Author: Lavina Melwani

(Ashok Amritraj seen here with Dustin Hoffman on the sets of Moonlight Mile)
When Ashok Amritraj was growing up in Chennai, he saw the Hollywood film ‘Ben Hur’ and was mesmerized. Watching Charlton Heston in that huge epic, he was hooked on to cinema forever. So it was particularly sweet, when decades later, as a big Hollywood producer, he was awarded a plaque at the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences by none other than Charlton Heston himself.

Whether it’s the California text books decision or the passage of the Congressional Diwali Resolution, these are not free gifts which have been dropped into the palms of Indian-Americans but rather hard-won victories by advocates, including a band of young second-generation Indian Americans of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF).

Check out this scenario: you’re in a new neighborhood, you’re hungry and don’t know where to go. You don’t want to overspend and you want to ensure that the restaurant you visit is not over-crowded. Well, if you have a cell-phone with you, the magic word is “Buzz’d!” This enterprising service started by entrepreneurs Nihal Mehta and Deepen Shah makes sure you get the most out of your dining experience.

Would you like to go to a birthday party? A 94-year-old’s very special birthday party? Should I add – M.F. Husain’s 94th birthday party?

With a birthday cake decorated with his famous horses and the iconic artist himself showcasing his latest work – a grand 45 by 13 feet canvas which chronicles 9 decades of his life – it was a must-see, must-be-at event.

In the heart of Chelsea in New York stands a bountiful bulwark and anchor of Eastern spirituality, a treasure trove of hundreds of Himalayan artifacts, as peaceful and inspiring as a Buddhist temple. This is the Rubin Museum of Art, started just four years ago by the noted philanthropists and collectors, Donald and Shelley Rubin.

“I am 29 years old and I live at home with my folks…Wooh hoo! I’m getting lucky every night…home cooked meals, my laundry gets washed and they’re arranging dates for me left right and centre. It doesn’t get any luckier than that!” So says Sanjay Gupta – no, not the CNN superstar – but the one who runs his parents’ corner store in New Zealand, home to about 4.4 million people – and 40 million sheep!

She may have thousands of fans but Bollywood star Preity Zinta is a diehard fan of – New York City!

She comes in to New York so often that it’s like a second home to her. She says, “It is my favorite city in the world because a) it’s one city that never sleeps. b) Its a city that can swallow you and you can disappear in it, which is fantastic. c) It’s so diverse and every time I come back so many things have changed about it.”

Ganesh Barriya is a young rag picker from the Ahmedabad slums who’s donned headphones in a recording studio to perform on Global Lingo, a cool CD which is featured on I-tunes. Indeed, for several children in the slums, be it in India or Nicaragua, this has become a real life scenario, thanks to Project Ahimsa which has opened up a whole new world of music education for them.

Who would have thought you’d be getting gourmet food in the rough and tumble of a ball park? Leave it to celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to bring elegance to the usual hot dog, precooked burgers and popcorn routine.

There are hundreds of people streaming around a circular, stunning white building on Fifth Avenue as cars and buses and taxis honk and inch their way on the traffic laden street. With a start you realize the men are all wearing suits and hats, the women prim dresses, even the children are dressed decorously in coat dresses – and the automobiles are all large, with chrome plating and flashy tail fins.

If all the world is a stage, then who better to tell the story of the ongoing drama of Indian immigration and Diaspora tales than playwrights? For years insightful writers from Africa to the UK to Canada have been documenting the stories of those who left the homeland for uncharted territories, and now some of them gathered in New York to share their experiences.

The chanting of the Gayatri Mantra, it is said, has the effect of liberating one from the fruits of Karma, and its Maha mantra status is universally recognized.

“These are amazing, inventive films and it makes MOMA a home for the most vibrant and intelligent cinema coming out of India, and this is a rare privilege.”

If you’re a Mumbaikar cut adrift from all your soul-satisfying street foods, fret no more. Pasta Lane has come to Bleecker Street in New York, and at Aamchi Pao you can get all the spice and heat your heart desires. The tiny eatery is the creation of Nandini Mukherjee who earlier ran The Indian Bread Co, and Surabhi Sahni, the pastry chef of Devi.

Integrative Medicine, while not curing cancer in any way, can help in even advanced metastasis by bringing about symptoms relief, and giving patients a more positive attitude.

He’s the smarmy, conniving game show host in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, a regular bad guy. We’ve seen him in diverse roles but Anil Kapoor, with a glittering stud in one ear, rugged good looks and oozing Bollywood charisma, has a real life role as a good guy, as spokesperson for children who have received a raw deal in life.

“In our family, the moment a child is born, my grandmother would come with a jar of honey and would dip her little finger into the honey and write ‘Om’ on the baby’s tongue with it. And my mother always tells me, ‘You just opened your mouth and licked up the honey and when she put it again, you licked it up again.”

The mini series was filmed in Mumbai and actually has five full-fledged Bollywood musical numbers, while the soundtrack features Javed Akhtar, Shiksta, Shreya Goshal, and the Bombay Dub Orchestra. Several crew members of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ were also part of this team, including Longinus Fernandes, who choreographed the Jai Ho number.

Through the powerful voices of the dastangohs the tale came alive; you saw life and death, the grandeur, the sorcery, the parades, the fires and the warfare in your mind’s eye. For two hours the crowd at this sold out show sat riveted, taken quite far away, centuries back, on the wings of a language many of them did not understand.

All this was achieved without a blow being dealt, without a sword being drawn or a match lit – a testament to the story-telling powers of the three dastangohs.

“Water is life and I think as a human rights activist there is no more poignant metaphor than water – the commoditization of water and the corporate control of water is to me the human rights issue of the millennium.”