Architecture & Design
LOT-EK
Italian duo Ada Tolla and Guiseppe Ligano, celebrities in the world of art and architecture, discuss their designs and inspirations with EGO. With their creative re-use of old materials, LOT-EK has made a name in the cross-fertilization of industry and architecture that is absolutely unique and unprecedented.
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Queer
Gay & Indian in Toronto
“I am gay” – the three special words most South Asian parents hope to never hear from their child. The boy caught in New Delhi deems his friend in Toronto privileged for his freedoms. Yet, in embracing a Western model of homosexuality, something gets lost in translation: a sense of Eastern ethnic identity.
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Art & Culture
HERO
The 70s were a booming period for Bollywood, a time in which heros ranged from dapper and debanoir to dark and angry. Four men in particular epitomized the mood of the moment, including the indomitable Amitabh Bachan. Everything from their clothes to their demeanor catered to their particular stamp of hero.
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Economy & Politics
US Foreign Policy
The Foreign Policy Association's annual NBC Luncheon has always given policy wonks a first, pre-headline bite at national foreign policy, as seen by those who cover international news at its highest levels. This year, EGO columnist Anita Raman attended the Luncheon, where everything from Iran to China was on the menu.
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Art & Culture
Moulin Rouge
At the close of the 19th century when belle époque was still in full fury, the legendary cabaret, Moulin Rouge (meaning Red Windmill) opened on October 6, 1889, joining in what was the epicenter of bohemian living, in Paris’ Butte Montmartre, the neighborhood surrounding Sacré-Coeur on the northern edge of the city.
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Reviews & Previews
Oh, Calcutta!
Big Band music rumbles in the background, wine glasses flirtatiously clink with one another and the dish at the table next to you asks you, ever so innocently, to take a chance on it. This is Babu and your host Payal Saha welcomes you, almost as if by accident. Babu is her love letter to Calcutta’s eclectic cuisine.
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Fashion & Beauty
Afshin Feiz
Afshin Feiz was born in Iran, lives in Paris, travels all over the world, and shows his collections in New York. Add to the multiculturalism of his outlook, extensive apprenticeships with leading fashion designers and a great passion for music and poetry, and you have the makings of a wonderful fashion designer.
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Reviews & Previews
Abha Dawesar
Abha Dawesar is the author of Baby-ji, a novel about the adventures of Anamika, a sprightly 16-year old Indian girl, as she explores her sexuality. The novel is surprising at many levels for a South Asian author, not least of which is the candid treatment of one of its main themes: same-sex love.
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Art & Culture
DJ Rekha
Rekha Malhotra, better known as “DJ Rekha,” is one of the most successful South Asian musicians in America. She is also the most brazenly anti-status quo, straight-talking, no minced words kind of person you’ll ever meet. The queen of bhangra music, Rekha is a DJ with no equal in America.
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Reviews & Previews
Bollywood Makeover
That the kitch of one culture becomes the panache of another is a testament to the creative flux of civilization. From April 26th, until May 14th, Paris’ Galeries Lafayette, the century-old, high end department store that introduced the world to John Paul Gaultier, remakes itself as a Bollywood showcase.
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Architecture & Design
Kikui Kazuo
Japanese jewelry designer Kikui Kazuo is a rare thing: a wholly innovative and whimsical artist gaining fast exposure in the Occidental world. Kazuo has been a celebrated designer in his native Japan for almost decade, but only now are Kazuo's signature designs being presented in New York.
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Art & Culture
Vikram Chatwal
People can’t help but find thirty-two year old hotelier and actor Vikram Chatwal unequivocally charming. He is a Wharton grad that parties with supermodel Gisele and Paris Hilton, and he’s modeled M&A deals at Morgan Stanley and haute couture in Vogue. "You wear different hats. I wear different turbans," he laughs.
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Fashion & Beauty
JJ Valaya
India’s premier fashion designer, JJ Valaya, has made a name for himself as one of the most original and inspired designers working today. Producing apparel literally suited for royalty, his fashion house works under the mantra of ‘the future of the past,’ fortifying the bygone era of Royal India within contemporary couture.
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