THE WAY YOU EAT, WHAT YOU EAT & WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT IT!
\”FAT\’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her. I mean, is \’fat\’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is \’fat\’ worse than \’vindictive\’, \’jealous\’, \’shallow\’, \’vain\’, \’boring\’ or \’cruel\’? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about […]
An Ode to a beloved Father-in-law
My father-in-law passed away on Wednesday, April 16th, 2014. He was 90 years old. It was 1990. The year I married my husband and moved to the United States. My husband, an East Indian, had been living in California with his family since the 80s. While India had embraced modernism and the West, the old-timers […]
INDIA: The World\’s largest Democracy. . .Or Not?
I just came back from visiting New Delhi and with India having gone to the polls on April 7th, election fever is pitch-high. From illiterate villagers and untouchable rag-pickers to Mumbai millionaires, almost 815 million citizens are eligible to cast their ballots over the next five weeks–essentially the largest democracy in the world. And yet, […]
HOLI HAI IN DELHI, INDIA!
I always wanted to play Holi in India. While I was growing up, it was considered a \” dirty, filthy \” holiday full of water balloons and did-I-just-get-molested-moments and so, my family and I didn\’t celebrate Holi. We barricaded ourselves inside our house instead, until the over-enthusiastic gangs roaming the streets, looking to smear gulaal […]
CAN YOU RESIST THIS FACE?
I was a late bloomer when it came to my love affair with dogs. When I was little, I used to run away from the brutish-looking strays in my neighborhood in New Delhi, causing them to gallop after me, causing me to bolt faster. Ai. . . ai. . . aiyeee. What an ugly mess! […]
America, the Beautiful and Diverse: How Far Have We Come?
In a rather good sign of the times, ABC News reported Feb. 7. that soft drink giant Coca Cola would release an even longer version of an ad previously aired on the Super Bowl, which embraces cultural diversity. Coke\’s original, 60-second Super Bowl ad had enraged haters with its multilingual version of \”America the Beautiful\” […]
Politics As Usual. . . or Not?
As the country prepares for the upcoming elections in November, the buzz surrounding matters political is sky-high. Do you know me. . . As well as you think you did?? asks Wendy Davis, a tad apologetically. She wants to be the next governor of Texas. She got off a great start gaining national […]
Your 2014 Resolutions & How to Keep Them
\”January 1st is when you make New Year\’s resolutions. January 2nd is when you break \’em.\” You\’ve heard that, right? It\’s almost a bad joke you tell yourself when come the middle of the month, and you\’re peering into your fourth cocktail at your best friend\’s big 40th birthday party. Oops!! Wasn\’t that your New Year […]
All I want for X\’mas is…how the times have changed!
Where I grew up (New Delhi, India) there was no Christmas and no writing wish lists for Christmas. You got money on Diwali (the Indian festival of lights) if your parents were feeling extra-generous, and that was it. My 15 year-old daughter, on the other hand, makes over-the-top wish lists (a new computer, a new […]
The Skinny on Staying Fit
One of my first jobs in college was as a aerobics instructor in a fitness club in the late 80\’s. It was the era of Jane Fonda, spandex leotards and leg-warmers. I would sail through a dozen high-impact Jumping Jacks, my 20-something body quivering with effortless grace, while the rest of my 40-something class heaved […]