Yashaswini Chittampalli is among eight New York City high school seniors selected as 2013 Milken Scholars based on their academic performance, community service, leadership and their ability to persevere in the face of challenges. Each scholar, chosen from eight high schools across four New York City boroughs, will receive a $10,000 scholarship plus mentoring, assistance with internships, opportunities for community service and access to a wide range of resources for their academic and professional careers, according to a press release from the Milken Family Foundation. “These remarkable students have already proven they have the capacity to change the world for the better,” Program Director Gregory Milken was quoted in the release as saying. “The Milken Scholars program provides them with the support to develop their potential and become tomorrow’s leaders.” Chittampalli, a senior at The Bronx High School of Science, will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall, the release said.

– SAN ANTONIO Muthu Alagappan always encounters the same problem whenever he shows up to play pickup basketball. At 5 feet 10, the Stanford medical student and basketball junkie said he finds himself thrust into the role of point guard, “yet I don’t like being the point guard.” The frustration of being stereotyped into a position that doesn’t fit his skill set eventually served as one of the motivating factors for a scientific discovery that could revolutionize the NBA and redefine the five traditional positions, which Alagappan considers outdated. “They don’t exist. They are basically kind of arbitrary categories that we toss players into without even thinking,” Alagappan, 23, said in a recent telephone interview while taking a break from studying for his finals. Alagappan came to his theory as an intern two years ago at Ayadsi, a startup company based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Over 150 years after the Queen of England began her reign over India, the “crown jewel” in a British empire that has since dissolved, a monarch of partial Indian descent is about to sit on the British throne. Prince William, according to a study by a genetics firm called BritainsDNA, likely carries a small amount of Indian DNA. Here’s how that happened. Sometime in the early 1800s, before the British Raj was first established, a Scottish merchant named Theodore Forbes, who worked for the East India Company in the port city of Surat, had a child with his housekeeper, a woman named Eliza Newark. Newark is thought to have been Armenian-Indian. She and Forbes named the child Katherine. Two centuries later, one of Katherine’s descendants, Diana Spencer, married the prince of Wales. Their child is Prince William, who is slated to become king. Researchers say they can’t know with absolute certainty that William carries DNA of Indian origin but they believe it’s pretty likely.

Nearly six years after her model-to-actress career move, Deepika Padukone says she is finally being praised for her acting in films and not just for her good looks. Ayan Mukerji's "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", which stars Padukone in the lead with Ranbir Kapoor, got her box-office success and critical appreciation this month. Some reviews said she overshadowed her co-star. It's a far cry from her Bollywood debut with "Om Shanti Om" in 2007 and subsequent films when critics described her acting as wooden and mocked her accent. "We call it the Brad Pitt syndrome where for some reason if you are good-looking then people think you cannot act," Padukone told Reuters in an interview. "I have been slotted in that way where people thought she is good enough to just add glamour to a film," the 27-year-old actress said. Padukone, the daughter of India's most famous badminton player, was worried about the undue focus on her physical attributes.

Lord Jagannatha rode down Manhattan’s 5th Avenue June 8 as devotees accompanied the chariot while singing bhajans and dancing. Organized by the New York chapter of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) the parade began on 45th Street and 5th Avenue and culminated with a Festival of India at Washington Square Park.  The event began with a colorful procession of three 40-foot high traditional  chariots, bearing images of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra Devi, pulled by hand. The festivities continued at Washington Square Park, with a traveling mela  showcasing India’s spirituality and culture, and featuring a stage-show, display booths, and a “bazaar-style” outdoor market.  Highlights included Bharata Natyam performances,  Rama-Lila drama, bhajans and kirtans. In 1976 A.C.

A tiny storefront without a sign. A food truck. A gas station. Indian cuisine is showing up in unexpected places. The Malabari Kitchen in Minneapolis, Minn., has been in operation since last December, in the tiny storefront previously occupied, in quick succession, by Korean, Thai, and multi-ethnic Southeast Asian restaurants. There’s no sign above the door, just an awning that says Asia Kitchen, left behind by the previous tenant. And even if you do discover the true name of the restaurant, unless you are a geography major or a serious foodie, you might not know what kind of cuisine to expect. The Malabar coast is the legendary spice coast of southern India, from whose ports traders have exported cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric and more for centuries.  The cuisine of the Malabar coast is rich with those spices, as are the dishes on the Malabari Kitchen menu. I’ve only sampled a few so far, including the palappam (lacy rice flour pancakes) with egg curry ($9.

