George Harrison and Ravi Shankar

Celebrating “the spiritual Beatle”

Last night I saw Martin Scorsese’s documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, which has just been released. It’s an interesting time to showcase the idealistic and spiritually inclined Beatle, given the global economic crisis and the increasing disillusion with free market capitalism and rampant materialism. As an idealistic, spiritually inclined person myself, I am thrilled. I have been a George Harrison fan since I was a child in the 1960s, and have often said that if I’d been old enough, I would have followed The Beatles to Rishikesh. Well, in a sense I did, though it took me a few years to finally get there. I wrote about my visit to The Beatles ashram in Memories of Rishidwar.

Living in the Material World includes lots of great footage of George Harrison in interview. In one, he says that because he was showered with success, money, and fame at an early age — the things people work their entire lives to reach — he realized how empty they were; how these things don’t fill the inner craving. After experimenting with mind-altering substances in England, he began to dream about yogis in the Himalayas, and felt called to go to India. We all know the rest of the story. (more…)

Indian actor Abhay Deol at Masala!Mehndi!Masti! in Toronto

Interviewing Abhay Deol was a highlight of M!M!M!

Masala!Mehndi!Masti! is the premier Indian cultural event in Toronto, and each year it seems to get bigger and better. I’ve been going for about five years, and I have seen Nandita Das and Lisa Ray interviewed; I’ve watched Bollywood and Odissi dancing; I’ve listened to sitar music and Autorickshaw; I’ve bought jewelry and eaten dosas, and, perhaps most of all, I’ve enjoyed a weekend of immersing myself in the masala milieu. Every year, it’s a bit like a mini-trip to India.

Festival founder and director Abhishek Mathur wrote, “Just like a sacred thread, M!M!M! ties and binds the diverse parts of the culture, connecting and creating continuity, while not compromising the uniqueness of each part.” And that is exactly what it is like. At the opening reception, I came to realize what a labour of love M!M!M! is for Abhishek and his dedicated team. I was stunned to find out this massive festival, with three solid days of programming, is completely volunteer run. No wonder they continually take time out to thank their sponsors (including OMNI TV, Toyota, WestJet, TourismToronto etc.) (more…)

Saying namaste to the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

The joy of cross-cultural mash-ups

In some ways, India and Canada could not be two more different countries: Canada is new, India is old; Canada is cold, India is hot; Canada is efficient and orderly, India is chaotic and spontaneous. Yet these cultures are really mixing it up in many different spheres — and certainly in my own life over the past five years. Recently, I attended several India-Canada cultural mash-ups that left me noticing the similarities, the differences — and the misperceptions that Canadians, and westerners, seem to generally hold about Indian culture. (more…)

In the park, Delhi

Delhi often gets a bad rap, especially by tourists (and Mumbaikers!). But if you live here, or stay in one of the nicer areas and take time to get to know the city, you will find that Delhi has many lovely green spaces, excellent restaurants and cafes, shopping opportunities galore and a rich cultural life (not to mention a plethora of historical sites, five-star hotels, spas, universities, spiritual centres and much more). Delhi is, after all, the capital of India and home to the diplomatic community. It is a sophisticated city full of possibilities – once you get past the heat, air pollution, crowds and chaotic traffic conditions, of course. (more…)