SEEMA MAY 2023

FROM BROADWAY TO THE SILVER SCREEN, THE AWARD-WINNING ACTOR SHARES HER STORY

FROM BROADWAY TO THE SILVER SCREEN, THE AWARD-WINNING ACTOR SHARES HER STORY

Signs Summer of

Ihave always looked forward to the month of May. After the April showers, May not only brings flowers but also brings us closer to the end of the school year, to graduations and to the summer holidays. But May took on even greater importance once I became a mother. Hallmark notwithstanding, I love being celebrated by my husband and our son. Being spoiled with love and attention and a wonderful Mother’s Day brunch, complete with mimosas and kir royale. I love the day because it reminds me of wonderful memories of my own mother and a day to reflect on her impact on me and the world. So to all the mothers who are being celebrated and to those who are celebrating the mothers in your lives, Happy Mother’s Day.

The month also brings longer days, the lush greenery all around us with the central cooling not yet switched on. The event calendar seems to be back to pre-pandemic days if not more packed. In the Experience section of the May issue we

do a roundup of major events where the South Asian flag was fluttering hard. Whether it be the Coachella festival last month or the New York Indian Film Festival in the second week of May, we have it covered.

I n anticipation of the big Hollywood summer blockbusters to hit theatres this year, we celebrate our very own in Hollywood. On the cover this month is Anjali Bhimani whose acting life spans decades and mediums, from the bright lights of Broadway to the silver screen. You would have seen her in Ms. Marvel, Dead to Me and Modern Family. She shared with us how she charted her own course as an actress and the progress South Asian women are making towards more authentic and prolific storytelling in Hollywood.

I n our endeavor to highlight inspirational entrepreneurial stories we present Sasha Revankar the innovator and creator of One-Minute-Saree. Who has changed the elegant dresswear to be simple and stress free.

For Mother’s Day our feature – The Heart of a Mother includes moving stories of seven women about their own beautiful and complicated experiences of motherhood, as a daughter, mother or a grandmother. The semi-summer edition also preps your for the season ahead with options to have fun in the sun - from sunglasses to skin care for South Asians.

I n a world increasingly obsessing over materialistic objects of desires, we bring to you the story of a model, having lived her early adult life focused on beauty and luxury, had a spiritual awakening. Lama Aria Drolma now lives as a Buddhist nun in a monastery.

May is also Stroke Awareness Month and in the Breathe section we bring to light how South-Asian Americans fall in the high risk category for heart conditions and how you could lower the risk.

O nce again, we bring to you a special edition of the SEEMA magazine with stories about inspirational artists, entrepreneurs and role models. And as the beauty of May fills your home and heart with color and warmth, here’s wishing all the incredible readers a happy Mother’s Day.

• Seema Kumar, Founder, SEEMA Network •

M. CLARK VISIONS

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ROHINI KAPUR

WRITERS

MAUREEN PETROSKY

ABHIJIT MASIH

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@seemanetworks

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BRAND PARTNERSHIPS, DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY

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ON THE COVER:

PHOTOGRAPHER: Diana Ragland

SEEMA™ ISSUE 05 | MAY 2023

EMPOWERING SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN GLOBALLY SEEMA KUMAR, FOUNDER

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WOMEN IN FILM COACHELLA

Experience

Kate Green / Stringer/Getty Images

May the Force

Be with Her Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

will be the first woman and first person of color to direct a Star Wars film

Star Power

The annual New York Indian Film Festival set to feature wide-ranging talent

South Asians Rock Coachella

This year’s festival lineup featured more South Asian performers than ever

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

May the Force Be with Her

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will be the first woman and first person of color to direct a Star Wars film.

Lucasfilm announced in April that journalist and documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct one of the three upcoming Star Wars movies.

This installment will be set 15 years after the last events of the 2019 film, The Rise of Skywalker. It will “tell the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down,” according to a press release. British actor Daisy Ridley will reprise her role as Rey in the lead role of Obaid-Chinoy’s film. After the announcement, ObaidChinoy reflected on Instagram, saying, “I have always been attracted to the hero’s journey—and the world definitely needs more heroes! The blueprints of the heroes we see on screen are rooted in reality. I’ve spent my life meeting real life heroes, who have overcome the most oppressive empires and battled impossible odds. And that to me is the heart of Star Wars.”

Obaid-Chinoy is an award-winning director (two Oscars and seven Emmys) who has used film as a medium to bring attention to atrocities, including honor killings of women in Pakistan. She codirected Ms. Marvel, a Disney+ miniseries about a Pakistani teenager and Avengers fan who develops superpowers of her own.

I’m so inspired that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who I’m proud to call a friend and a colleague, is tapped to direct the next one of the next Star Wars. That gives me hope, too that we can change the universe one film at a time. —Geeta Gandbhir, director

Star Power

The annual New York Indian Film Festival is set to feature wide-ranging talent.

In a year that saw South Asian actors and films winning awards and gaining star power, the 23rd annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF ) will be held May 11 - 14, 2023. This year’s festival lineup features 35 films that showcase the depth and range of contemporary Indian cinema, including cutting-edge dramas, documentaries, and shorts.

Big names are expected to attend the 2023 New York Indian Film Festival, including Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee, Radhika Madan. The 2023 edition of the festival includes films with talented and versatile actors like Deepti Naval, Shefali Shah, and Kalki Koechlin.

NYIFF is North America’s longest-running and most prestigious Indian film festivals, and it continues to grow—this year’s festival will screen more than 20 films, documentaries and shorts. The opening film The Three of Us has

Shefali Shah in the lead and the closing film Goldfish, stars Kalki Koechlin.

Apart from the opening and the closing films, NYIFF will also hold a special screening of the critically acclaimed film Gulmohar on May 12. The screening will be attended by Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee, the brilliant actors who star in the film.

The festival, this year showcases many women filmmakers including Pubali Chaudhuri, Arpita Mukherjee, Shweta Basu Prasad, Nisha Pahuja, Geetika Narang Abassi, Nathalia Syam and Parinaz Jal.

Opening night – May 11 at Village East by Angelika

Closing night – May 14 at SVA Theatre

Visit nyiff.us for more information.

PHOTO CREDIT:

Credit: Peach Hill Media @peachhillmedia

Parity Party

Are women gaining traction in the film industry? Director Geeta Gandbhir says not so fast.

Geeta Gandbhir, an award-winning director with nearly two decades of experience making documentary and narrative film whose doc Colonel Kalsi: Beyond the Call is debuting at NYIFF, says women have a long way to go in the movie industry to get to anything approaching equality. Although she has seen significant change in her nearly two decades making movies, Ganddhir says we’re not yet where we want to be.

[SEEMA] Are women gaining momentum in the industry from your vantage point?

[GG] On the documentary side of things, there are more women in producing positions and directing positions, but it is still not equivalent in any way. Then if you step over into the scripted side of things, there’s a sad and clear demarcation between where women and men are, and particularly white men, remain in the most predominantly in the highest and most powerful positions. It is certainly better than it was maybe obviously 20 years ago, but we have a ways to go for sure.

[SEEMA] What are some signs that give you hope for gender parity in the film industry?

[GG] There’s been a lot of power building and organizing, and that’s where I really, you know, where I look to for hope. There are organizations like Brown Girls Doc Mafia. There are organizations like the Black Documentary Collective. There’s Women in Hollywood. Those organizations continue to push us forward.

[SEEMA] Tell us about the film you are debuting at NYIFF

[GG] Colonel Kalsi: Beyond the Call is a documentary film

about an American Sikh army officer’s struggle to serve his country with honor and dignity. He is remarkable man who I am proud to call a friend, and he fought for equity and equality when it comes to religion in the Army. He’s a true warrior. He’s a doctor who comes from a minority that has faced persecution in India as well as here, and the film shows his refusal to accept the status quo. I can’t wait for people to see it.

South Asians Rock Coachella

This year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival lineup featured more South Asian performers than ever

The lineup and the audience featured plenty of South Asian power at this year’s Coachella. The line-up this year’s Coachella included Indian singer, actor and producer Diljit Dosanjh, Pakistani singer and songwriter Ali Sethi, British-Indian artist Jai Paul, Bangladeshi-American music producer Jai Wolf,

British-Bangladeshi singer-songwriter Joy Crookes and Scottish-Gujarati singer and songwriter Charlie XCX.

The festival, which began in 1999 and has become one of the largest and the most profitable music festivals in the United States, takes place over

Diljit Dosanjh Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

two consecutive weekends in April. It showcases established and popular artists along with upcoming talent at the nondescript venue in the Coachella Valley, CA. South Asian headliners at past Coachellas were few and far between.

This year had some major names from South Asia, performing in their own desi swag. Becoming the first Indian singer to perform at Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Diljit Dosanjh made a huge impact with his debut in a traditional all-black kurta-tamba set, replete with a turban. His performance was nothing less than spectacular, thrilling the audience with his hit songs and drawing shrieks when he spoke to them in Punjabi.

Another artist who performed in an allblack costume was Charli XCX, raising the temperatures further at the venue. Born to a Scottish father and Gujarati mother, the singer mesmerized the

evening crowd with her performances on her songs “Boys, I Love It” and “Vroom Vroom.”

Pakistani origin Ali Sethi together with Indian-American Raja Kumari debuted at the festival and left everyone spell bound by the performance of his hit song Pasoori. The performance by the duo was of special significant considering the song is a musical metaphor for the conflict between Indian and Pakistan. “What we can’t do over there, we can do over here,” Ali proclaimed, holding Kumari’s hand on stage.

Sajeeb Saha (aka Jai Wolf) is the only artist from this year who has had the privilege of performing at the festival prior to 2023. Joy Crookes was another musician of Bangladeshi descent who performed at Coachella 2023. She has become one of UK’s most exciting new artists and dazzled the weekend audience with her powerful vocals.

