Harris Makes History
“And one day, like a miracle, he’ll be gone.” This was my favorite yard sign during the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election. During the darkest days marked by mounting COVID-19 deaths, and dog whistles to white supremacists from the White House, it...
Mother-Son Duo Deliver a Message of Gratitude
After their first children’s book on diversity, We Are One which was published in 2017, San Francisco Bay area-based mother-son duo Pinky Mukhi and Param Patel are back with their new book on diversity and gratitude I Am Grateful. Pinky, who works as an I.T....
Your Featured Life
Making Space For the Unknown: Desi Poetry Reading
Join India Currents and Matwaala, once again, in our Desi Poetry Reading Series. This time we bring you six poets addressing the ever-present uncertainty and change. The South Asian diaspora is perpetually evolving, breaking new boundaries and forging new connections...
The Turkey & Thanksgiving Myth
The history of Thanksgiving has become a hotly contested topic. Many believe the heartwarming story of European settlers and natives celebrating their successful harvest, immortalized in American myths for generations, never happened. Some Native American tribes like...
Saving The Bay On A Sunday Morning
At the Front Door: Climate Change & the Bay Area – a column on climate change in our lives A few years ago, I started to wonder what success means to me. I came across the story of Watsi, the first non-profit to join Y-Combinator. In his startup school video,...
Community
Spicy Beats Brings the Indian Heat
Indo-Canadian Musician, Raj Ramayya loves to be busy. When he’s not traveling the world performing at anime and game conventions for some of his hit soundtracks like Cowboy Bebop and Resident Evil, he is hard at work writing and producing music for some of the top...
The H-1B Visa is Under Attack. Again!
In the run up to the election, the Trump administration has doubled down on immigration, taking another swipe at the H-1B visa program to boost its America First platform. That means US companies, which have long relied on the H-1B visa to hire highly skilled...
Ragas Live Festival: 24 Hours of Global Resonance
Ragas Live Festival has grown to become a vital element in the cultural landscape of New York City. Since its inception in 2012 when 50 musicians volunteered to create an FM-Broadcast at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY with the theme of “Community, Unity, and Harmony,” the festival...
Why The Senior Vote Matters!
Senior citizens have always been a very reliable voting bloc in the United States. We assume that this is because they have the time to go vote. While that might be somewhat true, the fact is that retired people are most vulnerable to any policy changes made by the...
Voices
Being Thankful & Keeping My Sunny Side Up
Fall is my most favorite season of the year. I love seeing the leaves of trees change colors, and the pleasantly mild temperatures encourage me to take long walks. As we celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of November, we reflect on our blessings in life. This year, it...
Ram-Rajya in America? Yes, You Heard it Right!
In October, I performed Kathak in celebrations to commemorate Dussehra, the Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of Ram over Ravan, Durga over Mahishasur, Good over Evil. As did all other aspects of our lives this year, these performances were moved online....
I Will Not Cancel Us!
Desi Roots, Global Wings – a monthly column focused on the Indian immigrant experience Cancel culture is a form of boycott in which a person is expelled from one or more of their social or professional circles. This happens in real and virtual arenas. A friend...
Nostalgia and Other Maladies
It has been two thousand eighty-eight days since I entered a classroom full of expectant faces waiting for me. I am a teacher, or previously, was! On a chilly December night, in 2014, I bade my best friends adieu at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, to embark...
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Culture
Revolutionary Carnatic Musician: The Saint Thyagaraja
Indian history is full of exceptional devotees who proved the significance of love and spirituality. One such divine and gifted soul was the great “Saint Thyagaraja”. He descended on the land of Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu in India on May 14, 1767. He was born in a Telugu...
An Extraordinary Homecoming
Barbara Kipper’s promised gift of 464 objects from her remarkable collection of Asian jewelry and ritual objects to the new Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bangalore, is exceptional in more ways than one. Besides being a gift, it’s the first time the Chicago...
Sakaar Singh Leaves Punjab to Become R&B Singer, Simba Sing
Sakaar Singh, son of Bhangra Artist - Jasbir Jassi, “Simba Sing”, is an emerging R&B and Pop Singer. Singh left his home state of Punjab at the age of 16 to embark on absorbing and contributing to musical styles far beyond his homeland. Sarkaar’s released singles,...
