by Justin Sidhu American work holidays revolve around the observance of Christian holidays and nationalistic pride. Desi-Americans who adhere to different religions come together every year to celebrate Diwali, Vaisakhi, Ramadan, and more outside of their regularly scheduled days off. This leaves a weird void, however, on days that we are expected to celebrate holidays we might not relate to with the rest of the country. Many Desi families — anecdotally those of many of my friends — disregard these holidays entirely and treat them like normal days. Others like my family take part in the cele ..read more

by Sonali Bhargava Speaking from the perspective of a third-generation immigrant, one could say my family is well-established in the United States. With at least three generations from every lineage of our family here in America, Thanksgiving is always a conglomeration of both American and South Asian traditions. The sheer number of family members coupled with everyone’s Thanksgiving wishes makes the holiday memorable each year.  In my family, Thanksgiving rotates between three houses. My house, my mom’s sister (Moushe’s house), and their best friend’s house each take turns since almost ..read more

By Aneesa Khan The Fame Game is the first release from Dharmatic Entertainment, a subsidiary of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. The release of The Fame Game marks the most successful web series venture of Dharma Productions owner, Karan Johar. For over thirty years, Johar has become a staple of the Bollywood film industry, not only through his films under the Dharma Productions banner but also through hosting several Indian television shows such as his very own talk show Koffee With Karan. However, amongst all this, Johar has also been known for “uplifting the already uplifted” through laun ..read more

By Rishabh Vashishtha If the contemporary independent singer-songwriter renaissance in India started with artists like Prateek Kuhad, then it continues strong in the hands of a talented artist like Sanjeeta Bhattacharya. She is one of many artists who fit under an umbrella that Spotify has neatly coined through a playlist known as ‘IndiEnglish’ - Indian English indie. However, Bhattacharya is not one to be constricted by tidy labels; the Berklee-educated musician is a medley of influences, from classical Hindustani to flamenco. When she isn’t breaking genre barriers, you can find her crossing ..read more

By Justin Sidhu “Indian people understand what it means to sacrifice. Americans are more-so concerned about themselves.” - My Nanaji (grandfather) India is the world’s second-largest English-speaking country behind the USA. Yet, from “Moktails” to “Collage” to “Tution,” menus and signs across the homeland (and in restaurants overseas) misspell them to oblivion. You know an Indian restaurant is good if “paneer” is spelled “panner.” While outsiders may perceive this as incompetence, to me this is a reflection of our distinction from Western cultures. Though the British colonized us for over ..read more

By Roshni Patel My love for the holiday, Holi, began when I was a child. Living in Southern California, I celebrated at a local beach. I mean, it was the perfect location for the holiday. The fire pits were already built into the sand. The tiny particles joined efforts to swallow the color by the next day. The water was the perfect conclusion to the day of running around in the sun splashing powder at my loved ones. And that was how we, my local family and friends, carried on the Holi tradition.  Until recently, I never thought about how anyone else celebrated Holi or rather any other Ind ..read more

By Sona Bhargava As a South Asian collegiate student who is heavily involved in Desi Dance Network, representation of this niche chaotic lifestyle is hard to come by. However, this month La Jolla Playhouse, a theatre located at the University of California, San Diego, follows the story of a collegiate Bhangra dancer, Mary Darshini Clarke (Ari Afsar).  Bhangin’ It: A Bhangin’ New Musical details Clarke’s journey through South Asian-inspired music and dance. Clarke constructed her own bhangra team at East Lansing University when her creative directions were not supported. Bhangin’ It refle ..read more

By Sonaili Vasta These two nations arguably take up quite a lot of the media that is consumed by many around the globe. It is a no brainer that American media does dominate the TV industry with having a massive global reach. However, Britain is hot on their trails with a growing number of people watching shows coming out of it. Both areas have a big South Asian diaspora population that are constantly on the lookout for characters that look like them on their screens. Here is rough guide of shows most of us grew up with and whether the representation did us justice. To begin this deep dive, we ..read more

By Sona Bhargava For me, being back on campus this year (well, sort of) and simultaneously dance competitions being back in-person equates to too many hours of academics and practice, and seemingly not enough hours in the day. As a DDN (Desi Dance Network) college student, it often feels like captaining a dance team (shout-out UCD Raasleela) is a full-time job. Competition season, as many of you may be familiar with, brings with all the excitement, sweat and chaos to an otherwise routine lifestyle. While I absolutely love dancing with my friends each night, here are some tricks and tips I hav ..read more

By Saloni Nahar I quit my 9-5 job three months ago and as a result decided to pursue acting more seriously. Here are 5 things I would tell myself if I could go back to that day: It will be hard. You’re entering an experimental era. You won’t be earning as much as you are now and you won’t necessarily know how you’ll be spending everyday. With this transition you’ll be forced to look inward at your values and sometimes be put in uncomfortable situations. Even though there will be really tough moments, as Ginni Rometty once said, “Growth and comfort do not coexist.” Constantly evaluate ho ..read more