Ali Sethi Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Joy Crookes

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Nourish

Time Titan

Padma Lakshmi awarded a spot on TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023

Food-Drug Interactions

Could your favorite foods be messing with your meds?

Homage to Indian Spices

Michelin star celebrity chef

Vikas Khanna reveals why Indian cuisine can hold its own against any in the world.

Time Titan

Padma Lakshmi awarded a spot on TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023

The award-winning host of Top Chef was acknowledged by TIME magazine for her work producing cookbooks and television shows and as an activ ist for civil rights and women’s health. Lakshmi, who was born in Chennai, India, suffered a car accident at the age of 14, which injured her hip and shoulder before she went on to become a model, television star, and Top Chef contestant. Her tribute in the magazine was written by Ali Wong, an actress and comedian. She wrote: “Padma is an incredible writer, and that really shines through when she speaks. She’s articulate and has a strong point of view. When I was a guest judge on Top Chef, I was shocked by how honest and unafraid she was of being disliked. She’s brave in that way. I’m always in awe of Padma because, yes, she really is that beautiful, talented, and charismatic. She’s iconic.”

Worth the Trip

The five best Indian restaurants in this year’s top food and drink travel destinations

By Maureen Petrosky

The world is back open for travel and culinary destinations are making every top ten list. From Japan to Paris and on to Dublin and Australia, travelers are always seeking good eats. Lucky for us, amazing Indian restaurants polka dot the globe.

Foodies with wanderlust look no further. While this year’s top travel destinations include luxury hotels and world-class museums they also include some of the best Indian cuisine on the planet. So pack your bags and come hungry—here’s our list of Indian restaurants definitely worth the trip.

London, United Kingdom

Dishoom

With so many amazing spots to choose from for stellar Indian cuisine in London, it’s hard to choose just one. From the Michelin-starred Chutney Mary’s to Amaya and Kahani

there’s a plethora of high-end dining experiences. Or head to Drummond Street, considered “Little India” for your pick of authentic South Asian food choices. But Dishoom in either Kings Cross or Covent Garden never disappoints.

5 Stable St, London N1C 4AB, United Kingdom

Paris, France

New Jawad Longchamp

Like London, Paris is brimming with all sorts of Indian Cuisine and much of it is drool-worthy. But for Pakistani-inspired cuisine in a jewel box setting check out New Jawad Longchamp. Close to the Eiffel Tower, this makes for an easy spot to stop and indulge in more Paris culinary magic.

30 rue de Longchamp, 75116 Paris France

Dublin, Ireland

Pickle

Irish cuisine has come a long way from meat and potatoes and highly esteemed Chef Sunhil Guy is proving it. He and his team are dazzling diners with a mash-up of local Irish produce and Northern India spices for a meal you won’t soon forget. Pickle is not far from St. Stephen’s Green in the Portobello neighborhood and lives up to, if not exceeds, the hype.

43 Camden Street Lower, Saint Kevin’s, Dublin 2, D02 N998

Melbourne, Australia

Horn Please

The southern state of Victoria has become a food and wine lover’s destination. With a hot springs resort and world-class wine, and yes amazing Indian cuisine to boot, Melbourne

Tokyo, Japan

Downtown B’s

Don’t let the size fool you. This tiny dining room has hosted celebrities and locals alike. Serving up delicious homecooked Indian food with a heavy helping of hospitality.

3-4-2 Roppongi , Copu- Nomura -Roppongi 1 Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

makes our list. There are endless options for curry ranging from expensive to takeaway, but Horn Please is our pick for any traveler. Solo or with your family you will be delighted at the bold interior design serving up Holi feels and fabulous food that has earned a cult following.

167 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North, 3068 VIC

Food-Drug Interactions

Could your favorite foods be messing with your meds?

More than 131 million people in the United States—nearly 70% of adults—use prescription drugs. While food doesn’t affect all medications, many foods and drinks can affect how medications are absorbed and metabolized in the body, which can impact the effectiveness of your medication and, in some cases, cause negative side effects. Here are

a few common food-drug interactions of which you should be aware..

GRAPEFRUIT Avoid if you take…

● Some statins, including atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin, and simvastatin (Zocor)

● Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) including nicardipine, felodipine, and nimodipine (Nymalize)

● Antiarrhythmics including amiodarone (Pacerone)

● Estrogen-containing medications including drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol (Yasmin, Ocella) and estradiol (Estrace)

● Some anxiety medications including buspirone

● Some opioid painkillers including oxycodone (Roxicodone, OxyContin) and methadone (Methadose)

● Some oral corticosteroids including budesonide (Entocort EC, Ortikos)

● Some immunosuppressants including cyclosporine (Sandimmune), tacrolimus (Prograf, Envarsus XR, Astagraf XL), and sirolimus (Rapamune).

Why you should avoid

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can increase the levels of these

medications, which can cause various issues depending on the medication, including increased side effects.

Avoid if you take…

Antiplatelet medication Clopidogrel (Plavix)

Why you should avoid

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may increase the likelihood of blood clots by lowering clopidogrel levels in the body.

Avoid if you take…

ADHD medications including amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine (Adderall), methylphenidate/ dexmethylphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin, Focalin), lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse).

Why you should avoid

The acid in grapefruit and grapefruit juice, as well as other citrus fruits and foods containing vitamin C, interrupts the absorption of ADHD medications, which can make it ineffective.

LEAFY GREENS

Avoid if you take…

Blood thinners including warfarin (Jantoven and Coumadin)

Why you should avoid

Foods containing vitamin K, including broccoli, cabbage, kale, spinach, swiss chard, seaweed, and other leafy greens, promote blood clotting. Consuming these foods can counteract the blood-thinning benefits of these medications.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Avoid if you take…

Certain antibiotics, including tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones

Osteoporosis medications, including bisphosphonates like risedronate (Actonel), alendronate (Fosamax), and ibandronate (Boniva)

Why you should avoid

Dairy products can interfere with the absorption of these medications, making them less effective potassiumrich foods.

Avoid if you take…

Blood pressure-lowering ACE inhibitors including captopril (Capoten) and moexipril (Univasc)

Why you should avoid

Consuming potassium-rich foods like bananas, avocados, and tomatoes while taking ACE inhibitors can cause high potassium levels in the body, which can lead to potentially dangerous heart arrhythmias.

Homage to Indian Spices

Michelin star celebrity chef Vikas Khanna reveals why Indian cuisine can hold its own against any in the world and demonstrates how simple it is to cook up something delicious with just one or two spices.

So many foundational cooking concepts are rooted in India. For example, the idea of bread-making is genius, and that comes from India. Pickling and fermenting food has been part of Indian history for 400 years. And then there’s the thing Indian cooking does so well—using spices. The array of spices used in Indian cooking didn’t happen accidentally or by default—there’s a whole science to it. Indian cuisine is the only cuisine in this world, which is based on Ayurveda as a foundation. When you’re a vegetarian, how do you make just vegetables work for your metabolism; where does that heat come from? This is the brilliance of the ancestors. How they incorporate spices so cleverly for the metabolism and the taste.

Simplicity of Spice

I roasted a purple yam in the oven with just a little oil. After I chopped it, I tossed it in black pepper and a little bit of dried gin ger powder, its aroma was immediately so powerful. The spices make all the difference. Even if you’re making mashed potatoes in a very basic way with heavy cream and potatoes, just add ing a pinch of cumin to it changes the entire texture of the whole dish and the flavor.

SEE MORE ON SEEMA.COM

SEEMA

SEEMA

Prosper

The Mane Event

Haircare founder Nikita

Mehta puts equal passion toward her Ayurvedic products and protecting Bengal tigers

A Prayer Toward Inclusion

Serene Singh made history by sharing a Sikh prayer at Oxford University in Washington State

The Politics of Caretaking

Women hold more public roles than ever before, but still bear the brunt of domestic duties and old-fashioned attitudes

The Mane Event

Haircare founder Nikita Mehta puts equal passion toward her Ayurvedic products and protecting Bengal tigers

After nearly a decade spent working in the fine fragrance industry, Nikita Mehta started struggling with stress-induced hair loss. No matter how many products she tried, she could not find a solution. That’s when she turned to her kitchen and began mixing her own oils.

It took months of researching and testing, but she came up with a formula that worked. Blending Ayurvedic ingredients like Ashwagandha and Dashmool, the Holiroots Hair Oil was the perfect first product for her haircare line Fable & Mane, where it is now a best-seller.

The name of the company, which she co-founded with her brother, comes from memories of her time spent in India with her grandmother. “She would massage oil into my hair while telling me short stories and fables of animals that could speak in the forest,” says Mehta. “I missed these stories when oiling my own hair later on in my life. Story time and hair care was a great ritual for the mane and the mind!”

Today, a huge part of her mission is protecting those animals that still roam the forest. She created The Fable Fund in 2019 to help restore the habitat of wild tigers, and reduce human-wildlife conflict. “Years ago I visited a big cat sanctuary and walked past a Bengal tiger. My eyes went to the cage and I felt an unease — something just didn’t feel right,” she explains. “A living being this beautiful should not be locked up in captivity.” Since then she’s

been passionate about wildlife and deeply involved with local charities that help big cats thrive.

She also constantly looks to conservation and sustainability across the hair care industry, and does her part to work to reduce waste. All Fable and Mane hair oils are packaged in glass, and they source and fill their products locally to reduce the carbon footprint.

A TowardPrayer Inclusion

Serene Singh made history by sharing a Sikh prayer at Oxford University

As a student at University of Oxford in England, Serene Singh frequently heard the Latin grace spoken before every formal meal. As President-Elect of the Oxford Sikh Society, she wondered if any other grace or prayer was ever shared, but she was told this prayer was always the traditional one given—no exceptions.

