Not Namaste Trump but Phir Milengey: H-1B visas suspended, what now?
It looked like things were getting as close as could be between US President Donald Trump and Narendra Modi but a worldwide pandemic and a scourge of resulting unemployment in the States has put a spanner in the works of ‘Namaste Trump’, as an executive order signed this past week will suspend new visas for foreign workers, including the...
Lockdown Diaries: Abhishek Buddhadev seizes the lockdown as an opportunity, self-isolation as power of growth
Life always gives us the opportunity to improve ourselves, raise our voice, head, and self-esteem to overcome negativity. I was a bullied kid in school and lost the confidence to live life, but I recall the quote of "Do or Die". It's better to Do something else, as I already felt the situation of Dying in my depression. I started...
Lockdown Diaries: Restauranteur Chinten Pandya supports NHS workers and the needy with free Indian meals
Chinten Pandya, a civil engineer and restaurant owner of Desi Dhaba, had to close his businesses following the government's guidelines but he and his wife Mona have never been busier. They are using his Feb-launched restaurant to feed hundreds of NHS workers, the vulnerable and needy in the community. The Wembley-based Director of Apna Construction Ltd. has turned the restaurant...
Rhona Tasmia Rabbani – The bright, young FedEx-pert of the APAC region
People are the core of any business and those who are in charge of driving the people policies, hiring, development and engagement of talents, are the gatekeepers to that resource. Meet Rhona Tasmia Rabbani, the Managing Director of Talent & Learning for FedEx Express in the Asia Pacific region, one of the youngest directors in the region of this...
Lockdown Diaries: Baithak UK brings artists virtually together for music video celebrating togetherness
Despite the logistical issues posed by COVID-19, Baithak UK has managed to bring together artists virtually in order to make a music video which celebrates togetherness. "Those were the days" celebrates the power of music and memory, beautifully melding the globally popular folk song by Robert Burns "Auld Lang Syne", its Bengali adaptation by Rabindranath Tagore, and the recent translation (written exclusively...
Lockdown Diaries: My extended vacation and a beautiful entrapment in Holland
It was in November last year, when we decided to visit Europe. We wanted to cover about seven European nations. As our journey date was approaching, an unprecedented global crisis was unfolding fast. Covid-19 or Coronavirus, has taken the world by surprise. The unpreparedness of countries to deal with this virus has been exposed at various stages. We were also quite...
Lockdown Diaries: The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe remember VE day in London
The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE) commemorated the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day or VE Day in London, by following the national two minute silence at 11am on 8 May. At 11.15am, the resident priest at the Zoroastrian Centre, Ervad Yazad T Bhadha commenced reciting the Stum-no kardo in front of the fire in the Setayash Gah,...
Lockdown Diaries: British Asian Trust’s emergency COVID-19 appeal for South Asia
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Royal Founding Patron of the British Asian Trust, gave his support to the British Asian Trust’s COVID-19 Emergency Appeal on Friday 24th April via a specially recorded video message. South Asia is home to 27% of the world’s poorest people with 750 million people surviving on less than $2.50 per day. Now...
Home and exile – a cinematic journey of hope and resilience
Homebound for months during the pandemic, I seized the first opportunity to travel beyond my dull domestic frontiers. This unique excursion was facilitated by the three day virtual Asian Women’s Film Festival organized by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television – India Chapter. Having been a student, researcher and occasional teacher of cinema, I could not...
Lockdown Diaries: Saurav Dutt, author of ‘Dear Mr Bachchan’ talks about the joys of lockdown creativity
Now is the time to take the magic of words, music, art, and creativity and to allow them to inspire, comfort and empower you during the mental tests of Lockdown. There is joy in finding magic and solace in the written word, and the most testing of times empowers one to find enchantment among sentences, to flesh out the fabric of...
