would have thought a time would come when there would be a Bollywood movie made by a totally non-Indian team, and its heroine Sally Bollywood would become a super-star with French, German and Spanish fans, her own series of books, stationery line, a comic strip, a luggage and textile line. WATCH THE VIDEOS!
The ritual of New Wave Indie films from India continues at the Museum of the Moving Image – so keep the last Sunday of the month free for some must-sees!
The phone line crackled across the Atlantic Ocean. I was in New York, and renowned artist Sakti Burman was in his country house in Anthe, near Toulouse, 650 km from his home in Paris. Thanks to satellite communications, the dialogue was as crystal clear as if we were sitting in the same room. Burman, 74, told me his 13-year-old grandson was with him, while his wife and the other grandchildren had gone for their daily walk.
Faculty members Eugene Friesen and Annette Philip flank A.R. Rahman during final bows at the end of the October 24 concert. Performers from the Berklee Indian Ensemble stand in the back row. Will You be the Next A.R. Rahman? The Next A.R. Rahman? That may seem impossible to imagine but wouldn’t you like to walk in his footsteps? Now, there’s a chance to be anointed by the Master Musician himself for a scholarship at Berkelee, to get your musical career started. Yes, the most yearned for dreams may come true – read on! A. R. Rahman Scholarship at Berklee [dropcap]W[/dropcap]orld-renowned…
Prashant Bhargava 1973-2015
Deeply sad to share this news – it’s a loss for all of us. Today the world has lost a wonderful human being and filmmaker – Prashant Bhargava, 42. We remember his brilliant filmmaking, his great potential and his unfinished stories. He gave us many gifts, from ‘Patang’ to ‘Radhe Radhe’ and the last, ‘Ammaji’ – a small meditation on the power of love.
The aspirations behind ‘Patang’ made everyone a part of Prashant Bhargava’s world, his humanity and his caring.
In this exhibition you get to see the unclothed form in all its avatars – sensual, erotic, aged, sorrowing, even in anguish. The nudes takes many forms, with inspiration drawn from the ancient sculptures, bazaar pin-up calendars as well as those done by many artists of nude models in their early years as part of their art school training.
Duru Massand, Slade Malhotra, Amrita Ghosh Douglas and 21 others like this. 6530 people reached on FB page – Lassi with Lavina ‘Bajirao Mastani’ – Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Labor of Love [dropcap]C[/dropcap]oming out after a screening of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’, I encountered two middle-aged women. One of them said to the other, ” I’m so drained. I’ve cried so much – and now we have to get back to real life!” Yes, your own real life is far away and forgotten as you wade into the emotional high drama of ‘Bajirao Mastani’ the tempestuous passion play of the Maratha ruler…
Is Bollywood growing grey cells? A conscience? More empathy? Just this year I’ve watched a whole lot of films which made me feel that Indian cinema, usually flippantly boxed together as Bollywood, is maturing, developing a heart and a soul.
In recent times there have been thought-provoking films like ‘Court’, ‘Killa’, ‘Titli’, ‘Fandry’ and ‘Shahid’ which have made you mull over social issues long after you left the theater, in the manner of old powerful game-changers like ‘Garam Hawa’, ‘Ankur’ and ‘Manthan’.
In the ever expanding refugee crisis, we are mourning many things – lost lives, lost freedoms, lost homelands but also we mourn lost childhoods which can never be reclaimed.
These photographs taken by international photographers for the UNICEF contest shine a light on the real cost, the real damage of wars and international conflicts.
School, play and family are all mundane things we take for granted but the ever-escalating refugee crisis ensures that these become luxuries, tastes which a child may never experience.
The camera has had a long love affair with the gorgeous fashion model Pressy Nathan, catching her every nuance, every glance, every smile. And now, the tables have turned – Pressy is having a love affair with the camera, having turned fashion photographer!
Lassi with Lavina reads and reads noted publications and unknown blogs, obscure magazines and news zines – so you don’t have to! Here, ferreted and gleaned are some of the buzz stories from the web – some hopeful, some sad, some funny – but always telling us a little about our changing world.