That got her thinking if there might be more avenues to incorporate more inclusion and representation, especially in a place of higher education. She started working with the organizers of her college’s annual Equality, Diversity and Inclusion formal dinner, and offered to share a Sikh prayer. They agreed, and on the night of the formal she shared the Mool Mantar, a Sikh prayer which translates to ‘root chant’ and includes the opening line to the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scripture.

The prayer included the opportunity for everyone to speak some of the words together in response, which was especially meaningful to Singh. “It’s completely a unique feeling to have people who have never engaged with the Sikh faith, or maybe never met a second member. And now they’re participating in something that’s so meaningful in my history,” said Singh.

The event likely marked the first time in the university’s history that a Sikh prayer was shared in the formal hall. She’s also helping to organize Oxford

University’s first langar, which will offer free food to all as is custom in the Sikh tradition, while also creating a space for the community to ask questions, and learn about Sikh cultural practices from turban tying to martial arts.

Unique among all the world’s religions, the Sikh holy text starts with a number — the number one, which Singh finds to be profoundly unifying. “Even if I’m a Sikh, even if you’re this faith or from this country, or this age group, we all are so much more connected in one.”

More than 25 million Sikhs live around the world, making it the world’s 5th religion.largest

The Politics of Caretaking

do any job. Deep-rooted prejudice allows gender inequality to persist even after women assume positions of power.

by Abhijit Masih

A new Pew Research study surveying 30,000 adults throughout India found that a majority thought that women and men make equally good political leaders—with 14% saying they make even better leaders. But when the same people were surveyed on the domestic front, they had far more conservative attitudes.

According to the survey, nine-in-ten Indians agree with the notion that a wife must always obey her husband, including nearly 64% who completely agreed with this sentiment. More than a third of adults also felt that child care should be handled by women. This dichotomy between these two attitudes continues to put increased pressure on women politicians across every country.

The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Arden, one of the most iconic women politicians in the world, recently resigned, citing both burnout and the sacrifices of her partner and young daughter. The popular Amazon Prime series Panchayat reflects the reality of rural areas of India where the actual power of an elected woman candidate is in the hands of the husband. It sheds light on the patriarchal practice where the male counterparts do not believe that their elected wives can

But women in South Asia have already broken the myth of only men being natural leaders. Be it Benazir Bhutto or Indira Gandhi, they have proved to the world that they can be firm and assertive, even when surrounded by an all male cabinet. In the U.S. women like Kamala Harris, Pramila Jayapal, Sadaf Jaffer, Aruna Miller, and Nikki Haley have opened doors for more women of color to participate in politics, but women continue to be outspoken about the challenges of holding a public role amid traditional gender expectations.

Successful women consistently credit having a supportive partner, family, and community, which demonstrates that domestic attitudes must change for women to truly succeed at the highest levels of leadership. Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo admits to the challenges of balancing life as an executive, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, and a mother, all while meeting her family’s expectations to fulfill traditional duties of a South Indian woman. For her, the solution includes both partners needing to take responsibility for the family. “Family is not female,” she said. “Family is family.”

Maryland’s Lt. Governor Aruna Miller also credits her success to the support she had at home. “When any individual in a family decides to seek public service in the level of elected office, everybody pitches in, everyone is part of that movement,” said Miller. “I’m lucky to have a loving husband and a mom, who’s always been here. When I couldn’t be there, they were there to fill in that gap.”

Women hold more public roles than ever before, but still bear the brunt of domestic duties and old-fashioned attitudes.

Indulge

FASHION • SCENTS • STYLE

Luxury Indian Fashion Debuts on Netflix

Los Angeles-based KYNAH has 20+ outfits in the new Murder Mystery 2 movie, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler

5 Spring Scents

A few favorite florals

The 60-Second Saree

How one woman has changed the elegant dresswear to be simpler and still fashion-forward

Luxury Indian Fashion Debuts on Netflix

Los

Aisha Rawji started her brand and store KYNAH — meaning female leader — to redefine how women shopped for Indian attire. But she had no idea that her store would draw interest from the film industry. In November 2021, Rawji received a cold email from costume designer Debra McGuire who wanted to visit KYNAH’s LA-based pop-up to consider some styles for an upcoming movie.

Now more than a year later, that movie— Murder Mystery 2, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler and airing on Netflix—features more than 20 outfits from KYNAH. Rawji hopes the elegant clothes seen in the film keep inspiring others. “Fashion is so much more than just clothing, it’s a source of empowerment and confidence. Through this, women become leaders who then create change,” says Rawji. “My hope with the company is that we fuel confidence and happiness in women to go out into the world with their voices to make it a better place.”

Here are three of the main outfits featured in the film, all available on shopkynah.com and in the appointment-only Los Angeles store.

Angeles-based KYNAH showcased more than outfits in the new Murder Mystery 2 movie, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler.

1. Kuhoo Lehenga - “This was an existing mirror work lehenga from Seema Gujral which we customized in color and blouse cut. Saira, played by Kuhoo Verma, wore this during the Sangeet scene.”

2. They Say Jumpsuit - “This was an existing jumpsuit from “Papa Don’t Preach” which we customized in color. Claudette, played by Melanie Laurent, wore this as she welcomed Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston to the island.”

3. Azmi Outfit - “Sonam Luthria and I collaborated on this outfit back in 2019 before I started retailing other brands. It became a runaway hit and was even featured in the Jalebi Baby music video. We customized a bunch of these for the dancers in the dance segment in hues of purple and blue. Debra did an amazing job picking these colors!”

Spring Scents

Introducing SEEMA’s favorite florals

The spring season has us loving late afternoon walks and all the fresh floral scents that waft through the air. To replicate that springy feeling at home and on the go, here are five floralscented products we’re loving this month.

GUCCI FLORA GORGEOUS GARDENIA

EAU DE PARFUM

With essences of pear blossom, white gardenia, and jasmine, we love the pure florals of this perfume, bottled beautifully in pink and decorated with abundant flowers.

$123, GUCCI.COM

CHANDA CANDLE CO. GULABI

Inspired by the rose flower used in bracelets, home decor, and weddings in South Asia, this rose-scented candle is made of clean-burning soy wax and created by a Pakistani woman founder.

$38

CHANDACANDLECO.COM

CAROLINA HERRERA GOOD GIRL BLUSH EAU DE PARFUM

If the ultra-fun stylized bottle wasn’t enough to sway you, the notes of mandarin, ylangylang, and vanilla will have you warmly welcoming this scent and the season.

$119

CAROLINEHERRERA.COM

TRADER JOE’S ROSE WATER FACIAL TONER

If it’s a bargain you’re after, you can’t beat this beautifully scented spray toner sold in the skincare aisle at Trader Joe’s. Just a few spritzes make it perfect for a before bed refresher or a hydrating tonic on a long flight.

$4, TRADERJOES.COM

SOMA AYURVEDIC JASMINE BODY OIL

Readers love how this Ayurvedic body oil doubles as a perfume, thanks to the authentic jasmine sourced straight from Madurai, known as India’s Jasmine City.

$128, SOMAYURVEDIC.COM

The 60-Second Saree

How one woman has changed the elegant dresswear to be simpler and still fashion-forward.

by Abhijit Masih

The glamor and elegance of a saree may be unmatched, but the difficult process of draping it and keeping it on has kept it from being a go-to garment for many.

But no longer. Determined to simplify the process, Sasha Revankar created the brand One-Minute Saree, which offers garments that maintain all the essential elements of a saree—its elegant borders, free flowing fabric and draping—but secured it with pre-stitch draping and adjustable sizing. We spoke to her about how she envisioned the product and what it means to her customers of all ages.

Saree stress

I’ve always liked to wear sarees. For my own wedding, we had a big traditional wedding in Goa. Everybody wore sarees and we had to hire people to drape the sarees. After that, I started to wear it on my own, but it was always so stressful. The last time I wore a regular saree by myself, I showed up late for a wedding. I had to keep going back to the bathroom, fixing it and all sorts of stuff. After that I thought, I’m just not going to wear a saree again. It’s not worth the stress for me.

The idea behind the brand

Fast forward a year, I was discussing this with a colleague while in India and she mentioned that women in India often have their personal tailors stitch parts of the saree, so it’s easier for them to wear. She showed me an example and I was blown away. I saw this and thought, Why isn’t this available for people everywhere? That’s when I thought I have to make this a product and make it available to everyone.

Her favorite styles

Our collections are from regional styles with different craftsmanship, from handmade to machine-made. The Chloe Beige Georgette Floral Sequins saree is one of my favorites. It’s one of the sarees we designed in house. It’s very light and springy saree, even though the colors are not overly bright. But the texture, the likeness, it’s an all-purpose saree for me.

A generational impact

Two elderly women came up to me to thank me for doing this because their kids don’t wear sarees. They don’t know how to wear them, but this is so good and simple that now they can.

Cool Summer

Smart sunglasses that look sharp

Ray-Ban’s new Wayfarer Smart Glasses may look like typical sunglasses—and that’s a good thing—but they also offer a host of “smart” features that upgrade the experience for this year’s summer under the sun.

The frames also double as Bluetooth speakers (listen to all your favorite playlists poolside), and as a camera connected to an app, so you can take candid photos and easy videos all for seamless social sharing. Starting at $299, these shades can be picked up at Amazon, Nordstrom, and Macy’s.

Breathe

SKINCARE • INSPIRATION • HEALTH

Are You at Risk

Save Your Skin

When she was growing up, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mona Mislankar remembers being told to stay out of the sun, but recalls that sunscreen wasn’t a big part of the skin-saving conversation. But the product is essential in the battle against hyperpigmentation and anti-aging, the two requests she gets most often from South Asian patients.

