Acclaimed jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi debuted his new CD "Things to Come" at Smalls in the West Village last weekend, performing with the musicians from the disk, all of whom are virtuosos. The house was packed.
Dan Weiss (drums), Johannes Weidenmueller (bass), Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax), Rez Abbasi (guitar)
Vijay Iyer (piano)
Rez Abbasi and Kiran Ahluwalia (vocals)
Dan Weiss
Rudresh Mahanthappa, Johannes Weidenmueller, and Rez Abbasi
Rudresh Mahanthappa and Rez Abbasi
Falu took the stage at Joe's Pub on October 1st for an acoustic show of traditional Hindustani songs -- quieter but no less energetic than Falu's usual repertoire.
Sakhi for South Asian Women, the community-based organization working to eradicate domestic violence, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gala at the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan with two prominent guest speakers -- filmmaker Mira Nair and actor Reshma Shetty.
Filmmaker Mira Nair, of the much-loved movies "Monsoon Wedding" and "The Namesake"
Actor Reshma Shetty of USA Network's "Royal Pains"
The evening's MC was Bhavna Toor -- Miss India New York 2001 and a host at Namaste America, the South Asian TV network.
Read E. Nina Rothe's coverage of the event at the AVS TV blog. See more pictures.
I had a lovely time at the Sewanee Writers' Conference in Tennessee -- and IndiaWorld looked really good on the walls of the main lecture hall. Here is a composite picture of the space, with the poet Debora Greger reading from her work (click for larger).
A press release about an upcoming show -- I will be in Sewanee from Jul 17-19.
The Sewanee Writers’ Conference will present work from “IndiaWorld: Images of the Global Indian Diaspora” by Preston Merchant from July 14-26 at the Bairnwick Women’s Center, 114 Mississippi Avenue, in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Merchant is a graduate of Sewanee:the University of the South and a former faculty member at St. Andrew’s – Sewanee School. “IndiaWorld” is his ongoing project, now in its seventh year, to document the people and culture of Indians living outside the subcontinent. Working in ten countries, Merchant has photographed Indians in all walks of life from the Lord Mayor of Leicester in the United Kingdom to contestants in the Miss Teen India Georgia Pageant in Atlanta and scenes from South Africa, Malaysia, and Guyana.
“Large scale Indian migration began in the late nineteenth century when the British turned to India for labor after the abolition of slavery in their colonies in 1834,” Merchant says. “Subsequent waves of businesspeople, shopkeepers, and traders in the twentieth century have built strong and vibrant Indian communities in dozens of countries around the world.”
“IndiaWorld” is a story of both the forces of globalization and the struggle of families to build new communities far from India.
Quoting novelist Salman Rushdie, Merchant observes that the immigrant must invent the earth beneath his feet. “I have tried to photograph families affected by immigration and the ways in which they have forged a new culture in a new land,” he says.
Merchant graduated from Sewanee in 1990 and taught English and Spanish at St. Andrew’s – Sewanee School from 1992-94. He also worked on the staff of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference from 1990-1999. He lives in New York and works as a freelance photographer.
“It’s an honor to come back to the Mountain and be part of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference again, as it celebrates its twentieth year,” Merchant says.
“IndiaWorld” will be on display for the duration of the conference. Bairnwick Women’s Center is open daily from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
Image above: Hari Radhakrishnan weds Marguerite Cauble at the Meenakshi Temple. Pearland, Texas
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