Christmas in Pune is special, says caricaturist Vikram Nandwani, because in his neighborhood people from all faiths join in on the celebrations, giving it a very local twist. “All Parsi Biryani joints go full house on Christmas Eve, People make Karanjis – a favorite Maharashtrian sweet made during Diwali – at home, and everyone – I mean everyone – comes out to the main markets in the evening to see the lights. The festivities end with kids being dragged into midnight mass.”
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Benjamin, the noted Indian-Jewish artist, left Bombay, now Mumbai, decades ago for America but the colors and ethos of India have become embedded into her art and her American life. Her unique works which are populated with blue figures reminiscent of the color of Krishna, the sky and water have been embraced by art collectors in America, Israel and India.
At Hanukkah, Indian-Jews remember the homeland which nurtured their faith. “India has been the only country in the world where Jews have never been oppressed or suppressed or discriminated against,” says Romiel Daniel, who is Jewish-Indian-American. Indeed, India has been nurturing home and haven for generations of Jews whose ancestors fled from persecution centuries ago. At its peak there were about 37,000 Jews living in India. “Discrimination is something that has never happened in India for 2000 years and that is something we are very proud of, and that is why we go back to India so often,” he says.
While Christmas is important to Indian Christians as a celebration of faith, many non-Christians enjoy it as a secular holiday in ways small and big. Indeed, Christmas is such a huge, high voltage commercialized event in America that few can escape its allure, be they Christians or not.
For those who love design in the home and the world, the good news is that consumer trade shows and fairs which showcase the latest trends in interiors, furnishings and artifacts, are back with a bang.
When Sheena Iyengar went to Spain, people sometimes came up and asked her for a lottery ticket. “Because that is what blind people do in Spain,” she explains. “They sell lottery tickets. And when I was in Japan, random people would come up to me and take my hands and start putting them on their backs or on their necks because they expect blind people to perform magical massages.”
These people would have been stunned to learn that though Iyengar is blind, she is a noted researcher, a professor at Columbia and the author of a critically acclaimed book ‘The Art of Choosing’, in which she dissects and analyzes choice – the ability one has to take on destiny – or even competing brands of cola.
In life, how much can you choose and how much is pre-destined? Can you fight circumstances or is your role pre-ordained?And if you have the power of choice, how do you choose wisely?
The 2022 Booker Prize Goes to ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ by Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka When Ghosts…
Always immersed in the past, Sabyasachi’s store is embedded in the Romanesque Revival architecture of The Archive Building which is listed in the National Register of Landmarked Buildings in New York. Walk into this space and you are transported into another world – a small museum, a mansion or an intimate palace.
Imagine meeting your saree-clad ancestor in Central Park! And not only is she 18 feet tall but has a cluster of heads in her hand! She it the Ancestor by British artist Bharti Kher, a reimagination of the universal mother.
“It is almost criminal in Calcutta to start any discussion around this time without a reference to the shopping done for the upcoming festival ‘Dasherra’ or ‘Pujo’. This is a time not only of shopping for your wardrobe but for the entire battalion of extended family. It is a time to give and receive gifts. The markets thrive and throb during these months and when the festival is over it’s almost as if a war has just got over! And so our conversation began with my mother-in-law and Maashi exchanging notes on each other’s bargains, new styles and various other subjects associated with ‘Pujo’.
Anyone who is familiar with wearing or buying ‘sarees’ will know the challenges of finding an ace tailor to make a perfect blouse to go with the coveted piece of new garment. A blouse gone wrong could prove to be disastrous to the festive spirit of looking perfect; it could dampen the entire annual celebration and hence the rest of the year! A good blouse is an imperative for a Bengali wrapped in Tangail, Tant or other special saris.”
Guest Blog – Chatty Divas
Neena Gupta just turned sixty – and she’s having the time of her life. As she says, “It’s a great time to be a woman in the film industry!”
Ganesh Chaturthi in a time of coronavirus – check out the steps to visiting the temple safely – and we also share memories of past joyous celebrations with thousands of people
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen we were young, there was one lesson we learned early from our parents – a respect for knowledge. If we dropped a book by accident, we not only had to pick it up but touch it to our foreheads and our eyes in a mark of contrition.
All learning was sacred.
You’ve heard of Versace, St. Laurent and Prada – now here comes Temple Fashion! If you can dress for social events, then why not for God? When it’s Ganesh Chathurthi, the nine-day festival dedicated to that most beloved of Gods, Ganesha, people go all out to look their best.
For all those who’ve watched King Khan, the Badshah of Bollywood, dance and sing and romance over the years, Shah Rukh Khan’s talk at Yale was one of a kind, a look at the real man, rather than the reel man.
Un-awed by the pomp and ceremony of being honored with the prestigious Chubb Fellowship, he was down-to-earth and funny, talking one on one to Yale students, as someone human and humane, a striver, a dreamer and a parent.
Here, Shah Rukh Khan, in his own words….
Designer Shriya Bhupal’s eponymous label ‘Shriya Som’ is so coveted by brides that it’s probably one of the reasons to get married! Chic and very contemporary, her unique color palette and silhouettes create a global look that is uniquely Indian.
She was born in Mysore, Southern India in undivided India. She grew up in pre-Independent India but died in New York, an American citizen. Y.G. Srimati is one of India’s forgotten artists and a Renaissance Woman.
Along with the swaying fields of golden mustard and a folksy gulguppa philosophy ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, an official Indian adaptation of the iconic Hollywood film ‘Forrest Gump’, has its own colorful personality.
The khadi that the Mahatma wove on his charka is the inspiration behind the collection of the iconic Japanese avant-garde designer Issey Miyake. So it is appropriate that in the month of India’s independence, the noted design house has launched ‘Khadi: Indian Craftsmanship’, an exhibition at its sleek Tribeca store which will run through August 22nd.
With so many hot spots bubbling over around the world and with so many international tragedies taking place, Afghanistan is not always in the front and center of our minds. Now suddenly it’s right here with us, right in Times Square, as close as a seat in a Broadway theater – with its sounds, griefs and struggles enveloping us.
‘The Kite Runner’, one of the most popular novels about Afghanistan, is now on Broadway, playing at the Helen Hayes Theater through October.