Most importantly, the right sunscreen also protects from skin cancer and sunburn. While skin cancer is less prevalent in communities of color, when it is diagnosed, it can be more advanced and more difficult to treat, so it’s still important to protect your skin when spending time in the sun. Here are Dr. Mislankar’s tips for doing just that:

A top dermatologist gives her best tips for protecting South Asian skin from the sun.

Go Broad. Look for the words “broad spectrum” on the label, which means the sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB radiation. “UVA, which makes up 95% of UV radiation, penetrates deep into the skin, and is responsible for aging,” explains Dr. Mislankar. “UVB radiation is responsible for sunburns and is carcinogenic, being responsible for the majority of skin cancers.”

Get SPF Smart. SPF only refers to the protection given from UVB radiation and the number refers to how long it takes to burn the skin. SFP 15 only blocks 93% of rays, while SPF 50 blocks nearly 98%. While most dermatologists recommend at least SPF 30, she advises SPF 50 for those worried about hyperpigmentation.

Re-Apply Often. Sunscreen’s protection wanes over time, so if you’re in the sun, you should re-apply every two hours if possible, says Dr. Mislanker. A shot glass-sized amount of product should cover the body, while a nickel-sized amount should be perfect for the face.

Test Them Out. Physical sunscreens, made from minerals like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, provide excellent protection from the sun, but can leave a whitish hue on skin—though today’s formulations tend to be better. Chemical sunscreens on the other hand like oxybenzone can be effective and transparent, but can cause allergies in some. Dr. Mislanker suggests trying a few types to determine what suits you. “The best sunscreen for you is the one that you like and are most likely to use daily,” she says.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

Only 29% of women over 18 years old always use sunscreen when outside on a sunny day for more than one hour.

Blasting Off

New children’s books about astronaut Sunita Williams take kids on interstellar adventures.

During her time stationed on the International Space Station, astronaut Sunita Williams broke records for the most spacewalks by a woman, and the most spacewalk time for a woman—exceeding 50 hours.

The daughter of Mumbai Indian American Deepak Pandya and Slovene American Ursuline Bonnie Zalokar Pandya, Williams also ran the very first marathon in space, as an entrant for the 2007 Boston Marathon. With a host of new books, children across the world can celebrate her space adventures, and keep dreaming big.

Little Tail, Big Tales:

The Adventures of an Astronaut’s Dog, Gorby and His Two and Four Legged Friends. Written by Bonnie Pandya, the mother of Sunita Williams, this new book showcases “Suni,” about to head to space for a 6-month stay on the International Space Station, and her best friend, a Jack Russelll terrier named Gorby. From space, Suni must help her friend stay out of trouble and teach him the wonders of the stars.

Suni Goes to Space Available in India, this Little Leaders book is a beautifully illustrated rendition of Sunita’s journey to space. The story traces how Suni first hears of Neil Armstrong’s mission to the moon, and her wonder on how he got there — ladder? balloon? bird? But when she discovers it was via spacecraft, she’s inspired to get there herself.

Gutsy Girls Go For Science: Astronauts: With Stem Projects for Kids Perfect for older kids (aged 8 to 11), this collection explores the adventures of women astronauts including Sunita Williams. The book offers hands-on projects like building rovers and rockets, and a model of the International Space Station itself. Everything uses simple supplies, but gives girls the hands-on approach to help them succeed in any science career.

Are You at Risk of Stroke?

South Asian Americans have an increased likelihood of dying from heart conditions caused by atherosclerosis, such as heart attacks and strokes. This Stroke Awareness Month, here’s what to know and how to lower your risk.

Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. Compared to people living in the United States. from East Asia and people of European ancestry, South Asians have a higher risk of both heart disease and stroke.

What is a stroke?

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked (ischemic stroke) or when there is sudden bleeding to the brain (hemorrhagic stroke.) Both types of stroke cause damage to brain cells, which can lead to brain damage, disability, and even death.

Increased Stroke Risk Factors in South-Asians

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and diabetes are the leading causes of stroke. Despite having lower obesity rates than other ethnic groups in the U.S., studies have found that Asian-Americans have twice the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. When compared to other groups, South Asians also tend to develop high blood pressure, high triglycerides, abnormal cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes at lower body weights.

You are also at a greater risk of stroke if you:

» Have a heart and/or blood vessel disease

» Have brain aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)

» Have a viral infection or a condition that causes inflammation

» Are 55 or older

» Have a family history of stroke

» Are not active enough and/or are overweight

» Take birth control pills

» Drink alcohol

» Take blood-thinners or other medicines that can lead to bleeding

» Live or work in areas with air pollution

What are the symptoms of stroke?

» Weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, typically on one side of the body

» Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech.

» Trouble with vision, including dimness or loss of vision in one or both eyes

» Dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination

» Fainting or seizure

» Sudden, severe headache

How can I prevent or reduce my risk of stroke?

» Choose healthy food options, including plenty of fruits and vegetables.

PHOTOGRAPHER: DIANA RAGLAND

A Storied CAREER

Anjali Bhimani’s acting life spans decades and mediums, from the bright lights of Broadway to the silver screen. She shares how she charted her own course as an actress and the progress South Asian women are making toward more authentic and prolific storytelling in Hollywood.

• Abhijit Masih •

njali Bhimani, the renowned and award-winning actor, has straddled both stage and screen from Broadway to the silver screen. She has done extensive work on stage including Bombay Dreams on Broadway. You would have seen her in Ms. Marvel, Dead to Me, Modern Family, and many other shows. Her repertoire is not restricted to acting alone; she has given her voice in video games such as Overwatch and Apex Legends. The multi-faceted actor spoke to SEEMA about her initiation into the world of entertainment, her first break, and about using different mediums to tell engaging stories.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR EARLY YEARS GROWING UP IN THE U.S.

My parents were raised in Mumbai, and they moved here to the States to do their internship and residency. They were both surgeons and they moved to Cleveland, where I was born and then to Orange County, CA, where I spent most of my younger years before I went away to college. They definitely instilled the love of education and science in my youth. They also were very into the arts. My parents met doing a play in medical school. So it was already part of my blood before I even knew it. We had such a wide breadth of interest in our family. My mom is an incredible, creative artist and my father loved the theater.

HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR OWN CAREER PATH?

I was a very stubborn kid, and you couldn’t pressure me to do anything I didn’t want to. But there was definitely a bit of judgment or skepticism. I remember one thing very distinctly. I remember an uncle once saying to me—so what are you gonna do? A movie with Tom Cruise? I was like, okay, easy. Don’t make fun of me. I’m going to be doing things with my peers because there are amazing people in my class doing amazing things. And you just watch. I think there was just that

skepticism, because particularly in that generation, I don’t think there were as many prominent examples. There was also the misconception that in order to be a successful actor you have to be famous. But we don’t have to be famous. If we’re a doctor or an engineer, we just have to do our job. Do it well, make a living and do good in the world. So that’s all I was aiming to do. I’m glad to say that I think the skepticism has diminished over the years. I hope I’ve proven that I can do this.

HOW DID YOUR CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD BEGIN?

It was part of what I was doing from a very young age. I would do all of the different creative options that we have in the school system. But I don’t think I really understood that it was a viable career until high school. I realized, people go to college for this, get a degree, and then go out in the world and have a job. This is amazing. So I think that’s when I started taking it seriously, in terms of a future rather than just a hobby. My parents did offer help, they were obviously concerned because it’s generally a competitive field and historically people don’t make a lot of money doing it. That’s beginning to change, thank goodness. I didn’t want to do it on the side. If I’m going in, I’m going in. I didn’t want a fallback, because then I would fall back. I’d rather just lean completely into it. I started taking it very seriously and then it made my schedule crazy. I’d work on the school play for a few hours and then drive to our local community theater to work on the play there, come home and do my homework, and start the whole thing the next day. So that’s commitment, especially at that young age. I loved it.

HOW CHALLENGING WAS IT FOR A SOUTH ASIAN WOMAN TO GET WORK IN HOLLYWOOD AND HOW DID YOU GET YOUR FIRST BREAK?

I never thought of myself as a South Asian woman. I didn’t immediately put myself in that category. Obviously I am. But I am also a petite woman, I’m a brunette woman, and I’m a loud woman. I’m all these things. My particular heritage and look would obviously lend itself to that kind of casting. But since the theater is so open to the audience using their imagination, I don’t think it was that difficult for me, especially starting in theater. Now, I was also very lucky, because my very first show

out of college was with an extraordinary woman—Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman, who has become a dear friend. She casts the person and then writes the show around the cast. She’s very keen on seeing the essence of who you are more than necessarily how you physically present in terms of your cultural background or your skin color. We went on to do the Odyssey and all of these other beautiful works and the big one on Broadway was Metamorphoses. It was so dear to all of our hearts.

YOU HAVE WORKED IN THEATER, TV, ANIMATION, AND VIDEO GAMES. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE CHALLENGES FOR EACH MEDIUM?

I think it really is just this selective stubbornness. If I want to do something and if I don’t know, I’m going to learn. I think the biggest challenge honestly, is our own minds. It’s so easy to come up with reasons why you can’t do something. At that time, it would have been so easy for me to say, oh well, there aren’t that many parts for South Asian women, so I can’t work.

But my opinion has always been that omebody’s working; it might as well be me. I am more than just what I look like or where I come from. It is invigorating when you realize I can do that thing because you just put your mind to it. There were low days. There were days where I didn’t have the faith, didn’t think I was talented or didn’t think I was good enough. But the overarching thing was—I want to. It’s a service industry to be an actor. I know I have this vessel that is very emotional and very expressive. So when I get the opportunity to tell a story in any medium, in voice-over, animation, Broadway, and film, it excites me to be able to reach out to the audience member and say I’ve got you. No matter what is going on in your life, you get to relax right now. I am going to do the heavy lifting. I’m going to tell you this story. I’ll cry, I’ll sing, I’ll dance, I’ll do all of this stuff. At the end of the day, when you leave, you will have this new experience. But you didn’t have to change anything in your life because I did it for you.

WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN, WHO WANT TO GET A-FOOT-IN-THEDOOR IN HOLLYWOOD?

Don’t look for the door. You make the door. You have a different set of things that you love in your life, and that you care about in your life and things may be different priorities that you don’t even realize. No one else can tell you who you are. You have to show the world who you are. So part of that is deciding what you want. And part of deciding what you want is trying everything you can. So I think, especially now when there’s so much access you can talk to people. You have access to producers, directors, whomever. Just reach out and start putting yourself out there. If you are desperate for something, no one wants to necessarily deal with you. But if you are excited about it, and you are asking people to see that

“Don’t look for the door. You make the door.”

PHOTOGRAPHER: MATTHEW KENNETH

“There was also the misconception that in order to be a successful actor, you have to be famous. But we don’t have to be famous.“

•

ANJALI’S FAVORITES

DRINK

Coffee! I love coffee. Close second is Chai, with a little bit of almond milk or coconut milk in it. I will stop everything for that.

ENGLISH MOVIE

Oh, that’s so tough. So many beautiful ones. I can’t do it.

INDIAN MOVIE

I watched Silsila like 9,000 times when I was little. I was just in love with Amitabh Bachchan. “Rang Barse” is still one of my absolute favorite celebration songs.

BOOK

Every book by Frank Herbert tied with the series His Dark Materials.

SONG

“Chaiyya Chaiyya.” When we did Bombay Dreams, we did that dance on a moving turntable just to simulate the train and that was a fantastic experience.

FAN GIRL MOMENT.

Meeting Ram Charan recently was pretty memorable.

CO-STAR

Linda Cardellini from Dead to Me. There was so much respect and love put into that show. The scenes that we had together were emotionally very difficult because of the storyline, and yet she was so gracious, and I felt simultaneously challenged and valued. She’s just an incredible actress, and a very sweet human being.

PLACE TO TRAVEL

Barcelona. We have been keeping our eyes out for the possibility of having a home there some day. It’s very inspiring.

MUSIC

I love Motown. Mostly because of my husband who is so great at it.

passion, everyone wants to open doors for you.

YOU ARE ALSO HIGHLIGHTING THE STRUGGLES OF SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN, THROUGH A SHOW CALLED THE B WORD. TELL US ABOUT IT.

This is a work of art by a writer named Sabrina Besla. She has written many screenplays and pilots and this particular one happens to have five South Asian American women dealing with their lives in Los Angeles. The challenges that they have to face and how they all deal with that, how it keeps them together, and how it breaks them apart. It is such an unusual and necessary viewpoint for people to have, because we talk about diversity all the time, but representation only goes so far until we include people in the party and include them in the story. So The B Word does this in a beautiful way, dealing with real life issues in comedic and dramatic ways. Sabrina is just an incredible writer. I cannot wait for the world to see how brilliant she is.

HOW DIFFERENT IS VIDEO GAME VOICING COMPARED TO ACTING?

Voice acting is still acting. It just happens to be that you are mostly conveying it through sound and through your voice. It’s storytelling one way or another. I look at all of these different mediums as different branches of the tree. The roots and the trunk are still the very same, they’re just different branches. I was a gamer growing up so it was second nature to me. What has been really special is that a lot of the characters and video games historically have been two-dimensional with no deep portrayals of women or cultures.

“When

Woman.

little

girls have Symmetra, Rampart, Ms. Marvel. They have all of these beautiful characters who are unique with their backgrounds and their experiences..“

I was younger all I had to look at was Wonder

But now

South Asian

I am more than just what I look like or where I come from. It is so invigorating when you suddenly realize I can do that thing because you just put your mind to it.

In the time that I came back to games as a performer, there was this beautiful flowering, this beautiful boom of unique characters, which had different backgrounds, different genders and different sexual orientations. So players could come into a game and play all of these different characters. There was something that they could identify with. When I was younger all I had to look at was Wonder Woman. But now little South Asian girls have Symmetra, Rampart, and Ms. Marvel. They have all of these beautiful characters who are unique with their backgrounds and their experiences. My character (Symmetra) is on the autism spectrum, and that is something so special for people on the spectrum and their families to see. So I love that video games are at the forefront of that.

HOW DID YOUR BOOK, I AM FUN SIZE AND SO ARE YOU, COME ABOUT?

I started a web series in 2017, because I had fallen in love with this online community that I had started to connect with through

the games. They have been so giving, artistic and supportive, that I wanted to give something back. I started this series, where I would answer their questions, not by giving advice, because I don’t believe in telling other people what to do. I just give my opinions and you decide if that works. Just by telling stories on how I went through things. Then in 2021, I decided that this feels like it should be a book. We should take all of these episodes and expand on them. I wrote the book in three weeks, edited all of that and it was published through my company last year. It seems to have done very well. We had a bestseller.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXCITING PROJECTS YOU’RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

I am very excited right now, because there is a new gaming endeavor that I have been a part of creating that basically surrounds Indian culture. So one of the branches of my tree is a tabletop version of these video games where you actually play a role as the character. We are currently in the process of creating a show called DesiQuest—a role-playing game set in a fantasy universe. Playing games have historically not been something that has included people of other cultures in a particularly prominent way, and I know a lot of companies have been doing their best to add elements of that. But I do believe that this is the first time. It’s an entire game and an entire show, another party that we can invite other people to and we’ll have guests on the show who are new to our culture. So that people understand that this is not just for us, this is for everyone. We’re having so much fun with it. Jasmine Bhullar, this incredibly creative Punjabi woman, has created this fantastic world for this game

THE OSCARS WERE SPECIAL THIS YEAR FOR INDIAN CINEMA. WHAT DOES THIS RECOGNITION MEAN FOR THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY AND FOR SOUTH ASIANS IN HOLLYWOOD?

I think it’s exactly what I’ve been talking about. Because there wasn’t a door open, they had a party and invited everyone to it. They made this incredible film (RRR) and said, come, join us and that’s one of the reasons that it is such an international sensation. I admit I did not know about the Telugu film industry. My whole understanding of Indian cinema was Bollywood. It’s expanded my view. It’s expanding everyone’s view. Now that they understand there’s a party that they’ve been invited to, everyone wants to be there. That’s inclusivity and those two gentlemen, Oh, my goodness, NTR and Ram are both so gracious, kind and lovely. I’m so grateful for what they’re doing, not just for Indians in India, but

PHOTOGRAPHER: OFFICE OF ANJALI BHIMANI

PHOTOGRAPHER: OFFICE OF ANJALI BHIMANI

From to

Model Monk

After living her early adult life focused on beauty and luxury, Lama Aria Drolma had a spiritual awakening. Now living as a Buddhist nun in a New York monastery, her life couldn’t be more different as she leaves the material world behind and walks the path of enlightenment.

• Abhijit Masih •

ria Drolma stepped into adulthood as a fashion model in New York City, living a glamorous life focused on material beauty. (At one time, she owned almost 300 pairs of shoes.) Now an ordained Buddhist nun living in a monastery in upstate New York, Lama Aria Drolma lives a completely different existence, one focused on spirituality, purity, and enlightenment.

She is a Buddhist teacher and meditation expert and leads corporate meditation, retreats, workshops, and programs around the world. Lama Aria shared with SEEMA the secrets of detaching from worldly desires and shared her thoughts on the choice of simplicity, discipline, self-care and happiness.

The early years in the glamor world

I went to college in Mumbai and won a beauty contest. I had a lot of modeling contracts and movie offers and I also got a job with an international Airline. I took the job because I really wanted to travel the world and have my freedom and be financially independent. I did not have a clear vision. I was 19 or 20, but I had so much confidence. I felt the world was at my feet and I could choose to be whatever I wished to be.

The upscale life in New York City

I was really excited to live in New York and be in the fashion world and live the New York lifestyle. It was a lot of fun attending parties, wearing designer clothes, going to the latest clubs and restaurants and hobnobbing with celebrities. I must have had a collection of over 300 pairs of shoes and tons of clothes. I was absolutely excited to be in Manhattan, in New York City. I grew up in a very little city in southern India. It’s not even on the map sometimes and from there to make that journey to New York and be a model was really a lot of fun. But eventually the modeling lifestyle and the parties were becoming meaningless. It’s a very empty world and you start to question the reality and your purpose in life. It’s a very hollow and superficial life. When I started questioning my connection, my reality and that I didn’t fit in, that’s when the change started happening.

Model to a monk

I was looking deep into my life and I couldn’t identify with the reality of it. You can call it soul searching or a spiritual awakening. It was really a strong sense of wanting to find the true purpose of my life. What are you here on this earth for? This

question came about because my mother had passed away in her early fifties, and that’s when I found the Buddhist meditation center in Manhattan. It was a New Year’s resolution to start attending regularly because I wanted to go back into my childhood, where I learned transcendental meditation. When I started going into the meditation practice and to the center regularly, my life totally changed 180 degrees. That’s when I met my Guru and understood the Buddhist teachings. That’s when it changed.

Reaction from friends and family

At first it was really very hard for my family and friends to accept that I’m going on this path, which also involved a three and a half year traditional Buddhist retreat. My friends were really concerned that they won’t hear back from me because there’s no television and no emails. They were very afraid for my future. But, some of my former friends from Hong Kong and India, they often said, that was always you. You had that very strong spiritual side. The model friends and all who knew me in the later part of my life were absolutely in shock that I was going to leave

everything behind. I was on the top of the game and then to go into a monastery and become a nun was shocking. I had three very important friends and they were like angels. I really feel that when you are on the right path people come into your life to protect you and take care of you. These friends were really supportive. My family and my sister are coming around as well.

