When we become parents, we reflexively continue the grand oral tradition of storytelling, often dredging up memories of our own childhood to illustrate a point or demonstrate a moral. Sushmita Mazumdar takes these nostalgic journeys one step further – by crafting tangible, physical reminders of our experiences in the form of ...

As any cook worth her/his salt will tell you, the best way to learn a new dish is to watch someone else make it in front of you. That is the simple idea that is the basis of Show Me the Curry, a cooking blog that is rich with videos ...

For those of us without satellite TV and needing a Bollywood fix on weekends, our only choices have been Showbiz India, anchored by the enterprising Reshma Dordi and to a certain extent, Namaste America, which covers weekly India news and entertainment. Now a local mother-daughter team has put together a show ...

What do you do when you have a great idea for a book but no idea how to find the right person in the publishing world and how to market the idea? Why, publish it yourself!

The typical Silicon Valley success story has to do with chips, b(y)tes, outsourcing and lots and lots of dough. Well, so does our story, though not in the way you might think. It all started when the bottom fell out of the hardware market in the early part of this ...

An interesting article in the New York Times talks about how comments are becoming the new social currency on the web. “There are those who have blogs,” goes the article, “and then there are those who leave comments on other people’s blogs.” While the 2 groups may intersect once in ...

Our Indian community is known for its obsession with the education of its children and sometimes we make enormous personal and professional sacrifices to make sure our kids are in the right environment and the right school. While there are many public schools around the bay which meet the rigorous ...

By Vidya Pradhan A plaintive mass email reached my inbox recently. “I am thila from Malaysia,” went the email(typos intact), “I have always been a movie freak since I was young. Somehow, since the past few years, I kept thinking of writing stories for movies especially Indian movies. In fact, I have written two movie stories and even send it to Revathy madam via e-mail. Unfortunately, there was no reply….I even send my stories to Hrithik's mailing address three years ago but there was no reply. Send it to Vinu Vinod Chopra but no reply too. I am currently working but I know for sure that this Job is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I would really really appreciate it if you could help me on this matter.” Whether Malaysia or Mongolia, the lure of Bollywood is getting irresistible. Can Silicon Valley be far behind?

By Vidya Pradhan Sonali Sahni Herrera had a problem common to Indians brought up in the United States. Husband Carlos was able to share his culture and Spanish language with their children with the help of many bilingual books and DVDs but she was at a loss when it came to Hindi, having grown up in the US since the age of 4. Not being very fluent in the Hindi script, she looked around for books, CDs, nursery rhymes that could bridge the gap between her knowledge and her culture but the offerings were limited and few met her quality standards. She turned to sister Sheetal Sahni Singhal, for help. After scouting around in India and here for material, the two decided that the only way to get quality books was to publish it themselves. They started MeeraMasi, a publishing company that focuses on Indian bilingual books for kids under the age of 6.

By Vidya Pradhan There may be considerable debate about the wisdom of high level academics for children under 5, but for Indian Americans used to the system back home, it is inconceivable that their children will learn their ABC’s only in kindergarten. Like most Indian parents, if you are wondering if you are doing enough to educate your young child, look no further. In a humble strip mall in Newark is Safari Kid, a place that will satisfy the most rigorous desi requirements.