Dandiya Raas Meets Mexico’s Folklorico
Making The Mosaic - A column that dips into the disparate, diverse palette of our communities to paint inclusively on the vast canvas of the Bay Area by utilizing Heritage Arts. In 2016, Mosaic Silicon Valley commissioned their first two artists - Indian folk dance...
Trending
Aberration: Chapter 5
This story is published every two weeks as part of the column – Legends of Quintessence – which interacts with Sci-Fi in a South Asian context. Recap: In the last chapter, Sneha’s truth is revealed to the others in the shelter. She also discovers that she has evolved...
Naturalization Fees Spike On Oct 2
If you are eligible for naturalization, or some other immigration benefits, now is the time to apply! After concluding their biennial review of fee collections last month, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a significant increase in filing...
Sponsored Articles
Come Celebrate The Holidays At Filoli
Holidays at Filoli is the perfect season to make special memories with loved ones and friends. The historic House and Garden will be glittering and glowing with festive cheer every day and night of the week through January 3. Filoli is one of a kind. With its 16-acres...
October 19 was the Last Day to Register to Vote in the November 3 Presidential Election
The deadline for voter registration is October 19 at midnight for the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election. For those who have not registered yet, please visit registertovote.ca.gov to be one of the over 1,000,000 registered voters in Santa Clara County. ...
Opinion
The Turkey & Thanksgiving Myth
The history of Thanksgiving has become a hotly contested topic. Many believe the heartwarming story of European settlers and natives celebrating their successful harvest, immortalized in American myths for generations, never happened. Some Native American tribes like...
Choice and Democracy: Musings on Elections 2020
It is official. Joe Biden is the 46th man to occupy the Oval Office. Well, at least as official as it can get given the incumbent’s congenital aversion to concede. My first reaction to this victory was of course one of elation. Elation at the thought that policy by...
Insider to Outsider: Reversing the Trend in Hindu Discourse
This article is part of the opinion column – Beyond Occident – where we explore a native perspective on the Indian diaspora. Late last month, days before the US presidential elections, a prominent media outlet published an article on Indian and Hindu-American...
Bra or No Bra, That Is the Question
No single event in history has disrupted our lives as has COVID-19. Maybe, the two world wars had a far more disastrous effect on our psyche, but the arrival of Coronavirus forced us to adopt new ways of living by isolating ourselves in the closed confines of our...
Health & Wellness
Can I Find Happiness?
Sukham Blog – A monthly column focused on health and wellbeing. I believe I’m a reasonably happy person, whatever that means. Sure, I’ve had ups and downs and dealt with disappointment, failure, illness, stress, loss, grief, and death. Most of us have. In retrospect,...
UMA Oils CEO Believes in the Need For Wellness Wisdom
(Featured Image: Shrankhla Holecek on UMA Oils Farms in India) Los Angeles based Shrankhla Holecek is the CEO of UMA Oils. A long-time Ayurvedic expert who educates on Ayurvedic traditions with contemporary sensibility, she is a lifelong vegetarian, yogi, and...
Communication in Desi Households
Desi Talk - A column that works on embracing our brown background and unique identity using Coach Yashu's helpful tips. Find her talking to IC Editor, Srishti Prabha on Instagram LIVE Tuesdays at 6pm PST/ 9pm EST! Recently I saw a post that seemed like a cry for help...
Falling Through the COVID19 Cracks
When COVID19 snared President Trump in early October, he promptly received a dose of Regeneron and an airlift to Walter Reed Army Hospital; physicians dispensed a course of therapeutics - Remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone, and supplemental oxygen as needed....
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Lifestyle
Saying it With Thanks – New Thanksgiving Recipes
In early September, I joined my husband as he went back to his village in Palakkad, Kerala, after a ten-year hiatus. He had grown up in Palakkad in a large joint family with his grandmother, mother, brother, and sisters along with several uncles, aunts, and cousins,...
Youth
Eat in Peace…or in Pieces?
Eat in Peace...or in Pieces? Pass the butter, hand the bread Don’t be dramatic -- nobody is dead Carve the turkey, open the booze But switch the channel if it’s news. Sprinkle the pepper, pour the sauce Dried by the smoke of a burning cross Just because the...
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From the Publisher
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