Secret to detaching yourself from worldy desires

One of the important focuses in Buddhism is the focus on death. All our practices are leading up to death, and the question is, what do you take with you when you die. The answer is nothing except that karma follows you. So when you have a deep understanding of the illusory world, it’s very easy to detach yourself from material possession and all the worldly desires. There’s nothing wrong in wanting and having all beautiful things. The problem lies in the attachment. The more you are attached to all these material things, you also have that responsibility to keep it safe, and that’s where all the suffering comes from.

The precepts of spirituality

As an ordained nun and as a llama, we have five important precepts to keep. We abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication.

A typical day at the monastery

I’m very fortunate that I live in the monastery upstate. The day normally starts at 6 am with prayers and chanting and giving gratitude. The chanting and prayers are from 6 to 8 and then we have breakfast. Our lunch is at 12 noon, where we gather together and discuss the day. We have afternoon prayers for the protected deities. Our goal here is to practice mindfulness, meditation, and chanting. The ultimate goal is for us to reach enlightenment. Buddha paved the way and showed us the path, how to reach enlightenment. It’s not an easy task. It takes many lifetimes of meditation, chanting and the practice to become enlightened. So we have practice prayers and chanting to the protected deities to protect us on this path. Then in the evenings it’s a very simple meal. I really love this simplicity and the discipline of living a monastic life and gathering with everyone and chanting prayers. On Saturdays we have prayer and chanting for two hours in the morning, where we light 1,000 butter lamps. They are lit to awaken the whole universe and the prayers are to bring peace to everybody.

I was really excited to live in New York and be in the fashion world and live the New York lifestyle. It was a lot of fun attending parties, wearing designer clothes, going to the latest clubs and restaurants and hobnobbing with celebrities.

Life mantras for the young

Practicing self-care is a core principle of life.. It’s important to take care of yourself—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Pursue activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. Develop self awareness.. Take time to reflect on your thoughts on your feelings. It’s really important to check your thoughts and what you’re thinking. To cultivate resilience, because life is full of challenges and setbacks. When you cultivate resilience, you can bounce back from difficult situations. Also to surround yourself with people who uplift you and support you, support your values and your goals.

Preaching the benefits of mindfulness and meditation

These teachings and practices have helped me

immensely and I feel so joyous with having less. When I was in Manhattan I must have owned innumerable pairs of shoes and had clothes with tags on that I had never worn. I continued thinking that all those material things will make me happy. But when I joined the monastery, I realized happiness comes from within. I’m really grateful today that I have the opportunity to teach meditation at the Harvard Business School for Women, Oxford University and even the United Nations. I’ve been practicing for over a decade and have been invited to teach in various universities and corporations, where I do retreats to benefit the employees and the CEO’s. I’m also a regular at the Rubin Museum, where I teach mindfulness and meditation. These days this world has so much anxiety, stress and pressure and to have mindfulness, meditation and practice is really beneficial. This has been my goal

to teach people the benefits of mindfulness and meditation.

Words of wisdom

One of the most important pieces of wisdom I would like to share with everyone is the thought that we are all interconnected and interdependent. We are not independent individuals, as we often perceive to be. We are interconnected to this earth. We are interdependent with this whole earth in the sense we all breathe the same air and the sun nourishes us. It’s that interconnectedness and interdependence that we all have. I want to share that we are all connected and hence should have empathy for each other; for us to have compassion and loving kindness. This is what we practice, because eventually the potential for all human beings is to be enlightened, and the only way to become enlightened is when you have that wisdom and loving compassion for all beings.

Eventually, the modeling lifestyle and the parties were becoming meaningless. It’s a very empty world, and you start to question reality and your purpose in life. At first, it was very hard for my family and friends to accept that I’m going on this path, which also involved a threeand-a-half-year traditional Buddhist retreat.

Heart The of aMother

7 women speak on their own beautiful and complicated experiences of motherhood, as a daughter, mother, or grandmother.

In all its iterations, motherhood is complex and unique across culture, generation, and personal experience. Yet being a mother or having a mother is often one of the most profound relationships we share in this lifetime. This Mother’s Day, we heard from seven women who have experienced motherhood as daughters, as mothers themselves, or as grandmothers to discuss the ins and outs of a mother’s love, in all its lights and shadows.

Food for Thought

by Leena Chitnis

Indian mothers feed. I remember a time when I was in elementary school, and there was a period of time when bullies would steal my lunch out of my locker. The first few times it happened, I happened to have lunch money, so I bought myself something from the cafeteria.

But on the fourth or fifth day, I didn’t have money, and so I went to the admin office to tell them I was hungry. They gave me a frozen peanut butter sandwich which was rock hard, without apology. As it clattered onto the table, I realized I had only 30 minutes for it to thaw and for me to eat it. So I asked to call my mom.

Twenty minutes later, my mom arrived with a cold Capri-Sun, steaming hot Top Ramen noodles in a small casserole dish, and Chip’s Ahoy cookies. It’s all she could grab, prepare, and rush over in the 10 or so minutes she had to prepare it and the 10 minutes to drive it over.

I’ll never forget that day—how the noodles were piping hot, how they tasted, how there was condensation on the cool Capri-sun, and how my mom poked the straw through the hole for me and handed it to me to drink. I sat in the van with her and cried while I ate, because I was so touched, and also because I was sad as my lunch was repeatedly stolen. It was one of the most loving things anyone has ever done for me, and infinitely tender.

When the bell rang to end lunch, I hadn’t finished eating. My mom looked at me and said, “Don’t worry. Take your time and eat your food, you can miss this class.” It was great fun to watch kids through the windshield reluctantly head into boring social studies class, while I munched on cookies.

My Mother’s Voice

by Amita Mehta

First, my mom was my voice. When my family was among the 80,000 South Asian Ugandans expelled from the country in 1972, she moved my brothers and I to America with the clothes on her back and $140 dollars. At 38 years old, and with four young children, including infant twins (my brother and I), she left the life she had known since she was 7, when she moved to Kampala, Uganda from India. She left the land she loved with its mango trees and the stunning beauty of the Nile River.

My parents were separated during the expulsion—my father ended up in an Italian refugee camp before eventually landing in Lancaster, PA, so it was my mom who guided my brothers and I through British refugee camps for more than three months before we were all reunited in 1973. When we landed at JFK Airport in the middle of February, my mom was in a sari and sandals, exposed to the harsh Northeast winter for the first time.

Although we were all together, it wasn’t always easy living in the middle of Amish country, and my mom carried so much of the load. She took on a lot of laboring jobs, like gluing soles on shoes. She made sacrifices for us at every turn.

But she never had a chip on her shoulder. She never complained, never said a word about everything that had been taken from her. She never came at life like that. She nurtured her children. She taught us to be good humans. Whether a person is a waitress, janitor, or CEO, she taught us that you treat people with respect. She always embraced everyone and met them where they were.

As early as my teenage years, our roles began to shift. With the awareness of an all-American teen, I began to see the discrimination that my mom endured on a daily basis. She still wore her traditional sari and often smelled of homemade Indian food, and people made fun of her. She also endured physical and emotional abuse at home. Coming to her defense, I found my voice, standing up for her in the face of teases, taunts, and physical harm.

Later in life, I was her voice in countless doctor’s offices, hospitals, and restaurants. I translated her words from Gudjrati to English, letting them know where she felt pain, what she wanted to eat, and, eventually, how she wanted to die.

As she watched me embrace the American experience and make the most of my education and every opportunity, she lived through me, encouraged me, and never begrudged my opportunities. Being my mother’s voice was my greatest honor.

Three months ago in the hospital, Bhanu Mehta’s last coherent words were, “I’ll try my best.” That’s all she ever wanted for her children—to try our best at everything we do in life. From how we love to how we live, she just wanted us to try.

Bhanumati P. Mehta died in February 2023 at the age of 88.

Mothering Yourself

by Dr. Masuma Rasheed

Motherhood goes beyond just raising our children—it’s also about mothering our younger selves and healing and understanding the intergenerational patterns that have shaped our families. For me, as a South Asian woman, this has been a raw and vulnerable experience.

I’ve spent years learning how to mother the younger parts of myself, the ones that didn’t receive what they fully needed in order to grow into a strong, confident, and capable person. There were times when I asked myself, “Why didn’t my mother know how to parent me the way I’m

Advice From Mothers

“My daughter is a first-generation immigrant. She’s biracial. I know the statistics, the ways in which she’s at risk. My child has this South Asian sense of civility. I’m teaching her to make sure that she seeks out people who don’t mistake kindness for weakness. I need her to have the difficult conversations, to disagree, set boundaries, to ask for what she needs. I was asked to be compliant no matter what. I want her freed from that expectation.

I love sharing my culture. It feels amazing to pass on my love of all things South Asian. My daughter is proud to be South Indian. She travels through India, eats the food, feels at home in our village. In our village, they call her ‘Ammu Ponnu’, meaning Amu’s daughter, which feels amazing.

CREDIT: BECKY BRANCH PHOTOGRAPHY

learning how to parent myself now?” The answers I found were complicated.

My mom didn’t receive everything she needed from her own mother, so those underdeveloped parts of her had to figure out how to mother me. I can’t imagine how tough that must have been for her, trying to raise a new generation while carrying the weight of her own unmet needs.

