Happy Mother's Day

US To Allow Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders to Work.

Indian-American chefs win James Beard Food Awards. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Attorney Trupti Patel)

Payal Agrawal Diavakaran is the founder of SpotRocket, a company that uses a proprietary algorithm to rank 10,000+ private companies across the US to find the top-performing startups. An MIT electrical engineering graduate who has previously worked at J.P. Morgan, Payal is currently doing her MBA at HBS. She talked to Lokvani about her journey. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Emerson Hospital)

A busy entrepreneur takes time off from business to hit the road and campaign for a candidate in Vizag, India. Are there lessons in management to be learnt from this? Srinivas Garimella elaborates. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Monique Kornfeld, Esq.)

Priyanka Chopra is upset that ex-flame Aseem Merchant is planning a film on her life including her infamous fallout with her ex-manager Prakash Jaju. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Masala Art)

Great singing, wonderful mcees, flawless production and wonderful sound made Khandan-e-Kapoor a class act. The leader of the team, Mohan Subramanium's tribute to the Kapoors was a nice treat for the audience. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Kanan Sachdeva)

Four Indian Americans, three of them women, were amongst this year’s winners of the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition. Amrita Saigal and Mira Mehta from New England were part of the teams that won the first and second prize in the social enterprise track. [more]

I absolutely love the Kuchipudi dance form and every aspect of it - performing, choreography, nattuvangam, singing and most of all teaching. Running a dance and music school gives me the opportunity to do all these. Above all, I want to contribute in helping to bring awareness, understanding and appreciation among the people towards Kuchipudi dance - Prafulla Vellury. [more]

An enigma to many, Krishna is the most adored entity of the Hindu pantheon. His multifaceted personality never fails to evoke a mystical sense of devotion, passion, and divine romanticism in the hearts of his devotees. [more]

What a show! Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan mesmerized Boston with their show on April 27, 2014 at the Collins Center for Performing Arts, Andover, MA. Alka came on stage around 8:15 pm and the duo did not get done until 12:15 am. [more]

The cultural event "Raíces V - India: Unity and Diversity", presented India’s art and culture through music and dance on May 3, 2014. The event was held at South Lawrence East Middle School, Lawrence, MA and was a sold out show. [more]

"The idea of having a competition for MOMS has been playing in my mind since I saw a similar competition on Zee TV last year. Also, I love dancing and at weddings and parties I am in company of a lot of mothers who love dancing," says Eshani Shah who worked with Gurjar to host the first ever dance competition for Moms in NE. [more]

North South Foundation, Massachusetts held its final round of regional contests on April 27th at Tufts University. Close to 300 kids in grades K through 8 attended Math, Science and Spelling bee contests. [more]

World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) organized a membership appreciation day on April 27th at American Legion Banquet Hall in Newton. This event was organized to thank members and supporters who have been associated with VHPA by coming to its programs or supporting its activities, and enriched this organization with their tireless energy, love & dedication. [more]

Ekal Vidyalaya and ATFS Learning Center joined hands on May 3rd at Tufts University, Medford, MA, to create an opportunity for children of grade 2 - 8 to participate in MATH BEE and also help spread the light of education to the under privileged in rural and tribal India. The winners were... [more]

SAADA is an independent non-profit organization based in Philadelphia and working nationally to give voice to South Asian Americans through documenting, preserving and sharing stories that reflect their unique and diverse experiences. Its founder Samip Mallick shares some interesting facts about the history of South Asians. [more]

City of Quincy recently held its 4th Annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast Meeting at Sons of Italy in Quincy to coincide with National Day of Prayer, which is observed around the country, each year on first Thursday in May. The Hindu faith was represented by Keshav Shukla, President of Vrindavan Preservation Society. [more]

Urge people to break the "deafening silence" over caste­-based violence against women in India. [more]

An annual India Poetry Reading is arranged at Harvard University every May. The event commenced in 1997 and has continued every year. This year’s program is scheduled for Saturday, May 17, to be held at 3 PM in The Auditorium, South Asia Building, Harvard University, 1730 Cambridge Street in Cambridge, MA. [more]

Music is evocative; it affects our mind, body and feelings and transforms lives. Transforming lives is indeed the daily activity of the non-profit social service organization Udavum Karangal. So to lend a helping hand to Udavum Karangal‘s activities of providing a new lease on life to nearly 2500 people, from newborn babies, abandoned, sick, orphaned, to the old and dying, a benefit event titled “Raga and Rasa” is being planned for Sunday May 18, 2014 at Diamond Middle School, in Lexington, MA. [more]

“Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha” is planned as a gala event with over 21 renowned Music and Dance artistes performing on stage and 150+ students participating from 15 Music & Dance schools in New England region that spans half a day and has two segments. [more]

Sri. Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma garu is visiting the Boston area in May. The pravachanams will be from May 19th thru 22nd at NESSP (Saibaba Temple in Chelmsford) and at Siva Temple in Lowell on May 27th. [more]

TiECON East, the largest startup conference on the East Coast, to be held on May 29-30 in Cambridge, MA, brings together entrepreneurs and startups from different sectors to network, get inspired, learn, and find mentors. [more]

Education had allowed Indian Americans to emigrate to this wonderful land and make a success of our lives. There are many stories of a father or a grandfather who went to a village school thus helping generations after him to succeed. For a dollar a day investment in Ekal Vidyalaya you can light that spark for a child in a rural village and thus ensure success for generations in that family. Come listen to a fabulous music concert by very talented musicians from India while learning about Ekal. Event is free. Registration required. [more]

Tarun Khanna, Director SAI, Harvard joins the US Advisory board of AIF. [more]

Cleveland State University hosted the 37th Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival, the largest Indian classical music festival outside of India, between April 17th and 27th, 2014.Once again this year multiple students of Guru Smt. Tara Anand Bangalore (Anubhava School of Music) won numerous prizes. See who won. [more]

This year once again, Celestial Minds is proud to host USCF rated New England Junior Open Chess Championship-2014 for K-12th grade players. Chess amateurs are welcome to attend and watch the games. [more]

Letters of a recommendation are an important part of college applications. Letters – typically from the school counselor as well as current/past teachers, coaches, mentors or employers – assess an applicant’s character, skills and abilities. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Sounds Of India)

Priyanka Jain reports.…And the award for best (pretty much every category) goes to….Bhaag Milkha Bhaag!! There was no surprise that this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film starring Farhan Akhtar would steal a grand total of 16 IIFA trophies! [more]

In January 2014 a five-day interactive training program entitled “Building Communities of Care: Spiraling towards Strength” was held at the YMCA International House in Mumbai. The training was organized by Direct Action for Women Worldwide (DAWNWW), a Boston-based non-profit and by Center for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT), located in Mumbai. [more]

Catch up, register and purchase tickets for the upcoming events and concerts including Romancing the 70s, Mitte ke Rang, Trichur Brothers, Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha and Udavam Karangal - Raga & Rasa. [more]

Congratulations to Giri Anand, Kishore Balsara and Saba Lateef, who were the winners of the last set of puzzles. Here are two puzzles for one and all! [more]

Transportation jokes. [more]

From Burgers to curries, the banana flower is very versatile. [more]

The MET in New York is an artist's paradise! [more]