Livejournal's Official Desi Community

I was hoping to maybe find some helpful advice on this topic here. My fiance Sudip and I got engaged a couple of month ago, and we are planning on having a wedding in Delhi, India. We both live in USA right now, so the planning is a bit difficult. We would like to find a talented photographer for our wedding that would not be too expensive, but we are somewhat at a loss at how to go about finding one, when we are not in the country ourselves. A lot of the high-end expensive photo studios in India have nice websites that we can look over on the web, but many of the more reasonably-priced photographers seem to often not have a website at all. We would like to find a talented photojournalist - someone who can capture the emotions of the moment with their camera! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Fellow Desis...well last year after the bad economy hit in the U.S., I decided to travel and work in India for some time. I always thought the economic Indian boom was all media hype. But then after living in Bangalore for about 10 months I realized how much opportunity there is. On the flip side, there is a majority of the population that remains poor if not poorer. Almost like the hidden dark side that many middle and upper class Indians don't want to deal with. Well I interned with this Travel Magazine and it got me thinking....tons of people should take advantage of the Indian economy or help give back to the community somehow. I think we all know that India is going to be a major economic player in the coming decade and us being desis have a great advantage in that we are familiar with the culture, the language, the people, etc. Soo long story short, I came up with the idea for my new company Leave UR Mark. I basically help people sign up for internships or do voluntary work in India. Once people sign up for a certain project, they book their flight and I pick them up from the airport and arrange their accomodation, food, and offer 24/7 support for the duration of their project. I find not only is it a way to do something food for your resume....it's a very enriching experience. It's very different than going to the homeland and visiting relative after relative. You feel like you are part of India and living like a local...perhaps get a taste of how our parents used to live. The year I spent in Bangalore has undoubtedly been the best year of my life and I hope people will take the opportunity to do some inspirational travel. It has changed how I look at myself and how I look at India.

Well if you get a chance, take a look at my website: www.leaveurmark.com

You can get in touch with me through my LJ or the contacts provided on the site, if you decide you want a bit of a break from the mundane.

-Prachi

hello,

does anyone know how tie a sari in marathi or folk style? i know how to wear different styles but not this one..and i couldn't figure out how to do it from youtube..

please share if u know (or even a link) :)

thanks

cross-posted to southasians 

Hello, an indian man (my husband) is looking for a shared accomodation in Mumbai. He's ready to pay 3-4 thousand rupees per month. He needs to stay in Mumbai for 2-3 months only, so there's no question of paying for the whole year in advance. I can assure you that he's very decent and has no bad habits. If anyone knows anything about rooms for rent please do contact me.

Hi, i'm in Kolkata and i badly need a book "Teach yourself bengali". If someone has one and ready to share it or knows where to buy it in Kolkata (and for what price) i would really appreciate it. Thanks

My friend Prita is a singer. We met in our crappy hometown of Orlando, FL through a mutual friend and she's currently living in Montreal and making music. She just put out an LP. It's a poppy sound. She started out less poppy and more.. folk-y? While the sound is poppy, the songs themselves are very emotional. The clips on her website don't quite do the songs justice. I have been a big supporter of her music, but when I heard the clips of her EP, I hesitated to give her feedback, because I thought I would not like her new sound. But I got a copy of her EP from her mom, and have been listening to it non-stop! If any of you have been searching for an indian artist you can relate to and if you actually like pop and rnb... (I was so excited when I heard about Raghav and Jay Sean for the simple fact that they were desi... but then I heard their music..) check her out! Myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/pritarocks
or her website.
www.pritamusic.com

She's unique and talented. And I might be slightly biased because I'm her friend, but I've been listening to her EP nonstop for three days, so it can't ALL be my bias. For reference, the music I like is stuff like John Legend, Tracy Chapman, India Arie, Jewel, Fiona Apple...
If you like stuff like that, you might like Prita. Her EP is titled Spread the Word. If you know anyone who might be into her... SPREAD THE WORD.

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering how you all manage your interfaith relationships. I am Hindu (not very religious) and am dating a Catholic and wonder about our future. We discussed raising children w/ both faiths and having them choose, but it seems easier said than done. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. I'm mostly looking for opinions from people who are dealing with differences between Eastern and Western religions.

Thanks

Hello, everyone,

I'm interested in different forms of theatre, particularly all-female troupes. In my Googling I stumbled upon information about Manipuri theatre. Napi Shumang Leela, all-female troupes, and their male impersonator actors, the nupishabi, especially interested me. (Note: I know nothing of the language, so I have no idea if these are correct transliterations.) More info can be found here and here, but obviously English data is lacking, and that vital source of academic information, YouTube, has nothing on Napi Shumang Leela specifically. If anyone could provide more information, pictures, or clips, I'd greatly appreciate it!

(Cross-posted at asianstudies.)

Asians are considered racial minorities, but there is very little effort to include their people, customs, and or specific issues within the context of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community. They are overshadowed by other races and rarely taken into account.

Learn more and share your experience, by checking out:
Diversity Lesson 101: LGBTQ Asians

Hey everyone,

I just created a post on my blog that looks at Indian films, mostly the decline in quality. This is, of course, my opinion but I'm curious to hear what other people think. :)

http://sospokesaroj.wordpress.com/…


- Saroj