As I continued to gain awareness of how hard I was fighting to break patterns, I wondered how many patterns my mom sought to break from the generation before her. This opened up a whole new dimension where I looked back and noticed just how many ways she, too, fought patterns and had to

mother herself in so many ways. When I realized how many patterns she managed to break herself while navigating a complex web of intergenerational patterns and expectations, all while trying to raise me and my sister, makes her one of the most remarkable women I know. I know she did the best she could with the resources and capacity she had and I am so grateful to understand that.

Today motherhood means breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma and healing the wounds we’ve inherited. It starts by nurturing our own younger parts, and then extending that healing to the next generation of children while also recognizing and appreciating the efforts of the generations that came before us.

Actively working to mother my younger self has provided a profound sense of healing and personal growth. As I have revisited and addressed the unmet needs and unresolved issues from my past, I’ve experienced a newfound sense of self-compassion, self-awareness, and emotional resilience. I’ve gained a deeper understanding of my emotions and needs and to embolden my beliefs to shift from something like “I should have done something” to “I did the best I could” or “I am not enough” to “I am okay as I am” or “I am not in control” to “I now have choices” or “I cannot trust anyone” to “I can choose whom to trust.”

All of this has helped me learn to foster healthier connections with myself and others and allows me to create a more nurturing and supportive environment for the future generations.

Balancing Motherhood

by Slisha Kankariya

I’m a South Asian immigrant who came to this country at age 4. I saw my parents work incredibly hard to financially start their life again with three daughters in tow. Juggling home and work as an entrepreneurial couple was hard for them, but it taught me so many lessons on how to be a good mom and partner.

Fast forward to today, I’ve successfully built and sold a startup with my husband, following in the footsteps of my parents. I have a 4 year old and am expecting my second child now.

My pregnancy was the first instance of our startup

Raise your child to love all parts of their identity. My daughter is biracial (Puerto Rican and Indian) and is being raised in a multi faith household (Catholic and Hindu). We are raising her with family traditions, religious holidays, and giving her the ‘keys’ to understand these parts of her identity. Learning to love herself starts here at home.”

—Candace Rivera

needing a maternity plan, even though we had a flexible policy of paid and sick leave. I took maternity leave, while working from home partially, and then reintegrated back to work by balancing some work-from-home hours with days back at the office. Because we are an e-commerce startup, I am blessed with the fact that much of my work can be done remotely when necessary.

While leaving my baby at home without me was hard, it also helped me understand I needed to establish a work-life balance. With a startup, you get used to working or thinking about work non-stop. A baby changes that. You have to prevent yourself from thinking about work all the time so that you can be fully present for your child, even if you are just playing.

Work and baby will pull you aggressively in terms of all that you must do to keep up. But remember to set aside even half an hour for yourself — not your partner, child, or work obligations — in a nurturing positive way. Denying yourself that half an hour of yoga, a massage, a run, or even a peaceful meal will prevent you from giving your best elsewhere.

A Grandmother’s Perspective

by Aroon Shivdasani

I have four grandchildren. The worry quotient is minimal—I can enjoy them without worrying about homework, bedtime, and the right meals because my daughters have looked after all that and given them, and me, a hall pass for the time they spend

with me. Of course, I keep tabs on their lives, worry about their sickness, or any other problems. That’s part and parcel of loving my daughters and grandchildren.

Being a mother and having a relationship with my own mother are both extremely special for me. Both relationships are essential parts of my being and my soul. I believe a mother’s love is unconditional and unquestioned.

My favorite part about my grandchildren is thoroughly enjoying them, spoiling them, taking them to my favorite places, and seeing the world through their eyes. I love listening to music of a different generation while simultaneously teaching them about our music.

Today’s world is difficult to navigate—ours was much easier, a gentler time. It’s important to love them, never judge them, and ask questions sensitively. All you can do is try and understand their problems, and if you don’t just be there for them. Tell them you love them as much as possible.

If you have a spark or a belief in what you like or what you want to do, and if there are no resources or help, you must give it your best. The best will come. It took me five years to get my career going, but I believed that I could do it because I really loved it. You will succeed one day.

Nourishing the

Soul

One of the most appealing things about food is the way it looks. Saravasthy TK uses her artistic talent to bring that concept to life.

Great food is just as much a visual experience as a physical one. And even something that tastes bad — if it looks good, if it looks real— people will try it. In a way, getting people to believe in something that alters their perception is almost a magic trick.

For Saravasthy TK, a food artist living in New Jersey, the creativity of perception is how she makes her mark.

Food Art

Born in Chennai, India, TK grew up in Puducherry and then moved to Singapore after getting married. As a student, she studied computer engineering, but as she started visiting museums and exhibitions, she began to have discussions with her husband about her passion for art.

“I always loved to draw and paint. One day, my husband asked me, ‘so why not do it?’ And once

I made it a hobby, he encouraged me to do it professionally, too.”

A driven individual, TK is a self-taught artist who first researched other kinds of art, eventually finding in herself a love for oil paintings. As she was drawn to beautiful landscapes, abstract artwork, and stilllife, one of her biggest influences was artist Jessica Brown. “I’ve always loved her paintings. I could stand and watch them all day,” TK explains. “Then I started getting into realism. Images of food, bowls, spoons— simple things that people can relate to. And at the time, I needed an identity for myself, for my work. I think any artist needs to create the ability for people to see their work and know who they are. So I gave myself time and searched. Ultimately, I fell in love with the food from my home country. To me, food is one common thing that we all have; it connects with everyone. What we cook is what we are and where we come from.”

TK’s work is defined as hyperrealism: recreating paintings of Indian cuisine that looks so lifelike

you can almost taste it. And not only does she portray the image itself, but she tries to convey their surface details, their colors, their textures, the aromas of the food. Even something as simple as a samosa, the details of her work are meant to create a psychological bridge that allows the viewer to have an intimate experience with the food, even though they can’t eat it.

To TK, that’s how she honors her home and connects with her cultural identity.

Touched by the muse

Since TK is developing her artwork from actual Indian dishes, the process of her creation is painstaking at best. “To start, I prepare the food, and then I do a professional photoshoot of it, and then a drawing for a week or so—then I start painting them.”

Altogether, from ideation to finalization, it takes her about three months to complete a painting.

“I think that’s why the work speaks to so many people upon seeing it,” says TK. “Even once I came to the U.S. in 2017, my first artwork was shown in an exhibition hosted by the West Windsor Arts Council in New

Jersey. it was a part of their cultural heritage show, and everyone was so welcoming! They asked about my dish, and from the painting, they wanted to go try it immediately! It’s for that reason I take so much time to make something real: it’s a great way to my culture and who I am as an artist.”

After relocating to the U.S., TK is fiercely busy, earning more accolades and participating with a welter of exhibitions. She recently received the Award of Merit for her online showing with the American Women Artists of California (2020). Also, in the spring, she was a finalist in the International Guild of Realism Spring Salon Exhibition in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the year before, TK’s work was also chosen to be a part of the 41st Salmagundi Annual Open Exhibition in Painting, Sculpture & Graphics in New York.

“It is not easy to get into Salmagundi, and the same artwork (chosen for that exhibition) got me membership into the International Guild of Realism. So many fabulous realistic artists around the world are members and being one of them is awesome. There are no words to explain—it is a great pleasure.” As she preps for her upcoming art show, and in the meantime, continues her craft at home, TK offers some helpful words of advice to other aspiring artists around the world: “I would encourage everyone to come up with their own ‘food’—to know themselves. And if you have a spark or a belief in what you like or what you want to do, and if there are no resources or help, you must give it your best. The best will come. It took me five years to get my career going, but I believed that I could do it because I really loved it. You will succeed one day.”

The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality – Angela Saini

Ever wondered how patriarchy was born, developed and thrived across the globe? This is the book to read. Angela Saini, the author of Inferior and Superior brings out a wellresearched concept of patriarchy, tracing its origins to ancient times.

In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini explores the roots of patriarchy, uncovering a complex history of how it first became embedded in societies and spread across the globe. She travels to the world’s earliest known human settlements, analyzes the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and traces cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia. The book reveals some interesting facts:

» From around 7,000 years ago there are signs that a small number of powerful men were having more children than other men.

» From 5,000 years ago, as the earliest states began to expand, gendered codes appeared in parts of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East to serve the interests of powerful elites.

» In societies where women left their own families to live with their husbands, marriage customs came to be informed by the widespread practice of captive-taking and slavery, eventually shaping laws that alienated women from systems of support and denied them equal rights

» There was enormous variation in gender and power in many societies for thousands of years, but colonialism and empire dramatically changed ways of life across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, spreading rigidly patriarchal customs.

SEEMA’S VIEW :

The book gives a comprehensive insight in understanding the concept of patriarchy. Angela Saini has done extensive research in bringing to light the entrenched system of male domination. An enlightening book that can hopefully have an impact on the future.

GOAN ODYSSEY

•

With its distinct elements, Goan cuisine stands out for its distinct taste and flavor profile

The coastal state of Goa is known for its unique cuisine that largely comprises seafood. Some of the most popular dishes include mackerel, shark, tuna, pomfret, and king fish. Goan fare still has a Portuguese flavor, having been a colony until the 1960s. The arroz e chouriço: Goan sausage and rice, pork vindaloo, chicken xacuti and Goan feijoada are some examples of this influence.

One of the best-known desserts is bebinca, a multi-layered cake made with coconut milk, sugar, eggs, and flour. Vendors go door to door every morning, selling poie – or poi – the Goan bread.

“In Goa every place has a very distinctive fish thali,” says Arun Lalwani, founder, Amger, Goa, adding that the sol khadi is a distinguishing element in the thali.