Balasaheb Darade, an anti-corruption activist and champion of farmers, was hosted June 1 at a first-of-its-kind Google Hangout in New York. The event was organized by the nonprofit Overseas Volunteer for Better India (OVBI).  More than 550 people listened to the talk, according to a release from OVBI, an organization formed by a group of overseas Indians who want to make an impact on social issues in India. Groups of 10 to 20 listeners gathered around the country in Maryland, New Jersey, Indianapolis and the Bay Area, to hear Darade, according to Sanjay Pandey, spokesperson for OVBI. The event was held to familiarize nonresident Indians with Darade’s drought-relief efforts in Maharashtra and discuss ways in which overseas Indians could be a part of it. In the past few months alone, Darade has brought relief to over 100,000 farmers and developed 20 model villages in Buldhana district, the release said.

– Minnesota he Asian Indian American community is a highly educated population that has doubled in number in the last decade. With over 80 percent of Asian Indians identified as foreign-born, the population grew from just over 16,000 in 2000 to approximately 33,000 in 2010 (1). Asian Indians primarily immigrated to Minnesota through family reunification and for professional opportunities (2). Due to their highly educated and highly skilled population, Asian Indian Americans also have the highest household income compared to other AAPI ethic groups with an average income of $91,151 per household (1). In the spring of 2012, APA ComMNet invited Asian Indian American leaders to openly discuss the health issues affecting their community. The discussion was recorded as a radio show and broadcasted on Radio ASIA (106.1 HD Radio). Asian Indian leaders were particularly concerned about the increasing obese and overweight members in their community.

Some 165 million children worldwide are stunted by malnutrition as babies and face a future of ill health, poor education, low earnings and poverty, the head of the United Nations children's fund said on Friday. Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, told Reuters the problem of malnutrition is vastly under-appreciated, largely because poor nutrition is often mistaken for a lack of food. In reality, he said, malnutrition and its irreversible health consequences also affect relatively well-off countries, such as India where there is plenty of food, but access to it is unequal and nutritional content can be low. "Undernutrition, and especially stunting, is one of the least recognised crises for children in the world," Lake said. "It's a horrible thing. These children are condemned." Stunting is the consequence of undernutrition in the first 1,000 or so days of a baby's life, including during gestation.

One hundred and sixty performers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware participated in Kathak Mahotsav 2013 organized by Rita Dance Academy at the North Brunswick Township High School on May 25. Performers also got the opportunity to dance with Kathak guru Pundit Rajendra Gangani from the Jaipur Gharana, who was the chief guest.  More than 700 people attended the event, a press release from the school said.   The program started with Gangani garlanding a statue of Lord Ganesha and giving his blessings to all the performers and to the organizers. The colorful evening included a series of Kathak and other classical dance items, the release said. In the first half of the festival the performers danced to a mix of old classical and semiclassical sound tracks, including Kathak tarana, thumri, kavitt. A special dance item on a Sufi music track was an instant hit, the release said. The first half of the program ended with a high energy performance by Sanchita Sharma of Rita Dance Academy.

  The streak continues. Arvind Mahankali, 13, won the 2013 national spelling bee with the German-Yiddish word "knaidel" on Thursday night, making him the sixth Indian-American winner in as many years.   When, in 2010, Anamika Veeramani correctly sounded out the letters to "stromuhr" (I hadn't heard the word before either) to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, she captured the hearts and minds of the Indian and U.S. media alike. This was partly thanks to her inspiring performance -- and also because she had become the third Indian-American in as many years to win the prestigious competition. "Spelling champ's victory hat-trick for Indian-Americans," gushed, the Hindu, an English-language daily in India.   Indian-Americans have maintained their Scripps dominance ever since, having now won the title of America's best speller for five consecutive years. In fact, 10 of the last 14 winners have been Indian-American.   With the competition's finals coming up Thursday at 8 p.m.

  It looks like an ad for a luxury timepiece, not a rap album. The walls in the wainscoted room are atmospherically lit. Yo! Yo! Honey Singh, India's most popular rapper, sits on a sumptuous leather armchair in a dark, fitted suit, from which an elegantly folded pocket square peeks out. A large diamond stud gleams on his ear. He may look chic, but the short, well-built musician, whose pencil beard traces his delicate bow-shaped lips and jaw-line, has not forgotten his rural roots. To the right of the ad are the two golden letters IV, which stand for International Villager, the title of his latest album. It has been a long journey for the 29-year-old Hirdesh Singh, from his home village in the agrarian Hoshiarpur district in the North Indian state of Punjab. In 2010, before his glitzy MTV appearances, an interview with Honey Singh -- a nickname from his mother -- and a fellow musician was shot in a rural, village environment.

