Lokvani wishes all its readers Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!!

No Bikini in Miss World 2015!! [more]

(This section is sponsored by New England Shirdi Sai Temple)

Lokvani Talks To in 2014 - Kumkum Dilwali, Deepti Navaratna, Samir Desai, Sona Datta, Raghu Appasani, Rajesh Pradhan, Gauri Adelkar, Anuradha Palakurthi, Payal Agarwal, Gaugarin Oliver, Amrit Soni and Meenakshi Garodia. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Stephen Campbell, Mortgage Master)

In Conversation With in 2014 - Vinod Jhunjhunwala, Saatik Ahluwalia, Tarun Madan, Arun Bhansali, Venkatesh Shukla, Samp Mallick, Srinivas Garimella, Paresh Motiwala, Pratima Mallick, Mark Rathinaraj and Shalini Khanna. [more]

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

It was unintentional, but guests felt that Kareena Kapoor Khan appeared a tad uncomfortable while dancing at the sangeet of her favorite designer Manish Malhotra's niece wedding. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Masala Art)

Boston Sargam’s 2014 Bollywood Music & Dance Competition witnessed a record turnout on December 13th at Ashland High School. [more]

(This section is sponsored by Kanan Sachdeva)

Miss India New England-2014 crown and title holders participated in three day long national pageant from December 12th to 14th at Royal Albert’s Palace Hotel in New Jersey. Namita Dodwadkar became first ever Mrs India USA. Amritha Mangalat and Akila Narayanan won the titles of ‘Miss Talented’ and ‘Miss Popularity’, respectively. Ruchika Arora was recognized as ‘State Director of the year'. [more]

In 2014, Lokvani was proud to feature the following women who have made a significant impact locally and globally: Mondira Pant, Sowmya Viswanathan, Latha Mangipuddi, Jothi Raghavan, Geetha Ramamurthy, Madavi Nathan Oliver, Anbu Kili Chetty, Anuradha Annaswamy, Prafulla Vellury, Taniya Nayak, Neena Gulati and Manisha Bhatt. [more]

The musical drama, ‘Gul-o-Gulzar’, was a unique lyrical celebration of poet, and film legend Gulzar performed on December 6th in Lexington, MA. [more]

NEKK’s Maadhurya was a perfect blend of creativity and classicism where dancers and musicians practicing a variety of genres came together to create a magical evening of entertainment that helped raise funds for Ekal Vidyalya and Samartanam. [more]

Lokvani had an opportunity to follow up on a recent important announcement made by Cummings Foundation and Indian Circle for Caring USA Inc., (ICC) at 6th Leadership Council Meeting of leaders of Indian Organizations. Here are excerpts of conversation with Girish Mehta, Founder and Executive Director of ICC. [more]

From a small initiative of two students in 2003 to providing a platform for over 1000 players till 2014,the journey of New England based 'Prema Chess Lab' while graduating to 'Celestial Minds' initiated a novel fusion concept of linking Chess to Music. In 2014, the highlight was the 'Outreach Program" embracing and enveloping the hearing and speaking impaired Girls School in Mysore, into the Chess family. Founder Director Kavyashree Mallanna also extended her reach to collaborate with Chess bodies in Mysore, India to organize two All India FIDE rated competition and was felicitated for her effort in promoting chess by JSS Medical College and Visweswaraiya Technical Institute. [more]

Where devotees have been coming together since 2006 in a unique way, as a large family of Baba, to serve Baba and the New England community, Where devotees and volunteers serve selflessly, where the community and service comes first, where Baba's message of Love and Seva resonates with all and where the temple is open for anyone in the community: That is NESSP today. [more]

On November 23rd, the students of Shishu Bharati, a school aiming to educate Indian-American children of their heritage and culture, succeeded in reflecting the diversification of their home country through a variety of booths, performances, and presentations, as well as a phenomenal Rangoli design at the entrance of the field house at Lexington High School. [more]

A large number of people turned up in front of MIT in Cambridge on December 3, 2014 to mark the 30th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. A section of the official press release from the survivor groups in Bhopal was read out by Nitin Gujaran, a volunteer with Association for India's Development (AID). [more]

AID Boston invites you to give some, share the joy and make a difference in lives of people this holiday season. Join us in our effort to be the part of the change through our One For India (OFI) campaign. A life of self-reliance and dignity not only requires access to livelihood, good health or a good education in isolation, but also a good understanding of the interconnected nature of all these. [more]

Koh-I-Noor Collections is having a fabulous holiday sale of sarees, suits, kurtis and jewelry on December 20 and 21 in Lexington, MA. [more]

Bollywood desi parties: Boston Glitz Dinner and Dance, and Boston Dhamaka. [more]

Yet another successful year! New England Shirdi Sai Parivaar (NESSP) conducted and concluded its 3nd Annual Kids Academic Competitions from December 12-14. Academic competitions are a great way for talented kids to deepen their knowledge about their favorite subjects and challenge themselves to research and create. The winners were... [more]

Five high school students from NH, Elisha Shah, Shefali Mangatani, Rishi Kachrani, Samarth Desai, and Kunal Shah, took part in the Tie Young Entrepreneur (TYE) program in 2012. They came with a product idea called Reperio - RFID based tracking device for misplaced items, with smart phone integration. They won the third place in the competition and were recently awarded Patent #8,903,378. [more]

“For 24 years I’ve gone on missions to help the poor and implanted 650 pacemakers in those who otherwise could not afford this lifesaving procedure,” Dr. Midha said. “It makes a big impact on people’s lives and that gives me the energy to go forward.” [more]

Dr. Vivek Murthy was confirmed by the US Senate as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States. Murthy, a Harvard graduate, is co-founder of Doctors for America (formerly Doctor for Obama). [more]

Sunita Malhotra, from Andover, MA was the 2nd Runner up in the Zee TV Dil Se competition in which moms from North America were given a chance to compete on Dance India Dance. [more]

The right long-term care plan can provide you with options on how you receive the care you need and where. It gives you choices about how your final years are lived and where. And maybe, with such a plan can help reduce the fear of outliving your resources. [more]

The Wholistic Health Alliance (WHA) has been founded by Dr. Pratibha Shah, a leading Ayurvedic expert in the New England area, and a passionate proponent of holistic health and wellness. In early 2013, while having conversations with some colleagues, Shah sensed a need for closer conversation and collaboration among holistic practitioners. [more]

In recent months, the plight of the Yazidi, an otherwise unknown people, has been brought to the center stage of world consciousness. [more]

Catch up, register and purchase tickets for the upcoming events and concerts including Bollywood Glitz New Year Dinner and Dance, Bollywood Dhamaka and SAN/BB New Year's Party. [more]

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

(This section is sponsored by Sounds Of India)

MIT Ohms, the very talented South Asian A Cappella group delivered a beautiful concert featuring their original compositions. [more]

"Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride." A sample of pages to laugh with... [more]

Lazy Husband... [more]

Some of our favorite recipe pages featured here. [more]

Around the world in images - Part I. [more]

"When was the last time you did something for the first time?" - Sally Edwards. [more]

Beloved wife of Melvyn A.J. Menezes, and loving mother of Andrea M.G. Menezes of Westwood, Dr. Maria Menezes lost her battle to cancer. We mourn her loss. [more]