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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.

 9786 people reached on FB Lassi with Lavina  Atul Tolia, Jyoti Marwah and 6 others Like it. Lassi with Lavina Video…

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.

It’s that time of the year when New York turns into a Fashion Wonderland with the New York Fashion Week, and we had our own Alice in Fashionland, fashion correspondent Christine Philip who was at the shows and filed this report for Lassi with Lavina.

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!

Faculty members Eugene Friesen and Annette Philip flank A.R. Rahman during final bows at the end of the October 24…

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.

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’.

My help here in India, Janki Mashi, pampers me with sweet oranges on a sunny afternoon and treats me with these stories. I call her “my help” for lack of a better word to describe her. She is more like a mother to me. It was a Sunday afternoon in Gurgaon. Janki Mashi had heated some mustard oil to apply on my hair and scalp. She does these things without my asking for it and does not take nicely to my resistance ever.

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!

The hot star team of Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, fabulous foreign locations in Corsica and Tokyo, and A.R. Rahman’s music: ‘Tamasha’ seems to have it all, but the ‘tamasha’ movie-goers get to see leaves you a tad unfulfilled.

What’s better than reading a book? Having the author read it to you! At the Indo-American Arts Council Literary Festival 2015 at Hunter College, book-lovers binged on new books, authors old and new and discussions on everything from the state of the kitchen to the state of the world.

With his grey hair, rimmed eye-glasses and gentle smile, Mani Ratnam is an unlikely global rock star. Yet rock star he was when the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image in New York showed the film series ‘Politics as Spectacle: The Films of Mani Ratnam’ – ‘Roja’, ‘Bombay’ and ‘Dil Se’, three films from his stormy, much loved oeuvre.

It’s been called a ‘jugalbandi’ – this evening dedicated to Bombay shared by the two writers – Salman Rushdie and Suketu Mehta. When the two were introduced to the audience by writer Amitava Kumar, he put it succinctly: ” Master story tellers – they are the djinns of stories!

The word ‘home’ immediately conjures up images of comfort, security and peace – yet for many women, perhaps there is no more dangerous and frightening place than home. Behind its closed doors and curtained windows can be a whole litany of horrors from domestic violence to psychological traumas, intimidations and beatings to molestation by family members.

Our world is full of irrational, brutal acts and unbelievable consequences, and yet sometimes good can come out of evil. A flying bullet can end a life – or start a bloodless revolution that can change the world.

The film “He named me Malala” documents just such a real life story.

What is it with New York City – it’s simply buzzing! Today Manhattan is overrun by security, cops and traffic police, there are closures and enclosures everywhere and yet there seem to be people, people, people everywhere too! From the Pope to world leaders, from PM Modi to Malala everyone is in the city. Not to mention Priyanka Chopra too!

If you’re brown, come from Asia and practice a different religion, you’re often seen as exotic, sometimes as strange and almost always as a curiosity by the mainstream, and these misconceptions are often triggered by the stories that are written about ethnicity in the media.