elanie Chandra is a South Asian actress who has been seen in several Hollywood movies and TV shows including ‘Code Black’. She currently is producing and acting in ‘Surina and Mel’ with ‘Outsourced’ actress Surina Jindal.
So what is ‘Surina and Me’l about? As Melanie Chandra describes it, it is loosely based on the real-life friendship of Surina (brash, non-committal) and Melanie (poised, type A) the show follows this odd-couple duo as they unsuccessfully navigate their lives as grown-ups, one micro-aggression at a time.
Author: Monica Marwah
Monica Marwah
is a school psychologist who works in the Philadelphia area. For fun she enjoys dancing, Pilates, yoga, reading and traveling.
I absolutely love the Christmas holiday season. The lights, decorations, presents, secret Santa’s, light shows. Christmas tree at Rockefeller and long lines at the Apple store absolutely makes me giddy with happiness. There are many gifts to be shared, but perhaps the best is family.
“However, one can’t help but wonder, who would I be, if I hadn’t immigrated? Who would I have met and would I have been destined for a good marriage, with a rich man, lots of partying, and lots of romance or would I have to struggle with my married life and constantly prove my worth to a man who doesn’t appear to care that much about me?
Would I have stayed married to a man who didn’t treat me that well because of my inner need to change and fix him, or would I have been able to find love in a healthy and satisfying way?” Guest Blog – The Single Desi
“So today on this beautiful summer day, I decided to watch ‘The View’. The ladies of ‘The View’ played a game called Family Matters and the question was “What percentage of wives in America would cheat on their husbands if they weren’t going to get caught?” The correct answer? 74 percent!”
In this blog post, the Single Desi lists the pros and cons of being a Single Desi versus a Married Desi and wishes for each the lifestyle that is suited to their personalities.
“So the other day, I Googled ‘woman over the age of 35’. There comes a time in your life where you have done all things that you have wanted to do, kept up with your interests, and lived your destiny. But since I am first generation desi, I am first and therefore I don’t have anyone before me to watch or see how things turned out.
As a woman, it is very important to grow and accomplish new things. Without movement, one tends to feel stagnated and bored. So what is a single woman approaching 40 to do?” Monica Marwah – GUEST BLOG
We all plan our lives according to strategy. When you are young, you go through the motions and decide what you want to do, who you want to be, what you want to accomplish.
When you are in your early 20’s, you begin to shoot for the stars. Between the years of 20-30, life starts to unfold. Life pushes you in so many different directions, you wonder, “Where am I going and when will I get there?” Guest Blog – The Single Desi
Lately I have been hearing a lot about ‘Sex and the City’. Different news sources are reporting that another story could be told. Sarah Jessica Parker has said that if the script was right, she would do it.
Now there is news that Michael Patrick King gave an interview to EW that a final chapter is forming in his head. Anyone who is in their 20-something or 30-something years understands that meeting strangers isn’t all it is cracked up to be and ‘Sex and the City’ was definitely something most of us single women could relate to.
Guest Blog – The Single Desi
“When Katrina Kaif was photographed in Ibiza, Spain over the summer in a bikini, I was surprised by the amount of media attention that it got. Having been an avid follower of Hollywood my entire life and seeing paparazzi take invasive photos of my favorite celebrities, to me Bollywood is very tame in comparison. There is more privacy; the focus is more on the work and less on scandals and private lives.
When everyone else is doing a thing of their own, can you maintain a conservative mindset in your 20’s, 30’s and beyond? Most of us were born into conservative families because India was engraved in us. Can we maintain that thought system through life or do we get influenced by the western world?” Guest blog post – The Single Desi
Once you hear the four magic words “Will You Marry Me?” your world changes forever. Planning a wedding has been the dream of a lifetime and it is not uncommon to have your ideas laid out before even meeting the man of your dreams.
‘The other day I was reading an article about Priyanka Chopra and the headline read, “I’ll get married six times.” According to Priyanka Chopra, she wants to get married six times to the same man. I immediately thought, “How fun!” Priyanka’s ideas for a wedding ceremony are just as creative and fabulous as she is.’
Guest Blog – The Single Desi by Monica Marwah
“It is that time of year again…Diwali, the festival of lights is upon us….those of you who are just graduated college and are 20-something women probably have a lot of family and friends that they celebrate with.
