THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - As he directed about 2,600 people with their arms outstretched at New York’s Lincoln Center to exhale in unison on Sunday, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar brought the crowd back down to Earth. “This is called desktop yoga,” he said to laughs from the gathering. “You can practice it in your office—just make sure to warn your co-workers first...continue to the full article here.
Sultans of Deccan India at The Met - A Sneak Preview →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Five kingdoms – with influences from Persia, Portugual, Maratha and Ethiopia — flourished on India’s mineral-rich Deccan Plateau between the 16th and 17th centuries before capitulating to Mughal rule. A team at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, led by Navina Najat Haidar have spent the past decade sourcing nearly 200 artifacts from the era and have brought them together from lenders for an exhibition starting Monday...continue to the full article here.
Shiamak Davar Dance Company Starts Classes in NYC →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - At a sweltering dance studio in Manhattan this month, a Bollywood chart-topper pulsed as a group dressed in leggings and T-shirts swiveled their hips to the beat, exchanging smoldering glances with their reflections in the full-length mirrors.“Think Hrithik, Shah Rukh…full filmigiri!” barked instructor Bhuvan Sharma, referring to Indian movie heroes...continue to the full article here.
Indian-American Students Work to Break the Poverty Cycle in Indian Cities →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Uplift Humanity, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that works with orphans and imprisoned youth in India, was founded by Anish Patel, a junior at New York University’s Stern School of Business. This month, Mr. Patel and 65 fellow Indian-American students embarked on a three-week trip to Vadodara, Indore and Hyderabad to engage with underprivileged children. Mr. Patel's organization...continue to the full article here.
'Meet the Patels,' Arranged Marriage 2.0 in America →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - An annual family trip to India, complete with a dip in the River Ganges, meddling relatives and the occasional cow joke is hardly an antidote to heartbreak. But this is how 29-year-old Ravi Patel, an Indian-American actor and comedian, attempted to get over his spunky, redhead ex-girlfriend (a serious relationship he hid from his seemingly orthodox Gujarati parents) approximately five years ago...continue to the full article here.
New York, L.A. Host Indian Film Festivals →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - A psychological thriller that exposes Mumbai’s malicious underbelly served as the opener this week to the New York Indian Film Festival —America’s oldest event showcasing independent South Asian cinema. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, “Ugly,” a film that starts with the disappearance of an aspiring actor’s young daughter, embodied the gritty spirit of alternative Indian cinema. “A film like ‘Ugly’ would never typically open in New York,” said Aseem Chhabra...continue to the full article here.
Smithsonian Explores Beyond Bollywood in Desi Display →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - A new exhibition at the Smithsonian, one of America’s most prestigious museums, is the first of its kind to celebrate the role played by Indian Americans in the history and formation of the country. “Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation”, which opened at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, tracks the integration of the Indian-American community in the U.S...continue to the full article here.
NY Students Want to be the Nate Silvers of Indian Elections →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - A group of tech-savvy Indian students studying in New York are hoping to reinvent Indian election coverage for the digital age with TheFiveFortyFive.com, a website that launched earlier this week. The site (named for the number of seats available in India’s lower house of Parliament) bills itself as a “single-subject” platform with a focus on the upcoming national general elections. Stripped of politico-speak and overheated diatribes...continue to the full article here.
Indian-American Chef Captures the Himalayas →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Award-winning chef Vikas Khanna’s latest book, a vivid culinary journey across the Himalayan river valleys, is dedicated to a woman whose name he will never know. At a recent launch party in New York City, Mr. Khanna told those gathered that while writing the book he left his laptop by a street-side cafe in Tibet, moments before boarding a bus to Nepal...continue to the full article here.
Imran Khan: Bollywood's Immature About Sex →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Actor Imran Khan says he’s fed up with headlines that scrutinize Bollywood’s relationship with sex. “On-screen kisses are still talking points [in the media] and it’s baffling,” said Mr. Khan, who was recently in New York City on a global tour that included stops in London and Dubai to promote his upcoming film, “Gori Tere Pyaar Mein”, which releases in India Friday...continue to the full article here.