• Bindu Gopal Rao

Goan Prawn Curry with Raw Mango courtesy Edridge Vaz , Sous Chef, Taj Resort & Convention Centre , Goa

The traditional Goan prawn curry brings together a unique blend of Indian and Portuguese influences. This dish is not only delicious but also accessible and affordable. It relies on fresh local ingredients, such as prawns, coconut, and mango, which are found in plenty along the Konkan coast that Goa lies on. The curry also goes with freshly baked Goan bread. The addition of mango bestows a unique tangy flavor that complements the richness of the coconut and spices and creates a harmonious balance of flavors.

INGREDIENTS

For the Masala

● 1 coconut

● 10 – 12 dried Kashmiri chilies

● 1 tbsp coriander seeds

● ½ tsp turmeric powder

● ¼ tsp cumin seeds

● 8 garlic cloves

● 10 ml tamarind pulp

● Water as required to grind

For the Curry

● 7 oz prawns (deveined and

marinated in salt)

● 1 onion (sliced)

● 2 green chilies (slit)

● 1 mango (wedges marinated in salt)

● Salt to taste

● A pinch of sugar or to taste

METHOD

● Grind all the listed masala ingredients together into a smooth paste using water.

● Transfer the paste into a vessel, and add approximately three-fourth

cups of water.

● Add sliced onion and bring the mixture to a boil.

● Add prawns, raw mango and slit chilies, simmer till the prawn is cooked and mango is tender.

● Adjust the consistency and check for seasoning.

● Serve hot with Goan red rice.

Vegetarian Xacut,i courtesy Sohel Rana Molla , Executive Chef, Amger , Goa

Xacuti, whether made with vegetables or chicken, is popular in Goa. Every restaurant in Goa has this on its menu.

INGREDIENTS

For the first paste

● ½ tsp Fenugreek Seed

● 1 tsp Aniseed

● ½ tsp Jeera

● ½ tsp poppy seed

● 12-13 red chillies

● ½ tsp cinnamon powder

● 4-5 bay leaves

● 2 tbsp black pepper

● 2 tsp coriander seeds

● 6-7 pieces cardamom

● Small nutmeg

● ½ tsp sesame seeds

● 3 black stone flowers

● A pinch of hing (asafetida)

For the second paste

● 2 tsp chopped ginger

● 2 tsp chopped garlic

● 1 ¾ oz chopped onions

● A handful of ground coconut

● 1 tbsp vegetable oil

For the marinade

● 2 tsp chopped ginger

● 2 tsp chopped garlic

● A sprig of coriander leaves

● 2 green chillies

Other ingredients

● 10 oz cauliflower

● 10 oz mushroom

● 10 oz tomato

● 10 oz potatoes

● 3 tbsp vegetable oil

METHOD

● To make the first paste, grind all the ingredients in that list to a smooth paste.

● Sauté the chopped ginger, garlic, onions, and coconut for the second paste. Let the mix cool down and grind to a fine paste.

● Mix both the pastes and grind together to make the xacuti paste.

● Prepare the marinade by blending all the ingredients in the list to a smooth paste. Apply this on the vegetables.

● Add oil into a pan and cook the vegetables till done. Add the xacuti paste to the vegetables with a little bit of water to maintain slightly thick consistency.

● Cover and cook till ready.

● Serve hot with sannas, appam, rice, or poi.

Pork Assad courtesy

Pawan Kumar , Executive Chef, Aloft Bengaluru

Outer Ring Road

Assad is a Goan roast dish that may include either pork and beef. Assad, which means roast, is a dish based on one the Portuguese brought to India. The spices and Goan vinegar make this dish distinctive. Use original Goan vinegar or palm vinegar and avoid white or cider vinegar. Assad is generally eaten with Goan pao and poi bread.

INGREDIENTS

● 17 ½ oz roast pork

● 3 onions

● 1 tomato

● 4 red chilies

● 1 tsp turmeric powder

● 1 cinnamon stick

● 2 green chilies

● 3 ½ oz ginger- garlic paste

● 7-8 peppercorns

● 5 cloves

● 2 tsp cumin

● 150 ml Goan vinegar

● Coriander leaves for garnish

METHOD

1. Marinate the pork with ginger garlic paste and sear it. Pot roasts the pork with quarter onion, cumin, 2 red chilies, cloves, and cumin. Add a little over half a cup of Goan vinegar.

2 Sauté the onions in a frying pan, then add quarter tomato, green

chilies, cinnamon stick, and sliced pork.

3 Add the pork stock from the roasting pan and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.

4 Sprinkle chopped coriander as garnish and serve hot.

ARIES

March 21April 19

It’s time to seize the day. Don’t be scared of change. Don’t wor- ry about approval from others; focus on your goals and take the steps to achieve them. Apply for that job or start that new project even if it feels daunting. The key to victory is to keep moving forward. The love department looks promising, so keep your eyes open for opportunities. However, be careful when it comes to business dealings. Your creativity and problem-solving skills are in high gear, so use them to your advantage.

TAURUS

April 20 - May 20

If you have been feeling like life has been pretty monotonous lately, hold on tight, because that will change. Be open to sudden bursts of inspiration and creativity. Explore new hobbies or activities you’ve always been curious about, like painting or reading a new book. Keep an eye on your mailbox: you may receive some unexpected news or a message from someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Remember to keep your emotions in check and rise above petty drama. Victory is in your hands..

FORECAST WITH FARZANA

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20

You are possibly at a major crossroad in your life. Choosing between two opposing things can be tough, but it’s important to take a step back and re-examine your values. Trust your instincts. They will guide you in the right direction. If you have been struggling with finance, help is likely on the way! Just be mindful about mixing business with pleasure. Partnerships, marriage, or collaboration might work out well for you, so keep an open mind. Whatever you decide, things will work out in the end!

CANCER

June 21July 22

Focus on building the foundation for a more fulfilling and liberated life. You’ll need to tap into your inner strength, discipline and confidence to make it happen. Opportunities may come with challenges. Career-wise, manage your expectations and stay patient. If you’re in business, things may be slow but steady. Pay attention to your finances, but don’t neglect your physical health. Give your body some love with good nutrition and adequate sleep. Take a moment to appreciate the simple pleasures in life, like stargazing or smelling the roses

LEO

July 23 -

August 22

It’s a great time to reconnect with old friends or revive past hobbies that you once loved. Even if you’re content with life, don’t forget that there’s always room for growth. Embrace your creativity. Let it guide you towards new opportunities and ideas, whether involving relationships, finances, or career. This month’s beauty should inspire you to embrace change, and not limit you based on your past achievements or the expectations of others. However, don’t overindulge; keep an eye on your weight. Procrastination will come in the way of your victory, so take action now.

VIRGO

Aug 23 - Sept 22

Life’s about to get exciting with opportunities and surprises coming your way. It might even include a major breakthrough in your career or financial situation, so keep an eye out. Take a risk and pursue a passion project or apply to that dream job. But don’t rush into things. Be patient, keep a conservative spending plan, and allow things to unfold naturally. If you’re single, this could be the perfect time to see what the dating scene has in store for you. Matters of travel and property may take up air time.

LIBRA

Sept 23Oct 22

Sometimes the past can weigh us down. Shrug it off and focus on being your authentic self. Whatever you’re doing now is likely to turn out great. A new job or exciting project may be around the corner. Embrace the opportunities, whether they involve recognition or new opportunities. If you’re single, put yourself out there. For those in a relationship, there’s potential for your partnership to blossom even more. Avoid being whiny, clingy, or needy, and keep your ego and anger in check. You got this!

SCORPIO

Oct 23Nov 21

Keep pushing forward towards your goal, whether it’s landing your dream job, pursuing a new ven- ture, or completing a project. Be open to new opportunities, but do your research first. Go the extra mile and give it your all; your hard work will pay off. Financially, you are likely to see positive results, so it is time to invest in improving your skills. Just make sure you are not neglecting your love life. If you are single, don’t let your work consume you and prevent you from finding a partner.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 22 - Dec 21

Remember that while you are busy planning for the future, it is equally important not to lose touch with friends. Life is a beautiful journey, and we should take time to appreciate the little things. At work, you might collaborate with some like-minded individuals on a creative project. It is great to be a team player, but remember to take care of yourself, too. Don’t be afraid to express your true self. Be creative and add some spice to your relationships. Celebrate your accomplishments and victories, but don’t forget to save up for a rainy day.

CAPRICORN

Dec 22 - Jan 19

Life can be pretty demanding, and this month may be no exception to it. You may need to make some tough choices, whether about finances, relationships, or work. Adapt and stay resilient. Prioritize your responsibilities and find that sweet spot where you can maintain balance. Take time to figure out your capacity and avoid overcommitting yourself. When it comes to relationships, make sure you’re giving your loved ones the attention they need. Focus on your most important goals and work towards achieving them one step at a time.

AQUARIUS

Jan 20 – Feb 20

If overwhelmed with emotional clutter, it is time to shake it off. Take a moment to focus on your goals and

make some tough decisions. Don’t let worries, drama, or politics distract you from what really matters. Maybe it is time to recommit to a project or relationship and stop making excuses. Accept the attention and success coming your way. This could be a great time to travel, relocate, or even buy a new set of wheels. Communication and space can help your relationships grow stronger. Remember, growth is a choice even when things are tough. Your hard work will pay off.

PISCES

Feb 21 –March 20

If you have been stuck in the past, it’s time to let go. You might need to reinvent a certain aspect of your life. Rely on your intuition to make the best decisions for yourself. Don’t let others’ opinions or fears hold you back. Figure out what needs to change in your love life. If finances need attention, get them into the shape you want. Remember to strive for balance. -It’s key to creating the life you desire!

Farzana Suri is a victory coach who coaches people through their life’s challenges to take the leap to victory, using the science of numerology. For a personalized forecast, you may contact Farzana at surifarzana@ gmail.com or visit her website www.farzanasuri.com