Those of you 30 or 40 year old single women are probably trying to figure out a way to keep the spirit alive in your heart and soul without the frequent trips back to India and the constant reminder that India lives inside of you.” Guest Blog – Single Desi
“Once you hit your 30’s, you aren’t going back. It is essentially your last time to have children before having children at a later age of 40. If you are in your 20’s, you have a lot of time on your hands; you can mess up and get back in the dating game. You have a lot of energy to introduce yourself and re- introduce yourself to different people…. However 30 something women know that they are running out of time and their biological clock is ticking.
30 something women have to make the choice of whether to be parents without a life partner in which case, their option would either be adoption or in vitro fertilization. Nowadays, there are a lot of women who want children and want to move on with their life without the help of a partner.” Guest Blog
Visiting family and old high school friends is a part of life – especially if you are settled in a city away from them.
This blog is for those of you in your 20’s and 30’s that live far from your family and have spontaneously made a trip down and decided to spend some quality time visiting with your parents and high school friends.
“Spending quality time with your family does not necessarily mean you have to compromise the person you are today. Let’s face it, you are all grown up. As soon as you left your parents’ home you changed. Dealing with generation X and Y, working different jobs, making friends, balancing your relationship with your current boyfriend has all led you to a more grown up you. No matter what anyone wants from you, you will never return to your high school identity. It is your life now and you create the rules.”
Guest Blog
“It will be almost 20 years since I left an Indian household and became an individual entity. I have now turned into myself. I run my own household, follow my own rules, pay my own bills and travel to the destinations of my choice.
Whenever I talk to people of my parents’ generation they always point out that they went from their parents’ household to their husband’s household. They didn’t get the freedom that we seem to have in the middle of life.” Single Desi Blog
To have children or not – that is the question. Some people can’t wait to have children. They have wanted children since their high school graduation; some people want to live life, see where they go and experience their own selves before committing to someone else; some people want to get an education, get multiple degrees, work different jobs and establish their independence; some people want to have a single life, no strings attached, do whatever, whenever. Lifestyles are a choice and one should be free to live how they want to live in life.
Guest Blog – The Single Desi
“Part of evolving and turning into the magnificent woman that you are is self empowerment, adapting to changing situations and understanding that no one can take care of your emotional needs, especially not in the way you can.
Owning yourself is an important concept in growing up. 20-something women don’t realize where they are headed, however, as a 30-something woman, you really have time to look back and reflect on yourself and your life.” Guest Blog – The Single Desi
“Being first generation isn’t easy for anyone. However, once you finish the first 30 years, you begin to understand life a little bit more. Being in my mid-thirties, I am able to pass on some wisdom that might help other first generation desis on their life journey.”
22 Tips to a More Productive Lifestyle from The Single Desi
” I still have insecurities and I am nowhere near perfect, but Tarz has taught me that no one else’s opinion of me matters besides of those that truly know who I am, such as my family. Being around Tarz’s “life is short so don’t let anything bring you down” mentality gave me the courage and security to be on this Bravo show, as I’m sure there will be quite a bit of smack talk!
We’ve had a year filled with some really tough and tragic moments, which I’m guessing will translate into tons of drama and insane moments on the show-which means those haters will have plenty to feed off of!” – Tina Sugandh on her new reality show on Bravo.
Single Desi Guest Blog
Given the amount of desi parties available to young and older desis, why are there so many dateless individuals? Studies and biology have suggested that love and intimacy is a great life landmark. Yet more and more people are shying away from that kind of connection. Is fear a factor? Have you viewed your parents’ marriage as something not to be desired and therefore connection is scary for you?
“Nearly every day for the past year I have been taking the same road to my parents’ house. I don’t live that far from their home. It is very important to me to know exactly where my destination is each day. I love stability and predictability when it comes to driving. I don’t like changes or surprises. I am one of those people that need to take a practice drive to a place I have never been before because I need to know exactly where I am going.
Well, on my way to their house there was a roadblock. No problem, I would take an alternative way. Unfortunately due to my lack of experimentation I didn’t know that many alternatives to get to where I needed to get to. It turns out, I was going to encounter several more roadblocks on my driving journey.” Guest Blog
“Are you single and stuck in the rut of modern technology? Do you know where life is going when you meet people or do you just expect nothing? I mean, are you really going to get married on something started on a casual text message? What happened to phone calls or even the simple email? Is being wooed too much to ask for nowadays?
The new date is hanging out, planning an event and have everyone come. Look for people who may be interested and if they are not interested, move on to the next event. Hey at least you are having fun doing what you like to do and no one is holding you back, right?”
Guest Blog: The Single Desi