Farah Khan’s book launch in New York and modern Indian cuisine by Top Chef alum

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NEW YORK – The Mumbai-based Indian jewelry designer Farah Khan’s book ‘A Bejewelled Life,’ edited by Paola De Luca – a leading Italian creative director and luxury trends forecaster, and published by Rizzoli, will be released in 70 different countries, on April 2, 2019, including in New York, Mumbai, Hong Kong, London and Milan.

Khan, the eldest of the four children of Bollywood actor and director Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan, had studied gemology at the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, California, in the early nineties. She launched her own jewelry brand Farah Khan Fine Jewellery, in 2004. Stars and celebrities like Beyoncé and Serena Williams have worn her creations.

Khan has got many accolades since then, including being accorded the ‘Best Jewellery Designer’ at the Retail Jeweller India Awards, in 2011 and again in 2013.

Khan’s book has forewords by three renowned personalities: Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur, author and columnist Twinkle Khan and industrialist Tanya Godrej Dubash.

“’Farah Khan: A Bejewelled Life’ will recreate my creative space. It embodies my five different worlds in an aesthetic vision—from the untamed splendors of the wild to the fluid lines of nature’s fractals, from India’s storied Mughal-Rajput heritage to the beating heart of its metropolises. I see the book as a feast of inspirations,” stated Khan, in publicity notes.

The book features works by painters Manjunath Kamath and Chie Yoshii, digital illustrator Daria Petrilli and photographers Tina Dehal, Rahul Datta, Sumer Verma, Arjun Mark, Ganesh Vanare, Sneha Pillai and Anukul Narayan, among others.

‘This magic carpet of a book interweaves dreamy photographs of flowers, rivers, oceans and animals, such as elephants swimming in turquoise waters, with reproductions of European and Indian paintings that inspire Khan’s creations,’ Forbes.com said in a review of the book.

The review also noted: ‘There are also several chicly styled portraits of Khan wearing her designs in exotic locations. Shot in the Andaman Islands, Jaipur’s City Palace and Samode Palace, Agra’s Taj Mahal and Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort, to name just a few fascinating sites, A Bejewelled Life is a luxurious travelogue as well as a luxurious jewelry book.’

In India, the book will be unveiled in an art event on April 16, at the landmark Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. The heritage venue will have specially mounted art installations and exhibitions of the works of young and emerging artists.

Besides avant-garde jewelry, the book also showcases designs from the Farah Khan World line of luxury fashion accessories and lifestyle products.

DALUP MODERN INDIAN TO OPEN IN MAY

Indian cuisine will take new wings next month in New York, with the launch of Dalup Modern Indian, in Chelsea.

The fast-casual restaurant, with pan-Indian menu, will be helmed by Bravo’s Top Chef alum Dave Martin. Long-time New Yorker Nat Loganathan and some of his family members are behind the venture.

‘Guests will be encouraged to create their own “karma” or personalized bowl with the choice of a base – biryani rice, long grain brown rice or citrus and tomato freekeh – along with a choice of curry (all of which are dairy and gluten free), a protein or paneer cheese, and fresh side dishes including raita, an Indian yogurt with cucumber and red onion, or a fiery Gobi cauliflower with tossed red chili, red bell pepper and scallions,’ says publicity notes.

Martin’s signature dishes will include the ‘Dalup Naan Roll’ featuring antibiotic-free Chicken Tikka Masala (that is cashew milk-based), wrapped with cilantro and greens.

“Born and raised in Southern India and now long time New Yorkers, we wanted to create a warm and welcoming eatery offering modern Indian cuisine. We wanted to keep the authentically bold flavors, but focus on making it light and fresh with everything prepared in-house. We’re thrilled to collaborate with the talented chef Dave Martin who is staying true to the classic flavors of the regions, while adding creative and modern twists to our favorite dishes from India,” stated Loganathan.

Dalup will utilize specialized equipment to bake their naan bread and their grilled kebab-style meat including chicken, pork and lamb. It will use a custom developed robotic dosa machine that makes dosas on order.

Dalup will also donate some proceeds to Girls Who Code, a national not-for-profit organization with the mission to close the gender gap in technology.

Dalup has also partnered with LJR Hospitality Ventures, known to launch successful fast-casual dining brands across the US, from Florida to California, according to a press release.

PAKISTANI QAWWALI SINGER ALI SETHI AT CARNEGIE HALL

Pakistani qawwali singer Ali Sethi will feature in the American Composers Orchestra’s (ACO) concert at Carnegie Hall, on April 11, 2019.

The concert will see the New York premiere of ‘Where We Lost Our Shadows’ with music by 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and film by Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar.

The performance, led by ACO Music Director George Manahan, also includes Gloria Coates’ ethereal soundscape Symphony No. 1, “Music on Open Strings,” from 1973, and Morton Feldman’s 1980 work Turfan Fragments, inspired by a series of fragments of knotted carpets from the third and sixth centuries which were discovered in the Silk Road region.

Ramallah-based artist Khaled Jarrar, who film documents the refugee crisis in Europe, will see Sethi, a writer too, whose debut novel ‘The Wish Maker’ was critically acclaimed, and versatile Brooklyn-based percussionist Shayna Dunkelman, in action.

‘Where We Lost Our Shadows’ recognizes and depicts the timeless struggle of human migration and its many effects while celebrating the resilient human spirit that instigates and survives it.

Yun’s musical language takes the qawwali of Raga Aiman Kalyan (a type of devotional music) and explores its provenance (13th century Muslim India, according to legend); its subsequent journey through space and time (Central Asia, Bengal, the global South Asian diaspora); and its migration through genres, forms, techniques.

The piece also sets the poem “Pillow” by Palestinian poet Ghassan Zaqtan, who has lived in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Tunisia.

Jarrar’s video explores the meaning of home, belonging, and identity, inspired by his journey with a group of refugees, which was driven by his love of his late grandmother, who left him the trauma of displacement. It portrays human reactions to these concepts in abstract and specific ways.

(Sujeet Rajan is Executive Editor, Parikh Worldwide Media. Email him: sujeet@newsindiatimes.com Follow him on Twitter @SujeetRajan1)