Indians everywhere, at home and abroad, have felt a sense of loss and sadness when Lata Mangeshkar passed away in Mumbai on February 6 at 92. She belonged to many generations of music lovers of independent India. We bring you two pieces on Lata from Lord Meghnad Desai in London and Venkatesh Raghavendra from Washington DC from two different generations. It is her lilting voice that binds Desai and Raghavendra, and India.
Experts say the pandemic is on wane, but it has not gone away. Now at least we can dare step out from the confines of our homes and beyond the worlds of our
computers and phones. Yes, we are undoubtedly more vigilant than ever about using masks and maintaining social distancing. But it has surely rekindled hope and cheered us up. And our choice of stories in this edition of PRAVASI INDIANS captures this mood. Suman Tarafdar looks at the unicorn boom – the startups with a billion-dollar market valuation and more, and the new shape of the economy. Gurmukh Singh’s story on how a successful Indian entrepreneur from Noida turns big in Toronto speaks volumes about a confident India, adding new dimensions to the success of overseas Indians.
In Money Matters column, Vishal Duggal dissects whether the much-touted RERA Act 2016 has actually made it more lucrative for NRIs to invest in the real estate in India, and in Hindi section Shashi Kumar Jha takes a closer look at the far-reaching changes that the proposed digital rupee would bring about on India’s transition to digital economy.
In Book Nook section, you will get to read Dr Sanjeev Chopra’s eminently perceptive review of Supriya Newar’s Kalkatta Chronicles – Rear-View Reflections that invokes the versatile city of Kolkata when it was Calcutta before the days of the 90s reforms.
This Holi, the riot of colour, we get our readers additional reasons to cheer – sweets for the occasion, done differently and tastefully in different parts of India, from Delhi’s gujia to Karnataka’s ombattu and Andhra’s poornam burelu. These are few desi preparations that NRIs have preserved in their new homes away from India. These recipes show how Indian flavours are still thriving amongst the Indian communities abroad.
We at PRAVASI INDIANS strive hard to connect overseas Indians with India, and to connect Indians everywhere with each other. These are first steps, and we hope to build a network of global Indian diaspora through this magazine. We will continue to bring news stories every month and forge stronger links.
Enjoy reading PRAVASI INDIANS…