You can’t blame it on illiteracy or poor policing. Or patriarchal mindsets in India. It’s the fault of the racy mannequins haunting Mumbai’s lingerie stores, seducing passers-by and turning them into sex offenders. At least that’s what the city’s municipal corporation would have you believe. In a move ridiculed on Twitter, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approved a proposal to ban the use of bikini-clad mannequins in lingerie shop displays, in a crackdown aimed at reducing sex crimes. As expected, Indians tore into the move on social media. “How about banning women to prevent sexual crimes against mannequins. Makes no sense? Okay. But BMC started it,” humorist Ramesh Srivats posted on Twitter.

Growing up in the Philippines, my mother was my main source of inspiration for cooking. I came from a family of eleven kids, and as a child, I would constantly volunteer to help her in the kitchen. My mother would prepare such amazing authentic Filipino food, and cooking for her was almost second nature. She didn’t think about it, she just knew what ingredients to use, how much of each to use, and how to combine their flavors in ways that would satisfy everyone in the family. So Filipino food for me is much more than just adobo, longganisa, or tocino and fried rice – it represents a huge part of my culture, and most importantly, it is what connects me with my family. And that’s why it’s so important to me that we think about Filipino food not just in terms of what’s delicious, but in terms of what’s healthy and nourishing for our families.

– CHICAGO Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan entertained Chicago area music lovers with a packed-to-capacity concert at the Sears Centre Arena here May 17. More than 5,000 people flocked to the venue to listen to the legendary singer, who presented his popular Bollywood songs, according to a press release from the organizers. Accompanied by a group of over 20 musicians, the 39-year-old singer performed popular numbers like “Dagabaaz Re” and “Tere Mast Mast Do Nain” from “Dabbangg 2,” “Dil To Bachha Hai Ji” from “Ishqiya” and “Teri Ore” from “Singh is Kinng.” Co-hosted by Saahil Exclusive and L.A. Tan , the concert - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s 50th – began with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Allah Hu,” setting the tone for the evening.  Just before the end, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan introduced his entire team to the audience, and also invited his manager and the local promoters Bhavesh Patel and Babu Patel of Sahil and Mayur Patel and Nick Patel of L.A. Tan on stage.

– LEMONT, Ill. Legendary musician M. Balamurali Krishna was recently felicitated with a lifetime achievement award by the Sri Annamacharya Project of North America (SAPNA) for his contribution to Carnatic music. Mukta Dutta Tomar, the consul general of India in Chicago,   presented the award April 28 at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago here, organizers said in a press release.  Tomar and Balamurli Krishna also presented community service awards to videographer Nagabhushan Rao, Sharma Konkapaka and TV Asia’s Midwest bureau chief Vandana Jhingan, the release said. The 82-year-old Balamurali Krishna also performed at the fifth annual Veena Festival, held April 26 to 28 at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago   and the Balaji Temple in Aurora, Ill. Accompanied by R. Satish Kumar on violin and K. Parthasarathy on mridangam, Balamurli Krishna entertained the audience WHEN? with his popular songs.

The government and the United Nations on Tuesday unveiled new guidelines on how to deal with the reproductive and sexual healthcare needs of girls and women when a disaster strikes. The guidelines spelled out in a 223-page manual are designed to help humanitarian workers reduce sexual violence, HIV transmission and maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. "When a disaster strikes, although the first concern is survival, other essential needs do not disappear. Women have unique health concerns, from hygiene to life-threatening complications related to pregnancy and childbirth," said Frederika Meijer, country director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA). "The integration of sexual and reproductive health in disaster preparedness and response is a priority at all levels," she said at the launch of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP). India is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world with large chunks of its 1.

Two microscope slides bearing the blood of former Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi are to go on sale in London on Tuesday and are expected to fetch from 10,000 pounds to 15,000 pounds. The slides were obtained in 1924 when the father of the Indian independence movement was recovering from an appendectomy near Mumbai. He was thought to have donated the blood to the family he was staying with at the time. "To Gandhi devotees, it has the same status as a sacred relic to a Christian," said Richard Westwood-Brookes, a historical documents expert at Mullock's auctioneers which is selling the item. "It is an artefact which is revered by disciples of Gandhi, particularly in India and therefore that is the sort of person who would go for it," he added. The slides are part of a larger collection of items obtained by Mullock's, which include the former leader's sandals, shawl and bed linen.

A story he heard while in 11th grade has given student filmmaker Shubhashish Bhutiani his first taste of stardom. “Kush,” Bhutiani’s film for his graduation project at New York’s School of Visual Arts, won him the Outstanding Film at the school’s annual Dusty Film & Animation Festival and Awards held May 8.  The event highlights the work of more than 150 filmmakers and animators graduating from the school’s film, video and animation department. Bhutiani also won the Outstanding Achievement in Editing award and shared the Outstanding Achievement in Directing award with fellow student John Strong, won who for his film "Out of the Center.” “Kush” is inspired by a true story based on the 1984 assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was shot by her two Sikh bodyguards, sparking anti-Sikh riots throughout the country, Bhutiani told News India Times.