South Asia's Growing Impact on U.S. Films, TV →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - When she was growing up in Kentucky, Samata Narra regularly snuck into her family’s laundry room to catch episodes of the soap opera “General Hospital” on a tiny television set. “My parents only allowed me to watch 30 minutes of TV for every two hours of reading,” said Ms. Narra. “Despite their best efforts, I grew up with a love for television...continue to the full article here.
Documenting the 'Crime of the Century' →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - “Fire in the Blood,” directed by Irish-Punjabi filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray, describes itself as an intricate tale of medicine, monopoly and malice. The documentary, which opens in the U.S. this weekend and in India next month, argues that Western pharmaceutical companies and governments caused at least 10 million unnecessary deaths since 1996 by aggressively blocking the developing...continue to the full article here.
Rajnath Singh's Congress Party Dare →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - As his visit to the U.S. drew to a close last week, Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh refused to be drawn into revealing a prime ministerial candidate, instead daring the ruling Congress party to do so first. In an address at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in New York, Mr. Singh said the BJP had consensus and unity and then listed various potential contenders for the Congress party, including...continue to the full article here.
Making The Flying Sikh's Biopic →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says he’ll never forget the day he received a signed contract from Milkha Singh, granting him the rights to make a film about the athlete’s life. Mr. Mehra had couriered the contract to Mr. Singh’s home. A blank space was left for Mr. Singh to add a fee for the rights. A week later, the film’s producer came to Mr. Mehra’s office with the contract, and suggested he take a look...continue to the full article here.
Adventures of a Former Indian Army Captain →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Amin Ahmad, author of “The Caretaker,” says he received no shortage of “beautiful rejections” as he sought American publishers over the last few years. Mr. Ahmad, 45 years old, attributes the trepidation to the fact that his debut novel is neither a traditional thriller nor a typical piece of literary fiction. Instead, it exists in a curious in-between space—rather like Mr. Ahmad himself. The architect...continue to the full article here.
Miss India vs. Hindu Fundamentalists →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - When Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja set out to document the glitzy Miss India pageant, she didn’t expect to simultaneously cover the Durga Vahini, the female wing of a Hindu fundamentalist movement. While conducting research for her film nearly four years ago, the India-born, Toronto-bred director encountered one of the movement’s fiery young leaders, Prachi Trivedi....continue to the full article here.
The Making of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - In “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” India-born director Mira Nair exposes all sides of the American Dream, from its star-spangled face to its sinister underbelly. Adapted from Mohsin Hamid’s acclaimed 2007 novel, the film, which hits U.S. theaters Friday, is told largely via flashback in a gritty, Lahore University teahouse. Here, a seemingly radical Pakistani professor, Changez (Riz Ahmed)...continue to the full article here.
From Islamophobia to Squat Toilets →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - While the city of New York somberly marked the 11th anniversary of 9/11, a more unorthodox commemoration unfolded at the Chelsea outpost of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop last Tuesday. On stage, performer Pushkar Sharma, clad in an electric blue jumper and fedora, flipped through a tattered, leather-bound notebook. “Ode”— he paused, surveying the 35-person audience — "to the squat toilet."...continue to the full article here.
Nepal's 'Bandh' Generation on the Silver Screen →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - When Nepalese filmmaker Deepak Rauniyar was en route to the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month, he found himself stuck in New York. This reminded him of the movie he was heading there to screen: his debut feature “Highway.” While the nine main characters in “Highway” are stranded on an ill-fated bus to Kathmandu, stymied by an illegal road blockade, Mr. Rauniyar was the victim...continue to the full article here.
Musharraf, Still Outside Pakistan, Plugs His Case →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf may have disappointed the world’s media – and his remaining supporters – by postponing his widely-flagged return to his native country. But he can still draw a respectable crowd in the West, as witnessed by his Feb. 9 appearance before 750 people at Drew University in New Jersey. The 68-year-old former military ruler has lived in self-imposed exile, shuttling between...continue to the full article here.