“‘What do you do?’ This question has always elicited varying responses from me at different stages of my adult life. There is a misconception that women who don’t work outside of their homes, in actual offices, don’t do anything in society’s eyes.” Guest Blog
Browsing: The Buzz
The buzz around us about trends and events
Ever had the experience of dressing up and rushing out – into a downpour? Or freezing in a slinky outfit when the weather suddenly turns abrasive? Looking out of the window to judge the weather is just not good enough – a more practical weather forecaster might be Daily Dress Me!
In fashion-mad New York, it’s not just the people who get decked out in designer fashion – their bicycles do too! The recent Tour de Fashion may not have been exactly the Tour de France, but bikes certainly received a lot of love from some of New York’s top designers including Diane Von Furstenberg, Isaac Mizrahi, Betsey Johnson, Elie Tahari, Yeohlee, Nanette Lepore, Nicole Miller and many more.
Noted jewelry designer Amrita Singh and happening fashion designers Prabal Gurung and Bibhu Mohapatra were the South Asian presence at this buzz-y fest with designers, fashionistas and hordes of fashionholics.
“I get a missed call. I know who it is, it would have been a dream come true in the US but here it has become ritual – that call… I have pondered over it several times. It’s surreal – the annoying convenience that we get used to in India. I remind myself to be grateful and not get irritated by that call. I tell myself it’s the call of duty on a silver platter. I am almost guilty to be receiving it.”
“Youth today love trendy topics and catchy tunes, a lethal combination. The song passes off as an English song though it is sung in a Tamil accent. People who don’t know the lingo also can understand this song. I don’t know the Tamil language but I love this song because of the laid-back, charming and fun way it has been sung. Language is no barrier here and it actually bonds people who speak different languages.”
“Time flies when you are having fun. It has been a little over a year since I started blogging for Lassi with Lavina and I am absolutely amazed by all the positive feedback.
We’ve conversed about so many important topics. I enjoyed sharing my take on dating, relationships, love, heartbreak, depression, spirituality, emotionally unavailability, positive thinking, marriage, addiction, Kim Kardashian, social media etc, etc…”
Monica Marwah – Sex and the Single Desi
This is the story of Priya and Manav, a childless Indian-American couple who came to India in search of a surrogate mother. They got more than they bargained for – and some surprises too which convinced them to make India their permanent home.
Guest Blog – Chatty Divas. Photo by Paras
He’s got to be the world’s greatest multi-tasker. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is living several lives rolled into one. He’s an Emmy-winning television celebrity, a neurosurgeon, a professor, an author. Not to mention, a husband and dad of three girls, and a sportsman.
“When I turned 40 years old, I thought I could start making my biological clock not just run slower, but start to reverse and I think I have done that. I think in many ways biologically I am younger now than I was five years ago. Athletics, sports, and fitness are a very, very big part of my life. I was up at 4:15 and going for a run and a swim, so it is a big part of my life and that is something that I am teaching my girls too.”
“When I was growing up, there was no Internet. We didn’t have access to people’s personal lives the way we do now. Things were happening back then but no one except immediate family and friends knew about it until some reporter got wind of it.
Now there are countless blogs, online magazines, social media, socialites and reality stars floating around. News flies around the world with the click of a button within two seconds. It is in your face and you can’t just ignore it.
However, I feel that there is a reason everyone is obsessed with celebrity culture and personal lives of celebrities: we are trying to find someone to relate to. Someone to look up to; Someone who is having experiences that parallel our experiences; Someone who can let us know that there is nothing wrong with us when bad things happen to us.” Guest Blog – Sex & the Single Desi
Photo: Christina Aguilera by Balt-art.
“When I am sad, I gorge on bitter chocolates, dark ones to suit my dark mood and thoughts. The darker the better, this time. They soothe me, make me brave enough to face the day and help me stay afloat in the turbulent waters of emotional upheaval, chocolates help me survive.
Chocolates beat men hands down; if only they could talk, we women would never need anybody else ever again. I can’t speak for others but I would be completely satisfied with just my chocolates for company.” Guest Blog.
There were no writers or physicians in Siddhartha Mukherjee’s family. He grew up in New Delhi where his father Sibeswar Mukherjee worked for Mitsubishi and his mother Chandana was a school teacher. His parents still live in Delhi.
“We spoke Bengali and English at home, our house was immersed in books,” he recalls. “I have a very intimate relationship with Bengali literature, particularly Tagore, and I would say my interest besides reading at that point of time in my life was music. And so, my memory of my household is of one immersed in books and music.”
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.
~Steve Jobs
(Guest Blog by Sulekha Rawat)
What can be better than seeing the wonderful Hema Malini performing Indian classical dance live on stage?
Watching Hema performing Indian classical dance live on stage with her two daughters Esha and Ahana Deol!
Three for the price of one you could say!
For New Yorkers this will be a unique experience as the famous mother and daughters have never performed together in the US before. Read an exclusive interview with Ahana Deol on life in a star-spangled world.
If you have a tiara, now’s your chance to wear it! This is the year that everyone gets to be a maharaja or maharani and indulge in a royal celebration. Falu will be performing live with her band and there’s a dance presentation of Royal India. All for children’s health and education in India.
“Over the years, I have learned to be more protective and loving towards myself, therefore making excuses for other people’s blatant disrespect is something I am not willing to spend my life doing.
Sometimes, when you are around someone who is being uncharacteristically rude or nasty and walking away is leaving you with unanswered questions, then posing the question “Why are you so mean?” can help get a person to understand that it isn’t acceptable to behave this way around people, regardless of whether he likes you or not.”
Guest Blog – Sex and the Single Desi
“I was feeling very tired just by imagining what Troy was going through at that time. I was internalizing the feeling of sadness, hopelessness, frustration about the mighty, glorified U.S. justice system, and a bone-chilling feeling of death — as if Lord Yama, the God of Death was knocking at his doorstep, to fetch him. I could not take it anymore. I went to sleep.”
(Guest Blog)
While most of us clamor for ‘Me-Time’, a fresh-off-the-boat (FOB) immigrant shares how frustrating and lonely time alone can be for someone in a new country, caught in limbo without work, friends or a big supportive family clan. At times like this ‘Me Time’ can be almost a curse. Guest Blog – Chatty Divas on the view from two continents
Quilt making has always been a community effort and so it seems particularly appropriate in a commemoration of a horrific day when in spite of destruction and death all around, the community came together; strangers clasped hands and lit candles on the sad streets.
The age-old craft of quilting has seen generations of women through rough and tough times. Artist Faith Ringgold herself learned quilting from her grandmother who learned it from her mother who was a slave. Story quilts use painting, quilted fabric and storytelling to create powerful narratives about issues which effect humanity.
“When our parents got married and migrated to America, marriage was a necessity – now it is choice – a choice to live happily – or unhappily – in holy matrimony.
My parents migrated to America so that I would have a better chance at life – to make my own choices and to discover a life and personality that is my own.
I mean, personally, why would I want to go back to tradition, when I am so used to living on my own terms? For me, I have just seen too much to go back and live a life where I haven’t seen enough.”
Guest Blog (Photo: Eole)
Great music lives on forever, and great artists are never lost. If you look at the Google doodle today, it’s a tribute to the legendary performer Freddie Mercury who died at the age of 45. The doodle opens out into a wonderful video which captures the essence of Freddie Mercury perfectly – check it out!
Mercury, who has been hailed as Britain’s first Asian Rock Star and one of the greatest singers of all time, would have been 65 today. This charismatic performer has a huge fan following all over the world.