New York-based musician Falguni Shah, better known as Falu, is set to release her upcoming album “Foras Road,” May 28. Produced by Grammy-award winning producer Danny Blume, “Foras Road,” refers to the Mumbai’s oldest red-light district and traverses the musical traditions and cultural history of India's centuries-old brothels, according to a press release. Falu sings in seven South Asian languages throughout the album, blending Indian classical and folk music with her own original compositions and adding modern instrumentation. The album was recorded partly in India with some South Asian musicians, and partly with her band at Blume’s studios in upstate New York, the release said.  Talking about her song “Ghumar,” which premiered on The Huffington Post on May 7, Falu says Ghumar is a type of fancy dress worn in the state of Rajasthan and the song, in Rajasthani, celebrates the fact that a girl is finally attaining womanhood.

What is curry? Today, the word describes a bewildering number of spicy vegetable and meat stews from places as far-flung as the Indian subcontinent, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean Islands. There is little agreement about what actually constitutes a curry. And, until recently, how and when curry first appeared was a culinary mystery as well. The term likely derives from kari, the word for sauce in Tamil, a South-Indian language. Perplexed by that region’s wide variety of savory dishes, 17th-century British traders lumped them all under the term curry.   A curry, as the Brits defined it, might be a mélange of onion, ginger, turmeric, garlic, pepper, chilies, coriander, cumin, and other spices cooked with shellfish, meat, or vegetables. Those curries, like the curries we know today, were the byproduct of more than a millennium of trade between the Indian subcontinent and other parts of Asia, which provided new ingredients to spice up traditional Indian stews.

– CHICAGO, Ill. Top local restaurants united on May 2 at the Chicago Cultural Center to support survivors of domestic violence in immigrant communities at the fifth annual Taste for Life hosted by Apna Ghar.  More than 400 people attended the gala, which raised over $100,000 to fund critical services provided by the group, according to a press release from the organizers. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka sent congratulatory messages, the press release said.  An hour-long VIP reception featured hors d’oeuvres prepared by chefs Hiran Patel and Sahil Singh.  Later, at the main event, small plate dishes were provided American Junkie, Atwood Café, Bombay Wraps, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Cantina Laredo, Chocolat – Uzma Sharif, Dishoom Foods, Emilio’s Tapas, Gaylord Fine Indian Restaurant, Isla Pilipina, Metropolitan Club, Peacock Indian Restaurant, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Sataza and Untitled.

– AURORA, Ill. Renowned dancer-choreographer Leela Samson led a troupe of eight in a Bharata Natyam performance at the Metea Valley High School here May 4. “Spanda” was hosted by Natya Dance Theatre. According to a press release from the organizers, "Spanda" refers not only to external movement but also to the inner vibration (naada) that animates all the rhythms of our universe.  Various devices were explored in the performances, among them three dancers in single undulating file, rising and falling in alternation while pulsating through expanding and contracting hand gestures and a human chain stretched through tension in opposing directions, recalling the polarization of positive and negative forces at the churning of the primordial ocean. The first padam, in Raaga Punnagavarali, of a heroine pining for her lover, was enacted almost entirely seated on a chair to minimize the distraction of rhythmic movement, the release said.

Simply put, Indian cuisine presents some of the most satisfying meatless dishes of any in the world, which is why in my relatively short time as a vegetarian I've become something of a regular at Rasika West End in Washington.  But I want to be just as comfortable making Indian dishes at home as I am ordering them out, so I've been studying up. As intimidating as Indian cooking can seem, given its beautiful layering of spices and sometimes hard-to-find ingredients, diving in doesn't need to be difficult. I started the way I usually do, with a seasonal vegetable — in this case, spring peas — and the desire to do something different with them.  One of my favorite Indian dishes is the classic matar paneer, made with that creamy-chewy cheese (paneer) and green peas (matar) plus a pungent sauce of tomatoes, ginger and a raft of spices.

A review of William Dalrymple's, Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42. This is a book that we should have had ten years ago, and which will still be read in fifty years' time. It is a history of the first war fought by Westerners in Afghanistan in modern times, and is clearly designed to cast a light on our present conflict there. But it is also a beautiful and moving account of a tragedy complete with imperial hubris, foolishness and great human suffering. Its strength comes from two things, found at the front and the back of this thick but readable history. At the back is a huge bibliography, in which Dalrymple to his great credit has made an effort to include Afghan as well as British sources. Visiting Kabul, the author made great efforts to lay his hands on records of what Afghans made of the war. Several of these provide a colourful, even florid, counterpoint to the grim and introspective language of many of the British sources.